The Nightly News is a presentation of NBC News. More Americans watch NBC News than any other news organization in the world. NBC Wednesday. All new episodes begin. First on the West Wing, a presidency in trouble. The man stands up. What the hell did you say? Then on Law & Order, a teacher murdered, a student accused. You think you had a thing for her? My God. All new episodes of the West Wing and Law & Order starts NBC Wednesday. By our window or by your television, you're watching KBTV. Live from the NBC 4 Beaumont studios in Mark Neal Mall. The coverage you can count on. This is NBC 4 Beaumont Nightly News. I don't agree with strip clubs at all. I believe they're morally wrong, but it's not me going out there and doing it. And the people who are, if they're making a living and they're supporting themselves and they're not on welfare and we're not paying to support them, then I don't see any problem with it. That's a Beaumont resident on a proposal to raise the age limit for top of standards. Good evening, I'm Albert Zung. And I'm Lisa Pinto. Thanks for joining us. Tonight's big story, how young is too young when it comes to topless dancing? That was the hot topic at Beaumont City Hall today. The Southeast Texas Council on Family Values wants the city to amend its sexually oriented business ordinance. The council is asking the city to raise the minimum age of new dancers from 18 to 21. NBC 4 Beaumont's Tony McNary joins us now live from City Hall with the council's reaction to that request. Tony? The city council and the Southeast Texas Council on Family Values say they made a request to city council almost three months ago for the city to raise the age limit of new dancers from 18 to 21. But city attorney Lane Nichols said raising the age limit would violate the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's code. Today the president of the Southeast Texas Council presented the city council with quotes from a case law that contradicts the city attorney. Our problem we have with city council is that we have clearly demonstrated to them that they can raise the age from 18 to 21 and they can clearly prohibit the sale of alcohol in these clubs. This was just a request from Mr. Williford. The council hasn't requested me to look into it at all. My opinion, however, months ago when the issue came up hasn't changed. Mark Rolfe says if the city doesn't raise the age limit of the new dancers his council is considering an initiative and referendum actions to allow the voters to vote on the subject. Live at City Hall, Tony McNary for NBC4, Beaumont. Alright Tony, thanks very much for that live report. Another Texas town has done away with topless clubs altogether. Sexually oriented businesses in Longview don't call themselves topless or nude anymore. They're bikini clubs. And I spoke with Longview Police Captain Don Dingler earlier today. The first ordinance which was passed in 1994 regulates nudity within the city limits for businesses that serve alcoholic beverages. And what the ordinance prohibits is any kind of nudity in these establishments. According to Captain Dingler, female dancers must be covered by nothing less than a bikini top and a bottom. Dingler also added police make frequent checks into the clubs to make sure that they comply. So what do you think? How old should topless dancers be? That's what we asked some Parkdale mall shoppers earlier today and here's what they told us. It's fine for all 18 year olds as long as it's not my daughter. I don't think it's right because if you can't even work or gamble then why should you be able to work in a topless bar? Yes, 18 is rather young because 18, on the drinking age, they run a lot of alcohol. We'll sample some more opinions on raising the minimum age for topless dancers in Beaumont tonight at 10 on the night cast. Also during today's city council meeting, the council decided to name a new library after a pioneer of racial harmony. The new library will be located in the south end of Beaumont on the corner of Fennette and Sarah. It will be named after Theodore Johns Sr. Johns is a municipal judge for the city. His name was previously submitted for the now Elmore Willard Library. It means a lot because Theodore Johns was a pioneer in civil rights here in Beaumont. He worked long and he worked hard and tirelessly and many times for nothing. City council has not scheduled an official groundbreaking for the library but we'll let you know when they do. Well it wasn't that long ago that Nederland residents were bailing water out of their homes almost six inches of rain had fallen across parts of Jefferson County and although we did need the rain it was just too much at one time for the folks on 36th street. The street flooding damaged several homes there and some of them not for the first time. The same thing happened five years ago. Some of the people who were flooded five years ago and again earlier this month have taken their concerns to Nederland City Council. NBC4 Beaumont's Barbara Keene spoke with Nederland City Manager today and joins us now with more on the city plans to help. Wheels of government turn slowly. Albert and Lisa Nederland residents repairing from flooding say too slow. City Manager Andre Weimer says help is on the way. Not even two weeks ago homeowners along 36th street couldn't get rid of water fast enough. Today storm drains are empty and work continues at a frenzied pace. City Manager Andre Weimer handles a rising tide