Thousands of families in the bay area. Im talking about our sky high pg and e rates. Theyre nearly doubled since 2019, and to make matters worse, those rates continue to rise. Tonight we get some answers directly from the top. Roger mathai sat down for a rare and exclusive interview with the ceo of pg and e. She is the ceo of one of the most Controversial Companies in the bay area, and in many ways, patty poppy is on damage control. What do you think the perception of pg and e is . Oh, we know that the perception has been challenged. You know, i think the company is on a path to rebuild trust with the people that we serve. Since taking over pg and e in 2021, just two years after the utility filed for bankruptcy, poppy has dealt with wildfires, government regulations and accusations of mismanaged payment. But perhaps the biggest damage has been to its ratepayers. Bay area families feeling the pinch of a multibillion Dollar Company repeatedly raising rates. Since 2019, rates have gone up essentially double more than 100 or about 100 since 2019 22 just last year alone, pg and e literally is bringing a lot of families to tears. How can you justify this . Yeah, i think its really important, number one, that our customers know that we know our most current increases are based on some catch up cost recoveries. That was necessary work to make our system safe. If we see a path forward where prices can start to fall, and that will be driven by modernizing the methods of our work and rethinking mandates that exist in the state, 31 of our bill is driven by state mandates. I think its time to rethink some of those. As someone just at home watching right now, pg and e made more than 2 billion in profits last year where is that money going. 2 billion in the system right back into the system. And i would like to think that profits is not a bad word for a utility. So a financially healthy pg and e actually enables lower costs for customers. Reinvesting profits into infrastructure is something that critics and watchdogs say pg and e didnt do for years. The low points for this utility, the 2010 san bruno disaster and the 2018 camp fire, which leveled the town of paradise. Poppy says shes now leading the charge to improve reliability and reduce fire risk. There are plenty of analysts that say what youre doing is very expensive, and you know this undergrounding the power lines. They say you could actually insulate the power lines at a much cheaper rate, therefore saving people money. Insulating lines in our highest dense or our highest vegetation dense areas which are our highest fire risk areas, really leaves 35 of the risk still on the system. I dont know about you, but i dont want to live in a place where i have 35 risk of a wildfire. When you compare undergrounding power lines to overhead lines with covered conductor and all the Vegetation Management that goes with it, it is less expensive to bury the lines. Youre making some key decisions for everyday families here. Yes under your watch is pg and e mismanaged or has it been . I think its really important for me to help your viewers know that there has been a significant change at pg and e, this is not the pg and e of the past. Weve delivered real improvements at the company, and we have made significant progress in wildfire Risk Reduction in Greenhouse Gas free Energy Delivery in performance for customers, reliability. There is still actual facts that there has been mismanagement under your watch. A lot of examples. The mule fire in 2021 under you i believe pg and e admitted your contracted crew had an inadequate response. The dixie fire in 2021. That was the big one, the most destructive fire in state history. A tree fell on a line starting this fire. Regulators say pg and e is response was inadequate. You talk about things are getting better. We appreciate that. But when these mistakes happen, why do the ratepayers have to pay . Yeah when the dixie fire occurred, i was six months on the job and it was a green tree that fell on our normally operating line. We have, since that time innovate and implemented new technologies that would prevent that from ever happening again. Its a complex and uncomfortable dynamic between pg and e, the cpuc, and climate change. However, poppy is adamant rates will either stabilize or come down. We are forecasting prices falling in 25 and again in 2026. So thats 25 is next year, 2026 is two years from now. That is exactly what were working on. So weve gone up 100 in the last five years. So in the next 3 to 5 years, will we go down 100, 20, 50 . Were working on forecast of what those reductions are going to be, but were going to drive those reductions for pg. And e has made you a very rich woman. Your compensation last year, i believe, 17 million. The year before that, 14 million before that, 51 million. Thats what, 28 to 30 million on average per year in compensation. Is there an optics issue there . The ceo and the company is making so much. Yet were all stuck with these high bills. Yeah, a couple things to know about compensation. Number one, its market based. I was the ceo of another company. And so when i came to pg and e, i was made whole for compensation. I had received but would be forfeiting. That was my first year. True up if you will. And now my compensation is 90 at risk. My compensation depends 100 on the success and wellbeing of the company. And when i say at risk, its based on our safety performance. Its based on our wildfire Risk Reduction performance. Its based on customer and Customer Satisfaction and reliability and financial performance, because thats what a wellrun company is measured against. Im raj mathai, nbc bay area news. All right, roger, thank you. And another takeaway pg and e has at least ten additional rate hikes which are pending with the cpuc. We have posted the entire interview on our website, nbc bay area. Com. Well, tonight we are learning more about that deadly crash that claimed the lives of a