Live from the Channel 6 studios, this is KRIS 6 News at 6.
Now here's the latest.
City officials are one step closer to making this Port Area baseball stadium a reality just in time for the November ballot.
And she's accused of an accident that left a two-year-old dead.
But this woman's attorneys say she wouldn't be on trial if she were a man.
Defense attorneys for Irma Rivera say there were 37 fatal crashes in Nueces County the same year she's accused of killing a two-year-old little girl in a traffic accident.
But they say her case is the only one headed to court.
Darcy Jones was in the courtroom today. She joins us live in the KRIS 6 Newsroom with the details. Darcy?
Irma and defense attorneys say men don't put on makeup. That's why it's discrimination to go after their female clients.
Other manners of committing this offense, driver inattention, is responsible for just about every traffic fatality.
And yet they've singled this one out for prosecution for treatment as a criminal case.
The case started back in October of 1999.
Tammy and Charles Hutchins were driving with their young daughter when their car had a flat tire on the causeway.
While they were trying to pull off the road, they were hit from behind by Irma Rivera's Azuzu.
The impact killed two-year-old Amanda Nicole Hutchins.
Prosecutors say Rivera was speeding, putting on makeup, and may have been talking on her cell phone.
For nearly three years, the case has been in limbo.
Some say Rivera's job as Judge Martha Worth as court manager may be helping her out.
But the defense says it's just the opposite.
As a matter of fact, we feel that this is one of the reasons she's being prosecuted because of her job here.
Prosecutors would not go on camera to answer some of these accusations from the defense,
but did say they're not prosecuting this manslaughter case because Rivera is a woman.
Now Tammy and Charles Hutchins are also not talking.
They say they don't want their words to affect the outcome of the case.
Pre-trial hearings are set to begin on October 11th, with the trial being given priority setting on November 12th.
Corpus Christi officials discussed banning drivers from using cell phones last year,
but there wasn't enough support for the change.
Transportation Advisory Committee member Cliff Moss tells KRIS 6 News,
at this point there are no plans to take the issue up again.
A 73-year-old local attorney will be jailed without bond until his case goes to trial.
For the first time since he disappeared in March, Robert Carnahan was in court today.
Carnahan faces 13 counts of indecency with a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
His case is set for trial August 12th.
The Minor League Baseball Stadium proposed by Nolan and Reed Ryan is once again the focus of Corpus Christi council members.
Megan Blair is standing by live at City Hall with more on what they're talking about. Megan?
Myron, that specially called meeting lasted a little more than an hour.
It was not open to the public, but earlier today I was able to speak with a few people
that were able to tell me exactly what the council would be discussing.
These are the sketches council members are seeing for the first time.
They show plans for the general look and sizing of the proposed Minor League ballpark,
as well as plans for retail outlets. But more importantly, it shows where the park would be placed.
With the exception of these two buildings, everything here is owned by the port.
And that's basically what we're going to be talking about, Lee?
That's right.
This is the area that's becoming the spot of choice for both the Ryans and the city council.
It's located here, just across from the Solomon P.R.T. Center.
That's exactly what they're going to talk about.
They're going to talk about the fact that the site's 37 acres,
of which baseball will take about 22 of those acres.
Kitchens has been involved with the Ryans and the deal from the start.
He says now it's time for the city council to decide without outside voices what they want.
Council members say the meeting is really about getting a feel for the details.
You know, right now there's some warehouses down there.
There's been talk about everything from demolition of some of the warehouses
to in some cases conversion into parking and everything.
So there's just a lot of issues that need to be flushed out.
The big detail, how the port will lease that land to the city.
There's also a question of who assumes the cost of demolishing standing buildings.
Now after that closed session they did take some public comments for about 15 minutes.
A lot of those people were very angry that more than one location
was not being considered for the stadium, that the council seemed to be fixated on one place.
Now the council says the real purpose of this meeting being in closed session
was so that they could come to a consensus and present that to the voters
so that they'd be more likely to approve that one-eighth cent sales tax come November.
Thank you, Megan.
That tax would pay for the construction of the $17 million complex
the Ryans would supply the minor league team.
