How much does your ceo make . Soon, most companies will have to reveal exactly how much more their ceos earn than the typical worker. Is it eyeopening, or are we eyeing the wrong numbers . The facts behind the socalled ceo pay gap. Nick woodman had reason to celebrate 2014. The gopro ceo brought home the bacon, 77 million in total pay. Tim cook guided the countrys largest publiclytraded company, apple, and netted 9. 2 million. And jamie dimon ran the nations biggest bank, jp morgan chase, raking in 27 million. But from wall street execs to Silicon Valley superstars, how much stock should we put in the ceo pay gap . Some reports calculate that divide at 330 times the median american worker. Others, more like 216 to 1. Are any of these studies accurate . Well, heres one problem. Robert daines the ceo salary is usually a relatively small part of their total take home pay. Sam robert daines, codirector of stanfords rock center on corporate governance, hits on a really important point. Ceo salary isnt usually that high. The bureau of labor statistics says its about 180,000 a year, which is roughly 5 times that of a typical worker. Elon musk made 35,000 in salary in 2014. Larry ellison made 1. Robert the vast majority of their pay is actually in Stock Options or stock that they get. Sam so, you can go by salary and stock awards, which most studies do. But it turns out that data isnt reliable either. Brookings Institution Senior fellow robert pozen explained to us over facetime that stock awards arent automatically awarded. Theyre usually tied to performance. Robert pozen the condition should not be just that the ceos alive and still there after 4 or 5 years. It should be Something Like the company has grown revenues, or has grown earnings, or its done some good things. Sam the reality is ceo pay could be inflated or understated in these studies. We dont know. Neither do the authors. Theres also a question of value and corporate fairness. Woodman, for example, was the highestpaid ceo in Silicon Valley, but he founded gopro. And last year, it went public. Marissa meyer its something truly special. Sam Marissa Meyer topped all women ceos with 42 million, but she had to be wooed away from google. Is that a gaping pay gap or the price of competition . Robert you have to pay a lot to get good talent. Theres a really difficult question, does pay always reflect talent . And thats a really trickythats a really tricky question. Sam value can be debated. What cannot is that the socalled ceo pay gap contains inaccuracies. And beyond that, pay gap disclosures dont even work historically. And daines says every time theres been a financial crisis in the last 20 years, the congress has voted to disclose more about ceo pay. And each time, ceo pay has gone up, not down. Moving now to a story thats garnering national attention. Two colorado parents lost their daughter in a theater shooting, and now they might lose their life savings after their case against ammunition dealers was dismissed. Where does justice lie, in the law or the legal efforts to change it . Shock and horror as a gunman opened fire at a Movie Theater in aurora, colorado. And for sandy and lonnie phillips, devastation at the loss of a young daughter, 24yearold jessica ghawi. Now, 3 years later, their tragedy continues. Lonnie phillips they have taken our daughter and now they want to take our worldly goods. I think thats a little much. Sam after filing to sue several online retailers who sold ammo and other gear to james holmes, the convicted aurora shooter, a Colorado District Court judge dismissed the case, then ordered the Phillips Family to pay the retailers attorney fees. Lonnie so, were on the hook for 200,000 right now, which will drive us into bankruptcy. Sam you heard that right. In his order this june, judge richard p. Mash wrote, quote, those who ignite a fire should be responsible for the cost of suppressing it before it becomes a conflagration. How could a case that didnt make it to trial cost so much . Robyn thomas to me, 200,000 sounds crazy. Its notisnt that high. Sam robyn thomas is the executive director at the law center to prevent gun violence in San Francisco. Robyn youd be shocked at how quickly fees can go up very, very high, the amount of time thats spent preparing these lawsuits and working on their defense. Sam in fact, the court order tallies up all the costs. The phillips will be charged for attorneys fees, travel expenses, even postage. But despite the shocking headline about cost, legal experts say the outcome of the case isnt really that surprising. Deep gulasekaram there have been a number of cases that have worked their way through state or federal court. Sam santa clara law schools deep gulasekaram says a federal law, a shield law, the protection of lawful commerce in arms act, or plcaa, makes it very difficult to bring any legal action against arms or ammo makers and dealers. Deep as its written, it provides a fairly broad and blanket shield for those manufacturers. Robyn