pleasanton family. Coroner hasnt released their names, but we do know it was a family of four with two kids under 15. Crash happened wednesday night on foothill road near stone ridge drive. Police say the electric car was speeding when it hit the curb, crashed into an oak tree and then burst into flames. Tonight we spoke to a neighbor who says the entire community is feeling the loss. As a community, i think were all grieving and we are just whatever has happened is very unreal for us, and we are just trying to make sense of it and unfortunately we cant seem to be because its terrible. Its really terrible. Other neighbors tell us that they are concerned about the safety of foothill road. Theyre calling on the county to make changes to address speeding curves and darkness on the road. Well, tents are set up at Stanford University tonight for the second night in a row. Thats despite a notice from the university saying they could be suspended or even arrested. Nbc bay areas Jocelyn Moran joins us live from the stanford campus tonight. Jocelyn, whats the latest out there . Hey, audrey, as you can see, students are still out here at white plaza. They say last night they received a letter notifying them that they were violating University Policy. Then they say several students received a letter through their email through the disciplinary office. So tonight they held a rally in response to that. Tonight, the tents remain up at white plaza at Stanford University. We will not rest for the second night in a row. Students held a rally tonight after they say some received this letter from the university this afternoon in which it states, as of this morning, students had failed to cease their violations of University Policy. The University Says their policy prohibits overnight camping. They sent it to specific schools. And it was we believe we are a strong belief that it was very discriminatory. The majority of the students involved that were sent letters were muslim. One of them was not even involved with with any with the planning of this letter, we reached out to the university asking if they could explain what their disciplinary process looks like. They referred us to a statement they shared to students. They say. Last night, University Staff handed out letters in which they, quote, informed students that failure to cease conduct in violation of University Policy would result in a referral to the office of Community Standards student conduct process and also could result in arrest if laws are violated, and in that office of Community Standards, process violations could be punishable up to even suspension. Tonight, students continued to chant and camp out at white plaza, encouraging people to come out and support for the liberation of palestine to demand their schools for divestment from companies that are complicit in israeli apartheid. All right. And i did ask the university if they could confirm that those letters were sent this afternoon, and if so, they could also explain the process in which they chose which students to send those letters to. I did not get a response back at stanford. Im Jocelyn Moran, nbc, bay area news jocelyn, thank you. At uc berkeley, it is now. Day five of their protest tents have taken over the steps and lawn at sproul plaza. It is a mix of students and alumni demonstrators today was the last day of regular classes for the university, but protesters say they are willing to keep going until their demands are met. And Cal Poly Humboldt has closed its campus through the remainder of the school year after student protests. There propalestinian activists occupied and academic and administrator building. Theyve been there since monday. Students use furniture, tents, chains and zip ties to block entrances to the buildings. All classes will be remote now until the end of the semester. Okay, a heads up for drivers this weekend. Okay, so you see right here, 680 south in the east bay is once again shutting down as caltrans continues to make repairs to the major corridor. This will be the fourth closure of the freeway in the past year, which means drivers will have to consider alternate routes to get around the closure. Nbcs pete tirados has the details. Reporter another freeway closure is underway here in pleasanton along 680 south as caltrans continues to do their work on the road repairs. Now, it is the last closure for this stretch of freeway, which comes as a major relief to locals for the fourth and final time, 680 south will be closed between pleasanton and sunol as caltrans continues repaving work along the heavily traveled corridor. It begins tonight and ends monday morning. Northbound 680 will remain open, with caltrans making it a goal to get as much work done in a short amount of time. With this weekend closure, were condensing about 40 nights of work into just three days over the weekend. So were just asking folks to be patient with us. We understand that this is, an inconvenience for them. People dont know exactly, you know, where do i go . Because everywhere i go, the police tell me a different route. Robert, from pleasanton works at a local gas station and says the closures have caused problems for drivers over the years. So he is feeling a sense of relief knowing the closures along this stretch of 680 are coming to an end. We get very crowded because but its mostly disgruntled people that are angry that are getting off here. But other drivers we spoke to at the gas station who frequently travel along this 680 corridor have noticed improvements from the repair work thats been done during these closures. There is a lot of potholes. I mean, youd be driving and you literally be like, boom, you know . And while the freeway closures along this portion of 680 are coming to a close, caltrans expects to do more repaving work along 680 in the coming months. Were expecting another, you know, partial closure, possibly near the san ramon area in may in pleasanton. Pete serratos