Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of May 8, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.

loading...

1. Last Day of Early Voting

Today is final day of early voting in the municipal and local school board elections. So far, Lubbock has seen a much better turn out than in 2010 and could even surpass the May of 2008 election when just over 25,000 people voted. So far, 11,869 people in Lubbock have voted.

It's good to see people get out and vote. What is driving people to the polls though? Is it a competitive Mayoral race? Or are people just more informed now and anxious to vote? Let us know what you think below.

2. Dress Code Changes at LISD? (link)

It looks like the Dress Code for LISD could soon change. Yesterday, District 3 LISD School Board Trustee Mark Blankenship released this statement:

As the public is aware,  the L.I.S.D. dress code has been under review by the Board of Trustees since March, and was the subject of a recent Board workshop. I have  been working on this issue since the first day I was appointed in late January of this year, speaking with parents, teachers, administrators, employers and students.  Due to the nearing of the end of the school year, I have made a demand to have this issue put to a vote in May. I believe it  is important that our parents and students be put on notice as soon as possible of what will be expected of them during the fall term, at least as far as the dress code is concerned.  I will vote for a conservative dress code that will be in keeping  with our local community values. I believe that we have a  duty to teach our children how to properly present themselves  in a structured environment so they will later be prepared for life in the world outside of  public school.   I believe that local employers will appreciate a more structured school dress code since so many of them have dress codes.   I will vote to prohibit Mohawks/faux hawks, oversized/low hanging pants (pants belted above the waist), tattoos (must be covered), spacers, gauges, plugs, ear rings (K-8), extreme hair colors and other similar dress habits that are being seen in our schools, and I will call on the other Trustees to join me on this vote.  It will be up to the Board to thereafter exercise its statutory oversight and investigatory duties to ensure that the policy is enforced by the administration across the district,  as well as to ensure that we are providing our teachers support they need when they are called on to handle dress code issues.  It is my understanding in talking to the Board president  that this matter will now come up for vote at the Board’s regular meeting on May 24th.

Good to see this happening. I know there will be some parents who say that kids need to be able to express themselves, but I say let them do that at home. When you get a job in the real world you are expected to dress and act a certain way. The same way of thinking should be had at our schools. The less distractions the better. Obviously the students were able to handle more freedom, so it's time to go back to how things were.

3. Ron Paul Endorses Ted Cruz (link)

Ron Paul endorsed Ted Cruz on Sunday, but if you thought Ted Cruz backed Ron Paul, you'd be wrong. According to the Texas Tribune:

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul has endorsed former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate, but that doesn't mean  Cruz is returning the favor and endorsing Paul's presidential bid.

At a Tea Party rally in Austin on Sunday, Ron Paul and his son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., gave ringing endorsements to Cruz's bid to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Ron Paul urged Texans at the event to "send Ted to the Senate because Rand needs help."

While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Paul has not ended his campaign and is focused on drawing as many delegates as possible to this summer's national Republican convention.

Last year, Cruz endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for president. Since Perry has ended his bid, Cruz has echoed many other Texas Republican candidates in declining to back a second candidate.

"Because it is critical to defeat Barack Obama in November, Ted will enthusiastically support the Republican nominee," Cruz campaign manager John Drogin said Monday.

Smart move for Cruz of course. There is no reason to endorse Ron Paul. None at all.

4. CIA Thwarts Underwear Bomb Plot (link)

Nice job CIA.

The CIA has unraveled a terror plot by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using an underwear bomb around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Usama bin Laden.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time Al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials told the Associated Press.

“Initial exploitation indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations,” the FBI said in a written statement. “The FBI currently has possession of the IED and is conducting technical and forensics analysis on it.”

Part of the examination includes seeing if the bomb could have gone undetected through airport security, and if it had the power to take down an airplane, officials said.

5. Dumb story of the morning (link)

Blacklist is now a bad word.

The computer term whitelist — used to denote a list of acceptable contacts — has also been outlawed.

In an email, Scotland Yard warned staff the words were no longer “appropriate”.

Security services chief Brian Douglas wrote: “IB (Information Board) are uncomfortable with the use of the term Whitelist (and I presume Blacklist).

“I am sure we can appreciate the sensitivity around the use of such terminology today so please ensure it is no longer used.” He suggested using green and red list instead.

Sources at the Met — where 20 officers are under investigation over alleged racism — branded the decision “bizarre”.

One said: “Do we really think these words are discriminatory? The truth is they’re nothing to do with race whatsoever and are very common IT terms. Banning them won’t solve any genuine problems the Met has with racism.”

Scotland Yard said: “This is not a change in policy.

“It is a change in internal Information Communications Technology terminology which reflects a more appropriate use of language.”

6. Good Brews Good News of the Day (link)

Thanks to Craigslist, woman finds long lost brother!

A Levelland woman spent almost 50 years not knowing she had a brother. But now a simple Craigslist post has reunited them.

Lori Mcinturff was adopted at three days old. She was raised in a good family, but she always longed to know if her biological family was out there.

After years of searching, Mcinturff was able to track down her original birth certificate in December. Both of her biological parents had passed away, but she discovered that she had a long lost brother.

"I didn't know I had a brother - a full blood brother - until about a month ago. It was my mission to find him and I had no idea how," Mcinturff said.

Friday, she had the idea to post an ad on Craigslist. Armed with nothing but a name, a photo and a possible location of where he might be, Mcinturff uploaded the ad, never imagining what would happen just hours later.

Everyday, Good Brews Coffee & Tea Lounge brings you the Good News of the Day! 

Other Top Stories:

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO