A call made over the airwaves for donations to the animal shelter has a local Councilman offering ideas for a solution.

Shelter officials denied they were ever out of food because of aid from a private donor, but Councilman Mike Garza says the funding they receive from the City is not enough.

He actually suggests making it a City department, and that it has been brought up with Carlos Villarreal, the City Manager:

"I know the City Manager has talked about doing a commitment to bring in that house now, to make it a City department, so none of these issues would occur."

The City entered a contract with the animal shelter back on October 1st, providing over $200,000 in funding.

Urgent requests for dog food for the Laredo Animal Shelter were broadcast today through radio networks.

When we contacted the City, they had no idea the shelter was running low on food, and we checked with shelter officials and the board for the Laredo Animal Protective Society. They too claimed they had adequate supplies of food, but admitted for a while they were running very low:

"The economy is hitting everybody pretty hard so they can't afford to take care of their animals so they're assuming we can afford to take care of their animals."

They're taking care of their animals the best they can.

"Typically they eat one meal a day, the large dogs do. Puppies we always feed twice a day and we have nursing mothers that need extra food as well."

Jennie Reed is a LAPS board member, and admits times are sometimes tough but says they have a generous donor who replenishes their food supply each month.

But do they have enough food to feed all of these hungry pups?

About 90% of the animals are dropped off here by animal control; their owners, who can no longer afford to take care of them, surrender to others:

"Sometimes we have to give them extra can food to fatten them up a little bit and some extra dry food and sometimes it gets a little rough."

"This is news to me that you're telling me the dogs are going hungry."

City Manager Carlos Villarreal immediately contacted Director of the Health Department Dr. Hector Gonzalez to find out what's going on:

"They’re going out on radio programs, indicating that they have no food what so ever. Has this been brought to your attention?"

According to Dr. Gonzalez he visited the shelter two weeks ago and they had plenty of food, and a state veterinarian was there last week and saw adequate food supply:

"The City would be very supportive to be able to make sure these animals get food. That is a basic staple that we're not going to be denying anybody."

Shelter officials say they were running very low, close to nothing, but thanks to their monthly donor they were able to purchase the bags of food we saw there today.

The Laredo Health Department has given out the first batch of H1N1 vaccines.

Hundreds went out to the Laredo Entertainment Center to get their dose of the H1N1 vaccine.

Some were in line since seven thirty in the morning for the doors that opened at ten.

The Laredo Health Department hosted the clinic and had 2,000 doses available. The Health Department was administering the vaccine to those two to 24 years old.

Many parents brought their kids despite concerns over the safety of the vaccine:

"I think it will help to keep them healthier in this winter, keep them safe."

"All of the cases that are showing up in the U.S. I just want to make sure these guys are safe."

The process was simple and it only lasted less than ten minutes. The Health Department had three different rooms to maintain the flow of people.

In the first room, at least fifty people were seated to wait their turn to be screened. In the second room, all the paper work was completed. Then you were sent to a third room where the nasal spray vaccine was given to the patient.

The Laredo Health Department will be getting their second batch of vaccines in the next two weeks and they will concentrate those vaccines in school districts:

"There is no specific number right now. It's unpredictable because the manufacture is making the vaccine as fast as they can."

According to the Laredo Health Department, they already have plans with both school districts to administer the H1-N1 vaccine at the schools.

School districts will let parents know when the vaccines will be available.

The Health Department is hoping they get more doses in the second batch.

A mother of three is in police custody after leaving her kids home alone.
One of the kids was playing with a lighter and ended up setting the house on fire resulting in the death of a seven-month-old baby.
The incident happened Wednesday around noon in Nuevo Laredo.
The house was completely destroyed and a seventh month old baby died.
" La nina nos comenta de que su hermanito mayor andaba jugando con un encendedor y que su mama los dejo solos."
“The girl told us that her oldest brother was playing around with a lighter and that their mother left them alone."
“According to reports, the mother of four came across to Laredo to do some errands leaving the children home alone."
Sandra Morales is now in the custody of Nuevo Laredo authorities and may be facing charges of homicide.
“La madre va a ser juzgada ante los tribunales correspondientes y el juez penal determinara las sanciones necesarias."
“The mother will be taken in front of a judge and he will be the one who decides what type of penalty she will receive."
Meanwhile the children have been in protective custody ever since.
According to officials, they are in good health and they don't show any signs of abuse.
All three who survived the fire will be taken to the Consulate and the children will placed in their grandparent’s custody in the U.S.
"Estamos evaluando al nino padece de autismo. No se ha confrimado todavia por medico."
“We are looking at the possibility that the oldest boy may suffer from autism, but that has yet to be confirmed by a doctor."
Authorities in Nuevo Laredo say they don't want another tragedy like this one to happen again.
So they have a message to all parents.
"Comendamos a los padres de familia por ningun motivo dejen a sus hijos menores de edad solos en casa."
“We commend parents not to leave their children alone at home no matter the circumstances.”
The mother is expected to be in court sometime next week.

