ave rann
A landmark to terror, gone.
Memories, however, will linger forever.
Father Charlie Martinez is ready to rebuild his life.
Two years of torment after being falsely accused are finally over.
I'm Kathy Walsh. I'll explain coming up.
I'm Mark McIntosh. Coming up in sports, the Denver Nuggets defend their across-the-board increase in ticket prices.
And will the Rockies ever run out of ninth-inning matches?
It's all ahead on News 4 at 5.
It's time for News 4, and you're with Colorado's News Channel.
Bob Palmer, Stephanie Riggs, Larry Green, and Les Shapiro.
Live on 4, this is News 4 at 5.
Normally, you get a clear view of downtown from our Tech Center CityCam, but another weather system, yet another, is camping along the Front Range, another day of gray and steely skies.
Durer weather isn't loosening its grip on the Front Range.
Today, it included a mixture of rain and snow, and temperatures fell to near freezing.
In fact, we set a record low for this date.
Marty is in the storm center now with a check on the dreary conditions out there. Marty?
Bob, we're not living right. It is another cold, very wet day along the Front Range.
It's very wet and stormy in a lot of areas of Colorado.
You know, no matter how you look at it, metro area weather is ugly.
Let's take a tour of our CityCams.
This one, the first one we will take, will take you all the way out to the Mousetrap CityCam.
We'll look back toward downtown, and that will show you cloudy skies in and around the area, and we continue to have those throughout the day, and we have had throughout the afternoon.
The second will be DIA, and that shows you again, low ceiling out there.
And see that smoke plume there in the left-hand portion of your screen?
That is moving straight from east to west.
That means we have upslope conditions, and as you go up to the MountainCam, that's where the action's been today.
We now have rain. Earlier in the day, we had snow, and we've had fog, lowering visibilities down to 50 feet at some times.
Now, our action cam throughout the day has indicated just not a lot of change.
Watch the clouds coming in from the east, and that shows you that strong upslope flow, occasional rain showers through the area,
and even some reports of snow on the western side of the metro area and in parts of Boulder County.
Now, as we go from time lapse to a record-setting day in Denver, you should feel proud.
We have made history today, the coldest May 23rd ever.
We tied the record low, as Bob said, but we also had the coldest maximum temperature ever.
Forty degrees was all we could muster today, and I've got to tell you, that is pathetic.
In fact, we have a cold area of air right around the front range.
It goes from here, all the way up to Laramie. We've got cold air here.
It's warmer in Bismarck than it is in Denver.
Don't feel bad. You go up to Alaska.
Temperatures there are 15 to 20 degrees warmer in central Alaska than they are here in eastern Colorado.
Now, that's caused a lot of strange weather in the area.
We've had rain, some snow around here, and thunderstorms in the west, and that's all due to low pressure in Utah.
And don't expect that low to move anytime soon.
It is spinning in Utah. It will stay there, and it's going to plague us around here for a couple of days.
It's causing some rain. NextRat is picking it up right now, showing you rain.
Southern Boulder County, also Douglas County, some heavier thundershowers there.
Then look up to the mountains, rain and snow throughout Rocky Mountain National Park,
then all the way back into the Williams Fork Range, we have some heavier rain there.
Doppler South, for a little closer view of that, indicating not only the thunderstorms going on up there,
but we have seen several lightning strikes in this area right up to the north and east of the Silverthorn-Dillon area.
Also, as you move up toward Kremlin and Radium and Heaney, there have been a lot of thunderstorms in that area.
They're all moving to the northeast at 25 miles an hour.
And Bob, as Larry will reveal to you in the five-day forecast coming up in a little bit,
this is not going to be over anytime soon.
Wow. Somebody's going to be arrested in Alma tonight, I think.
There's a real good chance of that.
A lot of arrest warrants up there. We'll talk to you later.
Okay.
Weather like this can have a strong negative impact on the psyche.
In fact, many people just don't want to get out of bed on days like today.
News 4's Gene Martirez explains the gray weather blues.
I've got a couple hot dogs left if you want to polish Italian or whatever you like.
The lines are short at Henry Rabinchik's food cart in Cherry Creek.
It hasn't been a good spring for the street vendor.
Usually, we were like, this one kills my business, and I don't have a lot of customers.
The cold, wet weather has hurt his profits and dampened his spirits.