nbc, bay area news. Were back in 60s just ahead. Tornadoes caught on camera from texas to nebraska. The destruction they left behind, plus traces of the bird flu found in milk. Should we be concerned tapping our experts. And its still breezy through san mateo, San Francisco and out towards half moon bay. Were going to continue to see a windy weekend with temperatures gradually warming up into next of destruction across the midwest. National Weather Service says it received at least 60 reports of tornadoes and at least five states. Video shows cars just driving past a semitruck you see right here. That was knocked over by a tornado. This is near lincoln, nebraska. The tornado touched down dangerously close to that interstate. Meanwhile, in texas, families are starting to clean up after a tornado ripped through a neighborhood. There, one survivor says that her family wasnt home when that tornado hit, but they are still looking for their dog tonight. When i drove up, i lost. I mean, my stomach went down and now i know how other people feel and i feel bad for them too. But now i know my son, my husband, my daughter, my grandkids. Theyre alive. But theres a lot of things that are going. Such a tough time for so many people. Its not clear how many people were hurt in todays storms, but no deaths have been reported and its not over yet. 33 Million People from texas to the great lakes are under Severe Weather warning for tomorrow. So that means more tornadoes, flooding, hail and strong winds are possible. All traces of the bird flu virus are found in pasteurized milk. The food and Drug Administration says it tested milk samples from cows across the nation in. So how safe is it to buy that gallon of milk from Grocery Stores . Nbc bay areas gia vang went to the experts to find out. Infected herds of dairy cows. The food and Drug Administration says fragments of h5n1, also known as bird flu, has been found in 1 in 5 samples of pasteurized milk signaling different reactions from shoppers. I drink a lot of milk, too, and my dad drinks a lot of milk, so its a little scary. I dont think its that dangerous. Its not. According to ucsf Infectious Disease doctor peter chinhong. So the pasteurization kills it. But it doesnt mean that it vacuum cleans it out. But its likely not going to affect anybody. As of yesterday, the fda says bird flu had been detected in 33 herds in eight states. California not on the list. If 1 in 5 samples are infected, it means that many more cows than the 33 outbreaks in eight states are probably around. But so far its not really crossed over to humans yet. For now, the virus does not spread easily between people, and only two cases have been reported in the u. S. So for clinical chemist doctor nam tran at uc davis, its more testing and monitoring by the cdc and fda. They also would potentially look at if the detects material in the milk was actually just nucleic acids, which is not necessarily infectious, but they can test it with, say, an egg yolk based test where they can see if the virus grows or not. If it replicates, then its potentially infectious. So if youre headed to the store for now, you dont have to skip out on the milk. Gia vang. Nbc bay area news. Gia, thanks. We are in the final stretch of the much contested recount for the 16th congressional race, and there are just a handful of ballots left and a count that will decide who will square off against sam liccardo in november. In a race to replace the retiring anna eshoo, officials expected the recount would wrap up today after two weeks of counting, but a series of challenges have now pushed that until monday at least. Well, wildly popular oakland restaurant is finally back in business. It was forced to close after vandalism and a fire last year, so. So what youre looking at here is the line to get into horn barbecue. This was from earlier today opened in a new location on eighth street in downtown oakland. The original location on mandela parkway was gutted by fire last year. That fire happened shortly after the restaurant had celebrated its third anniversary. There was times where i didnt feel that we would reopen and, you know, emotionally it just felt exhausting. You know, just the thought of it having to go through it all again. But you know what . Theres always light at the end of the tunnel. Oakland Fire Department tells us the november fire remains under investigation. Lets go ahead and turn now to our cynthia pimentel. Cynthia, hows it feeling out there . Is it still windy . The winds are starting to calm down, but we do have more of it in store throughout the weekend. Not going to be as gusty as today, but it could ruin some weekend plans out there. So lets take a look at those wind speeds now theyve calmed down through san jose, oakland, walnut creek. It was really gusty out there. San francisco those wind speeds still remain at about 22 miles an hour. So that sea breeze is definitely cooling things down this evening. Ive got more details right now to help you plan your weekend in our microclimate forecast, and were taking a look at satellite and radar. Some of those clouds, especially down here in san jose. The mountains look a little ominous this afternoon. You might have been thinking, is there some rain nearby . There was a couple of disturbances out towards the east. The sierra. Right now were seeing just a few sprinkles. Some of that might not even be hitting the ground. Its evaporating before it touches the surface. So thats going to do a couple of things. Its going to lead to some patchy fog through the south bay and the trivalley later on tonight. Also bringing those temperatures down. Its going to be chilly at times in the 40s. So to start our morning out there towards the east bay and the north bay, you might need a jacket as you step out the door and get ready for our saturday plans. As far as the wind speeds go through about 1011 in the morning. Still going to be fairly calm, a little bit gusty through San Francisco. It wont be until the afternoon. All those afternoon plans where it gets a little bit gustier at times 25 to 30, possibly even 40 or 50 mile an hour winds out towards point reyes. So any Outdoor Activities make sure youre tying things down and bringing an extra layer. If you do run cold. Our temperatures are going to be pretty similar to what we had today. 