Daily Toreador The
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2015 VOLUME 89 ■ ISSUE 114
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Review: $1B spent on transportation, little return DALLAS (AP) — A review of regional transportation agencies that were established following a change in state law 15 years ago finds most have struggled to meet expectations while spending at least $1 billion in taxpayer money. Nine agencies known as regional mobility authorities, or RMAs, were established in Texas to use bonds to build transportation projects and pay them off with tolls. But a review by The Dallas Morning News shows that RMAs have spent some $864 million in state and federal money, despite the Texas Legislature originally intending that projects be financed by tolls. They’ve also spent at least $220 million on overhead costs. Some projects highlight the disconnect, including in Grayson County, where authorities wanted to extend the Dallas North Tollway to Oklahoma and keep the toll dollars in their community. But after six years, at least $2.2 million in state money has been spent — and no toll road built. Officials in San Antonio had pushed to build about 50 miles of toll roads across the congested north side of Bexar County, but more than a decade later, nothing has been constructed. Poor planning and rising administrative costs have led to an overhaul of the agency in charge, the newspaper reported. In some cases, RMAs have financed projects by siphoning tax dollars from elsewhere, not by using tolls. Other roads were completed because of federal money that came into Texas as part of previous national efforts to jump-start an ailing economy. At least $604 million in federal stimulus dollars flowed to Texas.
FAA: Green laser lights struck 2 small planes in Texas DALLAS (AP) — A green laser struck two small planes overnight in Dallas, raising safety concerns in an incident that can be prosecuted as a federal crime. The Federal Aviation Administration reported Sunday that two pilots reported seeing the laser shortly after midnight. The planes were heading to Arlington and were about 12 miles south of Dallas Love Field airport when the incident occurred. They were at about 3,000 feet. Laser lights can obstruct the vision of a pilot, and unauthorized use of a laser is a federal crime. A Dallas man got 2 ½ years in prison in 2013 after using a laser pointer in the direction of a police helicopter.
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
Opinions May Vary Defilippis vs. White End of term exams
INDEX Crossword.....................2 Classifieds................5 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................6 Sudoku.......................5 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
PHOTOS BY ADRIAN ITO/The Daily Toreador
THE COUNTRY MUSIC group “Lady Antebellum” performs in the United Supermarkets Arena Friday night. Sam Hunt and Hunter Hayes opened the concert for Lady Antebellum, marking the start of their tour.
By JENNIFER ROMERO Staff Writer
Country music fans of all ages gathered to watch Lady Antebellum at 7 p.m. on Friday at the United Supermarkets Arena. Audra Margritz, a freshman preoccupational therapy major from New Braunfels, said she won tickets on the radio for the concert. “I love Lady Antebellum,” she said. “I really wanted to see them in concert. When I won the free tickets, I decided to bring my big with me.” Sam Hunt opened for the band and took the stage at 7 p.m. singing his popular hit “Leave the Night On.” Jennifer Latch, a junior manage-
ment information systems major from Longview, said she enjoyed Hunt’s performance. “I think he’s great,” she said. “He’s very attractive. My favorite song by him is ‘Leave the Night On.’” Hunt played other songs from his debut album including “Ex To See” and “Take Your Time,” and he finished his performance with his song “Break Up In A Small Town.” Hunter Hayes was the second opener for Lady Antebellum, and he started his set with “Tattoo” at 7:45. “He was good,” Latch said. “I liked it when he played ‘I Want Crazy.’ I love that song.”
