FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Week of June 13th, 2000

OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - We dug into our archives to find the biggest stories of this week - 16 years ago. We're looking at the year of 2000.

Embarcadero Project

In San Francisco the scenic area along the Embarcadero used to be blocked by a freeway. In our KTVU archive footage, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the completion of the $50 million Embarcadero roadway project. For decades the area was right underneath the Embarcadero freeway. Many residents often complained about how ugly the freeway was and how it cut off the views creating a cement barrier to the waterfront. The Loma Prieta earthquake badly damaged the freeway and the city decided to take it down. "From Fisherman's Wharf, all the way over to the ballpark you literally get an opportunity to see what's here," said San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown at the celebration.

Missing Hard Drives at Los Alamos National Laboratory

This week 20 years ago, federal investigators were carefully examining a pair of computer hard drives that disappeared from a vault at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The top secret information on the drives included details about the United States' nuclear weapons, information about how to disarm those weapons and intelligence about the nuclear programs of other countries such as Russia. The hard drives were later found behind an office copy machine, in the area where they went missing. In our report Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said, "Our focus is right now to proceed with a criminal investigation.” Investigators are trying to determine whether in fact the hard drives were actually missing or had been taken and returned.

Steve Young Retires

In our archived footage former 49ear Steve Young announced his retirement. "So I retire from the great game of football today. The fire still burns, but not enough given the stakes to go back out," said Steve Young. He retired after he had at least four concussions in four years. There was the possibility of permanent brain damage if he took another big hit.  Young said, "My wife Barb. You know I waited a long time and I'm just really grateful to have a chance to start my family."