Tonight, replacing Larry Comvest. How much will it cost and who has a realistic chance?
Plus, if you have plans to eat out or get a hotel room this weekend, you might want to rethink that idea
because the Longhorns are bringing a lot more to Lubbock than just a football game.
And the drive to be a superstar continues for Lubbock Star on today.
And now, coverage you can count on, live from KCVD-TV. This is News Channel 11 at 6.
Politicians begin to make their move on the day after Larry Comvest announces his resignation.
Good evening and thank you for joining us.
Leading the news tonight, one day after Larry Comvest ended his tenure as District 19 Representative,
the search to find his successor has already begun.
But before that can be done, a few steps must be taken, of course.
Melinda Nicklaus with the Secretary of State's office says first, Larry Comvest must submit his official resignation to the state.
Once he does, Governor Perry can call a special election for either May or November, but no other month.
The election will be open to all parties and anyone who lives in the state of Texas.
If neither of the top two candidates have at least 50 percent of the vote, then the state will hold a runoff election.
Now, before anybody decides to run, they must consider several things, including cost and their chances of actually winning.
News Channel 11's Bert Mummelo spoke with a political consultant today and joins us with a story. Bert?
Karen and Abner, there are a flurry of questions in the wake of the Comvest resignation.
Political consultant Morris Wilkes helps us take a look at which political party has the best shot at the seat
and how much a successful run will cost.
Just eight days ago, Representative Larry Comvest was re-elected with 91 percent of the vote.
Yesterday, the 18-year Capitol Hill veteran called it quits.
Certainly a great loss for this region of the state and Congress to lose the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Political consultant Morris Wilkes was having lunch with his brother-in-law when his cell phone started ringing off the hook.
And I looked at him and I said, something's going on. My phone's ringing way too much.
And sure enough, that's what it was. It was right after the announcement.
An announcement which has made the services of Mr. Wilkes highly sought after.
Well, they're asking me what the political realities are. You know, the most common question is, what do you think?
Do you think I have a chance? And you have to look at the district.
The 651,000 people reside roughly in that district.
And of that 651,000, 68 percent are Republicans, making the challenge from another party extremely difficult.
That doesn't mean a Democrat couldn't win it, but it would certainly be a big hurdle for a Democrat.
But not so difficult might be the possibility that someone from outside Lubbock County could win the seat,
given that 63 percent of the voting population resides in communities other than the Hub City.
Regardless of their hometown, however, the next representative from the 19th Congressional District will have to have plenty of financial support.
So you're looking at somewhere between $300,000 and three-quarters of a million dollars
to successfully and to adequately campaign in that large of a territory.
Republican or Democrat, Lubbockite or not, just one day after the resignation announcement, it's too soon to predict what will happen.
There's just no guarantees at this point in time. We've got to wait and see how all the feathers fly and the dust settles.
And Karen and Abner, those feathers will be flying, given the massive amount of voter interest we saw in the last election for control of the House and Senate.
And analysts say that this seat in particular may hold special interest for the White House, given that the district contains Midland, the hometown of President Bush.
Karen and Abner?
Thanks, Bert. We want to welcome you to News Channel 11 and to Lubbock from, I understand, the Boston area.
Yes, I am. I'm very happy to be here and to be working with the longest-running anchor team in the country.
Thanks, Bert. It's nice to have you here.
Thanks anyway, Bert.
Congressman Combest's announcement is certainly stunning.
Experts say his decision to step down leaves West Texas in a precarious and somewhat unstable position.
That's because Combest has a very powerful position in Washington as a senior congressman and the chairman of the House Ag Committee.
Now, whoever replaces him will join Congress as a junior member.
Former Lubbock mayor David Langston is one man considering a run for Combest's soon-to-be vacant seat.
Langston says it's hard to predict how things will play out, but he's sure this campaign will attract national attention.
There's going to be lots of different people that are qualified and that are interested in running for this position.
I'm sure that President Bush will have his eye on some people that he thinks he would like to have run.
