Lynch at Large

The Lynch at Large Blog has moved

2007-09-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Lynch at Large blog will continue at a new address in the wonderful world of Word Press. The headline above links to the new site. All of the contents of this blog have been moved to the new location.

Be sure to change your bookmarks, and please tell all your friends.

The new link is: http://lynchatlarge.wordpress.com/

Also, let me know what you think, lyncho@lyncho.com.

See you at the new digs!

A few totally gay questions

2007-08-31T06:51:00.000-05:00

State Representative Steve Harrelson’s “Under the Dome” blog raises some excellent questions about the Arkansas Family Council’s proposed initiated act to prohibit homosexuals from adopting or being foster parents. He uses the arrest of Idaho Senator Larry Craig as a basis for his inquiry.

As you know, Craig was arrested and entered a guilty plea on misdemeanor public indecency charges stemming from an incident in a Minneapolis airport men’s room. Riddle me this one, Family Council. Under the law you are asking voters to adopt, is Craig qualified to foster or adopt? Does the guilty plea equal an admission?

It is a substantial question because Craig denies being gay. Does a single act qualify? What if somebody says they are not gay any more? There are so many other little complexities to this proposal, and they demand an answer.

What about unrelated people of the same sex living in the same residence? Are they presumed to be homosexuals? Can homosexuality be reversed, and, if so, under what conditions? One presumes the Department of Human Services will have to enforce the law if it passes and they will need guidance. The voters will need some help as well.

(Broadcast August 30, 2007)

Friday summary

2007-08-31T06:48:00.001-05:00

An attorney for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette filed a motion with the Arkansas Supreme Court to unseal court briefs submitted in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over access to former Pulaski County Comptroller Ron Quillin’s e-mails. Pulaski County has refused access to 668 e-mails Quillin exchanged with Cheryl Zeier, a Missouri woman who works for a financial software company that the county has paid more than $1.1 million over the past four years.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that would deny Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola voter-backed increases in power and pay. The lawsuit was dismissed “without prejudice” and may be refilled.

Two more heat-related deaths have been confirmed in Arkansas, bringing the total this summer to eight, state health officials report. A State Department of Health spokesman declined to release specific information about the most recent victims, citing federal privacy laws.

The state attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against a Jonesboro company for allegedly offering fake driver's licenses to Hispanics in northeastern Arkansas. McDaniel's office filed suit in Craighead County Circuit Court against Benjamin Sanchez, Oscar Sanchez and Rita Soto, owners and operators of International Automovil Association Inc.

Weekend motorists can expect to see sobriety checkpoints along with a saturation of law enforcement. The holiday saturation period will begin Friday, Aug. 31, at 6 p.m., and continue through midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Gov. Mike Beebe and a panel of lawmakers have called for broad increases in pay for state employees, saying a raise is necessary to compete for workers likely to be lured to private sector jobs.

A 23-year veteran of the Department of Correction has been fired after investigators determined he took a rifle once assigned to Director Larry Norris and then lied about it when confronted. The employee wasn’t identified because he has state appeal rights, but spokesman Dina Tyler says that the 45-year-old had been a training instructor at several prisons. His duties included training staff to shoot firearms.

Former Justice of the Peace Johnny W. Brady says that he has dropped his appeal of a circuit ruling that reversed last November's District 10 justice of the peace election. The seat Brady once pursued and attained is now held by JP Jerry L. Roberts, who ran as a Republican. Before Roberts' lawsuit, Brady, a Democrat, was deemed the race's victor by a 738-736 total count.

Wireless, high-speed Internet access may be available to the people of Polk County in about two months. Access to high-speed Internet is an economic development must-have, according to Polk County Judge Ray Stanley.

A group of Humphrey citizens are hoping that an empty grassy lot on the north side of town will be the home of a new state-of-the-art school facility next fall. Organizers of the proposed “School of Excellence” open-enrollment charter school will submit their application to the state Board of Education for the second time on Friday.

Arkansas will receive $13.2 million over the next six years to raise the scores of students taking Advanced Placement exams and, ultimately, to produce more mathematicians and scientists for the state and nation.

Three Arkansas communities are planning new health clinics with the help of new federal funding announced this week. A group of 12 community health centers in Arkansas was awarded about $1.4 million in grants to start primary-care clinics in Mount Ida, Lake City and Bentonville.

