the demonstrators say they're not going anywhere, and the university says it's holding back on responding for now. and reimagining downtown san francisco, starting at the ground floor, business leaders take advantage of a unique new law that the city hopes could

help revitalize downtown san. >> this is ktvu fox two news at 730. >> and thanks so much for joining me on this wednesday night. i'm heather holmes. i'm going to start tonight with a look at the state of recovery in downtown san francisco. so the chamber of commerce has become the first entity to sign a lease in a unique new multi-use space. and it hopes that more organizations and companies will follow. the chamber has announced it is opening a new ground floor space that will be the headquarters of the yes sf initiative, which is a partnership with the chamber, deloitte, salesforce, the world economic forum and citibank. the sf headquarters will also be a co-working space with a coffee shop, and it will have the ability to host events. it takes advantage of legislation that was passed just last year that allows for office space on the ground floor in downtown buildings, as long as it's paired with a retail food and

beverage or entertainment use. the chambers. yes, sf hub will be located at an existing building at bush and montgomery for more now on this initiative, i'm joined live tonight by rodney fong, the ceo of the san francisco chamber of commerce. rodney, always a pleasure to see you. the chamber champion. this legislation and now you're leading by example. what do you envision happening in this space? >> well, we're very excited about this. you know, it's an opportunity for us to showcase all of the great members that are part of the chamber of commerce and new companies that are opening in san francisco. it's a focus on sustainable businesses here in san francisco, eco entrepreneurs. i and we're really thinking about addressing some of the challenging topics and hearing from people about how they imagine the downtown to be next. >> okay, so let's talk about this location and why you believe that others should also consider downtown. >> well, this is a quintessential corner of san francisco's downtown on montgomery and bush street. and it's a fishbowl to some degree. we're really eager to have

activity in the space. it's on the ground floor, plenty of windows, and we invite people to come by and use it. it's really sort of a community space for us all, and so activating, you know, all of the great things that happen on the 15th floor, 16th floor in the past, we really hadn't been able to see that kind of technology, that sort of innovation. and so now having a brick and mortar store, the chamber of commerce is really able to showcase what's happening in the downtown of san francisco. >> yeah. and it's also unique what you're doing here. we mentioned that you're going to be holding possibly public events. there's a coffee shop. i mean, it really does bring public and private entities together. do you expect to see more partnerships like this? >> we do. we have a great partner starting out with red bay coffee, who's going to take about a third of the space. and the rest is for meeting space. but anything from poetry to, innovative, ai technology to hackathons to, meeting some of our elected officials and really talking about housing, talking

about academia in the downtown, talking about sports in the downtown, potentially. and so it's really sort of open for all conversation. >> okay. so how important is it, rodney, for the city to remove regulatory barriers and to really become more flexible when it comes to new businesses? >> you know, we're just in a different world, heather. and i think the city being reactive to, try to streamline the permitting process, try to getting out of the way of creativity. san francisco is made up. we're all made up of creatives in our own way, shape or form, whether it's business or art or design and so we at the chamber really feel that we should get out of the way. the government should get out of the way and let people do their thing to some degree, assuming it's safe, lifting these kind of regulations, allowing, office to happen on the ground floor is a game changer for the downtown, and we imagine there are a bunch of other things that we need to have policy changes for the road to recovery. >> yeah, it's a good first step. okay. so when is this yes. sf hub going to open? >> well, gensler architects is

busy at work right now. probably as we speak. designing a space for us, is beautiful as you can see there in the rendering, we're hoping to get open by august of september of this year, we have many different vendors and, landscape folks that are looking forward to helping us put it all together. >> yeah. i don't live too far away, so i'm looking forward to it opening and maybe grabbing a cup of coffee with you. really appreciate what you're doing. all of the hard work there to help san francisco recover. rodney fong, the ceo of the san francisco chamber of commerce, thanks so much. >> thanks so much. heather >> all right. new at 730 tonight. construction work is underway on the silicon valley bart extension. this week, vta workers started on site preparations for the second phase ofhe bart expansion into the south bay. crews are working on an expansion of the newhall maintenance facility near santa clara university. people in santa clara and san jose are bein told to expect a little bit more truck activity, as the first construction site of the project is being prepped. the bart extension will build a

subway through downtown san jose. the project is expected to cost about $12.75 billion and service is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2037. pro-palestinian protests have swept college campuses all across the country, and it's no different here in the bay area. at uc berkeley, protesters are camping out in tents demanding the university do more to fiercely condemn violence in gaza. >> no rest until divest like we are here for the long haul. you know, we plan to hold the uc accountable to its, you know, to its self-proclaimed mission. you know, i mean, as the home of the free speech movement, the protests started on monday with about a dozen tents. >> now there's at least 70 large tents right outside the administrative building at cal. demonstrators want the university condemned the violence in gaza, support palestinian arab and muslim students rights to organize and to cut all ties with weapons companies that support israel. the university says it has no plans to change its investment

