i'm raj mathai. next on "nbc bay area news tonight," could scott peterson get a new trial? the convicted killer back in court today. we break down the new evidence his lawyers are looking for. also, it's way too close to call. two candidates running to replace congresswoman anna eshoo

separated by fewer than 200 votes. are we headed for a recount? and would you pay $22 for a burrito? a san francisco restaurant getting some pushback for doubling its price. the owner is with us tonight. and some good news for pg&e customers. you're getting some money back on your next bill. good evening. this is "nbc bay area news tonight." i'm raj mathai. how about this? we begin with the razor-thin margin in the race for congress. super tuesday was one week ago, but late today, we just got an update. this is the big-money, high-profile race. two candidates separated by fewer than 200 votes. here are the latest numbers for district 16. this is to replace longtime congresswoman anna eshoo. former san jose mayor sam liccardo, he's out in front with more than 20% of the vote. but look at second place.

county supervisor joe simitian and assemblyman evan low. 162 votes separate these two, simitian and low. the top two advance to the november election. looks like liccardo for sure and either simitian or low. here's an inside look at the registrar of voters office in san jose where the work continues to count each vote. there are still 96,000 ballots left to count in this race in santa clara and san mateo counties combined. today is the deadline for any final ballots to arrive as they must be postmarked by march 5th. that was super tuesday. one of our political analysts is with us tonight to talk about this latest development, that separation of 162 votes, including a possible recount. she's going to join us in just a few minutes. also tonight, a hazmat scare in martinez. the discovery of an aging tanker filled with a mysterious liquid led to an hours-long shutdown in martinez.

turns out it was vegetable oil. this all started this morning at around 9:30 on pacheco boulevard. a tow truck driver hired to move the tanker called authorities after discovering there was liquid still inside of the tanker. since the tanker wasn't labeled, hazmat was called in. the area was shut down for about three hours while they investigated. >> it's been here for approximately a week. no one can give us a definite time as to when they saw it first arrive on the street. but since we know it's here and we got it under our control right now, we're going to take the appropriate action in identifying the product. >> occasionally we get people dropping containers off on the street, on the shoulder. it's an ongoing problem. >> again, all that commotion, and it turned out to be vegetable oil. officials say this tanker was one of three tagged as abandoned just last week. let's move on. is this the last storm we're going to see for a while? you're looking at today's rain. just some spotty rain in san

jose. showers across much of the bay area. but there is a change coming. let's bring in our chief meteorologist, jeff ranieri. what have we got, jeff? >> we're going to be transitioning out of this on again, off again rain and cloud cover to some increased sunshine. right now already drying out on stormranger, our doppler radar. but with that sunshine and warmer temperatures, will also come some wind returning throughout the bay area. we do have a wind advisory that has been issued, 5:00 p.m. tomorrow until 11:00 a.m. friday. on and off wind gusts 20 to 50. humidity lowering to 30%. really the top risk in the mountains, 500 feet and above. a few more particulars on this just for you to think about here. thursday we'll have the strongest wind. we could see some downed trees, maybe some power outages, but here's the excellent thing. the recent rains is going to help out the immediate fire danger. so the fire danger will be elevated like always when we get the wind, but it should not go to the extreme lemp. -- level.

i've got more looks of that forecast coming up in about 15 minutes. here's a story that's gripped the bay area for more than 20 years. could scott peterson get a new trial? in 2004, a jury convicted him of killing his wife, laci, and their unborn child. today his case was back in court with his new attorneys looking for new dna evidence. scott peterson joined today ah hearing via zoom from mule creek state prison. that's over in amador county. he's now 51 years old. if you can notice there, he has a ponytail. peterson only spoke to the judge a few tis, mostly to confirm he could hear t proceeding. the los angeles innocence project has taken up peterson's case. it wants a judge to admit new witness testimony and conduct dna testing on several pieces of evidence that were not part of the original trial. the defense's biggest focus is on that burned-out van found near the peterson ho it showed up the day after laci

