Just got the word from the Austin Police Dept. that they have decided they will not be embracing the legal changes enacted by the Lege last year when it comes to making minor pot possession a cite-and-release offense. To refresh: Legislators last year passed H.B. 2391 (by Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, and carried by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo), as a means to ease jail overcrowding, making a host of minor criminal violations eligible for citation-and-release as opposed to a direct ticket to the county jail for adults in their "home county" at the time of the violation -- including possession of up four ounces of pot. The Travis Co. Sheriff's Office immediately embraced the new law. In 2006, some 7,000 people were booked into jail for offenses listed under the new law and making those defendants eligible for cite-and-release would save the county about $1.2 million. Last fall, APD said they were still "reviewing" the new law to decide whether it would be jiggy with APD policy. That review is apparently complete and the verdict is in: its a no-go for pot cite-and-release within city limits. According to APD Cmdr. Sean Mannix, the department decided against following the provisions of the law because APD actually operates in three counties -- Travis, Williamson and Hays, where portions of the city now lie -- and in two out of the three counties officials have decided not to honor the new law. Thus, only Travis has "embraced the practice," Mannix said. In order to "maintain a consistent" policy citywide the APD has decided to side with WilCo and Hays (which together cover only a small portion of the city) and to diss Travis Co. Go figure.

After a bit of a rough start, the Wranglers have hit their stride. On April 20, Austin got their first win over the Rio Grande Valley Dorados. This past weekend, the Wranglers showed what they are capable of by demolishing the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz, 57-27. The previously vulnerable Wranglers defense was the story of the night with Demetrie McCray grabbing three interceptions. Austin also sacked the Yard Dawgz quarterback, Evan Gray, five times to go along with the three interceptions. Also encouraging was the success of the Wranglers offense. Newly acquired quarterback Andy Hall threw for more than 300 yards and six touchdowns. Their 57-point outburst was the first time all season the Wranglers scored more than 50 points. Leading receiver John Roberson scored four more touchdowns and increased his season total to 13.

Message from Travis County's Elections Division: "[Travis County Clerk Dana] DeBeauvoir asked the media’s help to dispel what has become an Internet 'urban legend' – that there is a constitutional amendment related to seniors' homestead exemptions on the ballot. In fact, this proposition was on the ballot in May 2007, and there is nothing this year, which suggests the email may have been circulating for the past year!" To see sample ballots of what actually is on the May 10 ballot, and other election information, go to www.co.travis.tx.us/elections/. Early voting is already underway and continues through Tuesday.

A friend of mine recently made me a mixtape for my birthday that included a song by Arthur Russell. I wasn’t familiar with Russell, but “That’s Us/Wild Combination” immediately caught my ear and hasn’t since let go. Russell’s voice moans in melodic reverb, sounding almost disjointed from the bed of electronic beats like a remix of a minimalist composition. It’s beautifully unsettling. I have since dove into as much of Russell’s work as I can find and, thanks to recent reissues of his albums, there is a wealth of amazing material available. Russell passed away from AIDS in 1992, but gets a second look via Matt Wolf's recent documentary, Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, and the new tribute vinyl EP, Four Songs by Arthur Russell, which features Jens Lekman, Taken by Trees (Victoria Bergsman of the Concretes), Vera November, and Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras.

DJ Million turned up the volume 30 minutes after Holy Fuck's instrumental beats drifted off the stage and the opening scripted Asian threat to action subsided, and the crowd went epileptic. It had been a year and a half since Maya Arulpragasam last graced the La Zona Rosa stage – before her soaked Austin City Limits set last year – and in that time, M.I.A. turned the world on its ear with her lyrics steeped in politics, world beats, and revolution. I dare you to find a show steeped in gunshots and air horns as fashionable as M.I.A.'s.

Without question, her sophomore LP, Kala (Interscope), released last year, peeled back the ceiling, tossing out everything from dancehall to Bollywood in one gust. Last night was no different. From the opening burn-up of "Bamboo Banga" to last shoot-out "Paper Planes," M.I.A. owned that crowd. I've never seen so many American Apparel-clad twentysomethings aiming guns into the air with smiles as wide as the Indian Ocean.

The ladies came on stage for "Boyz," the gentlemen followed – or more precisely, mixed – for "Birdflu," and everyone sang along to the Pixies-inflected "20 Dollar." True debut Arular (XL) made a quick showing of "Pull Up the People," but the night was all about M.I.A.'s newest crowing glory. That chick had the crowd wrapped around her little finger, and she was loving every minute of it.