And so all of that has to go into the mix as you make a decision as to whether you want to be a candidate in what is likely to be a very hotly contested race.
And coming up tonight at 10, we will show you a list of possible candidates for Combest's seat, many of whom you've probably never heard before.
And whoever succeeds Combest, it's not going to happen until at least after he leaves on May 31st,
which raises the question of what will the congressman do between now and then?
Well, here's what he had to say.
I don't know. I mean, that's a great, I'm sure that's a legitimate question.
We look back at what we think we have accomplished and what I want to accomplish now is to, I guess, is to finalize this and end it up with grace.
So we wanted to know what you think about Combest's decision to stay until May.
Should Congressman Larry Combest delay leaving office until May or should he step down now?
You can log on to kcbd.com to vote and we'll bring you the results tonight on News Channel 11 at 10.
And John joins us now with the first look at his first alert forecast.
John, some mild temperatures, Karen and Avner, across our region today and obviously some strong gusty winds helping to keep those temperatures warm.
Even now we have temperatures still some 60s and mostly 50s as we start to cool down around sunset.
Fifty six in Amarillo, 59 in Lubbock, still in the 60s. Hobbs, Carlsbad is 65.
They were at 70 degrees an hour ago.
We're starting a cooling trend tonight and it's going to start and continue on through tomorrow and the next day.
A little breezy this evening, 46 at 10, 38 degrees tomorrow morning is the first of a couple of fronts start moving in
and they will keep temperatures a little lower tomorrow and maybe even bring in a chance of clouds and rain just in time for Friday.
All right, thanks John.
Well, the LISD School Board will hear a presentation tomorrow that might surprise you.
According to school officials, a group of gay and lesbian kids will ask the board to let them meet as an official group at one local high school on their campus.
How the board will respond is still up in the air, but we will bring you full coverage of the meeting tomorrow.
The board will also discuss state financing issues from Austin.
You have seen the demolition crews tearing down North Overton.
Now we're seeing the master plan for the renovated North Overton area.
There are plans to build a four-star hotel near Sixth Street and a university.
That's in addition to the new homes and parking garages that will be going up in that area.
So far the project seems to be moving forward rather quickly.
So I think the project is coming along very, very well.
We're several months ahead of schedule. Our demolition is certainly ahead of schedule.
Delbert McDougall says the project is actually 15 months ahead of what he had originally planned for.
Within the last year, two Texas Tech students have fallen asleep at the wheel and died,
so the university is using this week to warn students about the dangers of drowsy driving.
Today students pledge not to drive fatigued by signing the drowsy driving pledge banner.
Most students will be driving home for the holidays next week,
and experts offer a number of tips to stay awake while driving.
One of the greatest suggestions I heard was that little egg timer.
And you pull off the road, you pull it out of your glove compartment, you set it for 20 minutes,
you take a power nap, and you get up, and you get yourself a cup of coffee, and you go on.
Experts also suggest getting a good night's sleep before traveling.
Schedule breaks every 100 miles or two hours on long trips.
Travel with a friend and avoid alcohol or medications that may make you sleepy.
If you are a Texas Tech student and are driving home for the holidays,
you need to get a list of the road raiders, as they call them.
These are Texas Tech parents and alumni all across the state who will allow you to stop at their house if you need a rest.
If you'd like to see that list, you can log on to our website, and we'll provide you with the link.
Three-year-old twin girls died in a house fire in central Texas yesterday.
That begins News 10-11's Texas coverage.
The fire in Round Rock started around 3 p.m.
According to officials, the fire was so intense, no one was able to get back into the home to rescue the twins.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
However, one official on the scene says a halogen lamp may have sparked the blaze.
The Texas legislature does not convene until January,
but folks are already trying to get a jump start on the work ahead for them.
Austin Republican Terry Keele filed the first bill in the Texas House bright and early yesterday at 5 o'clock in the morning.
The bill would make it a capital offense to commit a murder with the intent to terrorize.
The legislative session begins January 14th.
New thrills are coming to Six Flags over Texas.
You're looking at computer animation of the new Superman Tower of Power.
