Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 30, 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.

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1. Changes at LP&L (link)

That home-owned advantage of LP&L seems to be changing and some may not think of it as an advantage anymore. At Thursday's City Council meeting the council gave approval to changes that include a change in the language when it comes to refunds. According to KFYO News:

Customer refunds would no longer be required under the amended ordinance, rather allowing LP&L to simply have the option out of the General Reserve. The ordinance, if approved on second reading, will read that any General Reserve may be refunded to the taxpayers, as opposed to the current ordinance which says that remaining net operating revenues shall be refunded.

If there is no requirement to give money back to the people, what do you think will happen? Goodbye refunds.

That's not all though. The Lubbock City Council gave even more power to the Electric Utility Board.

The council also approved the first reading of an ordinance which would give more power to the City of Lubbock’s Electric Utility Board. The ordinance would make the office of the director of electrical utilities directly responsible to the Electric Utilities Board, and the EUB may also request that the City Council alter the fee structure.

Not sure everyone in the City will like the EUB having more power.

2. Council Approves Park Pavilions (link)

The City Council all agreed on something, parks. Yesterday, the Lubbock City Council approved funds to be allocated in order to build three open air park pavilions. According to KFYO News:

The $377,386 cost of the entire project includes engineering, shipping, installation, grills, tables, bollards, stonework, demolition of existing structures, new slabs, a drinking fountain, and more. Also, security lighting will be added to these three additions, as well as the 8 other existing pavilions.

Pavilions have already been built in Cooke, Duran, Lopez, Reagan, Ribble, Simmons, Sims, Strong, and Underwood Parks.

District 5 Councilwoman Karen Gibson voted for the contract resolution, but said that with upcoming budget reductions in many City departments, the Council will need to take “a hard look” at parks improvement in the future in deciding what is important and what is not. The funds for this particular project are included in the current budget.

Good point by Gibson, but why spend the money now? Are these three pavilions really a need right now? Why not hold onto the money? Weeks ago, most of our LFN listeners were against spending the money. What do you think?

3. Romney Endorsements (link)

Mitt Romney is getting major endorsements now which is a sign that this GOP Primary is just about over. Senator Marco Rubio endorsed Romney on Wednesday and on Thursday former President George H.W. Bush endorsed Romney. Word is, Paul Ryan will also be endorsing Romney soon.

Do endorsements matter to the average voter? Probably not, but they could weigh heavily on Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich who both remain in the race.

Is it time to rally behind Romney? Looks like it is.

4. Fallout (link)

Parties are bracing for the fallout from the Supreme Court ruling. According to the NY Times:

But for the White House and the president’s re-election team, the challenge begins immediately. They must publicly defend the law’s constitutionality and push back against suggestions that the battle is already lost, even as they privately piece together a contingency plan if the law — or part of it — is overturned.

The early outlines of the plan came into view on Wednesday as the administration aggressively promoted the more popular provisions of the health care law. That offered a glimpse of the next three months, as the court wrestles with its ruling on the most sweeping piece of domestic legislation since Medicare was created in 1965.

I'm looking forward to the fallout from this. Both parties better be ready for a battle.

5. Dumb story of the morning (link)

Wow. It's so expensive in San Francisco that Subway can't make a sandwich for $5 bucks.

The sandwich-making chain stopped selling the five-dollar footlongs in San Francisco due to the "high cost of doing business," according to SF Weekly.

Signs posted at Subway sandwich shops sadly inform San Francisco patrons -- we hear Willie Brown is a big fan -- that "all SUBWAY Restaurants in SF County DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN Subway National $5.00 Promotions," according to the newspaper.

Customers can still buy the sub of the month for $5, according to an employee at Subway on Market and Castro streets.

Apparently, the city's new minimum wage, raised to $10.24 as of Jan. 1, make $5 footlongs an impossible business model.

Unless you want tuna fish, which is the sub of the month. Yum.

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

Now this really is good news. We are getting closer to a cure for the common cold.

Taking sick days is set to get tougher -- there may be a cure for the common cold.

Australian drug maker Biota Wednesday reported the stunning success of its antiviral compound, named Vapendavir.

Tested in 300 asthmatic patients infected with the cold-causing human rhinovirus, the clinical trial showed that cold symptoms eased quickly and the duration of the infection was shortened considerably.

Read the rest of the story at the link above!

Everyday, Good Brews Coffee & Tea Lounge brings you the Good News of the Day! Join Chad and Rex next Tuesday morning at 7am at Good Brews!

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.

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