good morning. i'm bob redell with what the state of california is doing to try to bring down these ridiculously high prices at the pumps. that story coming up. and the president getting all set to make another stop right here in the bay area. we'll let you know where he'll be coming up. plus going for the record. the half moon bay pumpkin weigh-off happens today and there's extra incentive for growers. >> like huge pumpkin pies. right now we give you a live look over san francisco. that is the palace of fine arts to start another fine week. this is monday, october 8th. this is "today in the bay." it is 4:30, almost 4:31.

happy columbus day to one and all. i'm jon kelley. >> and i'm marla tellez in for laura garcia-cannon. a whole lot to get to including some big ole pumpkins, but first let's check the forecast with christina loren. >> good morning to you. we have a really good-looking week temperaturewise and we're expecting our first significant showers of the season as we head through the next 48 hours, so you're at 51 this morning in san jose and sunnyvale. as we head throughout the day, only expecting the 70s. we'll time out that system and let you know when you need to break out that umbrella. first let's find out how your drive is shaping up. >> always looking out for wet roads. listen to christina. right now not a concern. san jose, there's 101. show you the south bay, the maps and we're showing a nice, smooth northbound flow except we're watching north 85 right around the almaden expressway.

of course we're always hoping for the best but unfortunately it's just getting worse. gas prices closing in on record highs after jumping again this weekend. >> since friday prices have jumped another 15 cents right here in the bay area. in fact prices are getting so high they prompted an emergency move from governor jerry brown. bob re del joins us live from cupertino. we can see $5.59 behind you. >> reporter: that's for premium, $5 respo $5:39 for regular. governor jerry brown has directed the california air resources board to allow the immediate production of a cheaper winter blend of gas. this should immediately increase the supply of gasoline and in theory lower these prices that in recent days have skyrocketed. you can see drivers at this 76 station in cupertino are playing almost $5.40 for a regular gallon of gas.

you can find gas elsewhere that is cheaper but still very expensive. here are the overnight numbers from aaa. you can see san francisco, oakland, san jose were in the high $4.60s, low $4.70s. that's a jump from roughly 47 cents from just a week prior. we've seen a jump of close to 50 cents. usually california doesn't switch to the winter blend until october 31st. the downside of switching early, this blend is not as friendly to the environment since it evaporates quicker in warm weather. so you're wondering when will these prices drop and how much? one school of thought has prices going down 15 to 20 cents within a week. if that happens, the only hang-up is that refinery problems that caused wholesale gas prices to suddenly skyrocket >> it is rather isolated when it comes to gasoline issues. when refineries in california have problems and nobody else

does, it leads to a big problem in california and not anywhere else and that's what we're seeing. >> reporter: and the two major refinery problems that i think the people in the bay area are familiar with one, the fire at the chevron richmond refinery in august and the shutdown of a refinery in torrance because of a power failure but it resumed full production this past friday. reporting live, bob redell, "today in the bay." happening now at 4:34, a major commute route in the east bay tied up after a deadly crash. lafayette police are still investigating what happened near pleasant hill and spring hill roads. officers say the driver hit a tree and utility pole yesterday after allegedly driving recklessly. southbound pleasant hill road will be closed this morning between springhill road and stanley boulevard. both will reopen once that tree is cut down and the pole is replaced. a vigil being planned tonight for a hercules woman found dead inside her home over

the weekend. neighbors placing flowers and notes outside susie coe's home this weekend. somebody killed her friday night. her husband was working at the time in idaho. her children were in shock. they rushed home as soon as they heard the news. >> very shocking. i found out first thing saturday morning. she had passed friday but my phone had died. as soon as i turned it on, i got a call from my sister. i found out and hurried home. >> during this investigation police removed the front door of that home as evidence and they say her car is missing. police on the lookout for a 2011 sky blue subaru outback. idaho license plate 1a1f680. her family is planning a vigil for tonight at 8:30 outside of her home.

