hundreds of thousands of people in the bay area good afternoon.

i'm audrey asistio. welcome to nbc bay area news at 4:30. we're going to tell you about the crucial vote that happened just hours ago. that will hike up water prices. we're also tracking other stories on this tuesday, including some news that shows just how hard it is to make it in the bay. the median home price in santa clara county just hit a new high mark $2 million. our scott budman breaks down the new numbers for us. also, protesters chained themselves up outside a google conference in mountain view today. the demands they're making from the silicon valley giant and take a look at this. sick pelicans are popping up in the bay area and beyond. why so many of them are needing to be treated are jodi hernandez goes to the international bird rescue in search of those answers. but let's go ahead and begin today with your water bills. because if you do live in the south bay, the price you pay is about to go up this afternoon, valley water approved a nearly 13% rate hike

for much of santa clara county. vote came down this afternoon, passing 6 to 1 during a board meeting today. so here's the breakdown. north county customers will pay nearly $9 more each month. south county residents will see a smaller hike between 1 to $3 more before the vote. valley water did tell us that the rate hike is needed to fund its biggest infrastructure projects, including retrofit of the anderson dam in morgan hill. the reality is our board has to balance the idea of, hey, you know, what are the charges for water here in santa clara county, but also preparing for the future. we can't let these infrastructure projects be delayed anymore. the longer we wait, the more they end up costing. the dam retrofit is the biggest project for valley water, costing more than $2 billion to protect the dam from major earthquakes and prevent catastrophic flooding. the new rates start july 1st. okay, so here's something else that's proving how hard it is to make

it in the bay. $2 million. that's actually how much the median home is worth in santa clara county. now, it's never been higher. our business in tech reporter scott budman posted that news this morning. scott, $2 million. that's a lot. so it could seem crazy to people who live outside of the bay area. but for us, it kind of seems like, oh yeah, yeah, 2 million. that's how much it goes for. it's true order. but think about what we're known for in the bay area tech companies and in santa clara county. you've got apple, you've got google, you've got, you know, so many of them that are hot. look at their stock prices over the last year or so. and you realize, wow amd supermicro nvidia where this money is coming from. and now right. this is a house we toured today. three bedroom, two bath, about 1800 square feet. i mean it's lovely. sure it is, but it's not that big. and it's $2 million. we found a $2 million house and that's the average. it is. that is the median right there. and it just shows how prices have gotten so high because there is money, but there's also scarcity. and it's

a lot of dollars chasing a very small number of houses. okay. every time we do a story about this, about making it in the bay, you do get a chance to speak with a real estate agent. what is that person telling you today? the one we talked to today said she's seeing again multiple offers because there is money that's been waiting to buy homes. and now we see it in the spring. a lot of people are buying and selling homes. that's good news for the overall market. so there is a little bit more inventory, but there are just still more buyers or potential buyers than there are sellers. and so still that overbidding and that makes it so hard. if you're an individual or a couple that's saved a certain amount of money, you find a house for that price and you think you're in. but then there are others who are willing to outbid. and that's why this market is so tough right now. so many potential buyers, especially when there's a really good one like the one you just showed us. so many bids. were you able to speak with any home buyers today? yeah i mean, you know, we just sort of went around and talked to some people and said, hey, are you in the market? yes. and what do you think of the $2 million average?

and that is, you know, it's an intimidating number. and milestones are symbolic, but they're still milestones for a reason. right. and so $2 million. sure. it's you know it's symbolic but it's also real. and it's a little bit staggering when you think about a down payment 20% of $400,000. that's the down payment on a $2 million home. so it's just you know, it's a big thing to sort of write a check for. i remember we were talking about, i mean, maybe months ago that for some people it will take what, ten, 20 years possibly to just even save up that much money. right. and those are the figures we often come up with is how much it costs in income. if you want to save, you know, maybe 30, 40, even 50% of your income for a house, how much it is around here because there is so much tech money that is going toward a small number of homes. and so what everybody, whether it's the potential buyers we talk about or the real estate agents, keep coming back to, is we just need

a whole lot more housing to be built, so there's more inventory to spread out. and that may finally get some of the prices down. okay. all right, scott, thanks for that update. you bet. appreciate it. and you can get weekly updates, by the way, on our housing crisis right in your email inbox. really easy. all you have to do is sign up for our newsletter, housing deconstructed by going to nbc bay area.com/newsletter and get a new issue every thursday. pro-palestinian protesters blocked the entrance to google's annual developers conference in mountain view earlier today. take a look here. they were holding up a sign saying stop fueling genocide. more than 100 people spoke out against google's ties to israeli projects. at one point, the protesters chained themselves together to block the public entrance to that conference at the shoreline amphitheater. among the protesters, some former google employees. what google is innovating is genocide. mass killing, mass murder, mass surveillance. the

