More local news on K-triple-I-83 begins now.
Twenty-five thousand dollars a week. That's what it's costing to spray the Corpus Christi area for mosquitoes. How much longer can that go on?
I don't know anything about those cases. I don't know why they're getting sued. I don't know any of that. All I know is that they needed a scapegoat, and he's the man.
Another court case involving the Narensis County Jail comes to an end today. In this one, a corrections officer was accused of punching an inmate.
And a stunning courtroom development today involving a well-known local attorney who now finds himself at odds with a judge.
And good evening, everyone. Personal injury attorney Thomas J. Henry is facing a stiff fine for filing what a Narensis County District judge calls a frivolous lawsuit.
Gene Cox has been covering the story today. Gene?
Attorney Thomas J. Henry made headlines earlier this year for a controversial sign he put up across the street from Driscoll Children's Hospital.
This case started with a 1999 death of a 57-year-old man from Aransas Pass.
Two doctors and now a judge think Henry should never have filed the suit.
Henry White died December 23, 1999, of stroke complications. Not long after his death, his wife Joyce paid a visit to the law offices of Thomas J. Henry.
What my concern was the care he received in the hospital.
That initial concern expanded into a lawsuit with a long list of defendants, pharmaceutical companies, and Aransas Pass Hospital, and nine health care professionals.
The suit was dismissed earlier this month, but not before attorneys for doctors Robert Lowe and Stephen Smith accused Thomas J. Henry of filing a frivolous lawsuit.
That complaint filed May 28, and District Judge Ronald Yeager's court claimed the case was, quote, groundless, frivolous, and brought in bad faith, or for the purposes of harassing Dr. Lowe and Dr. Smith.
Tuesday in Rockport, the judge agreed and ordered Henry to pay a fine for filing the suit.
Judge Yeager established the order in Aransas County Court.
According to court documents, Thomas J. Henry is to pay $25,000 for each of the two doctors who filed the original request.
Now, Thomas J. Henry says he's been off the case since January.
That's when Henry filed a motion to withdraw from the case. By phone he told me, this is the first time I've ever had this kind of judgment against me.
I'll be consulting with my attorneys. The decision will be appealed.
And Joyce White stands by her former attorney.
There's a lot better things they could be doing besides going after him, you know.
I mean, he has helped some people, I'm sure, and probably pissed off people. I'm sure he has, you know, from what I've seen on the news.
Once the sanction order is signed by the judge, it's likely both Thomas J. Henry and the doctor's attorney will have more to say publicly about this case.
Gene Cox, 3 News.
Thank you, Gene. On the police, we had a shooting last night on the city's west side. It has become a homicide. The victim died this morning at a local hospital.
Katie Kaiser joins us live now from the crime scene with the latest on this story. Katie?
Well, Joe, a suspect was arrested early this morning, but that's done little to comfort the grieving family.
24-year-old Benjamin Hernandez and his entire family had gathered right here for a family birthday party.
But, sadly, the whole family was here last night to witness a fatal drive-by shooting.
I can't cry. I just, like, little tears come out. I mean, I can't do it.
My husband is crying, my daughter and my daughter in law, but I can't. I just can't let it all go.
Hernandez says she was standing right by her son when he was fatally shot in the chest.
Police later arrested this man, 21-year-old Luis Gonzalez, on murder charges.
They found him at a local hotel on Leopard Street about three this morning.
Police say the motive behind the murder appears to be a disagreement between the two men over the victim's sister, 21-year-old Naomi Hernandez.
Her brother apparently disapproved of her dating Gonzalez, but now the entire family says they're in disbelief that this argument turned into something so tragic.
Reporting live, I'm Katie Kaiser. Joe, back to you.
All right, Katie, thanks very much.
In the Westis County, a jury has found a local corrections officer not guilty of assaulting an inmate.
32-year-old Raimundo Rodriguez admitted to physically restraining the inmate, but says he was provoked and felt like he was in danger at the time.
And, again, the jury apparently agreed.
The incident took place in a holding cell back in January after the inmate reportedly asked for a sandwich.
Rodriguez's attorney says his client was treated unfairly because of all the recent lawsuits against jail personnel.
I don't know anything about those cases. I don't know why they're getting sued. I don't know any of that.
All I know is that they needed a scapegoat, and he's the man.
We may not like inmates. We may think, well, they deserve a little rough treatment when they get booked with him.
That's fine to have that attitude, but, again, you have to apply the cold hard evidence to the cold hard law.
Rodriguez is now appealing to get his job back.
Even though he's been cleared of these misdemeanor assault charges, he now faces a felony charge of official oppression.
Corpus Christi firefighters battled a stubborn house fire early this morning at Ruth and 19th Street on the west side of town.