they have set up a website to help spread aware bns this case. decision 2012 comes to california. the president on the west coast today taking care of a little business along with his fund-raising push. he will be in kern county this morning to officially announce the establishment of the cesar chavez national monument. the property is the headquarters of the united farm workers and served as a planning and coordination center for chavez in the '70s. then he will have a major fund-raiser at the bill graham auditorium. coming up at 5:00 this morning we'll have a live report with more details on the president's visit. meantime republican presidential nominee mitt romney is planning a major foreign policy speech today. he's expected to propose the u.s. take a more assertive role in syria, place conditions on aid to egypt and tighten sanctions on iran. insiders say romney will accuse

the president of taking a passive leadership role in the world. the obama campaign says romney is unprepared to be commander in chief. much more relaxing to that race for the white house, it was smooth sailing for one of the biggest weekends here in bay area history. more than a million visitors spending their weekend in the city where there was no shortage of a lot of things to do. we had the blue angels up in the sky. on the land the giants and 49ers. castro street fair along with the strictly bluegrass festival. a lot of people taking advice about not driving into san francisco. b.a.r.t. setting a new ridership record this weekend. mass transit in many different cities simple low packed. >> it's crazy is what it is but, gosh, this is what san francisco is all about. it's great weather, beautiful fall day, lots of people, lots of great energy, lots of fun. >> it was lots of fun unless you were giants fans. in addition to fleet week, the america's cup bringing thousands right to the city's waterfront.

yeah, it is do or die for the bay area's baseball teams. tomorrow the giants will take the field in cincinnati knowing it could be their final game of the season. they were beat by the reds last night losing 9-0. >> hammered. >> they now trail in the best of five series two games to nothing. ryan vogelsong will take the mound tomorrow. game time is 2:37. meantime the a's will be at home in a similar must-win situation. they lost two games in detroit and now trail the best of five series two games to nothing. tomorrow's game starts at 6:07. >> that just means we keep hope alive. it's not over but both teams have to win three straight now. not easy. 4:38. let's check in with christina loren. your giants, let's get them back into the win column. >> that just creates a little bit more drama and intensity. i have not lost faith. hopefully you have not either. temperatures this morning are crisp to start out the week.

50 degrees in napa you're in the 40s. we have a great-looking week shaping up. we have rain on the way and it's the time of year you come to expect it. we stop the clock at 6:00 a.m. you can see starting to get a little bit of cloud cover moving down to the north bay. look what happens as we progress through the morning hours. what's happening is we have this area of low pressure just sitting and rotating offshore, so for us we'll see some of the outer bands move in. i don't think you need to carry that umbrella with you today. you might need to as we head through tomorrow so we'll time out when this system finally does push on shore. today mix of sun and clouds. 69 in oakland today, 70 in san jose and a comfortable 72 degrees, room temperature reading, out in livermore. mike, i was watching you all day yesterday. you are the man for covering that major traffic in the city. >> it was crazy on those surface streets, but thank goodness everybody did cover with that mass transit like jon was telling you. christina, you did a great job

on saturday. folks, you did a great job and have to get to your jobs now. here at the bay bridge toll plaza, it's an easy light drive. look at that clear view of the east shore freeway. back to the maps and no problems near the maze. northbound 680 right around sycamore valley road, reports a deer was hit and killed and is in your middle lane northbound. we'll have to have a traffic break but i'll let you know as chp advises anything going on there. just use caution heading north of san ramon. on the foster city side of the san mateo bridge moves nicely with those headlights coming westbound. an easy flow here as well as 101 along the peninsula. this one would make charlie brown very happy. half moon bay's annual pumpkin weigh-off is happening this morning. last year's winner broke a state record weighing in at 1,704 pounds. this year growers a little extra

incentive to go above and beyond that call of duty, offering a $25,000 prize if somebody brings in the world's first one-ton pumpkin. that's 2,000 pounds. the winner will be on display this weekend at the half moon bay's pumpkin festival. i'm doubting that makes good pumpkin pie, but one can dream. >> they don't mess around out there, it's like a competition. >> like a heavyweight championship bout. i like it. 4:41. leaving town this thanksgiving could cost you a lot more. we'll tell you how much next. plus a nationwide meningitis outbreak expands. the california clinics that are notifying their patients this morning. and caught on tape, a brawl between two wedding parties. this one gets crazy and has a tragic ending. for all your news, weather and traffic, check us out on facebook. just search nbc bay area. simple. >> i like it.

