Channel 7 Tops List of Local Emmy Nominees : Television: KABC’s 45 nominations lead KCET’s 33. Winners will be announced May 18.

KABC Channel 7, having won many of the key local time periods in the ratings sweeps last February, led its rivals again Thursday with 45 nominations for the 1990 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards.

KABC collected 15 more nominations from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences than its nearest network-affiliate competitor, KCBS Channel 2. KNBC Channel 4 garnered 15.

Public-TV station KCET Channel 28 won the second-highest number of nominations, with 33. Among independent stations, KCAL Channel 9 earned 32, KTTV Channel 11 got 21, KTLA Channel 5 nabbed 17 and KCOP Channel 13 claimed 11. Spanish-language stations KVEA Channel 52 and KMEX Channel 34 divided four between them.

With local cable systems also eligible, there were a total of 223 nominations in 50 categories. Winners will be announced May 18.

Nominees in two other categories--best regularly scheduled daily 60-minute news broadcast and best news feature by a camera crew--will be announced later.

Nominees are judged by peer group panels in Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Washington.

Here is a partial list of the nominees:

Live Coverage of an Unscheduled News Event: “Universal Fire” (“Eyewitness News”), KABC; “Magnesium Fire” (“Eyewitness News”), KABC; “Metro Rail Fire,” (“KTLA News at Ten”), KTLA; “Universal Fire” (“Fox News at Ten”), KTTV.

* News Special: “Prime 9 ‘90,” KCAL; “McMartin: Trials and Errors,” KCET.

* News Commentary: “From Our Hose to Your House,” Dennis Farrier, KCAL; “A Blind Eye, a Better World,” Michael Tuck, KCBS; “Water Rationing,” Hal Fishman, commentator, KTLA.

* Hosts/Moderators--Specials: Chuck Henry, “China: The Silk Road,” KABC; Henry Johnson, “On Fire,” KCET; Fritz Coleman, “What a Year,” KNBC; George Ciccarone, “The Video Adventures of George and Larry,” KTTV; Mark Thompson, “It’s an L.A. Christmas With Mark Thompson,” KTTV; Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, “Andy Griffith’s Christmas Special Hosted by Mark and Brian,” KTTV.

* Hosts/Moderators--Series: Jane Velez Mitchell, “Cross Check,” KCAL; Roger Bingham, “Science & Society,” KCET; Fritz Coleman, “What a Week,” KNBC; Fritz Coleman, “Itz Fritz,” KNBC; Tom Hatten, “The Family Film Festival,” KTLA; Larry McCormick and Minerva Perez, “Making It: Minority Success Stories,” KTLA; Peter Chaconis and Maggie Sebastian, “The Late Mr. Pete Show,” KTLA.

* Public Affairs Series (remote): “Keys to the City,” Cityscope; “KOCE Public Affairs Specials,” KOCE.

* Public Affairs Series (studio-based): “Cross Check,” KCAL; “Harvey in the Lion’s Den,” KCBS; “2 the Point,” KCBS; “Have, Have Not” (from “By the Year 2000”), KCET; “By the Year 2000,” KCET; “Midday Sunday,” KTTV.

* Informational Series (remote): “Our Planet,” KCAL; “Science & Society,” KCET.

* Informational Series (studio-based): “Troubleshooter,” KCBS; “Studio 22,” KCBS.

* Children/Youth Series: “Teen Talk,” KCAL; “L.A. Kids,” KCOP.

* Mini-Documentaries: “Housing Crisis” (“Eyewitness News”), KABC; “Watts: 25 Years Later” (“Eyewitness News”), KABC; “Crash Unit” (“Eyewitness News”), KABC; “Children of War” (“Prime 9 News”), KCAL; “Shell Shocked” (“Prime 9 News”), KCAL; “The Long Shadow of Los Angeles” (“Channel 2 Action News”), KCBS; “Class Acts” (Channel 4 News”), KNBC.

* Investigative Reporting: “By Reason of Insanity: Patton State” (“Prime 9 News”), KCAL; “Trade Schools” (“Prime 9 News”), KCAL; “The Mafia, Porno & L.A.” (“Channel 2 Action News”); “Doctor Danger” (“Channel 2 Action News”) KCBS.

* News Reporting: “Death Penalty,” KABC; “Valet Nightmares,” KCAL; “Gill Nets,” KCAL; “Liz Taylor,” KCBS; “From the Front,” KCBS; “St. George Utah/Nuclear Testing Fallout,” KNBC; “Border Violence,” KTTV.

* Sports Reporting: “Top Run,” KABC; “Fight for Survival,” KABC; “Italian Basketball,” KCAL; “Bob Love,” KCAL; “Sports Extra,” KCOP; “Jockonomics,” KNBC.

* Feature Reporting: “Bungee Jumping,” KCAL; “Fruitcake: 9 Wants to Know,” KCAL; “Katie Sleeman Memorial,” KCAL; “Alpha,” KCBS; “Horse Auditions,” KTTV; “King News,” KTTV; “Craig Hindall,” KTTV.

* Arts and Culture/History: “Cinco de Mayo,” KCBS; “Los Angeles Festival: An Explorer’s Guide,” KCET; “The Work of Art,” KCET; “Sister Aimee” (from “Los Angeles History Project”), KCET; “Hollywood Strike” (from “Los Angeles History Project”), KCET.