Arson investigators say the fire broke out in this abandoned house around 5 this morning.
Firefighters say they found two separate blazes when they arrived and that it appeared someone had been camping inside.
There were no injuries, and at this point they have no exact cause for the fire just yet.
As we've been reporting, the city is aggressively spraying to control the mosquito population,
particularly the ones found to be carrying the St. Louis encephalitis virus.
And while the spraying is believed to be working, the costs of the program are spiraling.
So where's the money coming from, and will there be enough to continue spraying?
Steve Yokum is here live now with more on that.
Joe, the spraying is so expensive it's now exceeded the health department's budget by around $150,000.
Today in the Glen Arbor Park neighborhood, Perfecto Gavassos mows his lawn, not too concerned about encephalitis mosquitoes.
Right now recently, yes, I've noticed that the mosquitoes have kind of dwindled away.
There's still some left, but not as much as a couple of weeks ago.
And only a block away, city crews are inspecting storm drains, another part of the city's mosquito abatement program.
Well, not too much larvae, but we've got to check everyone once a week.
A big part of the cost of this program is labor.
Crews have to be out in the neighborhoods where infected mosquitoes have been found,
checking places where the larvae could hatch out, places like the storm drain here.
So what's it all costing? Plenty.
Around $25,000 a week.
And that's just for chemicals, add in labor, and the amount triples.
Now city officials are moving $150,000 surplus from other departments to the health department.
We cannot for the next indefinite period of time continue this massive spraying program.
Another challenge, the primary spray being used, is called scourge.
Only one manufacturer makes it. It's not cheap, and demand on the limited supply is rising.
Well, we're throwing six ounces per minute of scourge and mineral oil in this tank.
I think the product is probably expensive because it's very good.
Today, officials said they would not consider raising your taxes to pay for encephalitis spraying.
But if the mosquito problem persists long term, no one's completely sure just how we'll pay for it.
Steve Yoakam, 3 News.
A two-car accident on the Crosstown Expressway sent three people to the hospital this afternoon.
It happened around 3 o'clock at the Horn Road exit.
Police say one car rear-ended another and that the driver was simply going too fast to avoid the collision.
None of the injuries were said to be life-threatening.
Federal investigators are looking into whether excessive heat may have caused this week's crash of an Amtrak train in Maryland
that left more than 100 people injured.
They say heat could buckle the tracks, causing cars to jump off the rails.
Area 3 reporter Dave Johnson is live at the Tex-Mex rail yard on Highway 44 tonight
with more on how the South Texas heat could affect our rail traffic.
Well, of course, the heat is of prime concern here, Joe, especially in South Texas.
Where in June, July, August, and September, temperatures are always near 100 degrees.
They are mighty and majestic.
For many, a symbol of what America is all about.
Stretching 150 miles from Corpus Christi to Laredo, the Texas-Mexican Railway is one of the safest railways in the nation.
Fifty-six and a half is what is required of this railroad.
As road master, it's Felipe Nevadas' job to keep it safe.
It can't be tighter than 56 inches and it can't be wider than 58 inches.
He's using a tool called a track inspector gauge. It looks like an old-fashioned slide rule.
Right now it shows 56 and three-quarter, which is alright. We're pretty close to a frog.
Frog is train talk for a switch.
It's snugly just shifted down.
That pulls the track either in or out.
Train travel is actually quite safe, but Mother Nature can cause some problems.
For example, if it rains too much or it's too cold, the foundation underneath the tracks can actually shift.
When it's hot like it is in the summertime, the actual rails themselves will either bend in or bend out some 12 to 30 inches.
And because they're riding on very, very thin wheels to begin with, the potential is there for some major problems.
Corpus Christi has had its share of derailments over the years.
None have proved fatal, but the concern for safety is always there.
The wheel will lift with the weight, will lift off the rail, and perhaps derail.
Because of that, the Tex-Mex checks their rails daily.
We're going to have them. It's going to happen. And we just kind of have to put our heads together and see how we can prevent them.
Well, meantime, the CSS track line has announced what they call a heat order for all trains using their tracks nationwide.
Now, that means that Amtrak and all other passenger trains will not be allowed to travel any faster than freight trains on CSS tracks during hot weather.
Operating under the theory, Joe, that it's much better to be safe than sorry. Back to you.
Thanks very much. Back to school shoppers are eagerly awaiting this weekend's big sales tax holiday.
But with all those people waiting for Friday, what's happening at the stores now?
And I'll bet lots of people are waiting for some relief from the heat.
The question now, how long will they have to wait, Roland? I wish I could do something about it, Joe.
That's a big question. We'll talk about the heat and humidity.
Still that chance of rain for the weekend, your five-day forecast coming up. Dan?
