ride my bike. on days with bad air quality, i won't do it. >> reporter: from back-to-back days of smoke filled air to the everyday pollution, making it hard to breathe. the factors adding up to some of the unhealthiest air in the country. in the age of the dying mall, one bay area shopping center is moving forward with a major transformation. >> there are attempts to reimagine what the aging mall or office parks could look like as a vibrant neighborhood. >> how the housing project could transform the galleria. an election cycle. dominated by conversations about age. she's a breath of fresh air. >> we deserve a say in how they're run. >> reporter: meet the cal undergrad making history in bay area politics. how she plans to juggle classes with her new chapter on the city council.

good evening. you know, we don't have to think too far back to remember just how miserable it could be when the bay area is choking on smoke. today, there's a new record card confirming we deal with some of the unhealthiest air in the country. the state of the air report card from the american lung association ranked the bay area the fifth worst for annual particle solution out of more than 200 metropolitan areas. we were seventh worst for exposure to short-term particle solution, and then 12 worst for ozone pollution. almost every bay area county got a failing grade for short-term spikes in particle pollutions. now driven mostly by all the wildfires that sent smoke our way during the 2020 and 2022 areas when the report collected its data then. so who could forget the day the sky turned that orange in 2022? hard to forget. but

there is also everyday sources that contribute to our bad air. amanda harry is live at the bay bring toll plaza with a closer look at the overall pollution picture there. let's give it a better grade, amanda? >> reporter: the american lung association says too many people are breathing in unhealthy air too often and it's putting their lives attristening. one of which is what you see behind me here and all these cars are driving by. the bay area is one of the most impacted regions across the country when it comes to bad air quality according to the american lung association. >> a lot of change, you know, a lot of air is changing. >> reporter: we caught up at bateman park in berkeley, she said the air quality recently

started causing her problem. >> a year, and year and a half, yeah. i've never had allergies before. now it's my eyes, nose, face. >> reporter: she tries to stay away from pollutants, but will the ala say it is impossible to avoid all the things. >> when you think about air pollution, especially pollution coming out of the port, for example. these are major sources of pollutions that are impacting us every day. but there is also when you layer in on top of that, the wild card smoke episodes that we've seen in recent years. it's really adding to the challenges of keeping the air clean for every community. >> reporter: wildfires are major contributors, setting california and the bay area apart from other areas. melissa london, a scientist, a company that measures and

analyzes air pollution in greenhouse gases, says she is not surprised by the results of the study. she says the high level of particulate matter could be detrimental to health. >> impacting every level of your body, but certainly they're known to increase like asthma, cardiovascular system, high pm concentrations that have been linked to the higher instances of morbidity and mortality. >> reporter: even though she doesn't have asthma or other sensitivities, the air quality had still affect her. >> i feel the air quality impacts my health when i'm exercising. i like to go and run and run my bike. and on days with bad air quality especially days with high pm, i won't do it. >> reporter: barrett says the air quality affects people with

precondition issues. >> people with asthma and other illnesses are greater at risk. and even one day of unhealthy air could trigger health emergencies ranging from asthma to heart attacks, deaths, strokes. in long-term cases with lung cancer and premature death. >> reporter: people in sensitive groups should reduce their time outdoors. she worries for future generations. >> continue like this, yeah. everything makes you worried now. >> reporter: the american lung associate says have says they still have a lot of work to be done to improve the grades. >> let's get the grades up.

some of the worst air quality measures came out of the central valley. oh my. a big bust there. came out of bakersfield, topping the list of those levels. we posted a link to the full report card on our story on kpix.com. all right, so let's take a look outside, shall we? where the gusty winds will be the big headlines over the next couple of days. paul, no fire threat though. not the right time of the year or when the air quality will tend to be the best with the stronger onshore winds. reaping the benefits of the rainfall that we would have over the past winter. they are still not technically out of the chance of rain just yet. but as we look at the energy release component, basically a fire fuel dryness index. the blue line is where we have been so far in 2024. we want to be in the green area on this chart. basically what we're suppose to be this time of the year. but the gray line is what the normal track of the gray

line is and the maximum values that you could see both of those lines, they do go up as we would head into summertime, which is typical as the weather dries out and heats up. all the fire fuels around the bay area and around california. rapidly lose that moisture that they would have accumulated. we are forecasting hotter than normal conditions as we would head into summer. last week they released their updated outlook for june, july, august, meteorological summer. it paints a significant chance of above normal temperatures, especially as we would get into late summer, basically past the midpoint of july and that will carry us into autumn as well. with all the growing vegetation that they have done with the rainy conditions the past couple of winters. might be busier around here once we get into that time of the year. of course, we will be here tracking what will happen in the near future in a few minutes. >> thank you. san francisco is revealing new details about the first housing project for a shopping mall that seems to be bucking

the trend. the idea is to turn the galleria on the city's west side into a communal space. even parks, john ramos has more on the new vision for the mall. >> reporter: living at the mall could be a dream for teenagers, a dream that's coming true as they look for creative ways to deal with the housing crisis. while a lot of shopping malls are struggling, stones town galleria in san francisco is doing well. but there are those who think it could do even better. >> there is a national had trend right now to reimagine the old shopping malls, office parks, other types of commercial space. many of which have a lot of service parking. >> reporter: it's the parking lot surrounding the mall that will have officials interested. the city has been if talks with the owners to turn to many of those places to park and live. brookfield properties has a

plan to develop 3,500 housing units, surrounding the mall including six acres of parks, outdoor dining, recreation space, and a plaza for our local farmers market. much of the car traffic will be sent to underground parking garages. the idea is to turn the shopping mall into a small walkable town center with residents that are giving the area more life at night. >> you know, they can create the vibrant spaces that will have different feelings during the daytime and evening. but during the whole course of the day, they are actually widely used by a variety of different people. >> reporter: ironically they were ahead of their time. when they opened in 1952, it offered high density housing going for $159 a month. later, they became regional shopping distance with customers arriving in cars. some current customer don't want to see the surface parking going away. >> please don't take the

parking away. it's silly, you know, just one more way to have revenue for the city and all sorts of crazy ideas going on right now. it's fine the way it is. >> reporter: a man convinced that it was nice. >> how would feel it would be a problem. >> reporter: although 20% of the united stateses would be affordable, brown thinks all that new vibrancy would simply make the preexisting housing in the area more expensive. >> it would drive up pricing around apartments for sure. much more than what has been costing. we still see the make. adding more won't solve the current issue we have now. >> reporter: there aren't any

easy access to ail the housing market. looking for spaces to build more homes, those parking lots are looking more and more like an opportunity. >> the city of san francisco has been closely involved with the plan for stone's town. officials even requesting that 600 more units be added to the original project. the board of supervisors has to give final approval. governor newsom is pushing a bill to allow doctors it in arizona to perform abortions here in california. the bill would give temporary licenses to those doctors, so they could provide reproductive care for patients from arizona. this follows an arizona supreme court law banning nearly all abortions. >> this would never happen. this is really, and spare me this freedom gospel. spare me. pro life? what about the rest of life?

>> the bill would only be in effect through the end of november. today arizona house democrats along with three republicans voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban. now it is going to their state senate. so new propaganda video shows berkeley born hostage. and so here is the steal shot from that video. they cannot confirm what kind of pressure he would face. he was captured in october and the video shows one of his hands is missing. he's one of the eight americans that are still believes to be held by what intense moments there to clear their park. some marched around their park with their tents in hand. at one point the protester was tackled, put into a patrol car. he was later let go after demands from the crowd and this

is one of many campus protests across the country against the war in gaza. in the meantime protesters are refusing to leave their tents until the university agrees to the pro palestinian demands. they want the university to cut ties with anyone who has a relationship with israel specifically related to armed suppliers. the university says they have no plans to change its investment policies. and still ahead, one cal student will soon be fighting for change from a new position of power on the berkeley city council. she tells us what it so student to have a child at the table. there is something in my head. >> talk about timing the fourth falcon chip will make

a uc berkeley student is set to make history as the first undergraduate student to win a seat on berkeley's city council. the vote is expected to be certified in the coming days, but she has declared victory with 60% of the votes. >> reporter: while most politicians are familiar with the pressures of a campaign

trail, cecilia luna parra's experience was a bit more nuanced. election day wasn't just a milestone in her place cal. >> it is all a whirlwind. >> reporter: her dream was to become a teacher. but instead of just studying history, she's making it. >> i'm the first undergraduate student to be elected to the city council. the first latina, and the first openly queer woman of color. >> reporter: at 22, she's won the seat to represent berkeley's district seven including the campus and much of the city's south side neighborhoods. >> students make up a third and a fourth of the city's population, and we deserve a say in how the city is run. >> reporter: 41 million members of gen z will be eligible to vote this year with 20% saying they would run for office.

