File this under Things We Hate To Report. Justice, the four-month-old puppy who was found badly burned in Dallas two weeks ago, died over the weekend. Dallas police have issued a warrant for a person believed to be involved. more ›

• There’s a college basketball game in Houston on Monday night. It’s kind of a big deal.
• At least one of the basketball fans in the stands at the Final Four will be wearing a dog collar that has nothing to do with Butler!
• 70,000 people are in H-town for the Final Four?

• Why the spectacle of the Super Bowl is a snapshot of our society, aka a "pop culture nexus point."
• Quelle horreur! There weren’t seats for some of the Super Bowl ticket holders! This is ironic, given that it totally wasn’t a problem getting a seat at the first Super Bowl.
• Looking at the Super Bowl commercials with the crazy idea that women are people.

• Clueless about gift-giving season? Check out this Hipster Holiday Gift Guide.
• Did you know there were internment camps in Texas during WWII? Historians are now trying to preserve both the stories of people who were in the camps, and what’s left of the structures.
• Never mind the people calling for his blood, former Longhorn coach Greg Davis seems like a decent fellow in this profile.

• Keep an eye out for "claws" and "antlers" among Texas Rangers fans during the World Series.
• If you find antlers that an animal has shed at a public park, you should be able to keep them!
• Texas Rangers fans sometimes live outside of Texas.

• Whole Foods will soon have more stores in Austin.
• There’s a heat advisory issued for Houston. That means it’s too bloody hot this week!
• Houston has a cool indie-county scene? Who knew?

“I wanted to make law enforcement work, for everyone,” said Craig Watkins, District Attorney of Dallas County (Ft. Worth) during Texas Tribune's TribLive talk, hosted at the Austin Club. more ›

• The New York Times reports on a lawyer who has 20 former clients on death row in Texas.
• Dude pretended to sell hot tubs, but spent instead spent the dough on strip clubs and expensive cigars.
• Some people near Fair Park are very angry at the Dallas Independent School District. The school district wants to use eminent domain to secure property currently being used for homes and businesses.

As you may have heard in the past months, Chief Acevedo was one of six finalists selected for the top cop job in Dallas. Acevedo's decision to continue with the selection process, even after the City of Austin offered an increased compensation package, made it clear the only way the chief would be staying was by his own choice. And that is what happened: Acevedo announced yesterday afternoon in a press-conference that he would be staying in Austin. more ›

On the heels of Chief Acevedo's announcement as a finalist in the Dallas Police Chief search, the City of Austin has decided to fight to keep Chief Acevedo here. more ›

Earlier this week, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announced that he is a finalist for the top cop position with the Dallas Police Department. During a press conference, he stated he was contacted several weeks ago by the Police Executive Research Forum and that they encouraged him to apply for the Dallas position. He submitted his resume over this past weekend and, soon after, learned he was one of six finalists. more ›

• Ken Starr (of Whitewater fame) was just named president of Baylor. Yes, he’s promised to join a Baptist church after moving to Waco!
• Dallas-based Southwest Airlines kicked actor/director Kevin Smith off a plane this weekend, citing his size as a reason. He was very, very displeased about this. Now Southwest is trying to deal with the situation.
• A University of Texas student group has formed to try and save the Cactus Cafe.

• Are you ready for the cold-pocalypse? People are so worried about this cold front that Continental Airlines is letting you change your Thursday flight (in or out of Houston) without a fee.
• A good sow-maritan replaced one Corpus Christi resident’s stolen pig.
• Ewww! When you meet people on the Internet, you might want to remember that the age of consent in Texas is 17.

Imagine sitting in prison for a crime you did not commit. Then, ten years into a life sentence, another prisoner confesses, names an accomplice and signs an affidavit. That should be enough to get you out of jail, right? That is not how the system works. In fact, that confession might not matter at all. Two Texas prisoners, however, had the Actual Innocence Clinic in Austin and UT Arlington's Innocence Network dig into their case. They found that affidavit in 2007. more ›

• Tip on how to get along in life if you are a criminal: Do not fire your replica gun in a police officer’s face. He’ll just have to take you into custody.
• Ewwww, ick! It’s not even Halloween, yet a Houston man was found asleep inside a closet, with a corpse next to him! The corpse may have also been treated "in an offensive manner."
• Being a billionaire won’t keep you out of fights while you are in prison.