Four Houston area men just took a fishing trip they'll never forget.
They took a wrong turn after filling up their boat in Port Aransas
and ended up inside the Harbor Bridge area which is restricted.
They were picked up by marina patrol and their boat was searched.
They were eventually free to go, but their misdirection could have gotten them into serious trouble.
The federal government could have fined them up to $250,000, a fine in place ever since 9-11.
A driver turning off Saratoga loses control of his SUV and barely misses running into a home.
Around 1130 last night police say the 17-year-old driver of this white Isuzu turned onto Aaron
leaving behind a mangled street sign.
The vehicle rolled stopping just inches away from this home.
The driver's injuries weren't life threatening. Police say alcohol may have been a factor.
An El Camino getting on SPID slams into a parked pickup sending the truck across the other lanes of the freeway.
The pickup hit two other cars before it stopped.
Two pregnant women involved in the crash were taken to the hospital. No word on their injuries.
The gas chamber is now a thing of the past for Corpus Christi's animal control.
Starting today only lethal injection will be used to put down domestic animals like cats and dogs.
Animal control personnel were trained this week on the injections which are said to be more humane than gassing.
The gas chamber will still be used for wild animals.
Shoppers take your remarks and get set to hit the stores for this weekend's tax free holiday
which begins in just under six hours.
Sylvia Martinez has the scoop on how retailers are preparing for the massive crowds.
Here at Academy they are getting boxes like this by the truckload.
Each and every one of them filled with jeans in just about every size you can imagine
to get ready for all the crowds for this weekend's tax free holiday.
It's been a little slow but I think it's going to be a lot more hectic this weekend than it has in the past two or three years.
That's why Academy employees are working harder and working longer.
We're bringing down one of every size of the different shoes to make sure it's easier for the customers to reach the shoes
and so we don't have to be carrying ladders and out of all the busy customers because it's going to be pretty busy.
Every night Casey and other workers in the shoe department have to stock two or three shipments of new shoes to get ready for the weekend rush.
Every year it's really, really busy and so it's supposed to be pretty chaotic.
Last year we only had a couple of aisles, which are these two aisles here in uniforms.
We ran out of a lot of the colors that we had last year.
So this year we kind of added two more aisles over this one. We have a lot more uniforms.
And when customers are shoulder to shoulder in the aisles, it means long lines at the register.
It's going to be all of all pretty good because it gets really, really busy.
I don't know if you've all been here on a tax free weekend. It gets really busy and you have to be pretty quick.
Some people have compared this tax free holiday weekend to the day after Thanksgiving sales and even Christmas.
So these folks have their work cut out for them and it all starts Friday at 1201.
Before you head out to do some shopping, log on to our website at KRISTV.com.
There you'll see a link to the state controller's site with a complete list of tax free items.
Those stores will be nice and cool. A good break from the heat.
For our first look at the future tracker forecast, let's check in with Chief Meteorologist, Dale Nelson, in the Weather Center.
We certainly have some serious heat in the coastal bend as we topped out in the mid-90s here today.
Let's take a look at the radar. Not a lick of rain anywhere in South Texas.
That's got to bring smiles to the folks along the river.
But it is dry here in the city. About two weeks now with nothing.
And there is a lot of moisture off Louisiana Delta and down in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
We'll explain more on that in a few minutes.
But the forecast continues to be dry here tomorrow and blazing hot.
Starting fairly comfortable in 74 with a light wind at 7 but 92 at noon and 94 at 5 o'clock.
So with the lighter winds, how hot does it actually get tomorrow?
What about the weekend? And the tropics are starting to get a little more active in a few minutes.
I'll be back to tell you all about it.
Thank you, Dale. The state rates at schools up next will tell you how one local school district scored.
And it's not football season yet, but there was plenty of reason to cheer at this pep rally.
In determining what this company is worth is costing a local school district.
We'll talk about that coming up on KRIS 6 News at 10.
It's Shoe Week at Ross. The latest styles. The top brands.
For men, women and kids. All at savings of 40 to 70 percent.
Shoe Week at Ross. You won't believe the savings.
The ID at Staples.