I think so.
I have to come back home, and I was really upset.
He's not the only one. Doctors say it is common for gray skies to make you feel blue.
Even a few cloudy days will make some people more depressed.
For people who aren't prone to depression anyway, you know, you may slow down a little bit
or feel a little grumpier, but it's not going to do you any real harm.
The long and the short of it is we're going to have unsettled weather for at least the next three or four
or maybe even five days.
Does the weather affect your mood?
Always. When it's sunny, I always feel a lot better.
This cold gray weather isn't any good for restaurants with outdoor seating as well.
This place can do two-thirds more business if only the weather would cooperate.
Instead, people are staying indoors to escape the damp and cold.
This spring, horrible. It's one of the worst I've ever seen.
I think it's unusual.
So does it bother you at all?
Yeah, I'm ready for summer.
We can just wait, and I'm sure if your weatherman gets on the stick here,
it'll brighten up pretty quickly and we'll get some bright days, and that'll cheer everyone up.
That includes Rabinchik, who's waiting for the return of warmer temperatures
and longer lines at his food cart.
Jim Artirez, News 4.
We all are. Now, Gene tells us, for more severe cases of seasonal depression,
doctors suggest light therapy, in other words, sitting under a specially designed light
for several hours each day.
A terrible reminder of a terrible crime was obliterated in Oklahoma City today
when the bombed-out ruins of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building came tumbling down.
Earlier this morning, dynamite toppled what was left of the building
after last month's gruesome bombing.
But those whose loved ones were lost in the tragedy know that the healing has only just begun.
Six seconds.
That's all it took to bring down the empty shell of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building
and to obliterate a devastating symbol of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
Janine Coverdale lost two grandsons in the daycare center.
It's like his home for two years.
I hope they never, ever rebuild anything except the memorial park.
Two thousand people gathered in the downtown area for the implosion.
Almost all of them touched one way or another by the bombing.
I think we're all kind of ready to get back to life.
It's been such an emotional month for everyone.
Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating may have put it best during an interview on the Today Show.
You almost wanted to kick the rubble to say that you're out of here.
It was a symbol of evil and it's gone.
It may be gone, but certainly not forgotten.
Today's blast triggered so many powerful emotions.
I look at this little woman.
I just can't believe families have lost their children through all of this.
The building came crashing down one minute after 7 a.m. Central Time.
More than 100 pounds of dynamite reduced the nine-story building to a pile of rubble 27 feet high.
The plaza supervised the demolition project.
It was as close to perfect as it could be.
The debris will be cleared away over the next three weeks.
Clearing away the terrifying memories will take much longer.
Part of me went with that building.
The bodies of two, possibly three victims are still buried in the rubble.
It is hoped that with careful removal of the debris, the bodies will be found.
It's expected that a memorial park will grace the site where the federal building once stood.
On this day, when residents of Oklahoma City remember the past,
one caring young man from Colorado, from Denver, is making a difference in the future of victims' families.
News 4's Alan Janais in Oklahoma City tonight to explain.
Alan?
Well Stephanie, right now there is a sad rain falling here,
and among those buildings behind me, the remains of them are a federal building.
But that young boy, seven-year-old Michael Crissler, has brought something here,
a package of care so that among the ruins there may be life
in a place that was once known for sadness and death.
For Michael and his family, it's been a long journey.
They left Denver behind this morning to bring their caring to Oklahoma City.
It all came together outside the office of the governor of Oklahoma.
I'm Frank Keating, I'm the governor, nice to meet you.
Let's see the check, come here guy.
Then Michael and his family entered the media room to present the more than $27,000 to the governor.
Well, all of this is going to the families of the victims, and they need it.
There are a lot of people who didn't have insurance, and we're going to make sure that they all get this money.
This is very generous. Thank you Colorado and obviously Michael, thank you.
Michael's unselfish efforts seem more amazing when you consider he has battled a birth defect,
the creature Collins syndrome, all his life.
The condition means the bones in his face will never fully develop,
so he spends a lot of time in the hospital.
He even put off an operation so he could help the Oklahoma City victims.
And I know how it feels to be hurt and in the hospital.
So Michael put together the bowl-a-thon, and people responded.
First, with $8,000.
Thank you for coming and thank you for helping me.
