Chad’s Morning Brief: UT Admission Standards, Lubbock Mayoral Race, & More

Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of April 23, 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.

1. UT Austin to Pay Law Firm $1 Million to Defend (link)

The University of Texas will pay a law firm out of Los Angeles around $1 million to defend it's admission standards. UT looks at race and ethnicity when students apply. According to the Dallas Morning News:

A contract between the university and Latham & Watkins LLP says the firm will receive a flat $977,000 fee and up to $10,000 for expenses representing UT before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case stems from a 2008 lawsuit filed by two white, female students denied admission then.

Abigail Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz alleged the university violated their constitutional right to equal protection.

If colleges want to be fair, they won't look at race at all. They will look at grades, community service, and how the applicant is as a student and person. That is the fair and right thing to do. The system we have now is unfair to students and even punishes white students for being white.

2. Mayoral Race in Lubbock

More and more people are coming around to the notion that this will be a very close election for Mayor of Lubbock. I think that right now, Glen Robertson has the inside track on winning here in a few weeks, but anything could happen. It's important that all in Lubbock listen to what each candidate says and understands the issues going forward.

Speaking of Glen Robertson, did you hear he was scheduled to speak at Occupy Lubbock? Robertson had said in a statement that he was going to speak with them about LP&L since he is on the board and not as a candidate. Occupy Lubbock was planning on protesting LP&L at some point. Well, Robertson canceled and some out there don't believe Robertson wasn't going to campaign out there.

Maybe he was, but I doubt it. Look, there are hardly more than 8 people at Occupy Lubbock and the protest might draw 10 people on a nice day. Why would Robertson waste his time on that group? I think that's why Robertson canceled, it was a waste of time.

3. Koman Race Sees Fewer People (link)

This is what happens when you make everyone mad.

Sanchez and many other Komen supporters have abandoned the nation's largest breast-cancer charity since news emerged in late January that it had decided to stop making grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer-screening. Komen soon reversed that move following a three-day onslaught of criticism.

Organizers of individual Race for the Cure events - 5K runs and walks that account for most of the charity's fundraising - have seen participation decline by as much as 30 percent. Most also saw their fundraising numbers go down, although a couple of races brought in more money.

Race organizers acknowledge the effect of the Planned Parenthood debacle, which angered people on both sides of the abortion debate.

"I think there's no getting around the fact that the controversy did have an impact," said Leslie Aun, a spokeswoman for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. "We're not back where we were. We know that it's going to take a while."

Sanchez, an occupational therapist from Denver, said she was upset when she learned that Komen had pulled the funding. And she wasn't mollified when the charity reinstated it.

"I appreciate that they changed their minds, but that was still too little, too late in my opinion," said Sanchez, who has participated in five races over the past several years.

Sanchez, who describes herself as pro-choice but not pro-abortion, said the flip-flop caused her to lose respect for Komen's decision-making process.

"If it's really that important to you, then make a decision and stick with it," she said.

Only nine races have been held since the Planned Parenthood controversy, but an Associated Press survey of affiliates for the Dallas-based charity showed that a downward trend is already taking shape.

A month before a southern Arizona race, the number of people registered was about half as many as last year.

The article fails to point out the fact that when Komen reversed it's decision and decided to continue to fund Planned Parenthood, they angered pro-life advocates and those who are against Planned Parenthood's abortion operations.

4. Fast and Furious (link)

Another gun involved?

A new book raises questions as to whether the FBI hid the existence of a weapon recovered at the scene of murdered U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Conservative commentator and author Katie Pavlich lays out evidence she says points to a FBI cover-up to protect a confidential informant in her recently released book, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-up,

In response to an inquiry from the Free Beacon, a Justice Department spokeswoman said in an email that she “was told to direct your questions to the FBI, and also to provide you with a link to this story: http://mediamatters.org/research/201204190011”

The link was to a story at the George Soros-funded Media Matters for America supposedly refuting many of Pavlich’s claims. Media Matters is a partisan organization whose founder, David Brock, is also running a pro-Obama super PAC.

In Operation Fast and Furious, federal agents allowed more than 2,000 weapons to be smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border and into the hand of violent drug cartels, with the intent of tracking them to learn more about the cartels.

Two weapons connected to Fast and Furious were discovered at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, who was gunned down in the Southern Arizona desert in 2010 by five criminals armed with AK-47s.

However, Pavlich asserts there was a third gun. The book details three separate pieces of evidence that point to a third weapon being recovered and then covered up by the FBI and the Justice Department.

5. Dumb story of the morning (link)

Fake cancer scams are never good.

A Texas prom queen who raised more than $17,000 after telling classmates she was dying of cancer was arrested and charged with theft-by-deception.

Angie Gomez, 19, told her family, friends and fiance in January 2011 that she had six months to live after battling leukemia since childhood.

The Horizon City teen set up her own charity foundation, called "Achieve the Dream," and raised $17,000 from fundraisers, checks, gift cards and in-kind donations, the El Paso Times reported.

Gomez claimed that her condition caused her to miss her senior prom, and so Da Vinci High School held another in her honor in June 2011 -- the same month police received a complaint that Gomez did not appear to be ill.

A long-running investigation revealed that the hospitals Gomez said had treated her held no record of her as a patient.

She was finally held Friday at her place of work after a warrant was issued, Detective Liliana Medina said.

Gomez's lawyer, Sheldon Myers, told KVIA, "She has a real soft spot for people that suffer from those types of diseases, and that's why she was trying to get money for them."

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

14 year old from Seagraves meets Tim Tebow.

"At the end of the day, I don't want my legacy to be known as a football player, I want to be known as someone that's made an impact on kids' lives," Tebow said.

He did just that to 14-year old Tyler Carmichael from Seagraves. Tyler was diagnosed with Leukemia in December after being in remission for eight years. The last few months have been challenging for the teenager, but there were nothing but smiles when he met his role model and hero, Tim Tebow. Tebow took the time to sit and chat with Tyler before the event.

"I got to talk with Tim Tebow today, it was cool," Carmichael said.

Tyler loves that the former Gator, Bronco and now Jet doesn't let the spotlight get to him.

"Even though he's famous, he doesn't let anybody change him," Carmichael said.

However, meeting Tebow has changed Carmichael forever. His parents Melba and Tim were thrilled when they heard their son would get the opportunity to meet Tebow. The Carmichael's, like so many other parents, are thankful their son has Tebow to look up to.

"To be a Christian and uphold his beliefs, we share the same beliefs and he's a very genuine person," Carmichael said.

Emotions were apparent after the family met Tebow. They all agreed this was a chance of a lifetime and that this is something Tyler would remember forever.

"He's genuine; he's the real thing… This is something he'll carry until he's an old man," Carmichael said.

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

Other Top Stories:

Why Mitt Will Be A Good President

Rubio: Respect the Process

New Grads Can't Find Jobs

Texans Overbilled on Tolls

Don't Brag About Being Accepted to College

Iowa Paper Devotes Front Page to Bullying

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.