tim johns spoke with one of the organizers who say at first, the thief tried to fool them. >> for the past 28 years, the organization has partnered with the dominic hoskins black history museum too annual toy drive in redwood city. this year had been no different. that is, until saturday afternoon. >> and then all of a sudden she started screaming saying we are being robbed. >> carolyn hoskins is the director of the drive which collects both toys and monetary donations to help buy better christmases for children in need. she tells me around 3:00 p.m. saturday afternoon a man walked into the group storefront on jefferson avenue. hoskins says the man was friendly and chatted with several members of her team including herself. all of a sudden as he was near the door, he smashed his hands into the donation box and ran off with the money the group had been raising for the past two days. >> it was going to go to to buy gift cards and things that were much-needed for kids. so now, that money is gone. >> about $500 was stolen. she says she is heartbroken that someone would steal money from th

as tim johns tells us, it was more than just gifts on people's minds. tim: at the holiday shopping season enters the final stretch, shoppers are hitting the stores all around the bay area. one of the most popular spots is the village. >> i found it more busy than it was last year. tim: while some bought many items. >> i'm so excited. i got some sparkly sweaters. tim: the others, not so much. >> i don't have a plan of what i'm going to get. i just here -- i'm just here trying to find stuff. tim: after a hard season last year, many retailers say they are happy to see shoppers at it again. >> it has been bananas. today has just been ongoing traffic back and forth. tim: despite not having the restrictions of 20/20, many shoppers told us the new omicron variant was still on their minds. >> i have all the grandparents and people i want to look out for. tim: one of the season's hottest items are at home covid-19 tests. >> you get together with people, you don't know where they were, and you just want to have it on hand. tim: covid isn't the only factor. some t

reporter: tim johns, abc 7 news. julian: now, live look at the lake tahoe region where snow has been falling for days. this is in kingsbury on the southeastern edge of lake tahoe. i-80 is still closed due to the winter storm, there is no timetable on when that may change. highway 50 is closed at echo summit where several cars have been stuck in the snow. accidents have been causing major delays. chp posted this video yesterday showing i-80 after it closed in both directions. the interstate is currently shut down from the nevada state line to colfax. in this video, youideo, youideoo skiers enjoying the snow. they say they have been hammered with it this weekend. the national weather service issued a winter storm warning through tuesday morning for lake tahoe. holiday travelers say it has been a frustrating couple of days. >> it is already known, we are going to head home may be in an hour or two. julian: if you are us it took him seven hours to get from south lake tahoe to san francisco yesterday. you can see why. he

tim johns spoke to some store owners. tim: walk up to french tulip flowers in the snowy valley neighborhood and you'll will be greeted by this sign. >> we will take anyone who is willing to learn and stay with us. tim: andre is the owner of the store. he says right now, he and his girlfriend are the only two people employed at the shop, working all day every day. a few weeks ago, he put this sign in the front window to try and attract anyone willing to help out. >> we have two employees and one of our employees retired and one guy started his own shop. tim: this isn't the only shop having trouble getting employees. several owners say this is a problem. just a few feet down the road, jose rodriguez says his restaurant has been shortstaffed for months, something he fears could potentially get worse with the emergence of the new omicron variant. >> i worry about it. tim: issues like these have been popping up for businesses all around the country, according to the chief economist at zip recruiter. the pandemic affects on the