Good Morning El Paso: 09.21.15
el paso children’s hospital has until today to repond to umc’s latest offer for a takeover. this as the county hospital tries to set a new tax rate. hundreds of inmates are sick to their stomach this morning. the county is trying to figure out just what is going on at the jail annex. and in arizona… authorities say they’ve caught a suspect from the phoenix freeway shootings. but could there be another suspect still on the loose this morning? a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. happy monday! today the forecast includes a first alert! still in effect after a rainy weekend. today we’ll see a 40 percent chance of rain today and 60 percent by tonight. the chance of rain increases tonight with the possibility of thunderstorms and heavy rain at times. the temp today will only rise to 80 degrees. as for winds, breezy to windy weather expected. if we track temps, we’ll be in the 70s around lunch time, and barely make it to the 80s. the chance of rain sits 40 percent once we move through the afternoon. temps will not rise much today due to complete cloud cover by the afternoon. we’ll talk more about what to expect for the rest of this work week and the weekend ahead coming up in your full forecast. breaking news this morning. el paso police dispatch confirms shots were fired a short time ago in the lower valley. this happened just after 5 this morning. ems dispatch confirms they are on the scene near the intersection of betel and zaragoza. they did not say if anyone was wounded. information over police scanners indicated two people may be in custody. we have a crew on the way to the scene to gather more details. happening today– university medical center officials are expecting a response from el paso children’s hospital on its latest plan to take over the bankrupt institution. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is live with more… denise? last week– el paso children’s hospital. filed it’s restructuring plan to banrkuptcy judge christopher mott. it includes two options: find a partner other than umc to infuse money into children’s. or accept umc’s prior offer to take over. but just this past week – we reported umc may no longer want to take over children’s. it looks children’s may be a huge liability to taxpayers – in risk of owing tens of millions of dollars to the federal government. that’s because children’s essentially told the federal government it paid about 27 million dollars in rent to umc when it really didn’t. on last night’s abc-7 xtra– county commissioner david stout said if children’s doesn’t accept this final term sheet– the county will move forward with litigation and he believes the county will be successful: “i think the judge has show some of his hand already…going into the future” also happening today– the umc board is expected to meet to talk about the tax rates for next year… our crew will keep an eye on how this will impact the tax rate. the el paso county sheriff’s office is trying to figure out what made hundreds of inmates sick at the jail annex this weekend. the annex is located on the 12 thousand block of montana avenue in far east el paso the sheriff’s office says out of just under 13-hunred at the annex, about 700 reported feeling ill. family and friends who were at the jail for visitaion say they’re very concerned about the health and well-being of their family and loved ones, and say that they’re hearing about possible food poisoning from those inside. 1:01 “they were getting som patties that were raw – gum like, that when he opens it, it was green. and i hope my brother wasn’t part of that, but i feel that even though they’re inmates and in trouble, they have lives too and they matter.” the sheriffs office says that all but seven had gone back to regular food from the all-liquid diet jail doctor’s recommended. a man is in the hospital after being stabbed in las cruces. it happened shortly yesterday morning at a trailer park on the 100 block of east madrid. police say a man in his 30s or 40s was stabbed in his upper torso they say the man was airlifted to umc but he wasn’t cooperating with police a neighbor told us the area has had a lot of crime in the past year there is no suspect because police said they need the man to cooperate. the investigation continues into that plane crash that happened west of las cruces saturday morning. a navy t-34 jet trainer crashed near the butterfield shooting range — about seven miles from las cruces international airport. it’s a propeller driven airplane, used to train student pilots. new mexico state police say the plane had landing gear problems and rather than do a belly landing the pilot decided to do what is called a “controlle ejection.” fortunately, a student pilot and instructor walked away minor injuries. an update on an officer-invovled shooting that happened back in august. ccording to the autopsy report obtained by the el paso times. the man died after shooting himself in the chest. the el paso county medical examiner’s office states 22-year old charles bertram had three gunshot wounds, one to the right groin, the back, but died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. this is surveillance video of the shooting. it happened in the parking lot of the players lounge on dyer. when the officer approached the car, bertram stepped out and the officer realized he was armed. that’s when the officer and bertram opened fire. bertram died in a nearby paring lot. in arizona… police say they caught a man they suspect is behind the freeway shootings in phoenix. a swat team stormed a walmart in glendale and arrested leslie allen merritt junior. police say he is linked to at least four of the 11 shootings on interstate 10. phoenix officials say the break in the case came after the suspect pawned a 9- millimeter handgun – police say their lab results showed it was the same gun used in at least four of the highway shootings. his father however… things police have the wrong man. i don’t know if you’re aware, your son has just been arrested. excuse me? he’s just been accused of the i-10 shootings? oh they’re just so stupid. would you like to tell me about him or say anything on his behalf? yeah i’ll say plenty on his behalf. whoever said he’s the i-10 shooter is a moron! have a good night. merritt is only linked to the first four shootings. police say it’s unclear if there are more suspects, and the investigation continues. as of september 10th there have been no other shootings reported. new this morning … a new olympic sized pool will soon be built in west el paso! city council is set to review an update to the project this tuesday. the intial project was approved in february of 2013. in total the construction will cost just over 13- million dollars. the finished product will hold close to 800 spectators and almost 600 athletes. planners say this pool will help enhance el paso’s quality of life through recreational, cultural and educational enviroments. improvements a huge growth in the texas population is causing for statewide water problems which has the state looking to el paso for advice. a proposed water grid study which would pump water across texas failed in the most recent legislative session but will most likely return in 2017. ed archuleta – the former president and ceo of the el paso water utility – says the project is impractical because of costs. he adds that state and federal water planners should do more to make conservation technologies. el paso’s knowledge on transporting water dates back to the 80’s which has helped achieve the loweste per-capital water usage in texas. at , here’s a look at how your commute is shaping up this morning. the tx-dot traffic cams at … keep it here for more to come on good morning el paso… another busy day ahead for pope francis in cuba. more on what he had to say to the island nation. also… bad news for fans of the dallas cowboys… how long will tony romo be out with that injury? but first – stormtrack weather! meteorologist krystal kleihas your complete forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first! from the world of cute… seaworld