policies or practices. >> we are handling and dealing with this protest in a manner that's completely consistent with uc policy that says we must only turn to law enforcement if there is a specific and credible threat to people's safety. >> campus police have been seen monitoring the protests from afar, but have not engaged with the protesters. the demonstrators say they do not plan to leave any time soon. undergraduate commencement, by the way, is less than three weeks away. another global story that could have big local implications. the parent company of tiktok now has up to one year to sell the social media platform or face a ban here in the u.s. president biden signing a bill into law that includes $95 billion in foreign aid for ukraine and israel, now, the tiktok portion of the law gives the app's owner, bytedance, up to one year to sell it to a non-chinese company over security concerns. local businesses and influencers who rely on tiktok say they are concerned about what's going to

happen next. >> i don't think that it should be banned, but i think that there should be some restrictions put on it to make it safer to use, for our youth. i think that if it's used properly, it could be such an amazing educational tool. tiktok has an estimated 7000 employees here in the u.s, including many in san jose. >> it's unclear what a sale would mean for those bay area based workers. tiktok's ceo has promised to fight this new law in court. all right, still to come tonight, right here on the news at 730, a show of solidarity from law enforcement. today, the subtle but important sign of support for victims of sexual violence and do you have dinner plans? i'll tell you about the fundraising event happening right now at several san francisco restaurants. that helps those affected by hiv. >> now, grab the jacket before you head out the door. it's a cloudy, cool one. a beautiful view there of the sunset. a better look at what we can expect for

25 years ago and is observed on the last wednesday of april sexual assault awareness month. today police chief bill scott and district attorney brooke jenkins recognized all of the prosecutors and investigators who have dedicated their careers to supporting survivors. >> to all of you who do this work, we honor you. we thank you. i know how mentally draining it is, how emotionally and psychologically draining it is. it's a day to stand

together. >> it's a day to affirm that there is no excuse for sexual violence, no matter what a person is wearing. >> now, the origin of denim day dates back to a 1992 court case in italy. it was overturned because a judge said the victim was wearing tight jeans and therefore must have helped her attacker take them off. officials say currently, more than half of women and 1 in 3 men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. the san francisco cut the ribbon today on its newly renovated 911 dispatch center. the location there on turk street now has a new training room, more workstation, as well as an upgraded break room. the supervisor bridge was also elevated for better visual oversight of the dispatchers. >> we know that the people who work in this facility are key to our emergency response and deserve to have a facility that works better for them, and today we are so proud to announce that this facility has been renovated

on time and on budget. >> san francisco's call center is one of the top 25 busiest across the country, receiving an average of 3200 calls. a day. all right. it was another cool and cloudy day across much of the bay area. a rosemary, who also got the memo about blue today we're all i know joins me and what are we expecting tomorrow? more of the same. >> more of the same. but we will warm things up in time for the weekend. yes we'll take that. yeah. me too. we've got the sunshine coming into the weekend. by the way, take a look at the last bit of sunshine. so pretty. i know it's gorgeous. we're ten minutes away from the official sunset. we have mostly cloudy skies out there, but those clouds helping to provide us with just a beautiful glow in the sky. here is a look at some of the afternoon highs from today. low 50s to low 60s from san francisco into or i should say pacifica into san francisco and then widespread 60s across the bay area. our bayside communities were just a little

bit below average. our inland cities definitely feeling more so as we roll into the final days of april. 54 degrees right now in novato, 57 in san francisco, upper 50s in walnut creek. so temperatures continuing to cool into the overnight hours with the mostly cloudy conditions. here's a view of storm tracker. two clouds over the bay area a few thunderstorms earlier today in the sierra. those have calmed down, but the low here still providing some instability as it rolls into southern california and finally pushes east by tomorrow, only to be replaced by another system dropping out of the gulf of alaska. here's a look at the future cast. there's a look at some activity going on to the north and to the west of us. there's a look at that low. by tomorrow you'll notice it's in areas over nevada and the intermountain west, but behind it we have another system dropping into the pacific northwest that will bring us a possibility of a few sprinkles expected to bring us breezy conditions as well. right now, it looks like thursday night

into friday, it's not going to be a huge deal, but it's going to kind of keep this cool, cloudy pattern, breezy pattern going for the next couple of days. and as far as rainfall amounts, just a few 107 inch, maybe a little bit of drizzle, maybe a few sprinkles and some snow in the sierra. snow levels expected to be above 6000ft for friday. tomorrow morning under mostly cloudy skies. patchy fog. patchy drizzle 50 degrees. san francisco 44, in santa rosa for the inner east bay, 47, in livermore, so a chill in the air for some. and then as we get into the afternoon, going to remain below average. low 60s in san francisco to about 70 degrees in concord. and the extended forecast here, we don't see a robust warm up into the weekend, but we will see more sunshine upper 50s at the coast, upper 60s around the bay, low 70s inland. heather. >> okay, rosemary. thank you. if you have not had dinner just yet, tonight might be a great night to head out for a nice meal and to support a great cause. it's a really celebratory environment. >> people really come out and