First the city's only bookstore, now a high-end restaurant.
Laredoans are wondering what’s going on with businesses here at home and asking if more closures are to come.
A Laredo bookstore, a restaurant, and downtown businesses, all falling victims to an economy of uneasy consumers.
“I was disappointed. It’s too bad they can’t stay open.”
“Maybe more people are just buying groceries and cooking at home.”
City representatives say it was all just a matter of time.
”It took awhile for the impact of the state of the economy to seep down to south Texas but it has” Says Laredo Chamber of Commerce president Miguel Conchas.
The news comes as the government reports that the jobless rate hit 10 point 2 percent last month, the highest since 1983.
Here in Laredo, September’s unemployment rate hit just over nine percent.
At least 60 Outback Steakhouse employees may soon add to the list after the restaurant closes its doors Saturday.
“I was like what! I was going to cook some chicken on the grill and I thought I’m going to Outback.”
Miguel Conchas of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce calls the situation a double whammy of a bad U.S. economy and devaluating the Mexican peso.
Chamber of Commerce officials say the next thing to do is advertise new shopping opportunities in Laredo this season, banking on shoppers to make it a merry Christmas in Laredo.
Some stores sell as much as 50 percent of their sales for the year this season.
The Chamber has now launched navidadenlaredo.com a website geared to the Mexican market advertising Laredo’s best offers, hoping to get even the smallest boost in sales.
No one really knows for sure just how much people will spend but Conchas says perhaps the best news is knowing things could be worse.
“But certainly again it is nothing we should sit back and say everything is cool because it's not.” Conchas says the swine flu also played a big role in scaring people away from the border.
He says the biggest highlight at this point is that Laredo has not seen unemployment rates in the double digits compared to other border cities like McAllen, which has an 11 point 6 percent jobless rate.

The Laredo Police Department is looking for four very bold thieves.

Surveillance video taken on October 29th from the Wal-Mart on Loop 20 catches the act.

It shows four people with a child enter the store; two of them make their way to laptop section in the electronics department.

There, the man actually takes a laptop from the display and stashes it away in a jacket. The woman acts as a lookout.

They then proceed to steal a second computer, hidden in a red blanket.

According to police, the four people regroup, make a purchase and leave the store with the hidden computers.

If you have any information on the case, you can call police at 795-2800.

A surprise move by the defense today in the case against former Webb County Clerk Henry Flores, he's changing his plea, and possibly his fate.

It was a change of strategy for the 60 year old former Webb County Clerk who pleaded out in the 49th District Court this morning before Judge Joe Lopez.

Flores is now pleading guilty to a felony count of solicitation of a minor with intent to commit aggravated sexual assault, yet another move that goes against the advice of his lawyer George Garcia:

"He went behind my back and talked to you guys and I was ready to put him on a steak."

The Webb County District Attorney's Office agreed to drop the second charge of display of harmful material and is recommending that Flores serve eight years in prison.

Flores was seen dozing off before the hearing, and after leaving the building, the 60 year old had little to say.

"I don't have any comment but you have to understand the situation how I'm feeling at the moment and so I really can't put words together in English or Spanish."

How is it that you're feeling?

"I'm feeling like I have made a very serious decision."

"I think he cracked under the pressure and he killed himself by talking to you guys in the media."

As evidence, the prosecution has tapes of multiple interviews, when Flores told Pro 8 News how he kissed the eleven year old boy on the back of the neck in February of this year and also of taking him home and letting him see porn after hours of shopping and dining out back in February of this year.

"He did a lot of dumb things. You could even call them stupid things but it’s not a crime."

Flores is now out on bond.

Some Webb County employees are looking for answers after hearing a program that usually gets them a few extra dollars was cancelled.

The program is called the Sick Leave Buy Back Program, where employees get to sell back their sick leave hours to the County.

According to County officials, the program was part of the incentives that were done away with after the budget was approved.

Still, a representative of the County Attorneys Office says there will be discussions next week over whether or not to keep the program, including negotiations with those who are under civil service:

“We’re going to look into that. We're going to look into seeing if we can bring it back.”

Valdez did not say when the program would continue.

Officials with the Army are now saying that the suspect in the Fort Hood shooting, Major Malik Nadal Hasan, of Jordanian decent, is still alive and in stable condition after undergoing surgery.

That's contrary to what was reported by Lieutenant General Bob Cone of the U.S. Army in an afternoon press conference.

The good news, what little of it there is to report, is that the death toll has not risen.

12 people were killed and 31 injured in the afternoon shootings.

Hasan works as a psychiatrist for the army, and was scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan.

The Laredo Health Department makes an announcement sure to have hundreds headed to the Laredo Entertainment Center. Health officials say the first H1-N1 flu clinic is set for Monday at the L.E.C.

Laredo health officials received about 8,000 Swine Flu vaccines a few weeks ago and administered those to people who need them most, like sick children and pregnant women. Now, they're opening it up to the rest of the public.

Dr. Hector Gonzalez, making an announcement many have been waiting to hear, says 2,000 Swine Flu vaccines will be available for the public, free of charge, at a flu clinic on Monday at the L.E.C.

The nasal spray vaccine can only be given to people two to 24 years old who are in good health:

“We encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and get your kids vaccinated.”

Pregnant women, and others who do not fit the criteria, should ask their physicians for the vaccine. So far, almost 35 people have been hired and trained to help administer the doses.

“Based on the turnout at other Laredo flu clinics, there’s no doubt that plenty of people will show up here on Monday, but to those who aren’t able to, health officials continue to say ‘don’t panic.’”

At a press conference held Thursday, Gonzalez said recent closures of businesses, most recently the tax collectors office, were absolutely not necessary:

“Contrary to what you’ve heard and even in this community a few weeks ago someone closed down the building. We do not close down schools or businesses due to a case of flu. This is flu.”

Still, some questioned the safety of the vaccine. Health officials say people have nothing to worry about:

“Not only the United States has completed the trial of the vaccine but it has been completed in other parts of the country and the world so thousands have received it, and it’s safe.”

Gonzalez says there will not be enough doses of FluMist for everyone on Monday, but more will soon be available.

The only question still not answered is: When?