Hayes also played some of his popular radio singles like “Somebody’s Heartbreak” and “Everybody’s Got Somebody But Me,” and the arena was dark aside from audience members waving phone flashlights as he sang “Invisible.” The crowd sang along to “Wanted” after Hayes said he loves it when crowds sing even if they do not know the words, and he finished his set with “I Want Crazy.” Lady Antebellum took the stage at 9:15 and opened with their new single “Long Stretch of Love.” “Their performance was great,” Margritz said. “I really liked how they incorporated all three of the groups.” The band played a mix of older and
newer songs, including “American Honey,” “Bartender” and “Freestyle.” When the band played some of its slower songs like “Dancin’ Away With My Heart” the crowd members sang along and waved their phones in the air with the flashlights on. The three main band members moved to a smaller stage in the middle of the arena floor to sing “Love Don’t Live Here,” and they also performed “One Great Mystery” from their new album. “I thought their new music was good,” Latch said. “I’ve heard most of the songs already.” LADY A. continued on Page 5 ➤➤
Medical Students host Lubbock City Lights Gala By SHASHIDHAR SASTRY Staff Writer
First-year medical students from the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine hosted the 18th Annual Lubbock City Lights Charity Ball at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Overton Hotel. Every year, the Lubbock City Lights Gala is hosted by first-year medical students and is supported by the dean of the medical school. Now in its 18th year, the event is aimed at raising money to support charities both locally and nationwide. “It’s a pretty big deal,” Nerissa Dsilva, executive co-chair for the event and a firstyear medical student from Houston, said. “We raise about 30 to 50,000 dollars every year for various charities.” The money is raised through monetary sponsorships as well as live and silent auctions, Dsilva said. The number of charities varies each year, she said, and this year the Lubbock City Lights committee picked five charities. One of those charities is the Free Clinic, which is a student-run initiative at HSC, Dsilva
said. The Free Clinic seeks to provide free basic health care to the working poor and homeless population of Lubbock. The other charities selected this year included Family Promise, the Children’s Rainbow Program, the Center for Super Heroes and the American Cancer Society, according to a Tech HSC news release. “It has taken a lot of work,” Dsilva said. “We’ve been working on this for at least six months now. I just want to thank everyone who came out and supported us.” Light Up The Night 5K, which is a part of the Lubbock City Lights, was hosted last month at 8 p.m. April 17 on the Tech campus, according to a Tech news release. The event was about involving the communities and making them aware of the charities they are trying to support, Breezy Stroup, chair of the event, said. Cate Wetzel and Ramona Mittal were the other two chairs for the Light Up the Night 5K event. “About 150 people participated, and we raised about $2,000,” Stroup said. “I think both the (HSC) community and the community in Lubbock had a great time.” Nuvneet Khandelwal, a first-year medical
PHOTO BY KIRBY CRUMPLER/The Daily Toreador
DAPHNE ARENA, A first year medical student from Dallas, and her husband Alex Goncharov look at the items for auction at the 18th Annual Lubbock City Lights Charity Ball on Saturday at the Overton Hotel. The ball was put on by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine.
student from Odessa, is the other executive cochair for Lubbock City Lights along with Dsilva. There is a selection process, Khandelwal said, which is used to pick the charities each year. Both the initial suggestions and the final
decision in the selection process are made by the Lubbock City Lights committee, which is made up of first-year medical students. CITY LIGHTS continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Health Sciences Center SGA officers initiated, receive awards By SEBASTIAN EMERY Staff Writer
The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center’s Student Government Association hosted its awards and annual installation banquet at 6 p.m. Friday in the Texas Tech Club. At the banquet, the newly elected officers took office as the ADVERTISING: 806-742-3384
outgoing officers said their farewells. Outgoing president Eric Edwards, a biomedical sciences graduate student from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, said it is sad to leave the position but he was ready to let go so he can continue to focus on his schoolwork. The new president is Michael Russell, who served as vice president of operations this year.
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The new vice president of communications is Monish Makena, the new vice president of operations is Cheyenne Mangold and the new vice president of finance is Terrance Rodrigues. “I feel pretty confident about this opportunity to really help out my academic community,” Russell, a second-year medical student from Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, said. “It really
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helps that I served as vice president last year, so I know my way through the system and I can get things done.” Outgoing vice president of finance Sareh Cavazos, a second-year medical student from San Antonio, said the job requires hard work.
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HSC SGA continued on Page 2 ➤➤ EMAIL: news@dailytoreador.com