Then the letters and checks poured in, and the amount rose far beyond what Michael had ever hoped for.
Michael doesn't think of himself as a hero. Why not?
Because I didn't really like it.
But you worked pretty hard on all this.
Yes, but it feels like I'm a regular old kid.
This was Michael's second visit to a governor's office, and the young ambassador has already learned a few things about politics.
Now you've met both the governor of Colorado and the governor of Oklahoma. Which one do you like better?
Both.
Certainly a politician, young Michael, is. The total that he had on that check today, $27,077.
We added another $500 to that from News Force. The total now, $27,577 that Michael brought to help people here in Oklahoma City.
One other thing, Stephanie, that Michael did do this afternoon was he visited this bomb site.
He visited the Murrah Building. And this evening at 10 o'clock, we're going to take you along with Michael as he looked at the ruins.
We are so, so proud of him here in Denver. Let me ask you, what is he doing right now? What is he going to do tonight?
Michael and his family have gone back to the hotel here, and Michael said that he was hoping that his dad would take him swimming this evening.
So as you can tell, he's now back to the normal life of a seven-year-old, and certainly he has all the ambition in the world for that.
He certainly rallied all of our hearts. Thanks. Alan Janay, live from Oklahoma City tonight.
I'll predict that we are going to hear a lot more about Michael Chrysler as the years go by in Colorado.
I think so. We're so proud.
He's a remarkable boy. Yes. But we have plenty ahead on News 4-5. More mudslinging in the race for Denver Mayor as one of the candidates releases a new campaign ad.
Also, a priest once accused of sexual molestation is cleared. Now Father Charlie hopes to restore his reputation.
And the Steamboat Springs woman, dubbed the Black Widow, is sentenced for the murder of her ninth husband.
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The so-called Black Widow will spend the rest of her life in prison for murdering her ninth husband.
A judge in Steamboat Springs sentenced Jill Coyt today and gave the same term to her former boyfriend, Michael Backus.
He also fined them both $1 million each.
The two were found guilty of first-degree murder last March.
The victim was Coyt's ninth husband, Gerald Boggs, a hardware store owner who was found shot to death at his home in Steamboat Springs in October of 1993.
At the time, Boggs and Coyt were at odds over a bed and breakfast operation that they owned.
The investigation proved that Coyt enlisted the help of her boyfriend, Backus, to help her murder her ninth husband.
Lakewood police have arrested four leaders of what they call a gang of drug addicts who terrorized the metro area for years to feed their habit.
The first break in the case came at the end of March.
A young woman had been kidnapped from a motel in Lakewood, and she was beaten badly and her credit cards and her checks were stolen.
Information from the woman led police to issue arrest warrants for these four people.
Then the second break came today when police learned that all four were already in area jails on unrelated charges.
Investigators paint an ugly picture of their average day.
I have been told that Betty Jo Reed has stayed up as long as eight days without any rest and very little nourishment.
Their average day is stealing and doing their drugs.
The charges they face range from aggravated robbery to attempted murder and kidnapping.
Investigators say their thefts and robberies netted about $175,000 a week.
After living through two years of hell, a Catholic priest is rejoicing tonight.
A former parishioner has dropped a lawsuit claiming the priest sexually molested him.
Father Charlie Martinez tells News Force Kathy Walsh he is looking forward to being a priest once again.
Father Charlie Martinez, Catholic priest turned auto mechanic, not by choice.
For the last two years, Father Charlie has been repairing a fleet of cars at a Franciscan community in Westminster while lawyers have worked to repair his reputation.
The last thing on my mind was the thought of being accused of sexual molestation.
But that's what happened.
In 1993, a former parishioner from New Mexico filed suit alleging the priest had sexually molested him hundreds of times in the late 70s and early 80s.
Father Charlie was told he could no longer function as a priest while the lawsuit was being investigated.
I had no control. My life just dissolved in front of me.
And my accuser called all the shots throughout the case.
And the only thing I could do was to defend myself.
And I'll tell you something, it's very hard to try and prove what you were not doing 20 years ago.
But Father Charlie told his lawyers he would fight until he was cleared.
That vindication came this week when his accuser dropped the suit.
Father Charlie is angry. He calls himself a victim of a copycat lawsuit.
When these issues get so well publicized and there's a momentum that happens where everybody is asking themselves, did something like this happen to me?
