Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 10

Cotptnf Qrnti CaUtNHme cattercom AlOThursday December 16 1999 kettle the McKinnon however said he talked to anyone at Denver headquarters three or four The last talks he had with them he said ended when the executive he was negotiating with gave him a it or ultimatum The cable commission has no jurisdiction over the retrans-missicfl deals said Gty Attorney Jimmy Bray who serves as a liaison to the commission really been involved in it basically between these two entities the cable company and Bray said Subscriber notification McKinnon said he hoped things could be worked out before the end of the year but was willing to see Kill be blacked out on cable if it came to that And he said is legally obligated to notify cable subscribers 30 days in advance before changing anything on their channel lineup There has so far been no notification to cable customers that Kill is in danger of leaving the cable system maintains that the 30-day notice doesn't apply when the station chooses not to renegotiate a deal Mata Critic Ehine liner as be reached 886-3688 or by e-mail Hnere0callacoai any new channels He add KTOV KXPX or any others to the cable lineup at this time' The cable system is looking at expanding its channel capacity the next few Hembree said He calls the KTMV vs KTOV situation a Catch-22 for there are people who love the Tejano videos and people who love portions of The Dec 1 affiliate switch from KTMV to KTOV which knocked UPN off cable brought in a small flood of phone calls from cable subscribers upset or confused about why they could no longer see UPN programs on cable is a small but very vocal group of people who Hembree said as1 cable operator I have to try ti satisfy the die sex McKinnon said the misses would be dissatisfied if Kill disappeared from cable Cable said McKinnon 90 or 100 channels down there and they can drop one of their sex channels to make room That wouldn't make anyone too Hembree get into the details of ongoing discussions with McKinnon saying only that the company was in daily but regular negotiations to nize that the customer comes first And for what they're charging their customers they ought to deliver us on UPN would get channel second channel position on cable would likely go to new UPN affiliate KTOy owned by his stepson Don Giliis who also owns low-power PAX-TV affiliate KXPX UPN programming which includes TVek: and the increasingly popular was previously carried on KTMV the locally owned Tejano music video channel seen on cable channel 6 Neither KTOV nor KXPX are currently carried by any local cable systems But KTMV telecasting round-the-clock Tejano videos has remained on the cable system second channel could be the UPN channel McKinnon said a lot of programming that doesn't come into this market that we could carry on the second channel like to carry The (ABCs morning talk show hosted by Barbara Walters) for instance but right now we have room for it on the Hembree said he doesn't have room on his system for CABLE ROM Al McKinnon said letting us put that on cable puts us at an extreme disadvantage in the McKinnon said he was willing to renew the same agreement the cable system has had with Kill for the past six years But three months ago presented him with new terms asking for the right to cancel Kill from its lineup on short notice and for the right to determine the future of digital programming McKinnon said contract they offered us is so outrageous so anti-broadcaster nobody in their right mind would sign it It was monopolistic" McKinnon said is going through different moves right now and tiying to grab everything they can But I'm not going to sit around and have tell us what's good for Corpus As the broadcaster of the highest-rated local newscasts as well as highly rated ABC network programming such as Wants to Be a and Night Kill is one of the most-watched channels on cable I think we program in the public interest pretty said McKinnon have to recog allowance non-accountable travel reimbursement and credit card charges for gasoline vehicle repairs and maintenance IRS concerns Saavedra said Wednesday that he has working on resolving issues of possible unreported income He received amended W-2 forms from the district for 19 1997 and 1998 and will work with his accountant to find out what if any money he owes the Internal Revenue Service Ken Vargas a spokesman for the IRS service center in Austin said he could not comment on any particular case but people who find they have unreported income can make amends without serious penalties from the agency District Attorney Valdez said he will use the TEA report that he received Monday along with the supporting information in his own investigation of district spending and possibly open meeting violations connected meals with board members He doesn't see forwarding information to the IRS look strictly for violations of state law he said Also Valdez has not heard from the FBI on whether the agency would assist him in his investigation Re-elections Hamrick and Brauer two of the four trustees up for re-election in May said they have not decided if they will run again The other two board members up for re-election are board president Frank Reyes and trustee Dorothy Adkins who couldn't be reached for comment Brauer said re-election is a question she want to consider right now have a lot of people encourage me to but I don't want to think about it right she said Hamrick said that after 46 years in the education business he thinks it may be time to let someone else work for free But any decision not to run again would have nothing to do with the travel policy controversy he said has nothing to do with it nothing Hamrick said don't know I may change my mind" Staff writer Guy Lawrence can be reached at 886-3792 or by e-mail at bwrenceg0callercom CCISD FROMA1 rebut any part of the report Saavedra has said the state recommendations probably won't be challenged Hamrick said the board has made adjustments such as limiting auto expenses for the superintendent and approving meal per diems The TEA recommendations are not insurmountable he said think we can come to an agreement to all Hamrick said is not anything really earthshaking in the Trustee Vicki Rothschild said resolving the problems is not as easy as adjusting policies Some of the people who committed mistakes outlined in the audit need to take responsibility for their actions she said Reimbursing funds and changing policy is not the end of the issue she said of the big things that has been lacking is any accountability The first step is for people to be accountable and we have not seen any of that from she said Regardless of what District Attorney Carlos Valdez may find in his independent investigation of the superintendent's and school board's spending habits the school district should have higher standards Rothschild said She would not say if she thinks any board members or Saavedra should resign over the findings of the audit Other issues One of the more involved tasks at today's meeting will be sorting out possible violations of the Open Meeting Act by board members While generally criticizing the district's accounting procedures the draft audit also specifically found: Since 1993 $1435563 was charged for "meals to district administrators' American Express cards If district business was discussed during those meals board trustees may be in violation of the Open Meetings Act If board members were meeting socially the dinners could be constructed as a gift of public funds a possible violation of the Texas Constitution The meals also could constitute taxable income to those who dined The report also recommended that the district should file amended W-2s for the superintendent's car STACY ADAMS Quality Freshness And Your Satisfaction fllghp Goals Honest Hamburgor Fries and Soft Drink and got 1 HoilOSt Burger FREE! 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