The ride will plunge riders at more than 50 miles per hour in what's called a turbo drop.
The ride will be 315 feet high.
Park officials are predicting Superman will attract super crowds next summer, and I can hardly wait.
Sounds fun, doesn't it?
No, I will never get on that thing.
Still to come, we'll break down the 51st Gridiron meeting of Texas Tech versus Texas.
But first, what are hotels, restaurants, and spirit shops doing to prepare for the big weekend?
We will have the answer as News Channel 11 at 6 continues.
This portion of News Channel 11 is brought to you by Frontier Dodge.
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We like the variety, the healthy choices.
Here at Furze, you can get as much as you want, pretty much whatever you want, in a short amount of time.
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You're watching Adrie Uresti, Karen McKay, meteorologist John Robinson, and Emily Jones Sports.
This is News Channel 11 at 6.
If you haven't heard, it's a huge weekend for Texas Tech football and for Lubbock.
A win over the University of Texas would put Tech another step closer to the Big 12 championship,
and for Lubbock, there's no doubt this weekend will bring commerce up a notch.
News Channel 11's Jonathan Novak shows us just who would benefit.
Let's start at the Double T Gift Store.
They're expecting to see a 30% increase in sales.
In comparison to the other weekends for home game events, this will be a tremendous weekend for us.
And if they win, they'll stay with us longer, you know.
And just try finding a hotel room in Lubbock this weekend.
Hey, I'd like to get a hotel room for this weekend's game.
Unfortunately, we were sold out for this weekend.
It was a big, tick-sting Texas game.
Hi, I'd like to get a room for this Saturday's game.
Oh, okay. Actually, this Saturday, we're all big data.
Oh, there's none. I mean, we've called around and we haven't found a single room.
We're sending people to, like, Plainview and La Mesa and Post are the closest places that have rooms for this weekend.
The Tower says hotels and motels will take in about half a million dollars this weekend.
And many restaurants have been getting ready for a while.
We've been preparing for this game all month.
We've been looking at our stock levels and making sure that we have plenty of condiments and stuff ready to go.
Extra employees.
It's just huge. UT always brings a good crowd, you know.
And the people it brings with them are, you know, they'll come out and eat and they're nice.
And a nicer would be a victory over UT on Saturday.
But no matter the outcome, Lubbock Commerce will definitely be a winner.
Jonathan Novak, News Channel 11.
Also, all four airlines at Lubbock International Airport say they have no more seats for flights into Lubbock on Friday or out of Lubbock on Sunday.
And, by the way, the Tech Game is this Saturday afternoon at 2.30.
And coming up, Jon will tell us if we will have nice weather for that game.
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Pat and Vanner are spinning into the great Northwest and they're bringing the college kids with them.
We Love Fortune tonight at 6.30 on News Channel 11.
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Please stay tuned for this important announcement.
If someone you love is a victim of cerebral palsy or other severe birth injury due to medical malpractice, call the number on your screen now.
Corporations and insurance companies along with the Bush administration are currently attempting to pass legislation
which would severely limit your ability to recover compensation for injuries caused by malpractice.
It is very important that you call this number immediately for a free case evaluation
or the law may make it impossible or impractical for a lawyer to pursue your case.
KCVD News Channel 11 has an immediate opening for an accounting assistant.
This is a full-time job with responsibility for a wide variety of accounting tasks.
The ideal applicant will be familiar with Microsoft Office products, advanced keyboarding and Tenkey.
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An undercover look at the world's oldest profession, prostitution in Lubbock.
Tonight on News Channel 11 at 10.
Now, the most dependable and accurate forecast.
Live from News Channel 11's First Alert Forecast Center, here's Chief Meteorologist John Robinson.
Greenlight weather evident in West Texas today.
Southwest winds at times gusting over 30 miles an hour.
It was mostly sunny until the last hour or so, and now we'll begin to see some changes, especially late tonight and tomorrow.
We're going to start with winds because they're beginning to give us a little bit of a break.