specifically protesters say they're against google's work on project nimbus. they say it provides facial recognition technology to the israeli government. during that protest conference, attendees were ushered to another entrance. they were able to listen to the scheduled speakers, and there are no reports of any arrests at this time. city of san jose is one step closer to naming a new police chief. community feedback meetings have now ended, so it is on to the next phase. city is now accepting applications and community leaders will interview candidates in late june. city council will make a final decision early fall. as you may imagine, several city stakeholders have different opinions on what the next chief's top priority should be. opinions range from crime fighting and community policing to staffing. san jose is also facing another challenge competition from other big cities la and houston are also on the hunt for a top cop, so as

a city, we're going to have to be really competitive. we're going to have to also incentivize and in order to attract a top notch police chief . okay. so if history is any clue, the city's next chief may already be working for the department. san jose hasn't appointed an outsider for the top cop since 1976. that's when joseph mcnamara took over the force. well, heads up, covid 19 is evolving again. the fast spread of a new set of variants known as flirt is sparking concerns about a potential summer uptick. by the end of march. the variants made up fewer than 5% of new covid cases, but now they make up over 25. has familiar symptoms including cough, sore throat, congestion, muscle ache and fatigue, as well as a loss of taste. this morning we did speak with doctor peter chin-hong, infectious disease specialist at ucsf, and his advice get your booster shot if you haven't already. we'll probably, likely

bring out a new vaccine in the fall. but until then, particularly if you're older or immune, compromise, please go ahead and get at least one of the vaccines that are currently available. and doctor peter notes only 25% of americans are boosted at this time. he says the vaccines are still our best defense against covid. all right. take a look at this. so you might have seen this video over the weekend. pelican pretty much stealing the show here at the giants game. fans cheered on as it took flight off the outfield grass. but while that was all fun and games, there is a serious problem going on with brown pelicans. so let's go and bring in our jodi hernandez, who's been working on this story today. jodi, you spent your day at the international bird rescue. so what exactly is going on with these birds. well that is a very good question. and right now wildlife experts are trying to figure out what is going on. what they do know is that since the end of april, an

alarming number of skinny, starving and cold pelicans have been pouring into the international bird rescue. there are like 97 birds in this enclosure. we're standing in alone, 130 at the center overall. now for some reason, even though there is not a shortage of fish in the ocean, the birds are having a hard time finding food. so they're becoming disoriented. they're showing up at places they normally wouldn't go like that. giants game one even walked into a bar in santa cruz last week. i am told. so these birds are being rescued and they're being brought here to the international bird rescue where they're being fed, cared for and nursed back to health. it's such a big deal that they are getting the help they need. jodi. wow. one went into a bar as well. you mentioned the game we showed some video of it earlier today at oracle park. and i understand the bird rescue is actually trying to seize on that viral video. yes they definitely are.

now when that pelican landed in left field at the giants game, the crowd went wild as the game announcer shifted from game play by play to pelican play by play. and many thought the bird brought the team good luck because the team ultimately ended up winning that game against the cincinnati reds. well then another pelican sighting near the ballpark last night. got fans fired up yet again. some have nicknamed it rally pelicans, so the international bird rescue is hoping to use the pelican publicity to help educate folks and convince people to pitch in. they put out a tweet of their own, urging fans to pitch in $10 to help feed these pelicans. i'm going to tell you, these pelicans, they eat a lot. we were here at feeding time. they eat every hour 500 pounds of fish a day. i'm told that the center spent more than $20,000 on fish alone last week. so it

costs a lot of money to keep these pelicans fed. but they are being nursed back to health and the hope is that they'll be healthy enough and about five weeks to return back to the wild. wow. all right. well, they definitely need help there at the bird rescue. those are some hungry pelicans jody thank you so much. looking forward to your full story later on in our evening newscasts. all right. we've got a name and a logo. bay area's newest professional sports team has an identity. our ian cull shows us what the wnba team will be known as. also making sure teachers are taken care of. the san jose school district offering free coach hand-bags to our educators. but before we head to break, we want to know what trending story would you like to see later on in this newscast? have a poll up right now on my instagram. still have a little bit more time to vote for one of these stories. you see right here, wnba rolls out new apparel collection comcast unveils cheaper bundle

or elon announces final special. we'll ( ♪♪ ) 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 ♪