And that's part of a trend that goes on.
And I believe I was caught in the undertow of that trend.
And I grant you, like you say, a lot of the cases are true.
And I feel very badly about those situations.
But just as ugly and just as evil is an accusation that is false that destroys a person's life.
Now Father Charlie is working to reconstruct that life.
He wants to be reinstated with the church and perhaps go back to his old job of working at the Denver Archdiocese Hispanic Office of Ministry.
Most of all, Father Charlie wants to bring a close to the worst time of his life.
Kathy Walsh, News 4.
Father Charlie says he is forever grateful to the people who stood by him throughout his two-year ordeal.
New train service to DIA is an expensive proposition, but one that could become reality. We'll have details coming up.
And advice on buying and selling real estate, everything from the ground up, in a live report from our Help Center.
The phone book, millions of names and lots of info.
Now that you're due for a new one, don't throw the old one away. Recycle it. I'm environmentalist.
A lot cheaper from U.S. West.
In the future, a train, not a car, might be the preferred mode of transportation to and from Denver International Airport.
The city is looking at a plan to use public and private money to build a light rail line out to DIA.
Tonight, the RTD Board of Directors is expected to pass a resolution to begin making plans.
Now, the line would stretch from Union Station to DIA with stops at Stapleton and in Aurora.
And the estimated cost, of course this is just the first estimate, $140 million.
The future of DIA's biggest discount airline is being decided at this hour as well in a courtroom in Anchorage, Alaska.
Mark Air is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but the IRS wants the company liquidated and the proceeds distributed to creditors.
A ruling on the IRS motion is expected any time. It's a ruling that could put Mark Air out of business or allow it to continue if the court believes that there is a chance the airline can come back.
For financial specialist Mike Fairberg is keeping track of the hearing. He'll update the story as information becomes available.
The housing market in Denver is hot and that has a lot of people asking questions about how to get the best deal and how to best deal with buyers and sellers.
So tonight, the Help Center is open to offer some answers to your questions.
And troubleshooter Tom Martino is here to help us out. Tom?
I think Tom is speechless for once in his life tonight. No, I'm just kidding. We will check back with him in just a bit.
Well, we had a great day today, but there is a little hope for improvement. Larry joins us next with a forecast. Don't go away.
Let's bring that. Geo Tracker. I love it.
As we mentioned earlier, the subject in our Help Center tonight is real estate. We want to answer any questions you have. Tom Martino is in there tonight. You can call at 831-HELP or 4357-831-4357.
Well, Larry is here and we were just chatting about the unluckiest people in the world.
Maybe the people who brought their families to Colorado about a week ago to spend a couple of weeks in our beautiful state and enjoy the scenery.
You know, all the money they spent and what they find when they get here.
Not exactly Chamber of Commerce weather, is it? Maybe we could set up a fund. The state ought to set up a fund.
Uh-oh, Bob, don't get something started. Bring them back in July when the weather is nice.
Come back in July, but I think there's enough around here you can enjoy a few things while you're here right now. Indoor activities.
Let's check on it now. Here's what we have going on out there right now. We have 37 degrees downtown, 38 at the airport, and the high today was only 40.
As Marty said earlier, this is the coldest day that we've had on this date ever. The overnight low was 36 degrees. At least it isn't freezing at night.
Humidity is at 96 percent. The barometer is on the way up, 3-0.08. Check the wind. It's out of the east. It's at 12 miles per hour.
Now we go on to radar. First of all, Nexrad. And here's the latest picture from Denver's Nexrad.
Looking off into the mountains and to the north of us, steady rain in the foothills west of Fort Collins and up in the mountains, up into the Raywell Wilderness to the west of them, down into the Denver area.
Most of this is just kind of hugging up against the mountains this afternoon as it's being lifted on an upslope that's wind that's moving in from the northeast.
A lot of problems up in there. We'll talk about that in a moment. And some showers down in the southern section of the state.
Let's move on now. We'll take a look at our own Doppler South. And this looks into the mountains and foothills real well.
And these little dots that you see here are tracks or traces of where lightning strikes have been. And every once in a while you're going to see a new one there.
Now it's out of the range as far as seeing precipitation, but it sure is determining the lightning that's going on up in there.
