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Dallas to hold Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on January 15-16: "All activities scheduled for the weekend celebration are open to the general public and the community is encouraged to attend."

Hodge irks cockfight crusaders: "

State Rep. Terri Hode, D-Dallas, should not count on getting any votes from Humane Society supporters.

Read here what Jason Trahan reports on our crime blog.

Hodge, a Democrat, is running against Dallas lawyer Eric Johnson in the March primary.

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Frances Neumann, wife of CM Dave Neumann, says their children are living with both parents during divorce: "

Yesterday, council member Dave Neumann stopped by my office at City Hall and gave a statement that he is going through a divorce with his wife, Frances.

In his statement, he said that both he and his wife remain devoted parents to their two children.

He also said he is now residing with his children in a house on Winnetka Avenue apart from his wife during the divorce.

Frances Neumann sent me a message today to clarify that the children are also staying with her.

'In the article it states that he is living with his two children which implies they are not living with their mother and that he must have custody of them, that is not the case. We have joint custody meaning they are living with me as well, half of the time,' she wrote.

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AG: Governor may issue posthumous pardons: "Via Kimberly Reeves at the Quorum Report, I learned that Attorney General Greg Abbott issued his first opinion of 2010 in response to questions from state Sen. Rodney Ellis declaring that, contrary to his earlier assertions, Gov. Rick Perry has full powers under the Texas Constitution to issue posthumous pardons in cases like Timothy Cole's.

While such a pardon would require that the Governor seek a recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Parole, said the AG, the Perry has full power to issue pardons in all cases except impeachment or treason, with no other limitations.

The Governor had relied on an old AG opinion stating that posthumous pardons were impossible because a pardon must be 'accepted,' but this new opinion points out that since then the US Supreme Court called that stance 'a legal fiction at best' and has not relied on the notion since 1833. In any event, Abbott said the 'acceptance' requirement only made sense when pardons are 'conditional' and does not apply in posthumous innocence cases.

Abbott also noted that the Texas Legislature had authorized compensation for false convictions 'including a person who received a posthumous pardon,' language which 'appears to recognize the shift in United States Supreme Court precedent.'

All this clears the way for Governor Perry to ask the Board of Pardons and Parole for a pardon recommendation for Timothy Cole, who was falsely convicted of rape and died in prison before DNA cleared his name last year. Cole's family has been adamant demanding the Governor pardon their departed relative, and with this opinion I see no reason that process wouldn't proceed.

See the full opinion."

A prime piece of land, eminent domain, and a former Dallas mayor: "

Over the last couple of days, I've been writing about a little piece of land downtown that City Hall wants and the owner doesn't want to part with - at least not without getting a very pretty penny.

The plot thickened a little in today's story, where it's revealed that the land next to the planned convention center hotel is tied up in an old and very rich lease agreement with former Dallas Mayor Robert Folsom.

If you would like to catch up on those stories, here they are.



Day 1 - City has big eyes on little tract; Eminent domain fight could test law.



Day 2 - Parcel owner says lease with former mayor gives land enormous value.

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