Averaging 15 miles an hour in Lubbock, 18 in Amarillo, still gusting and even averaging around 24 in Tucumcari, 12 in Hobbs and 13 in the Midland area.
But these winds throughout the afternoon have been anywhere from 15 to 20, occasionally 25 miles an hour.
They're breaking off now, but they'll actually pick up a little bit later on tonight, and they will be back again tomorrow.
Nice temperatures, though. 56 in the Panhandle, still 60 in Dallas, what was 60 to 70 down south.
Here's the change coming up. This is the reason, first of all, we have the gusty winds today, an area of low pressure providing southwest winds.
Frontal system now getting organized.
Colorado and Kansas, that will make its way into the Panhandle late tonight, move across the South Plains tomorrow, start a cooling trend,
and that front will be followed by a secondary surge of colder air in here late Thursday and Friday, so definitely some winter weather coming back.
First alert instance data at 6 p.m., we're down to 55 here at the station, humidity's at 48 percent, winds are south, still averaging about 11, 12 miles an hour,
and this wind gust occurred early this morning, believe it or not, it was around 1030.
We had a peak gust of 34 miles an hour here at News Channel 11. Fortunately, they're much better than that at this point.
Heading towards tomorrow and the next day, our 48-hour supercast, spring weather today, area of low pressure.
This will begin to move east later tonight, give us northwest winds in the morning, then during the day tomorrow,
winds will go from north-northwest to the northeast late in the afternoon.
Cooler air will start moving into most of our region, but colder air will be moving into Panhandle,
and there'll actually be areas of rain and snow from northern New Mexico up into Colorado,
and some of that rain-snow mix could make its way into the Texas Panhandle by Friday afternoon, and us, a slight chance of rain.
We have another upper-level feature similar to the one we had earlier in the week that brought us our thunderstorms.
Well, this one again is going to swing in the upper-level flow towards west Texas, bring clouds late Thursday and Friday,
and hopefully it'll be out of here by Saturday morning.
But colder temperatures settling in statewide on Friday, 70s south the front and deep south Texas.
Our windcast, obviously winds are breaking off now, but between 7 o'clock midnight, a little gusty,
they'll diminish briefly in the morning, but as that next front moves into Panhandle towards Amarillo,
look for gusty winds tomorrow morning, another day of gusty winds, till about 4 o'clock,
and then by 6 o'clock winds will be tapering off, and the higher winds behind the front will be moving on into central Texas.
So we're not through with the winds just yet.
Morning lows, 36 little field, 40 brownfield, 44 post, 45 Jayton.
Then tomorrow afternoon, going to drop it back about 10 degrees or so, 15 in some areas,
60 Plainview, 59 Silverton, 63 in post, 64 in La Mesa, and the first alert 7-day forecast.
Cooling things down tomorrow, a little bit chilly on Friday with that chance of rain here,
maybe a rain-snow mix from Tuya into the Panhandle.
It's going to be about 50 degrees, and then we will see clearing Saturday morning,
and colder temperatures in the morning, but 5500 particle-ity skies for the game,
and a quick hello to the kindergarten students from Smith Elementary School.
Alright, thanks, John, and this is really exciting.
It started with more than 4,000 people, and now it's down to the final four,
and Lubbock's own star is still in the running.
We're talking about Brian Lee, a Lubbock native who is one of four contestants vying to be the Today Show superstar.
Lee graduated from Coronado High School in 92,
and then pursued a musical career during his college days in Nashville.
He lives in Granbury now with his wife and two daughters,
but still has a passion for music, as you can see.
He says this contest has given him a chance to reconnect with old friends, many from Lubbock.
I'd just like to say to all the people in Lubbock who have supported me
and have watched me grow up since a little boy,
just to first of all say thank you and how much I appreciate just the support.
Tomorrow morning on the Today Show, Brian will sing
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.
You can watch the contest right here on News Channel 11 and vote for Brian
by logging onto our website at kcbd.com and clicking on Superstar.
And here's what we're working on for News Channel 11 at 10.
Tired of getting booted from the Internet when someone calls?