support, and they feel really good about coming out and showing their patronage to the restaurant. but also to the organization and the cause. >> it is the annual dining out for life fundraising event in san francisco is a chance for you to enjoy fantastic restaurants in the city. more than 35 will contribute at least a quarter of all of their revenue tonight to the san francisco aids foundation. and earlier today on the four, i spoke with eric jost from the san francisco aids foundation. he says its services continue to provide a real lifeline for communities in need of both hiv prevention and treatment assistance. >> back in the 80s, this was a disease that was predominantly affecting gay men, and now we see other communities have made strides and decreasing hiv transmissions, but we also see the disparities continue to remain among people who use drugs, communities of color. and so really, our approach to combating hiv has shifted. >> now, last year's dining out

for life in san francisco raised more than $110,000 for the foundation really important dollars that it uses to serve more than 27,000 people every year. so it's not too late to get out there and enjoy the california garlic festival is sprouting up in a new location, and organizers in the central valley hope people and vendors from gilroy will follow. >> fortunately, it's, not there anymore. but, hey, we'll pick up the mantle and run with it. >> and the sharks. it was a rough season. they finished the season in last place, and the team has now fired the head coach. and the search is on for someone who can hopefully urn things around

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tenure, the sharks netted 41 wins, 98 losses and 25 ties. that is the worst record of any team during that span. sharks general manager mike grier called the firing a tough decision and says that the team is now evaluating just where it goes from here. the california garlic festival is on the move again, this time to los banos in merced county. the festival was a long time annual tradition in gilroy. following a mass shooting in 2019, though, gilroy canceled its event indefinitely and started offering a charitable golf tournament instead with the organizers of the asparagus festival began holding a garlic festival in stockton in 2022. the festival is unaffiliated with the former one in gilroy. >> it's not going to be as big as the gilroy garlic festival on its first year, but bringing that economic opportunity here to merced county, i think it could be something really great. >> organizers did not cite a specific reason for the festival

moving their to los banos. they did, though, say that they hope it's close enough that vendors and volunteers from gilroy can participate. that festival will take place at the end of august, and tickets go on sale later this week. a big screen debut for berkeley's youngest falcons. what biologists say makes these birds so unique. and then later tonight on the 10:00 news, a federal judge has now set the sentencing date for the man accused of attacking paul pelosi. plus, we have an update tonight on that stolen wedding dress case in redwood city. those stories and a lot more coming up tonight at ten. and a quick reminder for you that you can get ktvu on demand on your smart tv right there through the fox local app. you can watch all of our live newscasts and see all kinds of in-depth content from our newsroom on a variety of topics. remember, it's a free download right there for your smart tv

the owner, matt horne, making the announcement earlier today. he says the new location is by the intersection of eighth and broadway. the restaurant will be open on friday on a first come, first serve basis. horne barbecue had a devastating fire

back in november and then permanently closed its location on mandela parkway last month. bay area olympic champion kristi yamaguchi is the latest inspiration for a new barbie doll. it's one of the dolls in barbie's inspiring women series. yamaguchi says it's a huge honor to be recognized, and the dolls release comes just ahead of aapi heritage month in may. the fremont native became the very first asian american to win an individual gold medal in ice skating at the 1992 winter olympics. other dolls in the series include anna may wong, maya angelou, and rosa parks. the doll cost $45 and is available now for preorder. mayor london breed is still overcoming some hurdles to get the san francisco zoo ready for those two giant pandas coming from china. building a new enclosure for the bears could cost close to $25 million. the mayor has now introduced legislation to help fundraise for the panda exhibit using private donations, not taxpayer dollars. the mayor explains why

she needs that to get approved. >> even when i'm having conversations and people are saying, oh, i want to help, right? so instantly there's a form that i would have to fill out, but i can't even do that unless i get permission to make the request. the public private partnerships of raising private dollars to help with public projects can't happen unless you go through a process like this. >> there is no timeline yet on when the board of supervisors will decide whether or not to temporarily lift private donation restrictions. the city hopes the pandas will be here early next year. okay, uc berkeley's cal falcons are celebrating four new baby peregrine falcons who hatched just today. the public has been able to track the egg hatch over the past month through the cal falcons live stream. the chicks mother, annie, is a long time campus celebrity living atop the school's campanile clock tower for years now. we spoke to sean peterson, an ecologist with cal falcons, about why this hatch day was particularly

significant. >> this is like the culmination of tons of conservation effort to bring these falcons back from the brink of extinction, and to have four new chicks this year is just so wonderful to see, and annie has never hatched a full clutch of four before, so four chicks before. so this is a really exciting time for her cal falcons, says the father of the chicks, archie is already bringing meals back to feed those newborn chicks. >> okay, so now the question is what to name them. there's going to be a contest coming up in which you'll be able to help name the new four chicks. i know you're all so creative out there. we've seen some really creative names in the past. i'm guessing they may start with an a, you know, to follow annie and archie, right? all right. that's going to do it for me tonight for the news at 730. make sure to download t fox local app

nick: season 11 has delivered one surprise after the other. oh, my god! - kevin hart! - yes! i got you, nick! and three of the four places in the quarterfinals have been awarded. - the clock! - oh! - poodle moth! - yeah!