theres absolutely no other industry in this country that receives that kind of protection from our government. Sam but is plcaa so ironclad that the phillips stood no chance at all . Sam when it comes to this case, the optics arent good in the sense that you have a family thats lost a child, theyre looking to change the system as a result, and they end up with a 200,000 bill. Is it justice or should they have expected that outcome . Deep it would have been foolish for them not to have known that the odds were stacked against them because of this law. That being said, there are still colorable claims that one could make. Sam this case never saw the light of day and its possible the phillips could have poked some holes in the federal shield law. But the 200,000 bill, the couple might not be paying it alone. The brady campaign, a gun laws reform group, provided legal assistance. And when we asked them if they helped the phillips with the court fees tab, they had no comment. Right now, we are just Getting Started on this edition of reality check. Up next, a scene that does not sit well with parents, yet another tree collapse in california. Is the drought really to blame . And. Chris farley el nino is spanish for the nino. Sam Chris Farleys classic snl skit might be farce, but is it fact that an el nino weather pattern is barreling toward the bay area . Well find out. Yoplait. The smooth and creamy yogurt your whole family loves. Yoplait original with no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. Its tougher than. Foster farms chicken. But foster farms simply raised chicken. Is 100 percent natural. With no antibiotics. Gasp do i look natural herb man . Can i call you herb man . Im trying to look natural. Say something. Why arent you guys saying anything . Simply raised chicken with no antibiotics. From foster farms. A look now at californias drought and its impact. Back in july, a fallen tree injured eight schoolchildren in Southern California, triggering new warnings about the dangers of collapsing trees. But is the drought really to blame . Or more specifically this drought . Male it looks like whatever happened here happened pretty quickly. Female all of a sudden, people started to run and then screaming, and they started to call 911. Sam toppled trees have taken over headlines in recent months. Weve reported on several incidents. Laura garciacannon were trying to find out what caused a tree to fall and land on eight children visiting the museum yesterday. Sam a 75foot pine tree fell in pasadena this july, leading to lasting images of kids strapped to stretchers. And before that. Male a branch fell from a live oak, it was about two and a half feet in diameter. Sam a calamity at a campground in mount diablo state park, with one man airlifted to the hospital. Has the shortage of water shaken more than just trust in child safety . Has it shaken our trees to the core . Recent reports have linked the California Drought to fears of dying trees. Certified arborist robert booty says those claims are unfounded. While there is undoubtedly a link between droughts and tree health, he points out it could take years or longer for a lack of water to wear down a trees immunity, leading to disease and decay. Robert booty its very hard to attribute a Broad Spectrum of tree deaths to one particular drought because californias had many, and trees live for a long time. Sam Larry Costello agrees. He collects reports of tree failure from around california and shoots down a connection between the drought and recent tragedies. Larry costello were talking about structural failures at trees, not trees dying or declining. Were talking about branch breaks, trunk breaks, or uprooting. And the data does not say that, and you cant, you know, pull that out of the data. Sam what does the data say . According to the university of californias tree failure report program, there were almost 4,000 tree failures in the state in 2010. Thats our baseline. Skip ahead now to 2015. The number rises to more than 5,000, which looks like a massive jump. But these numbers arent year over year, theyre cumulative. So in reality, the figure really breaks down to 200 failures per year, not an outrageous sum or even a telling one. Larry it really varies from year to year, depending upon a number of factors. Sam the facts say the numbers dont jump off the page. But recent events have reinforced an important point Drought Conditions can make these trees more susceptible to harm in the long run. Robert booty how much solid wood is Still Holding this tree up . Sam arborists advise governments, schools, and homeowners to take notes and inspect their trees regularly. The city of pasadena hired an independent arborist to come out and inspect the tree that fell there. What they found was that recent drought was one reason why that tree collapsed, along with the slight lean of the tree and heavy weight due to recent rainfall. So from trees now in the droughts to president ial hopefuls and clout. Gop