And this light right here, that's the Colorado River. They've had steady rain there for the last several hours along with lightning and thunder.
And it looks like they're going to have some rising water in that area as well as down the blue coming out of Dillon and Silverthorne.
We're going to keep an eye on that. Here's the brunt of the storm system right now. And that's moving to the northeast.
It may move up into the Boulder area just a little bit later on this evening.
Check the temperatures now and here's what's going on around the region. It's warmer to the south. It's warmer to the west.
It's even warmer to the north than it is here in Denver. Off to the east, it's warmer out there.
They're cool temperatures for this time of the year. But Denver's right in the bullseye as far as cool conditions are concerned.
And we're going to stay in that bullseye for the next couple of days the way it's looking now.
Santa Fe, 67 degrees. And down at Amarillo, they're at 56 degrees this afternoon.
Now, there's a lot of twisting going on in the atmosphere over the United States tonight, mostly because of a low pressure system that's over Utah.
That's sending out little impulses heading to the east. And then they become big impulses as they hit the plains.
Here's the latest of those big impulses moving into Kansas and into Missouri.
Waters are still rising in that area. And, of course, the rain is going to continue there for the next couple of afternoons
the way it's looking right now as those impulses continue to shoot out of that Utah low.
And here's the way it looks on NEXRAD radars loop. And the heaviest of the rain is moving through that region last night.
And here are the replacements that are moving up out of the southwest for today.
And there was the bullseye over Utah. And we have that low pressure system here in the west.
And here's what's going to happen. Western Weathermaker shows the very heavy rain swinging right along a stationary front.
There's cooler air up here, warmer air here. And right along that line of demarcation, it continues to move out into the plains
and into the Mississippi River and eventually into the Ohio and a lot of the rivers in the Midwest.
Rivers and streams right now are continuing to go near bounds or out of bounds in Kansas and in Nebraska.
The outlook for tomorrow, there's that front. Everything kind of swings along it for tomorrow.
High pressure to the north and that represents cooler air that's going to continue to pump into northeastern Colorado.
So the sky's over the state tomorrow. More clouds, showers, thunderstorms in the northeast and in some areas of the mountains.
Highest elevations are going to be picking up some snow. We're going 7 to 8,000 feet where you're going to see some snow.
And then again about 9,000 feet where it's going to be sticking up in the high country.
That really kind of slows down the melt in the high country, but it adds to the snowpack.
So it's darned if you do and darned if you don't in this weather forecast.
For snow tonight, looking for 1 to 4 in those sort of salmon shaded areas you see there and 2 to 6 inches of snow at some of the lower elevations.
She's elected. It takes more than talk to run this city. It takes a mayor.
You've made Fort Torres the best selling car in America for the last three years and we're going to keep it that way.
Denver Mayor Wellington Webb is apologizing for his performance in the radio debate with challenger Mary DeGroote yesterday.
That debate turned into a shouting match at times between the two candidates.
Now, News 4's Rick Salinger reports both candidates are calling for a return to civility,
even as new negative TV ads are being unveiled by the DeGroote campaign blasting Webb.
We've got to go after the gang members instead of negotiating with them.
While four silhouetted Denver police officers talk about problems within the department, another message appears on the screen,
directly implying if the Webb administration knew who these police officers were, they wouldn't have much of a future in the Denver Police Department.
I think the voters of Denver should be very disappointed with the whole way that this campaign has been conducted.
It is negative ad after negative ad after negative ad.
Because I think what you just said is a bunch of gibberish.
On the radio yesterday, Webb wasn't exactly Mr. Positive in what amounted to a verbal slugfest of the airwaves.
It is important to have civility between the two of us in the last two weeks of this campaign.
And I intend to continue to talk about the issues.
I think that the two of us, that that whole interview was not worthy of the people of this city,
and that if there was a box, it might say vote for none of the above.
The radio debate may have been a low point in the campaign, but the negativism is certainly not gone.
On this day, Mary DeGroat accused the Webb campaign of blatant lies and political distortion.
Webb Literature claims DeGroat wants to privatize garbage pickup, hasn't worked with senior citizens, and taxes would go up under her administration.
I want this stopped. I want a retraction. And I want new literature distributed every place where he has distributed this.
I'm not pulling any literature, I'm not pulling any ads, but what I am going to do is I'm not going to partake in tit-for-tat in forums and debates,
but I'm going to talk about what I want to do for the next four years as mayor.