Roland, if you think you've heard the last about hanging chads, stay with us.
The Cowboys could have that kind of problem, as we'll explain when three news continues.
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Now, shopping. The big tax-free shopping weekend begins Friday.
You might think stores would be pretty much dead until then.
But in fact, many stores are already buzzing with activity.
So what's going on?
Holly Ames joins us now live with an update. Holly?
Well, Joe, the stores are busy.
We took a trip to Walmart today and there were plenty of people shopping.
And the key word here is shopping because most of the actual buying won't happen until the weekend.
Attention Walmart customers.
Once again, don't forget this weekend, August 2nd, 3rd and 4th, is a tax-free sales weekend.
On clothing and software under $100.
So come this weekend and shop on August 2nd, 4th.
There are plenty of reminders, but the shoppers we met are well aware this is the weekend to save.
Oh yes, definitely. I have two cousins that are school age and we always take advantage of that.
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I'm going to have to go do some shopping for my grandchildren.
Help my kids out. They've got a whole bunch of kids out there.
Christy Ronhell with Walmart says right now school supplies are hot.
They're not on the tax-free list, so some are getting that shopping out of the way.
Because come Friday, it's all about the shoes and clothes.
We have a lot of clothing built up specifically for this weekend.
We get a lot of inventory in.
And it's already on the floor so shoppers can plan ahead.
Walmart officials tell us that shoppers are really learning how to take advantage of this weekend.
They say they've seen many people coming ahead of time and picking out exactly what they want.
So come the weekend, they'll have less of a hassle.
You see them as they're going through the clothing racks and the children are looking at the clothes,
they'll tell them, you know, we're coming back. We're coming back this weekend.
Sandy says she'll be back this weekend and so will Martha.
Look at the camera man. Say hi.
She has 13 grandkids and says with that many to shop for, the savings can really add up.
It makes a lot of difference. I'll tell you that right now.
Every dollar counts. If it's a $5 tax, that's a lot for us.
You have three days to save.
The tax-free holiday runs Friday through Sunday.
Holly Ames, 3 News.
Oh, it's going to be a madhouse.
Yeah, I hope those people are going to get lots of cool clothes because we still have a whole summer to go here.
It's going to be a scourge for the rest of the summer.
In fact, it's one of those things where you go find what you want,
stick it under the extra, extra, extra large and then when you go there Friday, it's there for you.
Talk about the heat for the rest of the week, high humidity,
and we'll talk about that chance of rain as we head into the weekend.
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You've got the power.
Beautiful day today. Actually, heading into the malls might be good for this weekend.
As temperatures once again into the mid and upper 90s, you throw in the humidities and the heat index about 105 to possibly 115 for the next several days.
A big ridge of high pressure in control across most of the state. It's capping most of the moisture and basically sinking air.
That's what's causing all the heat. A few showers and thunderstorms popping up along the Louisiana coastline and near New Orleans.
Most of that activity has been confined there thanks to that big ridge of high pressure.
It just keeps all those storms to the east of us.
We're looking at a 93 in Milo Dessa, 99 near Laredo, 97 along the North Texas area, 97 both in Waco and Dallas, Fort Worth.
Houston coming in at 93 for an afternoon high, but again with a humidity heat index all along the coastline well above 100.
93 currently in Alice, Kingsville, 91 Rockport. A current temperature of 88 degrees. You throw in humidity 100 there.
And for the most part, the entire area, 103 in Kingsville. In fact, the heat index in Kingsville as of 4 was 112 degrees this afternoon.
77 your morning low, 95 the afternoon high, 75 and 94 the normals for this time of the year.
So we're actually above normal a bit. The record of 1991 of 99 degrees.
So we are getting up there peak winds today of 26 miles per hour with winds out of the southeast for the most part.
And that will be the scenario bringing in some of that humidity from the Gulf of Mexico.
Doing some boating for tomorrow and for the next several days because of those gusty winds and that possibility for the isolated shower heading into the weekend.
The bay water will be choppy, seas generally around three to five feet.
And exercise some caution if you're doing some boating for the next several days.
Staying hot, though, for tonight and for tomorrow. And then gradually as we head into Friday, Saturday and for the first part of next week,
we're watching this little storm system coming in from the eastern Gulf of Mexico heading towards the west.
That will increase the moisture. You get the afternoon heating and we're looking for those isolated showers.
Nothing severe and most of that activity should stay well to the east.
Here are the showers and thunderstorms popping up along the Gulf Coast.
Some heavier showers up in the northern part of the country and finally some cooler weather along the Pacific Northwest.
As temperatures begin to cool down into the 50s tonight, by tomorrow afternoon we will still see more sunshine across the southeast.