contender Carly Fiorina recently spoke out about the droughts, blaming the states dry conditions on liberal lawmakers dating back many years. Is that claim true . The states historic drought is flowing into new terrain the republican primary. Last month on meet the press, Carly Fiorina told Moderator Chuck Todd that Global Warming isnt the only culprit costing california precious resources. Carly you know whats also made it worse . Politicians, liberal politicians, who stood up for 40 years as the population of california doubled and said, you cannot build a New Reservoir and you cannot build a water conveyance system. Sam is that claim true . Lets take a quick tour through the history books. A Pivotal Moment for california took place in the early 1970s, when the state passed the wild and Scenic Rivers act, protecting many rivers from dam construction. The move rode the support of leftleaning environmentalists, but was signed into law by thengovernor ronald reagan, a conservative, throwing some cold water on fiorinas claim that it was just liberals standing in the way. Jeffrey mount he influenced the direction we went, both in the 70s,as well as in the 80s, and were seeing some of that today. Sam now, lets jump back to presentday, and fiorinas statement does carry a little more weight. State democrats have currently stalled two major reservoir projects from moving through the legislature, the sites and the temperance flat reservoirs, which would have boosted californias Storage Capacity by trillions of gallons in theory. Jeffrey mount with the Public Policy institute of california says the real impact california would have received with the lack of rainwater is much less significant. Jeffrey the problem is you cant fill those dams. You have other dams that already take the water. So the average yield that we would get from thatfrom all those dams, every one that weve got on the book right now, 1 . Sam and nbc bay area political analyst Larry Gerston says even with political approval, just building those reservoirs takes time, decades in some cases. Larry gerston you dont make a dam as if youre just building with legos. I mean, its an extraordinarily complicated project, the last part of which is the dam itself. Sam gerston adds that the success of these kinds of water projects cant be blamed solely on politicians since voters also play a part in getting them passed. A perfect example would be governor browns water bonds, which the legislature crafted and you approved last year. A third of the money in that bond goes toward storage projects like dams. So, theres a lot of stakeholders in this process. And historically, both parties have helped either build or block those water projects here in california. Coming up next. Bill this is the godzilla el nino if it matures and actually comes to fruition. Sam we put predictions to the test that a wet winter will come and dampen californias drought. Plus, could a court case in Southern California bring an end to the states dormant Death Penalty . That sound. Like nails on a chalkboard. But listen to this family talking thats a different kind of sound. The sound of the weekend. Unleash the power of dough. Give it a pop. This moment is perfect in every way just like my kid gooey. Flaky. Happy. Toaster strudel. Now with more icing. Californias Death Penalty, its been called broken, dysfunctional, and a violation of basic rights. Now, after a death row inmate won his case on those grounds, a federal Appeals Court is taking a closer look. Could Capital Punishment in california end here . Male we do not believe that theres any evidence sam the state of california has staked out its position the Death Penalty should live on. Arguments heard before the ninth Circuit Court of appeals in pasadena come after a lower court overturned the death sentence of a convicted murderer, ernest jones, calling the states system ineffective and an example of cruel and unusual punishment. Franklin zimring this is an opportunity to inject into the judicial system a sort of a wideangle imax picture of the whole dysfunctional adventure of california. Sam Frank Zimring is a Death Penalty expert and critic of a system he says by all reasonable statistics is dysfunctional. Consider this. Of all the ways california inmates have died on death row since 1978, execution ranks third behind Natural Causes and suicide. In total, 749 people have been sentenced to death in that time frame, but only 13 have been executed. Despite those numbers, attorney general Karmala Harris is fighting to preserve the status quo. She says the lower courts decision to overturn joness execution, quote, undermines the important protections that our courts provide to defendants. This flawed ruling requires appellate review. And thats whats happening right now. So the court of appeals could wipe away Capital Punishment in california, but zimring says its not likely. Franklin the verdict that is being defended in the ninth circuit is a long shot. The most likely