The crime is not down.
The attacks may continue through the ads, but it sounds like the candidates now believe the voters want a mayoral race, not mudrussing.
Rick Salinger, News 4.
Both candidates are scheduled to be taking part in a forum tonight at Byer School on South Pearl in Denver.
A railroad industry executive is running for the congressional seat that's now occupied by Republican Joel Heffley.
Republican Bob Hughes announced his candidacy this morning for the fifth congressional district seat covering the South Metro area in Colorado Springs.
Hughes, who works for the Colorado Railroad Association, has his own plans for cutting spending of elected in 96.
He wants to replace the current pension system for Congress, which Hughes says will pay some longtime members upward of $4 million.
Just a reminder, the annual Boulder-Boulder six-mile race is coming up on Monday.
Next, you'll meet some kids who know what it'll take to go the distance. Stay with us.
Over the past two years, there's one big deal in the market. They found it.
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Next Monday, hundreds of young people under the age of 18 will be running in the Boulder-Boulder.
But there's something new to help them compete, a program of instruction on how best to train for a 10K.
Phil LeBeau with News 4's Boulder Valley Bureau interviewed some of the young runners who hope to avoid the aches and pains of Memorial Day.
All right. Cavs and stuff.
They stretch, unwind, and get ready to run, not for gym class, but for the Boulder-Boulder.
If you come back here and you find that you still have like four or five minutes left, the water around the baseball field and the soccer fields extended a little bit.
This day, sixth-grader Shelby King and eighth-grader Russell Harding will run almost three miles.
Let's go, guys. Let's go.
Shelby's run the Boulder-Boulder for five years, and she knows what it takes. But this year, she believes regular training will lead to her best time yet.
I think I'll do much better and probably run faster.
Russell Harding is just the opposite. He doesn't care how long it takes. He simply wants to finish strong,
something he couldn't imagine when he first started training.
I was really tired after a short amount of time, and now I'm much better. I can go a lot longer.
That's the whole idea. By the end of the Boulder-Boulder, kids who have not trained properly are probably not feeling too good when they enter Folsom Field.
And if they didn't enjoy themselves, well, they're probably less likely to enter the race in the future.
There's a lot of kids from Boulder that really connect with the Boulder-Boulder, and so we want them to succeed in their race and have a good experience doing it.
So twice a week, they walk, jog, and push each other to keep going.
It's better to run with people than just alone.
They may not all finish together, but ultimately, at least they will finish.
Phil LeBow, News 4 Boulder Valley Bureau.
So we'll see if that training pays off on Monday. News 4 is going to have live coverage of the Boulder-Boulder, as we do every year, and it begins at 10 o'clock Monday morning.
Stephanie, I know you're running in it. Have you been training?
I think those kids are going to beat me to it.
You didn't answer the question.
Yes, I have.
Have you been training?
Begrudgingly, I have. It'll be fun.
Just ahead here, what the Nuggets have to say about raising their prices 23%.
And the Rockies hope for another big win against Cubs tonight.
Les will have the sports live from Coors Field in just a minute.
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The Rockies are back in action against the Chicago Cubs this evening.
Les joins us from Coors Field with his overcoat.
Staying warm out there tonight?
Stephanie, the weather's kind of a repeat of last night.
And the Rockies, frankly, are hoping for a repeat of last night
because they beat the Cubs by scoring two runs in the last inning, the ninth inning.
Let me show you how they did it.
First, Vinnie Castilla came up with a big swat.
He lines a double down the right field line, scores Dante Bichette,
and this ties up the game 8-8.
Then Roberto Mejia was called on to pinch hit.
He's been struggling lately, but manager Don Baylor showed faith and Mejia came through.
The game-winning single brought home Vinnie.
The final was 9-8, and Mejia might have saved himself a demotion to triple A.
I hope so. I hope that we can get him into more games where he's more selective.
I'm going to try to get him into game tomorrow, day game, maybe give Watt-Wise a day off.
Just to get him in the game and just let him get some positive out of it.
It's an early start tonight if you have tickets for the game.
Cubs and Rockies going at 6-0-5.
Marvin Freeman on the mound for the Rocks, and the Cubs will go with rookie Kevin Foster.
All the other action in the majors is tonight also.