of complaints aimed at the city's ship of state. May 9th council votes to issue certificates of obligation needed to raise the 3.6 million to alleviate the flooding. It will take approximately two months to go through that process and receive the funds at which time engineering would begin on the projects. Weimer's not talking actual construction yet, rather studies to see how much the building is going to cost. That translates into more time. The preparation of plan specifications will take approximately four to six months and as I said as soon as that's completed then we'll be in a position to request bids for the work. Homeowners wouldn't talk on camera. They did though express frustration and the time it takes so long to get the construction going. They say they've heard it all before and say they're not from Nederland now, they're from Missouri. Show them actions Lisa. Lisa Alright thanks but it also seems that after adding up all the city manager's time it's going to be another ten months or so before they see any shovels. Do the math at least that long. Lisa Alright thanks a lot. A 19 year old Beaumont woman has died from injuries she suffered in a car accident. It happened at about six o'clock this morning at Chin and East Texas Freeway in North Beaumont. The woman was a passenger in a 1995 Cavalier driven by another 19 year old. That person is in critical condition tonight. The police say the driver, the one in critical condition, apparently failed to yield the right of way causing a collision with a pickup truck. The driver of the pickup is okay. The FBI says it has caught one of the top ten fugitives wanted in Alabama. Fort Arthur police and the FBI arrested 43 year old Wilbur Lee Ellison, also known as Timothy Moore. In January Ellison was a victim of an armed robbery while delivering pizzas. The FBI says Ellison is charged with sexual assault of a child in Alabama. It developed information that Ellison could be in this area that he may be an individual who was a victim of a shooting while delivering a pizza. That quickly determined the possibility of the recent Fort Arthur incident. Ellison is scheduled to appear before a US Magister tomorrow morning before an identity hearing. And now for the latest on air continuing quest for the cheapest gas in town. Jay Bangalow emailed us about the EZmart on Cardinal Drive in Beaumont. He says gas is selling there for $1.23 a gallon. If you know where we can find it cheaper you can call us or fax us or reach us online. We'll have the numbers for you hopefully before the end of the program and we'd love to hear from you. Do you have plans for later on tonight? If you do I bet there's a pretty good chance those plans include heading out to the mountains. Yeah, I bet you're right. Southeast Texas is buzzing about the Sir Elton John concert tonight. Heather Angel is one of those folks and joins us now live from the Montaigne Center at Lamar University. Heather, the concert is less than just two hours away. Have his fans started arriving yet? You have. They sure have Lisa and Albert and of course I have on my Elton John shirt and signature hat and with me are two of Elton's biggest fans from Fort Natchez. We have Jim Peterson and Bonnie Peterson and the tickets sold out in what less than an hour. How did you get yours? Well, we just happened to have some people that wanted to stand in line and stay all night and sleep in. It was quite an adventure. We kept them fed and watered. They were the fanatic of their party. Yeah, they wanted to party. You know how their college kids are. They just love anything like that. And also we have, there's a tailgate party going on. Fans are arriving and another fan who has come from out of town is Jeff Young. Tell me how many concerts you've been to. I think around 90 concerts since 1974. So you are a true Elton John fan? Big fan. And if you're heading out, the doors are going to open at 630. The Beaumont Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is working in this area. You can park on both sides of the Montane Center. They will also be parking across MLK at the university. And of course there are classes going on. So look out for that and take your time if you're coming out. Back to you, Albert and Lisa. Heather, I am so jealous. I'll bring you a hat. There's something wrong with that. Have fun. And if you, like us, are not going to be going to the concert tonight, we'll have an inside look at what went on tonight at 10 on the Nightcast. Coming up. What can we do to improve the country's health care system? We'll tell you what some health care providers and the local lawmakers think. I'm Jeff Barker. Final day of baseball in District 24-8. Needling in G&G Square off. And Sammy Sosa takes his hacks at Enron tonight in sports. Mild nights and sunny afternoons for the Southeast Texas area. How long will we keep the clowns out of the area? I'll have the details when NBC4Bomont Nightly News continues. Broadcasting from the NBC4Bomont studios at Markdale Mall, Albert Zitt, Lisa Vintso, and forecast center with chief meteorologist Joe Bowen and Brett DeCazzo's forecast. You can count on your watching NBC4Bomont Nightly News. This captioning of NBC4Bomont is brought to you by Motiva Enterprises, partners in communication. Hi, I'm Randy Bowen and at Golden Triangle Subaru, if you stop and look, I promise you'll save. Stop by and drive the redesigned Subaru Outback only $249 a month. Look, at the all new Legacy sedan right now, only $219 a month. You'll save money and gas when you invest in the award winning Subaru Forester, just $199 a month. Visit Golden Triangle Subaru, where if you stop and look, I promise you'll save. 