You're watching KRIS 6 News at 6.
Texas Education Agency has issued its annual report card for the state schools and Corpus Christi ISD fared well overall.
Thirteen schools are top rated. 27 are recognized. A total of 20 are acceptable.
That includes the two alternative schools.
Because of the state is doing away with the school's TOSS test, schools will keep the current rating two years until the newer test results come in.
Mathis area residents who suffered damage from last month's flooding will soon be able to meet with FEMA representatives.
FEMA is opening a disaster relief center in Mathis on Monday.
The center will be set up at Mathis Junior High School and will be open through August 10.
The hours of operation will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Local folks gather to cheer on their favorite cause.
The band played on for the United Way's fall fundraising campaign.
And what would a pep rally be without a treat?
The long line paid off with the attendees each getting hot dogs with all the trimmings from Wiener Stitzel.
The charity got a big start to the season. They received a $36,000 donation from Southwestern Bell.
The winds continue to die down. Is that a sign of some changes in our forecast?
Dale's standing by with the answers on that.
And these guys are hoping the wind sticks around.
We'll tell you where you can watch the action a little later on.
There will always be enough wind here for kiteboarding no matter how much they lay.
Let's take a look at our weather almanac. The weather's already changing.
Look at our overnight low last night, down to 73 degrees.
And that's way below where we should be for this time of the year.
Where we've been, we had 80 earlier in the week.
Afternoon high though, getting hotter at 96.
Still have a rainfall deficit of 7 1⁄2 inches.
Forecast with those changes coming up next.
Guess what time it is. It's time for Vista Chevrolet's birthday bash.
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Hi everybody and a good Thursday evening to you as we take a look at our satellite depiction.
A couple interesting things.
An area of disturbed weather popped up this morning down here in the Bay of Campeche as you can see here.
But on closer analysis, I think the upper level winds are too strong for this to be much of a problem.
But we're keeping an eye on it, so is the Hurricane Center.
Right now it doesn't look like too big of a deal, but it just goes to show that this time of the year things can pop up very quickly.
Yesterday there was nothing there at all.
Of more interest and perhaps more concern down the road.
Don't want to get anybody too elevated here, but we've got this area of disturbed weather now in the northeastern Gulf.
And this appears on most of the computer models like this is going to turn into a surface area of low pressure in the northeastern Gulf and track off to the west.
Where it goes from there is very difficult to say at this point and is not in the immediate forecast.
I think at the very least it will deliver some rain showers to the coastal bend, primarily eastern sections beginning late Sunday night and into Monday and Tuesday.
Our future tracker at 11 o'clock tonight is showing that area in the Gulf and also picking up this moisture down to the south right here,
which is not as prominent as this region at 7 o'clock in the morning.
And of course all day long tomorrow we stay bone dry and blazing hot and we should be approaching record high levels tomorrow.
We won't get to 100 degrees, but close and very close also to the hottest day of the year through 5 o'clock tomorrow.
There's that moisture off the coast of Louisiana and it continues to slowly advance our way,
but not showing signs of development through 7 o'clock on Saturday morning.
So that's our future tracker.
And again, I concur with that completely.
The radar review shows no activity here.
The showers associated down to the south are weakening tonight, so that's good, with a little bit of activity in the Gulf.
And one or two of those showers could stray into coastal waters here on Sunday.
So fishermen take note of that because the winds are going to be very inviting as they continue to come down in the late night and early morning hours
before the sea breeze kicks in like it did today in the afternoon.
Upper 80s along the coast, the low 90s inland are the extremes in the coastal bend, but the winds have really picked up.
And again, this is just the afternoon sea breeze and the difference between the water temperature and the inland temperatures, which are far, far different.
The greater the difference, the greater the pressure, the greater the pressure, the more wind you have.
Tranquil is the forecast overnight at 74 degrees after hitting 73 last night.
That's about where they'll be in George Weston Beeville with 81 degrees out on Padre Island and certainly going to be sticky.
Blazing hot here tomorrow at 97.
We haven't been beyond that officially here in the city yet this year.
And we'll take it. No reason to get to 105 anytime soon.