There was a trade in the majors today.
Montreal sends well-traveled center fielder Roberto Kelly and rookie pitcher Joey Isha
to the L.A. Dodgers for outfielder Henry Rodriguez and infielder Jeff Treadway.
In basketball, well, as we expected, San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson is the NBA's most valuable player.
The Spurs had the league's best record this year, and the Admiral led the charge.
He scored almost 28 points a game, and he was just as good defensively.
He grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots a contest.
He's honored, but David really can't enjoy it right now, not with his team still in the playoffs battling the Houston Rockets.
You know, this is an incredible honor, and I don't even think it's going to soak into my head for some time.
But, you know, we're right in the middle of a serious job, and, you know, the prize is right on the edge of our fingertips.
We need to go get it.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal was second in the voting, and Utah's Carl Malone was third.
By the way, there's a playoff game tonight.
Orlando on the court for the first time, the first game of their series against Indiana, and that one is in Florida.
Around here, well, if you thought the price of a Nuggets ticket was expensive before, hold on to your wallet,
because I'm going to give you some unbelievable news.
The Nuggets prices are going up even more. The price of watching basketball is going up.
Here's Mark McIntosh with the bad news for Nuggets fans.
The Denver Nuggets sold out every home game this past season, but it's not enough.
Next season, when Nuggets fans step to the box office here at Big Nichols Sports Arena,
they're going to have to pay more to see their favorite team play.
Ticket prices are going up. Executive Vice President Sean Hunter talked about it.
The cost of doing business goes up 120 percent over six seasons, and our prices have only gone up, I think, it's 21 or 22 percent.
We had to do something.
The cost of business is players' salaries. Hunter says they've zoomed from seven million to almost 16 million in less than a decade.
Corporations and wealthy individuals who watch from the premier seats will bear the brunt of the increase.
All the news was not bad.
Thanks to some of our corporate partners, you're going to see our family nights and you're going to see our youth nights continue.
On the court, the Nuggets worked out another power forward, Memphis University's David Vaughn.
He's big, but not as big as he thought.
It was shocking to me, six, eight and a quarter. I figured out maybe around six, nine and a half.
Vaughn impressed Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, who called the Nashville Natives' workouts one of the best he's ever seen.
In Denver, Mark McIntosh, News 4 Sport.
I'll tell you what, on those ticket prices, if they expect us to fork over that much more money,
we better get a better effort from the Nuggets, night in and night out, and not just a good effort every two or three games.
Well, in hockey, any possible sale of the Quebec Nordiques to Denver is on hold,
because today, Nordique's owner Marcel Abou had his meeting canceled with the Quebec Premier.
It's delayed until Thursday.
In football, the Broncos continue their mini-camp out at headquarters,
a camp devoted almost exclusively to the new passing game they're installing.
And what a relief it is to see this coming up.
Tight end, Shannon Sharp, running and catching it.
He spent most of last year limping on bad ankles, but it looks like a little surgery
did the trick.
It's getting better.
You know, the thing is that, you know, the trainer and Mike gave me some time to recuperate
and told me not to rush it.
And I took my time, and it's coming back.
And hopefully by the time we go to training camp, even by the next mini-camp, I'll be 100%.
In high school sports, we have a familiar girls state champion in golf.
Let me show you how the tournament ended up.
Heritage on top for the second year in a row, followed by Cherry Creek and Boulder.
And the best individual in the tournament, the low score, belonged to a 14-year-old freshman,
this young lady right here, Lynn Ann Moreto of Cherry Creek High.
She had low score for the tournament after shooting an 80 yesterday and an 82 today.
She finished well ahead of the field.
I was pretty nervous, but I just had to hit one shot at a time.
Never.
And one more thing.
There was a bench clearing brawl in a minor league baseball game last night.
It was the Durham Bulls against the Winston-Salem Ward Hawks.
This game was full of bean balls, and this hit-by pitch just set everyone off.
It was nasty, this fight.
The game was delayed a half hour.
Ten players were thrown out.
One guy ended up in the hospital after losing several teeth and getting knocked unconscious.
And Stephanie, the kicker to all this, the theme at the Durham ballpark last night was
strikeout domestic violence.
Evidently, the players didn't abide by it.
Missed the message there.
Okay, thanks, Les.