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Better thinking, better results. The big money birthday guarantee is on Kicker 95.1 KYKR. It's a chance for your share of a quarter of a million dollars. Winning is as easy as having a birthday. Just listen to Kicker every weekday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. If your birthday is announced, be the 100th caller and win $1,000. Except on Thursdays when it jumps to $5,000. The big money birthday guarantee on Kicker 95.1 KYKR. Welcome back. Technology is bringing healthcare providers and lawmakers closer together. In fact, they got together today via a teleconference arranged by Congressman Nick Lamson. Lamson says the purpose of today's event was to address the state of the country's healthcare system. We have people from Washington, D.C. who are the people who are directly involved in the activities of creating legislation right now, talking directly with people who are the healthcare givers, the healthcare receivers, and the professionals who are teaching people to be able to provide that care. So it is a unique experience and something we hope will be very effective. People in Galveston, Houston and Beaumont participated in the teleconference today. What kind of effect does a teddy bear have on a small child? It must be a very positive one because after three weeks of collecting teddy bears from area residents, Parkdale Mall held its annual 2,000 teddy bear roundup today. The Guards House from Other Place and the Beaumont Police Department were all on hand to receive the stuffed animals. And what do these organizations want with so many of them? We have the teddy bears, some of us, in the trunks of our cars so that when we go out on accidents or whenever we go to traumatic situations, whether it be child abuse or sexual assault situations, we usually give a child a teddy bear to comfort them in a very traumatic situation. Maybe it's a teddy bear's hug, a day to make a bad day go away. I've had days when a teddy bear's hug might have helped a little bit. And I think so too. I think we all do. We're going to check in with Dana Malansohn who is in for the next couple of days anyway for Joe Bauer. Why aren't you at that concert? I think he's back tomorrow. Well, I would have been there, but I'm here, you know, digging into the dirt, letting the rest of the people go. Like Heather, who I work with. And I'll be back in the morning, Friday morning. Anyway, gorgeous day today, up to 83. Got some drier air making its way into southeast Texas. I'll have the details. NBC4 Beaumont Nightly News continues. I'm Zona Jones of the Provost Umphrey Law Firm. This message is for patients who have suffered post-operative infections. Up to 3.6 million packets of possible infected or contaminated sutures were distributed across America in 1994. Despite a later recall, many sutures and stitches were used on patients during 1994 and through the present. If you or a family member have suffered a serious infection following surgery, call our law firm regarding these health and legal issues. It's a matter of your health and the law. Hand aid, lemonade, financial aid, and now brake aid. What is brake aid? It's a new feature we've added to Starbrake. If you need a little help because your car won't stop, just head on over to Starbrake. 4185 Lucas. And when you get here and you need some braking aid, just use it. Hey, here comes one now. Very effective. But after a free brake check and 90 minute service, he won't need this brake aid. But just in case you do, we'll leave it here. Starbrake aiding you in your brake and front end service for 30 years. Stop, stop, stop. Of course, when sitting down to dine, it is important that you keep your elbows at your side and never, never on the table. Yeah, right. But this is Joe's Crab Shack. So get fresh at Joe's Fresh Fish Feeding Frenzy. Choose from all your favorites, tuna, salmon, and more. Catch them all right now at Joe's. So keep your elbows off the table. It'll leave more room for your feet. Etiquette, shmeddiquette. Yeah. Joe's Crab Shack. I work in America, making products the world wants, expanding opportunities, opening new markets like China, the world's largest market. Trade with China will open new frontiers and build a better future for me and my family. China's markets have unlimited potential. I work in America. Trade with China works for me. Let Congress know that trade with China works for us working Americans. From the Forecast Center at Hartdale Mall, Dana Maloso. Weather coverage you can count on. It was a gorgeous day here in Southeast Texas. Anything that you were doing on the outdoors, we topped off at 83, had some light north winds blowing as well. Let's take a look at our satellite that started off here in the weather center, show you exactly what kind of day we had and what's on the way. High pressure keeping all the clouds at least along the immediate coastal areas out of the area now as we see the areas of high pressure move off to the east, we'll gradually see the light cloud work that's structured north, south of us gradually filter into the triangle as well as some more clouds that are building in from the panhandle. Other than that, we're not going to be seeing a whole lot