disappeared. specifically scott peterson's new attorneys want a bloody mattress inside the van tested for any trace of laci peterson's dna. >> the defense was entitled to this at the time of trial. mr. peterson has been waiting 20 years to find some of these police reports and audio recordings and video recordings that should have been provided. >> joining us now is paula canny. she's a defense attorney who has been following the peterson case for decades. nice to have you back on the program. you're always a straight shooter with us here. is there really something here? why did the l.a. innocence project take up this case? >> there is absolutely something here. there is absolutely something here. for the judicial system to work, the prosecution has to give the defense all the important evidence, all the police reports. and what the l.a. innocence project is asking for is all the reports that weren't given to the defense. i mean it was always the

defense's belief that scott didn't kill laci. and it was always their argument that there was a burglary ring going on in modesto in their neighborhood at that time, and they asked for the reports from the police. and now what we know is the police didn't give them this report. and now what we know is that there was this van that had a bloodied mattress in it that they didn't tell to the peterson defense team. and now the l.a. innocence project, through their work, have found these reports, and they're saying let's test this mattress because it's their belief that that mattress is going to have dna of laci peterson on it. >> okay. >> and if there is -- go on. >> i remember hearing about that van. so do many of our viewers 20 years ago. >> right. >> say there is something there.

maybe technically they didn't do it properly in handing over evidence. is that enough, though, to get him a new trial, or are we just going over paperwork here? >> absolutely, and let me be clear. not handing over evidence or police reports isn't a technicality. it is required by a statute. the problem is over decades, prosecutors don't hand over all materials. police departments don't hand over all materials. that's why we have so many wrongful convictions. that's why organizations like the los angeles innocence project, you know, are in existence. we are not a perfect system. so in terms of it, this is the first step in what will be a really long process. so if they test that mattress and it's got laci peterson's dna on it, then the innocence project is going to do another

motion, and there are more and more motions. and then ultimately there will be a motion for a new trial. >> and as we wrap it up, that's my question. what's the timeline? if there is possibly a new trial, would we know this calendar year, or is this going into 2025? >> i think probably going into 2025. the judicial system is probably the slowest, but, yeah, it is not going to happen fast. the next court hearing isn't until april, and then there's another one set in may. so, no, lots of court appearances before anything substantive happens. >> it is fascinating. scott peterson now 51 years old. paula canny, thanks for your time and insight. >> thanks so much. of course. let's get back to the election. we told you about the race to replace congresswoman anna eshoo on the peninsula. it's not the only close race that we're following here. statewide we're also watching prop 1. that was the only prop on the

ballot. right now it's passing, but look at the numbers. a slim margin. the statewide measure supported by governor newsom is meant to address our homeless crisis by improving and expanding our mental health services. yes on prop 1, 50% of the votes. late today, a group opposing this measure, californians against prop 1, released a statement saying they're conceding, and prop 1 is likely to pass. but there's about a million ballots statewide that still haven't been counted yet. joining us now is dr. melinda jackson, professor of politics at san jose state. there you are. nice to see you, professor. let's get back to that district on the peninsula to replace anna eshoo. 162 votes. can evan low pull this out? >> yeah, i think it's an absolute possibility. on election night, we were

seeing a little bit more distance between joe simitian and evan low with simitian looking like he was going to take the number two spot. that was consistent with the low voter turnout we were seeing. these were clearly going to be the top three candidates. they all have great political experience, name recognition, history, you know, in the region, pulling from slightly different areas of the district, but not surprising that these three ended up on top. joe simitian, again, has anna eshoo's endorsement. he's been in politics for decades. so it wouldn't have been surprising to see him get the number two spot. but evan low represents a younger generation, also lots of experience in local politics and in the state assembly. he's asian american, which represents a significant portion of the constituents in that district. so i really think it could go either way. >> 161 votes. you ever seen something this close in recent memory?