60s along the immediate bay to some low 70s inland, and it wont be until we go on into the next week. As we start to warm things up, build a little bit more of that High Pressure that keeps the systems away from the bay area and brings about some warmer temperatures. So look at San Francisco over the next couple of days. Once we get through this windy weekend, were going to gradually climb through our workweek, see abundant sunshine, and even get into those 70s in San Francisco. And that spells nice for our inland valleys. If were talking 70s in the city, well go from the 70s to the upper 70s by tuesday, wednesday, and then possibly even get into some 80s as we go on into thursday, friday. I know thats going to be hard for some people to go into the office and see all of that sunshine and warmth out there. Itll be rough, but i cant help but smile when i see 80s on the forecast. Looks really good. All right. Thank you so much, cynthia. Youre welcome. Up next, 49ers showing off their first round draft pick at levis. What you had to say about joining the team. We also have jimmy. Hey everyone. Bill murray and ernie hudson are here tonight. Were performing the ghostbusters theme on costa mesa with Ray Parker Jr and the roots. Questlove kimbal you made a cow actually its a piggy bank. My inspiration to start saving. How about a more solid way to save . Im listening. Well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. Both cash reward . And theres a cash bonus when you open a new Checking Account to get you started. Wow. Anything you cant do . mugs. Bmo history. She is the first ever undergrad to be elected to the berkeley city council. The results were officially certified today. Cecilia luna parra won with 60 of the vote, less than 500 votes cast. In the special election held last week. And warm welcome for one of the newest members of the 49ers today. The team officially introduced their first round draft pick, ricky pearsall. His family and girlfriend joined him as he posed for pictures with a niners jersey. See him right there . Star receiver from florida was selected 31st overall last night in the nfl draft. Pearsall says hes so excited to be joining such a storied franchise. Words cant really describe my feelings right now, man, you know, it hasnt hit it hasnt hit yet, just trying to soak it all in, like i said, man, trying to be where my feet are at. Obviously, this is a legendary program, pearsall and the rest of the 40 niners draft class will first take the field at rookie minicamp during the second week of may. The 49ers pick up two more players today during the second and third rounds of the draft. What they cld addou next. Stop. You got it . Lets go back to the beginning. Are you. Your electric future. Customized. The fullyelectric audi q4 etron. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. Everyone needs a place to recharge. How we get there matters. Get exceptional offers at your local audi dealer. And for eight and a half innings. Neither team could score a run. And then in the bottom of the ninth inning, giants catcher Patrick Bailey sent everyone home when he hit that three run walk off home run. Giants win three to nothing. By the way, the as also won, beating the Baltimore Orioles 3 to 2. Congrats to them. Its been a good night 49 ers. Adding two new players to their roster. It is day two of the nfl draft. And for their second Round Pick Team selected renardo green. Hes a cornerback coming from florida state. And in the third round the giants selected dominick puni an offensive lineman a 49 ers. Excuse me from kansas tonight on the nbc sports bay area 49ers talk podcast matt miyoko and Jennifer Lee Chan broke down these picks when i put together the list of my own personal list of their top needs, i think i listed the needs in order as cornerback number one mm. Hmm offensive line number two, and wide receiver number three. And when i listed wide receiver as a need, it was not assuming that they were going to be losing any of those Wide Receivers because i felt like they had a need even before that. So in my estimation, i think they even draft they they drafted for need. Yes. But they also, it looks like got the players that fit at the specific rounds. It was like every time i would put something on social media about who they picked, they were like, why is it not an offensive lineman . Our offensive line sucks. But i mean, you look at how the 49 ers feel about their offensive linemen. They say it in what they do right. Their actions speak louder than words. They resigned. Everybody that was a starter from 2023 to be a starter again in 2024. Obviously things can change. But their intention is that that group was good enough for them to get to the super bowl and have one of the best offenses in the league, right. Matt and jennifer will be back with another edition of the 49ers talk tomorrow. For a full breakdown of rounds four, f norman, bad news. I never graduated from med school. What . But the good news is. Xfinity mobile just got even better now, you can automatically connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go. Plus, buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. I gotta get this deal. Thats like 20 a month per unlimited line. I dont want to miss that. Thats amazing doc. Mobile savings are calling. Visit xfinitymobile. Com to learn more. Doc . The relay for life of cambrian. Its a 24 hour fundraiser for the american cancer society. A lot on the schedule for tonight and tomorrow. Inspiring speeches, food, games and musical performances. Relay for life of cambrian has raised