outcome will be that a panel of the ninth circuit will reverse it. Sam on what grounds . California may show its not up to the courts to decide the issue in the first place. Or attorneys might point to delays as proof the state doesnt want to execute innocent people. Thats congressman adam schiffs hunch. Still, he believes that the Court Proceedings will lead to change one way or another. Adam schiff given the concept of the Death Penalty, given the difficulties weve had in it, and the difficulties other states are experiencing at it, we need a wholesale review whether this makes sense. Sam this court case could very well prove a tipping point. Male i have major problems with the District Courts exhaustion really. Sam on a tired subject here in california. And we are still awaiting the courts decision in that case. Finally on reality check, can we expect the floodgates to open . One climatologist has called this winter the arrival of the godzilla el nino. But what does history have to say about our chances for rain . It is tricky business predicting storms. Its not for the faint of hearts. Now, forecasters look at models about 2 weeks out, but that has not stopped some climatologists from predicting heavy rainfall this winter courtesy of el nino. In Northern California, is that claim credible . For all the formulas and science that follow an el nino weather pattern, theres a bit of farce too. Chris farley el nino is spanish for the nino. Sam not to be outlandish, but a nasa climatologist did have this to say. Bill this is the godzilla el nino if it matures and actually comes to fruition. Sam what will this monster bring by way of rainfall to our droughtstricken state . In a recent statement, california climatologist Michael Anderson said it could be flood or famine. He says, quote, historical weather data shows us that, at best, theres a 50 50 chance of having a wetter winter. Is he right . We asked one of andersons former professors at uc davis, nationally renowned water expert dr. Jay lund. Jay lund i believe that mikewhen i look at the statistics, i get about the same kind of answer that he gets. Sam which is to say you can have an el nino pattern without heavy rainfall. In fact, data from Northern California shows little correlation between the two. This graphic plots out the strength of el nino from left to right and the corresponding water flow. Jay youll see that there are some very low and very high el nino events that have a lot of precipitation and very little precipitation. Sam so el nino can mean lots of rain. Chris farley el nino. Sam or no rain, at least in Northern California. Southern california is a different story. Jeanine jones the strongest correlation geographically is up at the pacific northwest, and down to Southern California and into the mexico coast. Where we are in Northern California is in sort of a grey zone that can go either way. Sam Jeanine Jones with the States Department of Water Resources says were in that socalled grey zone because of a ridge of High Pressure, seen here in the darkred circle sitting off the coast that basically blocks the bay from storm activity. Jeanine if we have a strong High Pressure ridge off the coast, we dont get storms. Sam even if the ridge doesnt serve as a barrier to el nino, that still wont end californias drought. Our deficit is too deep. Jay for some of the reservoirs, a halfdecent flood will fill them up pretty well. Some of the larger reservoirs will take something more than that. Sam and how much more than that . In some cases, those aquifers would take decades or even centuries to fill back up. Now, theres little question that heavy rains would help out our situation and we continue to cross our fingers on that. But the odds of a wetter winter, or the claim that its a 50 50 proposition, is true. If youd like to see more indepth stories like these, just check out our webpage, nbcbayarea. Com realitycheck. We tackle issues every day that impact you, so please email us your tips to samuel. Brock nbcuni. Com. Now, that is it for tonight for this special edition of reality check. Thanks for watching, im sam brock. Please join us next time for our next edition of reality check coming up in a few weeks. Good night. [music] [music] [music] [music] cc by aberdeen captioning 18006886621 www. Abercap. Com [music] lou giraudo the food scene in San Francisco is real, and i think its honest. David kinch its a great place to be if you like food and wine. Michael mina you cannot find a better city to be a chef. Alice waters if you eat beautiful, real food, and you understand where that comes from, and that youre really nourished by it, and you think differently about the world. [music] peter coyote before tech, before tourism, before the gold rush and shipping and trains, even before the first spanish missionaries, the bay area was a great place to eat. For more than 5,000 years, the ohlone tribes lived on healthy, delicious, Sustainable Food that was usually found within a few miles of home