• The seventh annual World Championship Corny Dog Eating Competition has a winner! The State Fair of Texas has everything!
• Slackerwood photo set from Fantastic Fest’s opening-night gala-premiere of “Gentlemen Broncos” at the Paramount Theater. (Scroll down for a great shot of the scruffy’n’hip actor Jemaine Clement from .)
• Apparently, being a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader requires the ability to study. (Not so much if you are an actual Dallas Cowboy!)

Aspiring pop stars and Indieroke champs may be happy to learn that producers of American Idol, who are already gearing up for the next season of the unstoppable series, will be making a stop in Dallas for auditions on June 26. more ›

Two bills submitted to the state Lege by Republican lawmakers would require doctors to show ultrasounds to women about to get abortions, and would have the doctor play the audio of the baby's heartbeat. Another bill submitted to the Legislature would re-regulate tuition increases at state schools. Middle-schooler's mom takes complaint on TTYL to the Round Rock School Board. It seems the Dallas reunion this weekend at Southfork stunk; people are blaming the Austin-based event organizer. Grapevine pastor asks married couples (and only them) to have sex once a day for a week. Houston man breaks through sheetrock in vacant apartment's wall to stab woman living in neighboring apartment. more ›

Two men kidnapped a woman at a Bastrop Whataburger this morning. Mayor Wynn apologizes to city after assault charge, says he is in anger counseling. Winter weather leads to more than 200 flights being cancelled at DFW. On election day, APD arrested two members of the Mexican Mafia. With 41% of Texas precincts reporting, Obama is in the lead for caucus delegates. An agreement set up today between the City of Austin and TxDOT means that your vehicle registration could be denied if you don't pay your traffic fines. After losing the race for Tax Assessor-Collector, Maxey endorses Nelda Wells-Spears and says he is going to help the Obama campaign. more ›

So, I produce and co-star a little show called The Dick Monologues. We have four shows this month—three more than usual. Two are in Dallas this weekend at the Water Tower Theatre as part of the Out of the Loop Festival. Two are here in town—one at the Victory Grill on March 21st and the other at Hyde Park Theatre on March 30th. Please tell your Dallas friends to come to the show up there. And if you want to attend an Austin show, please email me at spike@spikeg.com for info. This week, I present a piece I wrote that sometimes appears in the show. Big Dick on Buddha Mountain To meditate with the enlightened Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, is akin to playing guitar with Pete Townsend, making cookies with Martha Stewart, or tying your shoes with Mister Rogers. And so, despite my tight budget, when I heard that Thay, as he is known, was leading a retreat in California, I did what any overzealous aspiring Buddhist would do: I mailed off a hot check to procure my place at the monastery. more ›

The Democratic party of Williamson County didn't order enough ballots; some precincts had used half of their ballots before the afternoon and evening rush. Today is the day of judgment for some of Craddick's Democratic supporters. Austin's Pluck purchased by Demand Media. Alfonso Royal, aide to Gov. Perry, named as chief of staff for TYC. The man who tried to steal copper from an East Austin electrical substation last week has died. more ›

Clinton campaign seeks to control local caucus sessions? more ›

Reason the power was out in East Austin Wednesday afternoon: a copper theft gone seriously wrong. The Cowboy Breakfast this morning kicked off the rodeo in town by providing a free breakfast to everyone there at 6am. Slightly reminiscent of "Daisy": Obama campaign unhappy with Hillary's new "Children" campaign ad. Clinton attends funeral of Dallas cop who died while serving in her motorcade. Huckabee makes campaign stop in Waco today. Show your voter registration card and ride the bus for free on election day. more ›

"We're not publishing the list in our news columns, period": Statesman Editor Oppel on why the paper will not include a listing of precinct voting locations on election day. McCain stopped in San Antonio today. Bill Clinton spoke in town today. On the primary race between Glen Maxey and incumbent Nelda Wells Spears. Power outage in East Austin this afternoon. While her father was tied up, a robber sexually-assaulted a 15-year-old girl in a South Austin apartment yesterday morning. Semi veers off Dallas highway ramp and falls onto Continental Avenue; at least 3 are dead. more ›

After Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, and Jay-Z all elected to skip Austin on their spring US tours, it's not unreasonable to feel that our music-loving town seems to be off the radar of the arena pop and rock circuit. This despite a perfectly functional (if rather dated) basketball arena smack in the center in town. Thankfully, the Louis Vuitton Don Kanye West agrees with you, and has elected to show Austin some big-production love with a date here at The Frank Erwin Center in late April. more ›