We're going to have Larry's Outlook through the Memorial Day weekend next, and we will
answer today's weather school question.
So don't leave.
We'll be right back.
Maybe you've always seen yourself in a cheap Grand Cherokee with a 190-horsepower engine,
anti-lock brakes, and driver's airbag, but maybe you've never seen one fitting into your
budget, so maybe you'll be surprised to see for $2.99 monthly, one can, the easy-to-lease
Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Now if you can see it in your head, you can see it in your driveway.
See your local Jeep and Eagle dealer.
There's a new spirit at Pizza Hut.
Hi.
Casper!
Welcome.
Living or not, living.
You can order Dine-In Pepsi, kid.
Now order any pizza or Pepsi and get a glow-in-the-dark hand puppet from the movie Casper.
Only $1.49 Dine-In carry-out or delivery.
Boo!
And I'm sure I'll be paying so many years.
You'll love this stuff when they have Pizza Hut.
Stanley Steamer's rolling out the Dirty Carpet Challenge.
We dare you to let us clean your dirtiest, most spilled on, stopped on, walked all over
area of carpeting.
If you don't see an improvement after our safe steam cleaning, you don't pay.
So find your dirtiest carpet and lay it on us.
We guarantee you'll see a big difference.
Stanley Steamer, tough on dirt, gentle on carpet.
Call now about our TV special.
Memorial Day weekend means it's time to enjoy the great outdoors.
And it's also time to enjoy the great savings at Payless Drug Stores.
Right now, get Northern Bath Tissue on sale.
The 12-roll pack is just $2.97.
Or pick up Lake's Patty Hose now, $1 off any pair.
And get Centrum or Centrum Silver, your choice for the low price of $7.99.
Come to Payless for savings everyone can enjoy.
Payless Drug Stores, because you deserve more from a drug store.
What makes Buick Qualities the best time to buy?
Just listen.
I looked at the Intrepid, the Sable, but I liked the Regal better.
These extra savings clinched it.
We were waiting for the best time to buy.
This is it.
We were just driving by and we saw all these people at the Buick dealer.
We bought a new car. I can't believe it.
Yoke Regal is a better value than Accord.
And when they throw in these incentives, it's no contest.
Get the biggest combined savings of the year at your local Buick dealer now.
Bottom line is, I saved money.
We'll turn to Larry in a minute.
First, a reminder that tonight at 10 on News 4, we'll go to Oklahoma City again.
The cleanup begins after the federal building was brought down.
That's right. Also tonight, we continue our special report on why zoos, like Denver's,
may have to give up some of its precious animals
and meet a teenager who is an inspiration to all of us.
A drunk driver left Kate Nelson in a wheelchair when she was two years old.
But Kate Nelson, as you can see, has big plans for the future.
We'll hear from her tonight.
Okay, Larry, anything changed on that five-day forecast, I hope?
No, really not.
We have some snow going on in the foothills to the west of town.
On the other side of the Continental Divide, heavy thunderstorms continue up there,
so watch for some rivers to start rising a little bit over the next several hours.
Let's take a look now at what's in store for Denver over five days.
Tonight, cloudy and some showers and foothills snow.
36 for a low downtown, a little cooler than that out on the plains, but no freeze tonight.
Tomorrow, 50 degrees for the high, showers, thunder, yes, they're possible,
even probable for the day tomorrow.
And here's the rest of that five-day forecast.
Thursday, another cool day, 56 degrees, showers, maybe a thunderstorm in the afternoon.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we'll see the sun.
It'll warm up, but we still have those afternoon showers.
Okay.
Weather school question.
And here it is one more time.
Which is the satellite that's currently been launched or has been launched last week?
Is it the fourth in the series?
Is it the seventh or is it the ninth in the GOES satellite series?
Stephanie?
Seventh, maybe?
Seventh.
Number?
Seven?
I'll go with seven.
Okay, well, number nine was launched last Friday, I believe it was.
So that'll be going into place, and we'll be seeing pictures from that shortly.
Okay, I hope the pictures are better.
Focus that thing.
Have a terrific evening.
It's nice to have you with us on News 4.
Zoo babies are saving their species every day in zoos across the country.
Find out where and why zoo animals move and meet Denver's newest arrival in Travels with Animals tonight at 10 on News 4.
We'll be right back.