Happy Texas Independence Day! Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of March 2, 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. Texas Tech Tuition to Rise (link)

Surprise! Texas Tech  University's Board of Regents approved a tuition hike of nearly 2%. According to KFYO News:

A slight net increase of 1.95 percent was approved by the board Thursday, pending final approval Friday. It will add about $89 for 15 hours of semester credit.

On the increase, Texas Tech President Guy Bailey said “As we continue to grow, the university needs to retain and hire quality faculty to help increase student engagement and retention.When evaluating our options in increasing tuition and fees, we made very conservative decisions to minimize the impact on our student body.”

Tech President Guy Bailey says that a conservative decision was made. I'm not so sure about that. Have we cut spending at Texas Tech? Has Tech gone through the budget and gotten rid of waste? Something tells me they haven't. Hey, at least Tech will be able to renovate the residence halls.

2. May 29 2012 (link)

According to KFYO News, the Texas Primary Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 29. Candidates have a filing period that starts on March 2 and lasts until March 9.

Candidates who filed during the previous filing period for the Texas Primaries will have a few options to consider over the next week. They can keep their current candidacy, drop out or switch their candidacy to another race.  According to the court order, official candidate lists have to be turned in to the Texas Secretary of State office by March 12.

The big question is will Texas matter in the Presidential GOP Primary? We could. It just depends on what happens on Super Tuesday and if anyone decides to drop out.

3. Robertson Won't Commit on Taxes (link)

Lubbock Mayoral candidate, Glen Robertson, has a different philosophy when it comes to taxes here in Lubbock. On Thursday's show Robertson said:

“I’ve got a different philosophy.  I think it’s completely irresponsible to state right now that if elected I would never vote for a property tax increase, because you don’t know what you’re going to run into.”

Robertson said he’s opposed to excessive taxation, and he said he wants to shift the burden from utility fees back toward property taxes,  He said that would be a more honest and equitable taxation.

I'm not sure how this answer will sit with KFYO listeners. I can see where Robertson is going though. His argument is that the City Council is already taxes on the people via fee increases. Yet, council members can run on not raises taxes. Under Robertson, fees may stay the same, but taxes could go up. Time will tell which argument the voters like the most.

I did like the fact that Robertson was in favor of some night meetings and making City Hall run more efficiently. I think that argument could win him some support. Robertson also supports showing LP&L meetings on TV which sounds like a no brainier to me. If you missed the interview, you can hear it here.

What do you think about Glen Robertson?

4. Teen Charged as Juvenile in Ohio School Shooting (link)

Thomas Lane was charged on Thursday with three juvenile counts of aggravated murder. He is the alleged gunman behind a school shooting in Ohio this week that left three students dead. The Prosecutor though has already said that the juvenile status won't last long.

The juvenile counts of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder would mean only a few years in detention if Lane is convicted. But Prosecutor David Joyce has already said he plans to try the boy as an adult, which could mean life in prison if he is found guilty. He remains in custody.

I hope this scumbag gets charged as an adult. It's too bad the teacher's weren't allowed to carry their firearms. It would save taxpayers a lot of money and time.

5. Dumb story of the morning (link)

Hitler Chic? Really??

Cartoon pandas, Teletubbies, Ronald McDonald. At first glance they don’t seem to have much in common beyond a certain childlike quality. But during a visit to Bangkok you may discover another trait these popular cultural icons now share: their resemblance to Adolf Hitler.In the Thai capital’s latest outbreak of Nazi chic, pandas, Teletubbies and Ronald have metamorphosed into cutesy alter egos of the Führer, who seems to exert a childlike fascination over some young Thais.

With any luck you can spot trendy young souls strutting around in T-shirts bearing cartoonish images of the Nazi dictator.

In a particularly popular design, Hitler is transformed into a cartoonish Ronald McDonald, the fast-food chain’s clown mascot, sporting a bouffant cherry-red hairdo and a stern look.

On another T-shirt the Führer is shown in a lovely panda costume with a Nazi armband. On yet another he appears as a pink Teletubby with doe eyes, jug ears and a pink swastika for an antenna. He pouts petulantly like a spoiled brat while flashing the Nazi salute.

Shirts cost from 200 baht to 370 baht (US$7-12) apiece, and some come in matching outfits for couples. Adolf McDonald’s partner is a transvestite with fuchsia hair, lipstick, long lashes and a timid Mona Lisa smile. Panda Adolf’s manlier doppelganger sports a brown stormtrooper uniform.

As you can imagine, the new trend if offending many.

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

Lost class ring returned after nearly 50 years.

ARLINGTON, Texas—A high school class ring, missing for nearly a half a century, showed up on a street. Thanks to an honest 4th grader, and the help of some high school investigators, it found its way back to its owner.

As Mansfield high school seniors Jackie Alvarado and Jordan Engelbert search through a library book, you can hear the excitement in their voices. No, we're not talking about Facebook, either.

There's nothing like a real-life mystery to get the pages turning.

"It's amazing to see, there's so many differences in just the way they used to wear their hair and the way they dressed," said Alvarado, one of three Mansfield High School library aids who helped research.

Alvarado, Englebert, and senior Hakim Edwards aided big this time, after D.P. Morris fourth grader Nathan Garcia found a ring.

"I just picked it up and it was shiny," said Garcia.

He was riding his bike near his school, when he found a 1959 Mansfield class ring.

"It had a shield and a rock on it and then it had two animals on the side," said Garcia.

A gold ring is big find for a 10-year-old.

"First I didn't want to return it and I kept it for a little bit and I thought what the owner would feel. So, I took it back and I returned it," said Garcia.

Secretary Linda Moss knew this wasn't a simple addition to the lost and found box.

"I just felt like we needed to give it a try and hope for the best that we could get it back to its owner. I would certainly love somebody to try to do that for me if I ever lost anything," said Moss.

So, the the staff, with the help of the library aids, hit the books. They knew the year, and the initials.

"It had initials 'MEN,'" said Garcia.

"The initials on the ring was 'MEN' because my maiden name was North," said Mary Elizabeth Sloan.

Liz Sloan was 1959's 'All Around Girl.' These days she can call herself a pretty lucky lady.

"At first I didn't believe them, and then they showed me the ring and I thought, 'what?'" laughed Sloan.

Sloan doesn't know how she lost the ring, but she's glad to have it back.

"It's a sentimental thing. I'm a very sentimental person. Things like this mean a lot to me," said Sloan.

And Nathan Garcia is glad he turned it in, because now he knows doing the right thing is worth its weight in gold.

"I had a feeling in my stomach. I don't know how to describe it, but it felt good," said Garcia.

Very cool.

Everyday, Good Brews Coffee & Tea Lounge brings you the Good News of the Day! Join Lubbock’s First News at Good Brews on Thursday March 8th from 7-9am. Good Brews is located inside the Kingsgate North Shopping Center at 82nd and Quaker.

Other Top Stories:

Guests Appearing on LFN Today:

Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin at 7:07am

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