>> this is definitely one of the closer ones, but that's what makes things exciting, right? you've got to count every last vote. >> could we see a possible recount here? this is a relatively election between democrats. could we see a recount if low calls for one or simitian? >> we could. it's not automatic in california. so one of the candidates would have to request it, and they have to pay for it. but if it does end up being, you know, really within less than half a percentage point or something, it's very likely that one of them might call for the recount. the other thing that's kind of interesting is because we have so much mail-in voting, you know, we don't really know exactly where the outstanding ballots are coming from, so we can't really predict, oh, they're coming from this region of the district, and those voters are more likely to be conservative or liberal. it really is, you know, up to the last minute here until every last vote is counted. >> professor, when are we going to get the final results? usually when does this happen?

are we hours away or days away still? >> i think we're still days away. you know, it is important in california that we do have a lot of protections in place to make sure that every vote is counted. so, you know, if a ballot is spoiled in the sense that somebody marked off two different names and then crossed out one and said, no, i mean this one, that's going to get counted, but that's a hand coat. so, you know, it takes more time to carefully examine each vote, but it's more accurate that way. >> final question. we love this because you're so close to campus and the students. are your students interested in this primary election season, or are they just waiting for the november general? >> actually, we've seen a lot of political engagement around campus. you know, this generation is really engaged with a lot of issues, more so i think at the national level. but evan low is actually an alum of san jose state and, you know, comes back to visit from time to time. so, you know, i think that our

students have a lot in common with particularly some of the younger politicians here in the area, and i certainly hope that they did make their voices heard this time and that they'll be turning out in larger numbers in november. >> we like to hear that student engagement. appreciate your time. i'm guessing we'll be seeing you next week when this all comes to be final hopefully. up next, would you pay $22 for a burrito? a san francisco restaurant getting buzz for raising prices on one of its most popular items. we're joined by the owner to get a better understanding of what's behind the price hike. and how about this? your skyrocketing pg&e bills, you're about to get a sizeable credit next month.

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welcome back to "nbc bay area news tonight." so here's the question. is this price gouging or a sign of the times? $22 for a burrito. a spot in san francisco's mission district is getting a lot of attention for essentially doubling the price of its signature item. when the restaurant opened two years ago, it was $11. now it's $22. the owner says, hey, blame the rising costs of just about everything. the restaurant is la vaca birria. the premium ingredients come at an increasingly premium price. the latest consumer price index backs that up.

prices are rising -- gas, housing, and, yes, foot and groceries. after a few customers complained on social media about the pricing, the owner took to instagram trying to explain that if he didn't increase the prices, he'd be out of business. then he also thanked customers for sticking with him. regulars that we talked to today understand. >> since this has opened, their prices are higher than other places on the street probably. they emphasize very, very good quality ingredients, and you pay for that. >> and maybe that's it. you get what you pay for. joining us now is ricardo lopez, owner of la vaca birria. ricardo, thanks for being with us. it's pretty eye-opening for a the of people. we've got 10 bucks for a burrito. how do we arrive at 22? >> you know, everything keeps raising in price. one big thing for us is our beef. we use choice beef. that was $2.50 cheaper three

years ago. we call it 2,500 pounds per month. based off that, the beef alone, that's $6,000 more for that same beef we're paying for. there's just no other way around it. we want to serve the quality we serve. we have to charge for it as well. otherwise, we're going to close the doors. >> why come out publicly with your pricing struggles? and we appreciate it. it's cool you're being transparent. what made you decide? were you on the fence about it? >> i think, you know, the review we did receive on google, it was a three-star review, and i think a kind of perfect example where they enjoyed the food. but it was the price that was something that we're struggling with. i think that's great, you know. if the food was bad, then it's for sure not worth what we're charging. but you like the food, it's good, but just a perfect example of let me explain a little further, you know.