By the time the last encore closed, with M.I.A.'s projections up against the wall, La Zona was a sauna, and everyone was giddy, drenched, and laughing. Proof that shows are still fun, music still effective, and no one has to understand what you're saying on stage to get the message. It was awesome. Click through the gallery to see more from the night.

If you haven't heard, there's been an ethics complaint lodged in the increasingly acrimonious Place 3 Jennifer Kim/Randi Shade duel. On Thursday, Kim's camp lodged a formal ethics complaint against Shade for failing to report "bundled" money from firms. I'm not a lawyer, but on its face, this complaint looks hella weak. It says Shade didn't report the contributions as bundled, but there's seemingly no evidence to suggest they were. It simply looks like several members of the firms in question – Endeavor Real Estate Group, Ambrust & Brown, and Reagan Advertising – gave to Shade's campaign, which, politically connected players with money to burn are often wont to do. If anything, it looks like an attempt to highlight Shade's politically unpopular donors – and if there was any question, this quote from campaign manager Elliott McFadden removes all doubt:

"We have firms involved in unpopular projects, which Jennifer Kim has opposed, like tax giveaways for corporate retail, the Wal-Mart at Northcross, and billboards on scenic roadways, and Randi Shade appears to be hiding her direct association with these firms.”

There's also this unconfirmed report of greasy anti-Shade robocalls, which you can read about here. Just keep telling yourself: only eight more days of this! Full press release from McFadden below the fold. UPDATE: Oops! In Fact Daily reports Shade has copped to a bundling oversight:

Shade campaign comptroller Susan Harry issued a statement Thursday night, saying "It was an honest oversight on the part of our campaign. We determined this afternoon that we had four people who met the criteria of a bundler in the last reporting cycle, and we will be amending that report tomorrow. We will also be reporting two new bundlers in our new report, due tomorrow.”

Like I said, I'm not a lawyer.

Did you catch the shoutout to our favorite local music and film and techie extravaganza on 30 Rock last night? When the writing room schlubs try to get some respect from the Teamsters (headed by Brian Dennehy, looking rather slimmed, no?), Lutz (John Lutz) blows their case with the wincingly on-point: "I know what driving the long haul is like! After my junior year at Oberlin, we road-tripped to South by Southwest!" Even 30 Rock's throwaway lines feel perfectly crafted. If you aren't watching this show yet, you should really start. Second best line of the night? "I was hit by lightning as a child. They made a movie about me." Watch the whole episode now on NBC.com or check it out soon on Hulu.com.

On Saturday (May 3) Austin reformers will join with like-minded tokers in 230 cities around the world for the ninth Global Marijuana March to protest pot prohibition. Texas NORML has joined forces with Outgrow Big Bro to coordinate Austin's festivities, which will begin at 10am at Pecan Grove in Zilker Park. Pot pals will march to the Capitol at noon for a rally on the south steps from 1-4pm, which will include speakers and music. The music and fun will continue back at Pecan Grove until 10pm. So get out, enjoy the day, fight the power, and learn how to be a strong voice for pot-law reform. Now, a couple reminders. First: Don't be smoking yer dope while you march or while at the Capitol -- at the Capitol you're on state property and that means state cops and they won't take kindly to that. (And as far as APD goes, who the hell knows where they stand these days, or whether they've decided to accept as policy state law that makes minor possession eligible for citation only -- I've asked and they haven't responded, so keep that in mind.) So, you've been warned. Just remember, you can be your own worst enemy, and hinder the cause more than help it: Don't tangle with the cops, don't get belligerent (not that any Reefer readers would do that, right?) -- catch flies with honey, not vinegar.

It's official: there are no fake terrorists at the former Concordia University site. That's because local law enforcement flushed them out in a training exercise held today at the empty campus. The joint exercise, involving Austin Police Department SWAT and bomb squads, plus staff from Travis and Hays county sheriffs, was modeled (very lightly) on the horrific 2004 Beslan school massacre. Does this, as several journalists joked with APD officers, mean that Chechen separatists are likely to target Austin? Not so much: the exercise came about after the chief of police for Concordia contacted APD to offer the newly empty campus up for a training exercise, and the developers offered to push back demolition of the Woltman Activities Center. To keep things realistic, Det. James Mason held a press conference about the 'siege' and asked anyone with any information to contact him on the special hotline set up for the day: "555-555-5555." While the media were kept at a safe distance (the officers were only using 'safe' wax practice rounds and flash-bangs, but they can still hurt), there was free pizza. However, when the fireworks started, because there was a baseball field in between the press corps and the action, we all just thought that a table had fallen over.