I think anyone's looking forward to that except the air conditioning folks.
Less wind out in the Gulf of Mexico, 98 in Kingsville and triple digit levels back off to the west.
Right now in Corpus Christi, scattered clouds and 91 still feels like 100 and a pretty good breeze blowing in off of Corpus Christi Bay.
The forecast looks like this overnight 74, sunshine in 97 tomorrow. It's going to be hot.
97 still no rain on Saturday. Pick up a stray shower and down to 95 on Sunday.
And watching the Gulf of Mexico for potential development and certainly rainmaker out there headed in this general direction.
So I've got scattered showers in the forecast for Monday and Tuesday.
But that is certainly open for change depending on exactly how that low forms up, if at all,
and which way it moves once it gets out into the central Gulf off of Louisiana.
OK. You know, it's a wind that we've had lately. There's at least one group of people who don't want it to go away.
I know what you're talking about.
You know, this weekend, big time kite surfing competition that kicks off Saturday.
But out at JP Louie Surf Park, beach goers got to watch one of the pros and even get in a little less in the day.
Olaf Johnson says his most important tip to those wanting to break into the extreme sport is to practice safety.
To see the country's best kite surfers this weekend, head out to North Beach near the USS Lexington.
They'll compete Saturday and Sunday from noon to dusk.
Both the men and women finalists get a trip to the last season competition in Hawaii.
Not a bad deal here. Well, it sounds like it will be a very interesting time out at North Beach.
I'm going to head out myself. I'd like to watch those guys.
Oh, yeah. Kick back and be right along the beach there.
The axe will be right in front of you. And it's really fan friendly, this kite board.
And they don't race way out there far off where you can hardly see them.
Here, Gregory Portland, a football player, has more on his mind than preseason workouts.
He's ready to make the big plunge into auto racing.
And the Corpus Christi Police Department wants to bring a sports complex to the west side.
This is a mandate. Emergency disposal.
The public is invited to attend the sale of millions of dollars in use.
Trucks, vans and SUVs. At all.
Show sales in Corpus Christi.
Four days home.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
This massive event is strictly first come first serve.
And over 125 vehicles must be sold.
Regardless of profit or loss.
Millions in financing is available.
The bill is $49 down.
Delivers during this emergency disposal sale this Wednesday through Saturday at All-Star Auto Sales in Corpus Christi.
Rick Perry is misleading you about something that happened almost 20 years ago.
Tony Sanchez was never accused of any wrongdoing.
And the bank was totally exonerated by the Department of Justice, two federal judges and the IRS.
In fact, the Sanchez Bank worked with law enforcement to help the investigation.
Rick Perry himself honored Sanchez's International Bank of Commerce just two years ago for its service to our state.
Rick Perry. Untrue attacks. A career politician.
Nice wrenchwork, Chief.
If more men would heed the call of the Y chromosome, maybe more of us would have three such faucets at our fingertips.
Hot.
Cold.
And...
Miller High Life.
Up next, South Texas best sports coverage.
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Hey, good evening, everybody. A Portland youth is taking racing seriously.
Tuffy Hudson plans on racing on the Romco circuit next season.
That's the so-called single A of NASCAR racing.
The 17-year-old Hudson's been working on his car, along with his crew chief, Rick Rapp, who's a legend down here in racing circles.
Hudson's used to racing in 14-horsepower go-karts.
Romco cars have 600-horsepower engines.
Well, this circuit's going to be a lot different than what he's used to because he's used to racing in go-karts.
It's a lot lighter car. These cars are a lot heavier.
Braking will probably be a big change to him trying to stop the amount of weight that we've got to deal with going into turns and what have you.
What do you think it's going to be like doing 153 out there?
That's going to be bad. I can't wait for that one.
Oh, yeah. Of course, Hudson wants to follow the path of the Labonte brothers and race on the NASCAR circuit someday.
But for now, moving into Romco next year is a huge step.
Nolan Ryan has decided against purchasing that Ranger's AAA team, the Oklahoma Redhawks.
Reed Ryan says it's a great market, but it's not realistic at this time.