good morning to you, welcome back. that's a very nice shot of san jose lit up on this monday morning, october 8th. we'll get a check of the forecast with christina in just a bit. it is 4:44. prices for thanksgiving airline tickets this year are on the rise.

priceline.com is reporting the average domestic round trip ticket for travel thanksgiving week is about $393. that is up close to 3% over last year. travel experts say it is a good idea to book your tickets now because it's up likely prices will drop any time soon. trade deficit, import prices and consumer sentiment, three things wall street will be watching all week long. plus, why is best buy taking the geek squad out on the road? for that and the rest of your news before the bell, let's turn things over to courtney reagan live at cnbc world headquarters. >> reporter: good morning to you. futures are lower this morning as the markets come off a positive week with the dow and s&p 500 both rising more than 1%. the dow is just about 550 points away from its all-time high. there's no economic data today but we'll get reports later this week on the trade deficit, import prices and consumer sentiment. earnings season also kicks off tomorrow night with alcoa's

results. the dow rose 34 points friday to 13, 610. the nasdaq slipped 13 points to 3136. best buy is bringing the geek squad to the worldwide web. the electronics retailer has expanded the reach of its well-known tech support team from fixing up pcs, tablets and other electronic devices. they launched the 24/7 geek squad service on ebay and is testing it at a select number of target stores as well. >> thanks, court knee. we'll check back in a little bit. look who has joined us on set, miss christina loren, for a look at the week's forecast. >> it was really nice and it's going to stay nice. the best part is you don't have to use your ac. not too cold just yet so you probably don't have to yurz heater but come tuesday that may be the case. we'll start with a live picture. you see the giants and the a's flags flapping in the breeze,

the light breeze out there will pick up as we head throughout the day and hopefully both of those teams will pick up their act because we want to go to the world series. 50 in novato, 55 in stinson beach and 52 degrees to start out in bodega bay. your temperatures will climb only by about 10 degrees as we head through the noon hour. so this is what we're expecting. low clouds will start to develop and move in. between 6:00 and 9:00 we're expecting a little drizzle and possible light showers. as we head throughout the remainder of the day the clouds push back offshore and as of noon mostly clear over the greater bay area. so temperatures today are going to be comfortable. right around 65 degrees in san francisco, 67 degrees down in santa cruz and 72 degrees up in santa rosa today. here's your seven-day outlook. cool tomorrow, only breaking into the low 70s. then we get a few showers on tuesday. as we head through wednesday into thursday temperatures stay

comfortable but on thursday down to the 60s. then we boost them right back up to the mid-80s as we finish off the weekend. so we're going to take another roller coaster ride, take a really close look at who's going to get the showers. right now i'll sending it back to you guys. 4:48 now. the search continues this morning for a 10-year-old colorado girl who's been missing since friday. yesterday crews found the backpack of jessica ridgway about six miles from her home. police would not say what was in the bag. they're hoping someone saw the bag or jessica and will come forward with information. >> we're looking to parents to really reach out to their children and talk to their children about it. there's a chance that kids may have been in that area, they may have seen the backpack, they may have information to share with us and they may be scared to come forward. they may think or see there's a missing girl and think they may be in trouble. we want them to know that they're not. >> police have issued an amber

alert. they say jessica weighs 80 pounds and is 4'10" with blue eyes and blonde hair. of course we've all heard about bride wars, right? this takes it to a whole new level. an argument at a wedding this philadelphia just turns into a flat-out brawl. >> did they just deck the bride? >> a 15-year-old recorded this on cell phone. it all happened at a high-end hotel where two weddings were being held. police say this fight originally started with one wedding party. then the other one got involved when somebody was reportedly hit with something. a lot of people got injured and tragically a note here, one man ultimately died from a heart attack during this melee. police got there and eventually broke this up. at least four people were arrested. 4:49. new numbers this morning that shows what's happening in the deadly meningitis outbreak. seven people have now died and the outbreak has spread to more than 90 people in nine states.