but he did something else pretty cool today. he got a chance to speak with flavor flav. how cool is that? it was very cool. adrian. yeah. depending on your age, you know, flavor flav, either from the world of hip hop and public enemy or i guess reality tv, he's kind of back in the spotlight. he did something really cool. audrey. he found out that the women's olympic water polo team was short on funds. he stepped in on social media and said, i will help out. he's rallied support, raised money. really cool. so now the team is able to get what they need and they're in the spotlight and we're working on that for a future olympic coverage. the olympics are coming up. they are. all right. well appreciate that preview scott. thank you. you bet. and we now know who the 49ers will

be playing against in their first game of the new season. nfl announced today that the jets are coming to levi's stadium for monday night football on september 9th. so that means aaron rodgers, who grew up in chico, played at cal, will face the niners. may remember, rodgers did take just four snaps before tearing his achilles in the season opener last year. we'll know the rest of the 49ers schedule tomorrow when the nfl releases it in about 24 hours, and the wnba newest team officially revealed its name today, they will be the golden state valkyries and the bay area team says that the logo and colors are one of a kind. it's also a nod to the warriors, their partner franchise. nbc bay area's ian cull, spoke with fans today about the team, the name and the future. ian, let's go ahead and start with the name the golden state valkyries. why did they choose valkyries? yeah, well, the team says that they heard from fans who definitely like the name and one of the reasons being because valkyries

are women warriors. yes, the name and logo today you see it here was splashed across chase center today, where the valkyries will play their home games. according to the team, they chose the norse mythology term because, quote, valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering, flying through air and sea alike, the team added. the brand is golden state's modern interpretation of valkyries strong, bold and fierce. today, the team shop was packed with new merchandise and no shortage of new fans. oh, it's so exciting. it reminds me of when the wnba came out in like 97. i think i was in seventh grade and there was so much excitement. the intentionality behind the logo. when i saw it this morning, i was like, well, gotta head down to the team store and buy all the merch. she talks about the intentionality behind the logo. so can you talk to us more about this? the symbolism? yeah, a lot of things. one of the things that will stand out, the depiction of the bay bridge showing the teams span across the bay because in oakland and

then play their games in san francisco. so the bridge tower doubles as a sword, which are weapons the mythological valkyries would carry. and then there are 13 lines coming from the top of the sword. those represent the franchise becoming the 13th active team in the wnba. the valkyries also sent out a video statement from the team president about the name and the team color valkyrie violet. the color is incredibly important to us because it's our own, and it's also one that does ensure to pay respects to bringing women together and making sure that we are pushing one another forward. the golden state will take to the court next season, but you don't have to wait that long to cheer them on. they'll host a block party with e-40, kehlani, p-lo and others at thrive city from 2 to 6 this saturday, and we'll have more from fans and the team coming up in sports later at 550. sounds like a good time. it certainly was, and it certainly will be on on saturday. i love the meaning behind everything.

thanks for explaining all of that. yeah. super deep. yeah, it really is. that's good stuff. all right. thanks, ian. all right. california is set to receive a big check to help improve electric car charging stations. we're talking about $64 million. u.s. congresswoman zoe lofgren made that announcement today. the money from the federal government will repair and replace broken charging stations across the state. lofgren says the goal of the money is to reduce greenhouse gases and expand the electric vehicle workforce. and it's not every day a school turns into a luxury store. but that's exactly what happened for lucky teachers in east san jose. take a look here this afternoon. coach set up shop inside the renaissance academy. it's part of the alum rock school district. teachers got to splurge on coach products without actually having to pay all free to give the teachers a well-deserved thank you. feels really, really good. because we work very hard this year trying to change our students lives to

help them become lifelong learners and have a chance are so maybe wondering. teacher jeff barrett, what do you get? well, he went home with a new travel bag and a wallet. looks good. the event was organized by the coach foundation on the heels of teacher appreciation week. i am at the anchor desk now with our garvin thomas working on the 5:00 news. hi, garvin. hey, audrey. we got a lot to tell our viewers about coming up at 5:00, including a warning from the fbi regarding upcoming pride events in san francisco. the fbi has alerted local law enforcement to be extra vigilant when it comes to gatherings. in june celebrating pride month. the fbi says they're concerned is that the terrorist group isis might be planning something. sérgio quintana is finding out what sfpd are saying about all this, this and on a much, much lighter note, we have a bay area proud for you tonight, audrey, about an east bay man who drew on an old talent of his to start doing something good for his community. it involves restoring old worn shoes and wait till you see how good he is at it, i