80s for the most part cooling down. Actually, these are cooler temperatures along the northern part of the country.
78, the morning low, partly cloudy skies in the forecast. Winds out of the south at 15.
97 for an afternoon high, partly cloudy skies, south 15 to 20 miles per hour.
Here's your five day forecast in. We're still calling for that increase in clouds for Friday.
Again, nothing severe and you're taking advantage of that tax-free weekend.
That's one way to cool off. It might put a little heat in your wallet, but you'll be cooling off body-wise anyway.
Echo in my wallet. All right, thank you very much Roland. Dan's up next with all the sports after this.
Can the Cowboys really be comfortable with a quarterback named Quincy? Find out next in Sports.
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Books.
I can see.
Time for sports. Dan is here now with more on the Cowboys and training camp and all that.
You were talking about the offensive stats today. I was looking at the NFL stats, looking at the Cowboys passing attack.
I had to go way to the bottom, number 31, to find their passing attack last year. They say it's going to be different this year.
Would have to improve if it moves.
So where to go but up. That's right. As the Cowboys, of course, finished dead last in the NFL last season in passing with really a variety of starting quarterbacks.
Alan Harwell, though, joins us from the newsroom with an update on the Cowboys summer camp for quarterbacks.
All right. Thank you, Dan. The Dallas Cowboys have four quarterbacks in training camp this year.
It's Quincy Carter now the number one position, but it's also his job to lose. Here's the latest.
You're looking at the new and improved Quincy Carter, no longer just a raw rookie. Yes, there were times he was throwing those ugly wobbly passes.
You'll still see a few now and then, but more often, at least in training camp, we're seeing crisp spirals being thrown all around the Alamo Dome.
Well, I'm feeling comfortable, man. And, you know, but you know, still I got to keep working hard every day.
You can't just rest your head on one day. So I know it's still a lot I got to learn in this game.
So I got to keep improving every time I step out here.
One reason for the improvement has to be from the new competition himself, Chad Hutchinson. Yes, he is pushing Quincy Carter.
If you remember, Hutchinson was a star football player at Stanford, decided to become a baseball player, in fact, pitched four years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, finally gave that up.
Now he's back in football, but admits he's taking it slowly. I mean, that's the thing. Everybody's coming up to me. What about quarterback?
Well, I haven't played in four years, you know, and that's what I have to understand is I got to be patient with myself out there.
So, yeah, it is a learning phase for me. Of course, the other two quarterbacks are Anthony Wright and Clint Stirner.
Odds are Wright makes the team. Stirner gets cut. We'll have to wait and see who stays healthy in training camp.
Dan, we'll hear from Dave Campo, the coach, get his thoughts on the quarterbacks of 10 back to you.
He's the man with the last word, other than Jerry Jones, of course.
Hey, new A&M Corpus Christi softball coach Missy Phillips has finished recruiting a new staff with the addition of Thomas McLaughlin's assistant coach.
This is not your ordinary assistant coach. He spent 20 years in the Marine Corps before becoming head softball coach at Cleveland State back in 1991.
He comes the islanders from Oklahoma Baptist University and fishing to no change in the star fishing results.
Mike Blackwood continues to lead Kingfish leader Ruben Villarreal, Red Snapper Charles Everts and our founder leader remains Dennis Riddman with that monster, monster saddle blanket.
Oh, by the way, history last night, the WNBA. Can you figure out what it is?
That's right. Lisa Leslie with a first ever dunk during competition in the WNBA.
I guess this deserves one more look as the fans go crazy. She's been doing it in practice, finally had a chance to do it in competition.
So there you go. Another first. That's never happened. It's never happened in the WNBA.
A couple of college folks have done it, but no, it's just one of those groundbreaking events right there last night. Cool.
Up next, see how one of your neighbors just won a brand new car.
Represent the injured.
The final item tonight. Listen to this. A Corpus Christi man enjoying a new set of wheels tonight thanks to an incredibly lucky break. Frank Raina was handed the keys to this shiny black 2002 Monte Carlo today.
Now, last March, Raina registered to win the twenty six thousand dollar car in the Drucker Noir.
No, it's Drucker Noir. That's how I was told to pronounce that. Victory lane sweepstakes at Foley's. That's where it was done.
The thing is, the contest involves sixty five Foley stores in eight states. So you can imagine how lucky he is.
The car is fully loaded with the latest technology, including OnStar. Raina says he's never had this nice a vehicle before. So congratulations to him. Drucker Noir.
Smelly stuff. Yeah. That's going to wrap up the six o'clock edition of Three News for Dan and Roland and all of us here at TV3. I'm Joe Gason. Thanks for watching. See you back with more tonight at ten.
The questions of tomorrow's weather answered today with Futurecast, a TV3 exclusive.