The makers of the Emerson Switchboard claim you can answer phone calls and stay online.
But does it work? Find out tonight on News Channel 11 at 10.
But just ahead, we'll have the latest signing news on this,
the first day of the early signing period.
Plus, we'll put the Tech Texas game into perspective for you.
Emily is in, next with sports.
Are you ready for a great deal?
This is the News Channel 11 Sports Zone with Emily Jones.
Welcome back. Now that we're less than 72 hours away from kickoff
in the 51st Gridiron edition of Texas Tech vs. Texas,
I'd like to take this opportunity to put some things into perspective.
For starters, this is the biggest game of the season for the Red Raiders,
if you haven't heard, and it's for a couple of reasons.
First off, because it is the next game on the schedule,
and you know how Tech head coach Mike Leach is about that whole one week at a time stuff.
Secondly, the Red Raiders are on the verge of something that's only been done
two times in the last quarter century, and that's to win more than seven games.
In my lifetime, since 1977, Texas Tech has won eight or more games only twice,
the 1989 All-American Bowl season and the 1995 Copper Bowl season.
Thirdly, a win over fourth-ranked Texas would put the Red Raiders one win away
from the Big 12 championship games, somewhere they've never been before.
So basically, they don't get much bigger than this.
It's a huge opportunity, and we've got to make the most of it.
You don't get many shots like this.
We're going to go out and play loose, so we're going to have fun,
and nobody expects us to be in this position, so we're going to enjoy it.
The intensity is not about just playing Texas,
it's about the opportunities that lie ahead of us.
If we win out, obviously we're going to be in great shape,
and I don't think anyone's going to have to get motivated for that.
I think Rex is right, and moving out of the hardwood,
the Texas Tech Lady Raiders took care of exhibition opponent number one last night,
rolling over Spartak Moscow 107-65.
The ladies get back out on the floor Sunday,
hosting the Houston Jaguars in their final regular season tune-up.
Meantime, Marcia Sharp is already getting a feel for next year's team
with the early signing of Plainview product Alicia Robertson.
The 5'11 guard made her future as a Lady Raider official today,
signing a national letter of intent to play for Tech next season.
I'm really excited about the upcoming years,
and I can't get any better than this.
I'm pretty much my whole life.
I've always been a big fan of the Lady Raiders.
Congratulations to her, and Alicia wasn't the only one who didn't waste any time
making their intentions known.
Levelyne's Tawana Flowers and Canyon's Brooke Baumann also signed on the dotted line today.
That leaves Coach Sharp with anywhere from two to four scholarships remaining
for next year's class.
On the men's side of things, Bob Knight was expected to sign a trio of his own today,
two JuCo guys and a high school senior.
We're still waiting on the official word from Tech that all the paperwork has cleared.
We should have that for you tonight at 10.
Meantime, this year's Red Raiders are back in exhibition action tomorrow night,
hosting athletes first in an 8'15 tip out of the United Spirit Arena.
And after getting off to a bit of a slow start in preseason game number one,
the guys are ready to try it again.
Yeah, we're anxious. We thought that last game we didn't play out to our capability.
We think we played good in the second half but not in the first,
and we're just anxious to put two halves together and come out tomorrow and play good.
Can't wait. We need to come out with a lot more intensity
and do the things that we've been practicing on because there's no point in playing
if we don't do the things that we've been practicing on.
Right, you are, Nick. And at the USA tonight, the Texas Tech volleyball team goes for three in a row,
hosting Baylor in a 7'O clock first serve.
Meantime, it's off to regionals for the Coronado volleyball team,
the Lady Mustangs down to El Paso Franklin in straight sets
to earn their first ever regional tournament berth last night.
CHS gets Arlington Martin in round one Friday at McMurray University in Abilene.
Also, for all the latest tiny news, just log on to our website at kcbd.com.
Tech quarterback Cliff Kingsbury won a 14 for the Davy O'Brien National Award.
Okay. Thank you, Emily. We'll be right back.
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That's all for now. Thanks for joining us.
Hope you have a great evening and join us for more news tonight at 10.