of changes into the weekend, a few more clouds building in and a little bit of a wind shift. Right now we're looking at clear skies again due to the high pressure that's over most of the southeastern portion of the United States, weak area of low pressure over Missouri and a stalled out frontal system. For the most part, behind that front, dry conditions, a little bit warmer than we'd like to see it for this time of the year, but I'll tell you what, at 81 degrees and clear skies, everybody enjoyed any outdoor activity today. Feels like it's 79 with a little north breeze blowing at 7 miles an hour, humidity factor only 33 percent, picture perp. Grilling hamburgers outside, they didn't come out any good at all, but it didn't matter. The weather was beautiful. Take a look at the high pressure effect, hardly any clouds over southeast Texas. In fact, for your Wednesday middle of the week, we'll look for another mostly sunny day. One frontal system will attempt to drape down into the southeast Texas region, but pretty much fade off by the end of the weekend and we'll see it scoot off to the east, partly cloudy by the time your Thursday gets here. And it looks like everything will stay partly cloudy, just a little bit of a wind shift out of the east by the end of the week. High temperature, or rather overnight lows tonight, we'll see in the mid to upper 50s as we did this morning. 60s will be down south of us around Corpus Brownsville overnight tonight. Highs tomorrow back up into those low to mid 80s, a little bit warmer tomorrow. But with that said and done, here's your forecast. Clear skies. Our winds mainly out of the northeast tonight at 10 miles an hour. Clear skies. Winds will be light and variable if you're around the lakes area, Jasper, Woodville, Bonweir. And we're looking at an overnight low at about 56 in the lakes area. We'll be right at the 59 degree mark in Beaumont Port Arthur, orange at 59 as well. Into tomorrow, look for another picture perfect day, sunny day, a sky outside for the triangle. Plenty of sunshine for the lakes as well. East winds at about 10 miles an hour. Low to mid 80s for the lakes, we'll be right at 83 in Beaumont Port Arthur and in orange. And if you're making plans for the next five days, partly cloudy will be the norm in through the weekend. We'll look for the high temperatures gradually skirting up to the 86 degree mark by the time we get to Saturday. Sunday partly cloudy at 85. Our NBC4 Beaumont Enterprise trivia for this evening. What are the three imaginary lines that divide the earth's climate zones? There are three of them. There's three of them. And we'll let you know exactly what those are tonight. All right, Dana. Thanks very, very much. Okay. And we'll see you tonight on the Nightcast. Here's what we're working on. Major medical mistakes are something we all want to avoid and doctors say there are ways to do so with your health. And local residents say they're tired of that constant train whistle, but hey, they can expect to hear even more of it in the future. It could get worse. We'll tell you why tonight at 10 on the Nightcast. And now Jeff Barker is in for vacationing Greg Picasso, probably also at Elton John tonight. Yes, I'm afraid he is. That's right. He said that he's going to have fun anyway. The Spurs continue their quest for the NBA title against the Suns tonight. But the biggest rivalry in Texas is yet another meaningful game. PNG and Nederland in the last baseball game of the regular season. We'll preview when NBC4 Beaumont Nightly News continues. Did you know that the cast of the Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas are on the next Hollywood Squares? Ayada-dada do know this answer. Watch Jane Krakowski, Mark Eddy and Kristen Johnston. Plus, cyber queen Cindy Margolis. I'd like to yabba dabba doo Cindy. Is it me or is it getting hot in here? Whatever you yabba dabba doo, do not miss the next Hollywood Squares. Weeknights at 6.30 on NBC4 Beaumont. Sir, do you think these wheels are cool? My grandson has a set just like them and as soon as I get the front end of the line on my RV, I'll be buying a set. My son and husband only trust Modica Brothers to service our cars. Plus, they have that new lightsaber machine. Yes ma'am, I had my brakes in shock to service today. Ma'am, your car is ready and waiting. We are where the rubber meets the road. Modica Brothers. Back to you all, let's hold still to the public. It's the largest selection of floor covering between Baton Rouge and Houston and it's all hub approved. Ceramic tiles starting at just 49 cents. Laminated floor covering is low as 199. Sheet vinyl starting at only 55 cents a square foot. And factory-owned carpet warehouses unbeatable. Carpet and vinyl flooring starting at just 33 cents a square foot. Discover why factory outlet Hubs been singing. Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble when you got the best prices in town. It's Extra Savings Days at Mike Smith's. Where you'll get $100 in gasoline on every new and used vehicle. Plus extra discounts on specially marked Hondas. Like this 2000 Accord LX Sedan. Well equipped with air power and much more. Green tag now at just 16,888. Or this 2000 Civic LX Sedan. With air, automatic and more. Prices for extra savings at just 13,995. Mike Smith Auto Plaza and Mike Smith Autoplex. Choice deals, more choices on both sides of sands in Beaumont. From Pardale Mall, the Sportsman with Jeff Marker. Coverage you get to count on. Well perhaps the hottest rivalry in the state of Texas continues today with yet another meaningful matchup between Nederland and Porton H's Groves. They met today, they meet today in about 30 minutes for the final game of the District 24A season. Nederland is 13-0 and currently in first place. P&G is 12-1 with their only loss coming at the hands of Nederland. The Bulldog win means a perfect district season and a first round bye in the playoffs. P&G win means possibly a one game playoff to determine the district championship. A huge crowd will be on hand tonight to take in the action and for these players, this is a big game. You got to learn how to handle the motion and the pressure and they're a good hitting team and you got to have good defense and good pitching. I think we're going to have a lot of playoff atmosphere and in the middle of the important matches it's always going to be a good game. It's probably going to be a one run game and whoever makes the fewest errors will probably come out on top. So there is still time to head out to the game tonight although you can't expect standing room only of the Indians and the Bulldogs, 7 o'clock high school baseball at its finest. In this just in, baseball is a fun game. That doesn't have to change at the big league level. Less than one, the best pitcher in baseball, Pedro Martinez. Last night at the ballpark in Arlington, Pedro having a little fun with ex-teammate David Segui. First he made fun of him for taking a walk. Here he's calling him a chicken and daring him to steal second base. Well I guess I'll take you up on that. And he is meat. Back to Pedro having fun at the old ballpark. That's what we like to see. And if you haven't been out to Enron yet, maybe this is the weekend to go. Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs are in town for a three game series with the Astros. Sosa, one of the most beloved players in the game, always has a huge draw, especially in Houston. This season he already has six home runs just like Jeff Bagwell. And three days at Enron there's no telling what could happen. Shane Reynolds will try for his fourth win tonight despite the fact that the Astros only have six this whole season. Slamming Sammy at Enron, it should be fun. And the NBA playoffs continue tonight. The defending champion San Antonio Spurs try to even up their series at one game with the Phoenix Suns. Last year's MVP Tim Duncan will not likely play once again tonight. The Spurs won home field advantage in the first round despite the fact that Duncan was out with a knee injury. But now the effects are starting to show. They'll play tonight beginning at about 8.30. So the NBA playoffs still going strong and we'll have it this weekend here on NBC. Alright, thanks a lot Jeff, appreciate it. It's a hands on opportunity for local kids and a first hand opportunity for you to see it for yourself. We'll have that story next on the NBC4 Beaumont Nightly News. They are among the finest in their specialties. Their patience is referred to them from all over the world. They have a wealth of experience and compassion and when you need them, they're there. 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First, Bruce Willis guest stars on Friends as the father of Ross's girlfriend and... Hi, Ross. Rachel's new boyfriend. Then a special Thursday just shoot me with Finch's big surprise. Give me the water and your plants. Really, really big. Then on an hour of Frasier, Daphne's wedding is coming. The bachelor party is on. What will Niles say to all this? I'm Niles. Okay. Plus an all new ER, must see TV Thursday. All right, we're gonna check in one more time with Dana Malone-Sohn. Yes. About the weather. Let's look at our satellite because that tells the entire story. We're seeing a cloud-free night starting to come about for us here along the immediate Gulf Coast. Due to that high pressure, we're gonna see that into tomorrow as well. Allow us to get into the mid-80s again tomorrow. But right now we're at 81 degrees, clear skies, low humidity factor at 33% north winds at seven miles an hour. Again, a clear night in store. Everybody that's at Elton John, anything outdoors tonight will be absolutely wonderful. Northeast winds at 10 miles an hour tonight. Again, we'll bottom out at about 59. And then the next several days we'll just see a few clouds come into the picture and back to the upper 80s for our highs. All right, Dana. Thanks very, very much. Finally tonight, we're gonna take a look at what some local kids are doing for National Science and Technology Week. The students at Ogden Elementary are so proud of their projects. They're just waiting for you to come and see them for yourselves. The teachers say the projects offer kids a hands-on approach to learning about math and science, and the students seem to be catching on. We put a bunch of kernels in it, and then we just pour up, not a bunch of water, we just put some water in it. And then it went, it was like under here, and then we put the lead on top of it. These students have worked on their projects all year, putting in two and a half hours every other day. It's a lot of work. It's great to see them excited about it. It looks like they're having fun and learning. What's that all about? I don't know. I don't think I ever had fun. It doesn't sound like any school I ever went to. I'm only kidding. Thanks very much for joining us. We'll see you again tonight at 10. Have a great evening. Thanks.