it's not like i'm trying to buy a ferrari. i'm trying to pay my bills. >> our crews were out there today. first they said the burrito was great. secondly, they said the place was full. do you have the same amount of customers, or have you seen a little drop in business? >> we've actually been busier. thankfully we did have a good review from the sf chronicle come out back in november. so we've definitely seen more people coming through the doors since then. but thankfully now we have some profits between those people coming in. >> one of your burritos is enough for two meals. those things are big. as we wrap it up, what's your favorite thing on the menu? am i sticking with the burrito if i come in, or what else is there? >> right now it's the carne asada burrito. we cook it on mesquite. >> awesome. ricardo lopez, la vaca birria,

appreciate your time tonight. we'll see you in your restaurant. >> thank you. also tonight, a little bit of relief for those skyrocketing pg&e bills. you could be getting back as much as $140 on your next bill in april. it's all thanks to a statewide credit. here's the breakdown. no kidding here. if you get your electricity from pg&e, you'll be getting back $55 on your april bill. if you also get gas from pg&e, you're getting $85. so the total for $140 in credits for both. why is this happening? sounds suspicious. it's not. the money is coming from the california climate credit fund. each year, the state charges companies releasing pollutants into the air in the form of emissions permits. part of that money then goes to climate change initiatives. the rest is refunded in the form of these energy credits. those credits show up on your bills every april and october.

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welcome back. we have some good news for the warriors. steph curry is rejoining the team, most likely later this week. he's twisted his right ankle. he hasn't played since. today the warriors gave us an

update. he'll likely practice with the team on friday and then maybe, hopefully, cross your fingers, he will play on saturday in l.a. against the lakers. >> okay. back in action. >> that's good news. we are drying out after a little bit of rainfall this morning. we'll start it off tomorrow morning, though, with some patchy fog. but then there's going to be plenty of sunshine by the afternoon. let me get you more details in that microclimate forecast. as we start it off tomorrow morning, along with that patchy fog, we'll be down here in the 40s. then as we head through the day, some afternoon sunshine. temperatures will warm up by about three to six degrees, and that will put us back up into the 60s. going to 68 here in santa rosa. 67, martinez. mid-60s, morgan hill over to san jose. that sun will be nice, but eventually we will see some wind building in. high pressure over the pacific. low pressure to the south. it's going to create this vacuum effect and pull that wind over northern california.

so we're really starting to see that wind picking up wednesday night. 10 to about 25. the strongest winds out of the northeast here on thursday, 20 to 50 all the way through thursday night. then by friday, that wind will calm down. so once the wind comes down, we'll be able to enjoy friday, saturday, and sunday. sunny skies. temperatures here in the 70s. raj and everyone at home, you probably know this. but this is the driest seven-day forecast we've seen in months. >> thanks, jeff. as we wrap up, mario lopez just getting started with "access hollywood." >> well, it's the oscars stunt that had executives so scared, it almost didn't air. tonight "access" uncovers the whole story behind john cena's pretty much naked shuffle across the stage. we've learned even more secrets from sunday night as we reveal the 8 1-year-old oscar winner who enjoyed "i'm just ken" more than anybody. plus, heartwarming proof you don't need to win the oscar to

be a winner. only "access" went up to lily gladstone's former high school for the watch party with her former classmates and teachers where they were hoping to go wild when the envelope opened to reveal her name. even though she didn't get the statuette, you'll love her reaction to the hometown support. >> we'll see you in a second. here's what's coming up in prime time on nbc. at 8:00, night court, followed by extended family at 8:30. then "the voice" at 9:00, followed by password at 10:00. then of course our 11:00 news live and local. that's going to do it for us at 7:00. for everyone here at nbc bay area, including our associate director, eddie duran, thanks for watching us. we hope you enjo

tonight on "access hollywood" -- >> there were intense discussions about the size of the envelope. >> and they say a card size