By BJ Austin, KERA News & Wire Services
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-994086.mp3
Dallas, TX – After a morning conference between attorneys for the city and Occupy Dallas, protesters remain in their tent compound behind City Hall. But Occupy Dallas attorney Jonathan Winocour says the protesters must watch their p's and q's.
Winocour: We're going to operate on the basis that we can be removed any minute if there's a minor infraction, they can jump us. And that's fine. Keep us on our toes. Make us be vigilant. Maybe this will help them to refocus their activities.
Winocour says he would like to see more protesting and less concern that Police will arrive to take up the tents.
Meanwhile, the Occupy Dallas protester pushed from a planter by a Dallas Police officer and later charged with assault on a different officer could face additional assault charges.
Occupy Dallas members say protester Glynn Wilcox and others were discussing the future of the movement outside a Deep Ellum restaurant last night when Stephen Benavides became angry and attacked Wilcox. The police report says Wilcox was punched in the face and choked.
Benavides, in a statement, accused Wilcox and the others of conducting a secret meeting. He calls them a group of middle aged white men trying to hijack the Occupy Dallas movement.
Dallas Says NO To Redistricting Do-Over
There will be no "do-over" of the Dallas City Council redistricting plan.
Five council members had signed a request that the vote approving a new election district map be reconsidered.
Hispanic activist Eugene Gaten said the city will certainly be sued if the current map is not re-worked. Gaten says it violates the Voting Rights Act.
Gaten: It ignores the U.S. Census of 2010 placing the Hispanic community at 42% of city population, with a voting age of 37 percent.
Gaten says those numbers demand FIVE Hispanic council districts - not the three, possibly four, in the approved map.
But the City Council voted 9 to 5 NOT to revisit the issue.
Mayor Mike Rawlings has expressed confidence the map will meet with Justice Department approval.
Lawmakers' error omits Texas license plate fine
Texas lawmakers passing a flurry of bills on the final day of the Legislative session in May accidentally removed a $200 fine for driving without license plates from the transportation code.
That oversight means that fine and enforcement of penalties for falsifying or obscuring plates could disappear when the law takes effect Jan. 1.
Rep. Joe Pickett sponsored the law and has written to Attorney General Greg Abbott asking for an opinion clarifying enforcement. He argued that penalties are implicit.
The El Paso Democrat also said interpreting the law any other way could have absurd and dangerous consequences.
Abbott's office received the letter Oct. 24 and has 180 days to respond. No one asked for an expedited decision - even though the law takes effect in less than two months.
Perry asks town hall audience to prove citizenship
People attending a Rick Perry presidential campaign event are being asked to prove they are American citizens.
Wednesday's event at Granite State Manufacturing in New Hampshire is open to the public.
The company handles defense contracts for the federal government. A company employee sat beside a Perry staffer at the door and asked attendees whether they were citizens. People were also told that non-citizens wouldn't be admitted.
Perry's campaign said later that that was a mistake. The company also later clarified that federal regulations allow immigrants on the premises, but they must be accompanied by an escort.
The Texas governor has spent much of the campaign under fire for his immigration record, specifically his state's policy of allowing in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.
It was unclear whether any immigrants attended Perry's event.
Arlington police to buy 2 drone helicopters
A North Texas city that tested helicopter drones will buy two of the small aircraft to record video and take photos.
The Arlington City Council on Tuesday approved spending $202,000 for the battery-powered drones to be used by police.
Police earlier this year tested several of the remote-controlled helicopters, which weigh about 11 pounds and stretch nearly 4 feet.
Arlington has been working with federal agencies on the testing program.