>> now combine gen z and millennials are the largest voting demographic in the country. we are the difference in so many campaigns. >> hi. >> reporter: cecilia's platform reflects many of her generations grievances. affordable housing, public city, tenant protests. >> i think, advocating for a permanent cease-fire. a divisive issue at the center of massive demonstrations and rising anti-semitism on campuses across the country. on the day of the interview, she attended a protest on campus, which demanded the university financially divest from israel. >> there are so many people from our community that are hurting and demanding that our

local government will pass a cease-fire resolution. >> reporter: for now, she's struggling on the new classes. >> there is so much in my head and it feels surreal. >> reporter: while most of her classmates will be off chasing their dreams, cecilia is already living hers, right here in berkeley. >> cecilia luna parra will fill the seats of former councilman who resigns in january. and also 22 when he was elected in 2018, but he already graduated from cal. all right, keeping with the theme of the next generation. pope francis is preparing to celebrate the world's first children's day. norah o'donnell is in rome with an exclusive interview. >> reporter: hey, juliette. live from rome, our historic interview with pope francis. a rare wide ranging conversation. his message to the world tonight on the cbs evening news. still ahead some stubborn cloud cover out there. it's going to get gusty, but paul is

looking

plenty of clouds over the bay area. they have been impossible to shake in san francisco and oakland. you can see out the windows behind me with the gray sky overed had. our virtual map is the best that we have seen for inland parts of the bay area. more of the same in stored for us tomorrow. just a deep marine

layer, allowing that fog and low cloud cover to push further inland. at ground level, that machine is the big picture pattern tomorrow. maybe a little drizzle and a possibility of a passing shower tomorrow. it's an outside chance. i wouldn't count on any measurable rainfall. looking outside right now as you can see the cloud cover as we look towards the tower. temperatures in the upper 50s of san francisco. everybody else is in the low 60s. only a 5-degree difference between san francisco and san jose as the coolest and warmer locations on the map. temperatures dropping down to the low to mid-50s sprinkled in. these kinds of temperatures are slightly above average. tomorrow it will prevent us from warming out for most of the day. a glimmer or two of sunshine for the valley. but your temperatures will end up about 4, 5 degrees below normal. the warmest spot will be antioch, pretty much everybody else will be stuck in

the 60s. along the coast, another day where your temperatures only reach the upper 60s. as the rest of the bay area does worm up, and the north bay as well. you have a slightly better chance of seeing maybe a dog walking forecast. it will feel more like late winter for olive tomorrow with the temperatures stuck in the 60s in walnut creek. plenty of clouds overhead today, and a strong breeze that's kicking in as well for your furry friends, they probably don't mind the below average temperatures. we should be back to normal april conditions. let's take a look at futurecast and zoom in for a closer look here through the rest of tonight and all the cloud cover, surging back in. even when we saw a partial clearing with the gray skies to start the day tomorrow. futurecast is showing just the slightest chance of a couple of radar freckles showing up by tomorrow evening. those are going to be very few and far between. if you do get a few

sprinkles, that will be it. i don't think anything measured will be in stored for us. not enough to impact travel. it will be enough to freshen up the slopes a little bit. the winds will be picking up. noticeable today, but not that strong by late april standards. but it will be breezy tomorrow with the wind gusts mostly in the 20 to 30 miles an hour range. then friday, it's going to be flat out window. to a lot of winds in the 30, 35 miles an hour range. a wind advisory issued

( ♪♪ )

you made a cow! actually it's a piggy bank. my inspiration to start saving. how about a more solid way to save? i'm listening. well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. both: cash reward? and there's a cash bonus when you open a new checking account to get you started. wow. anything you can't do? ( ♪♪ ) mugs. ♪ bmo ♪

it is a story we have been keeping a close eye on all week. the fourth and final falcon chick has now hatched on top of uc berkeley's tower. in fact this is a live look from the falcon cam. keeping her new chicks nice and warm. so what is left of the egg shell from the new chick is right next to her as you can see. oh, i saw her blink. the moment the new chick started to hatch and started pecking away at the egg to help the baby bird come on out. at the same time, the mama bird was keeping her three other chicks warm. they hatched on monday. all day people were anticipating the arrival of the fourth chick, hosting the hatch party where they have

been live streaming the event on the giant screen all day long. falcon experts and volunteers were there to answer any questions about the birds. >> she needs to stay right on them almost continuously for about two weeks or so. because when they first hatched, they can't regulate their own body temperature. >> the chicks will be able to regulate their own temperatures after 10 to 12 days. this is annie's eighth year producing chicks. cbs evening news is next with >> norah: your holiness, what an honor. tonight, our exclusive in-depth conversation with pope francis at the vatic >> norah: your holiness, what an honor. tonight, our exclusive in-depth conversation with pope francis at the vatican. his message for the world as he pleas for peace ahead of the church's first world children's day. can you help negotiate peace? the "cbs evening news" starts now. ♪ ♪