can't wait to see that i love my shoes. so he's gonna. he's not. he not only doing good, but he's really good at it. you see, he gets these donations of the shows shoes that you just throw away you wouldn't think are worth donating. and he turns them into looking like, new for people who need them. looking forward to that. garvin, thank you so much. we'll see you in a little bit. yeah. still to come. to

for stream saver, a discounted package that will include content from peacock, netflix and apple tv plus. comcast ceo brian roberts didn't share exactly what it would cost, but did say that the package comes as a vastly reduced price compared to similar deals. this comes on the heels of disney and warner bros. sharing plans to bundle their streaming services last week, comcast customers are

eligible to subscribe when the service launches later this month. full disclosure comcast owns our parent company, nbc universal, and as always, i will be posting links to the other stories you voted for on my instagram. i am here now with meteorologist rob mayeda so we could talk about this beautiful weather we are having. this is also good viewing right now. as you could see, we got the fog there around san francisco, san jose. very interesting. the clouds you see off to the east. those are thunderstorms over the sierra. it's been another big afternoon. they're here. we're about to enjoy some of the warmest days of the week. coming up tomorrow into thursday. let's take you into that forecast and show you the action right now up around the sierra where it's 73 degrees at south lake tahoe, you can see those clouds building. we're seeing it again on the radar, mostly to the south of highway 50 down into yosemite. this is the time of year where the morning is quiet than during the afternoon. you get these big thunderstorms that fire up. but for where we're concerned, just those high clouds will be drifting off to the west. we're not going to get any showers out of it. in fact, during the day

tomorrow, if you do have sierra travel plans, it looks like we're going to see less in the way of thunderstorms in the forecast there. but closer to home, there's a look at the low clouds, fog and misty skies will wake up to again for tomorrow morning. so morning temperatures starting off with the trend we had today. tomorrow we got 50s. areas of low clouds, cloudy start inland across those east bay valleys too, and by lunchtime numbers in the 70s trending warmer. though a reminder wednesday and thursday will be the warmest days of the week, so more 80s likely around san jose, tri-valley maybe up towards the north bay. two look at clear lake and ukiah up to 90 degrees tomorrow, but the marine influence will keep things comfortable around san francisco and oakland. mid 60s to near 70. now, if you do have weekend plans, stay tuned. it's going to be cooler and potentially a little more wind as this weather system drops down late saturday into sunday. probably too far inland to bring us any rain chances, but it will bring some big changes to that 7-day forecast. we're talking about cooler and blustery conditions,

perhaps as we head through the weekend closer. look at that 7-day forecast coming up today at five. back to you all right rob thank you. and you could watch nbc bay area news whenever you want. we're streaming our newscast all the time now on roku and other streaming platforms. there you can watch live newscasts, breaking updates and more of our content. thank you so much for joining us at 430. jess and garvin are working on the 5:00 newscast next, and we are back in two minutes.

a tech conference. the reason they say the tech giant is fueling the violence in gaza. one of the city's biggest parties could be in jeopardy after a warning from the fbi. authorities asked to be on high alert. what you need to know before next month. i never take a pair of shoes for granted. one man's mission to make sure everyone gets a good pair. his hard work will make you bury a

proud. the news at five starts right now. thanks for joining us . i'm jessica aguirre, and i'm garvin thomas breaking right now out of uc berkeley. protesters are breaking down their encampments. we've been showing you those encampments for, like, four weeks now. that's part of the nationwide pro-palestinian protest on university campuses across the country. i want to show you some video from today of that takedown from our nbc bay area's sky ranger. now the protesters initially began putting up, putting the tents away around 2:00 this afternoon. the student protesters had a handful of demands, though, including asking you, the university to divest from israel. we're hearing reports students have been speaking to the university leaders. we don't know what the demands are. if any have been agreed upon. we will bring you more information as that comes into our newsroom and google's annual developers conference had an extra feature this morning as well. a protest. demonstrators blocked the entrance of the conference today

in mountain view to speak out against what they say are the company's ties to israeli military projects. nbc marianne favro is in mountain view with a closer look at what that is. holding a sign saying stop fueling genocide. more than 100 people protested outside google's i o conference at shoreline amphitheater today. at one point, the protesters chained themselves together to block the public entrance to the conference. so what did attendees think? i understand what they're trying to do, and i understand they have the freedom to speak and protest where i have a little problem is when it comes to impacting others, right ? if you interrupt this event, affected attendees were ushered to another entrance. former google employee ariel corin says she was pushed out of the company in 2022 for speaking out against project nimbus, a cloud tool demonstrators say is being used by the israeli government and military. as we speak