The Ryans are trying to buy a minor league team and bring it to Corpus Christi.
The police department's trying to build a sports complex on the west side of town next to Savalla Elementary School.
They want to put two baseball fields, a tee ball field and a softball field in an acre lot that they lease from the CCISD.
We want to bring something new to the west side. It hasn't been done in quite some time.
A lot of the children on this side of town don't get to get involved in a lot of stuff because they have to go quite a distance to participate.
Oh, yeah. McNaughton points out the kids have to travel to far-off places like the Buccaneer Field or International Field, and many of them don't have the transportation.
This complex will cost a half million to a million bucks, and he's hoping the refineries and major businesses will chip in and help out.
Home at the building of the new high school, Gregory Portland Athletics will be making some adjustments this fall, especially in volleyball.
But overall, Athletics Director George Harris tells me the problems will be minor.
As you can see, the gym floor at the new high school, it's down, but workers still need to paint it and put down the finishing.
The volleyball players and PE classes will have to use the old gym across the street for the first month or so.
Meanwhile, the football team will use the old dressing rooms during the entire season.
Here's the best fishing spots in the Coastal Bend, lots of trout abiding on shrimp on Ingleside Cove, and there's trout at the Seven Sister Wells in Corpus Christi Bay.
There's good wade fishing for trout along Mustang Island north of Fish Pass, and there's good wade fishing for trout, reds and flounder in the Humboldt Channel, and there's reds at night off Red Dot Pier.
And now, a Budweiser play of the day from the lighter side of the NFL.
Cleveland Brown's quarterback Tim Couch is giving that big interview in the locker room when he gets slammed with a pie in the face big time.
One big happy birthday greeting from Couch's teammates, and our Budweiser player of the day.
You know he had to just be annoyed, though. He probably didn't think that was funny at all, you know.
No.
He just had to act like he liked it.
No.
No delay for a local court manager accused of killing a toddler in a car accident.
The story plus our final look at the future tracker forecast when we come right back.
Music.
2002 Suburbans and Coho for only $4.99 per month.
Now that's something to celebrate during Vista's birthday bash.
Music.
11 years ago, Channel 6 developed a program called Operation S.O.S. It has grown into one of the United Way's largest and most successful annual fundraisers.
It proves once again when there's a need in South Texas, Channel 6 and you pull together to make a difference.
A lot of lawyers say they handle nursing home cases, but how many of them have experience taking on the nursing home giants?
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Bring the Popeyes Chicken Festival home with an 11-piece box of crispy, raging Cajun chicken. Your choice is Spicy or Mild for only $7.99.
Defense attorneys for a woman accused of killing a two-year-old girl during a traffic accident say their client's being targeted because of her gender.
Amur Rivera's attorneys say the state is going after her because Rivera was putting on makeup at the time of the crash.
And since men don't put on makeup, they say the case is discriminatory.
They also say Rivera's job as a court manager is also a factor. A case is set for trial in November.
Dale's back now with our final check of the future tracker forecast. Hi, Dale.
And the future looks dry here the next couple of days. Take a look at the radar. There isn't a raindrop in sight.
In the past, we've seen a shower here or there, but nothing. And that's to be expected as high pressure is still controlling.
Low pressure to the east off Louisiana and into the northeastern gulf and also down to the south in the Bay of Campeche.
Neither system seems to be of any major concern, but the one in the north central and northeastern gulf does appear like it will produce some shower activity here by late in the weekend and early next week.
But not so tomorrow. Just hot and generally light winds until the late afternoon sea breeze gets here 92 at noon and 94 at 5 o'clock.
Thank you, Dale. Coming up tonight on KRIS 6 News at 10, our property taxes on the rise for CCISD residents.
We'll tell you what the school board decides at tonight's special meeting. Plus, one big taxpayer in Gregory Portland ISD is disputing how much tax it will pay.
And that's putting the district's budget in a big bind. Join us for these stories and more tonight at 10.
That's all our time for now. Thanks for keeping it right here. Before we go, though, here's a big thumbs up from the United Way kickoff today.
Another great reason to be proud of South Texas. We'll see you back here at 10. Have a great night.