minnesota and ohio just reported confirmed cases linked to a steroid made by a specialty pharmacy in massachusetts. that steroid has been recalled. four california clinics received steroid shots from the recalled batch. they include cypress surgery center, valley medical center in ukiah, outpatient surgical center in encino and universal pain management in palmdale. right now a little glimmer of hope on the ice. the two sides are talking but still no deal to end that nhl lockout. in a surprise twist, bargaining did resume with an unannounced negotiation session. both sides apparently communicating by phone over the weekend of t weekend. the negotiations have stalled over how to split up $3.3 billion in league revenue. on thursday the league canceled two weeks of the regular season. more games could follow if a deal does not come sometime soon. just about 4:51 now.

the controversial play during yesterday's a's game that has players fuming this morning. and a california company making some history as it blasts off into space. and we're taking off on your commute as well. an easy drive right now, palo alto, 101. i'll show you what i'm watching for the east bay. that coming up. have you heard of the new dialing procedure for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number,

you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!

welcome back, everybody. wow, how about that shot to get

your day started right. that is off the embarcadero. a cruise liner all lighted up, illuminated. i like the way our producer, erica, says that it's kind of glowy. it is glowy. we'll have weather and traffic in minutes. it is 4:54. take a look at this, talk about glowing. a huge success last night for california-based space ex with its launch to the space station. it's carrying a capsule with cargo. it includes chocolate, swirled ice cream for the three station residents. the capsule is scheduled to reach the station by wednesday. nasa counting on the private sector to restock the space station now that the space agency has retired its shuttles. yesterday's launch was the first of 12 being planned for spaceex and that is a company run by elan mosk who also runs tesla

motors. 4:55. the olympic torch will take the long road. while in russia organizers say for the 2014 games, they say the relay route will measure more than 40,000 miles as it weaves across the country. the torch will visit 2900 towns inside russia. this will be the longest route in olympic history. to put that into perspective, that's like circling the globe one and a half times. >> the key is just keeping that torch illuminated the whole time. i've carried one before and actually have it in my closet. >> fascinating. >> i guess not really, but it's there. let's check in with mike to see if something is more fascinating on the roads. >> right over here the bay bridge. not a lot of headlights here. in the east bay we do have 680, i told you about the issue where the deer was hit at sycamore valley road. it sounds like all lanes have been cleared.

north and southbound moving smoothly. san ramon down toward the dublin interchange, a little yellow but speeds dipping down towards 60. no incidents reported but i'll track that because that's a little extensive east out of castro valley. we do have the connector from 880 over to mission from either direction. that connector ramp still closed by overnight construction so use auto mall parkway a little north and you'll get over to 680 just fine. and the south bay, the incident has cleared. it was a complete downer of a weekend for the a's and their players. not too happy they lost the first two games and they're also upset with detroit's pitcher after a controversial play. in the top of the ninth inning, he fields the ball and kisses it right before he tosses it over to first base. now, this is not illegal but it's just in bad taste. after the game johnny gomez telling "usa today" that guy

must not believe in baseball gods. because baseball gods take care of things like that. >> showboater. >> tacky. 4:57. president obama is coming to the bay area today but not before he makes a stop in the central valley and does something in other u.s. president has done. for all your news, weather and traffic, just go to facebook, check us out. search nbc bay area. look at that, marla is smiling. >> we have to log on to facebook ourselves.

in just a few hours, president obama expected back in the bay area, another fund-raiser. i'm christie smith. we'll tell you where and what's expected coming up. plus more than a dozen people arrested after a violent protest in san francisco. why police say this may not be the first time they have caused trouble. and fall has certainly arrived here in the bay area. just breaking into the 70s