Derwood Smith doesn’t think the fashion of baggy pants — the kind that hang low enough to expose the boxers, briefs or thongs underneath — is going out of style fast enough. So, to help speed the process, the 74-year-old Pine Bluff alderman is proposing the city fine anyone with the look $200, plus court costs.

Police in Indiana have arrested an Arkansas prisoner and a former Faulkner County jailer who authorities believe loaded her three small children into a vehicle and helped the inmate escape almost three weeks ago.

A Blytheville man who told relatives he was tired of caring for his partially paralyzed brother faces manslaughter and abuse charges after an autopsy found the brother died of starvation and neglect on a back porch. Police arrested Gerald Wayne Whitaker after receiving a report from the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory that called the death of Larry Whitaker a homicide.

A former Fayetteville police detective faces federal child pornography charges. Jeremy Boyd Grammer was indicted by a federal grand jury. He was arraigned in federal court in Fayetteville on three charges, including one count of distributing child pornography that was transported in interstate commerce by computer and two counts of receiving child pornography that was transported in interstate commerce by computer.

A Fort Smith couple who pleaded three weeks ago to more than 40 theft-related felonies in Sebastian County appeared in Crawford County Circuit Court and pleaded to more. Jeffery Paul Mattox and Stacy Lynn Mattox were each charged with three felony counts of residential burglary and three felony counts of theft of property. Judge Gary R. Cottrell sentenced the couple to 15 years in prison plus 15 years suspended. Federal authorities are investigating firearms charges against the couple.

Thursday summary

2007-08-30T07:07:00.001-05:00

With the collapse of the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and the closing of the Interstate 40 bridge in Memphis, Congress will likely consider raising the gas tax slightly in order to pay for necessary repairs to improve America’s aging roads and bridges, Rep. Marion Berry told a Jonesboro civic group.

Pulaski County prosecutors have linked criminal charges against former county Comptroller Ron Quillin to his affair with a county vendor, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday. The complain was filed under seal and Pulaski County has been attempting to hide emails between Quillin and the female vendor from public scrutiny.

The Pulaski County sheriff’s office on Wednesday sent Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley its completed investigation into allegations of ethics law violations by Little Rock School Board President Katherine Mitchell, interim Superintendent Linda Watson and a small group of other Little Rock district employees.

The Arkansas State Police is investigating how money used for undercover drug buys was managed at the Beebe Police Department, according to White County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Raff.

Alltel Corp. shareholders’ overwhelming approval of the sale of the company for $26.3 billion marked a final step toward taking the publicly traded firm private.

A study projecting a three-year, $5.5 billion statewide economic impact from natural-gas production in the Fayetteville Shale formation was much too low, according to Kathy Deck, director of the University of Arkansas’ Center for Business and Economic Research. Arkansas has the lowest severance tax in the region.

Roby Brock reports on TalkBusiness.net Mississippi County has a hot industrial prospect although the name of the company is not being disclosed. Earlier this week, Mississippi County officials agreed to add $175,000 in economic development funds to a $425,000 commitment in trying to land a major industry in the county. The prospect is rumored to be in the steel industry, which would compliment Nucor Steel’s major operations in the region.

Equity research giant Credit Suisse issued a scathing memo on Dillard’s Department Stores and the company’s woeful second quarter in which the Little Rock-based mall retailer reported a $25.2 million loss.

Several record companies filed a lawsuit in Arkansas against 10 people they say copied music illegally through a file-sharing website, and then distributed over 5,000 copies. The ten people have internet provider addresses through a Little Rock company, Windstream Communications. In the lawsuit, the record companies asked for permission to subpoena Windstream for the real names, addresses and phone numbers of the ten.

Southwestern Energy Power Co.’s proposed coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County is likely to cost more than the company’s $1.4 billion estimate, an attorney for some of the opponents has suggested.

Reconfiguring the Interstate 630/Interstate 430 interchange in west Little Rock will cost at least $130 million, almost twice the original estimate, a top state highway official reports. The total cost likely will be even higher, in part because the project will take several years to complete, said Scott Bennett, assistant chief engineer for planning at the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. The cost estimate is in today’s dollars, he said.

The state has determined that Jefferson County violated state ethics rules by paying more than $600,000 to vendors that employed family members of former County Judge Jack Jones and another county employee, according to an audit released Wednesday.

A state representative who is trying to kick a more than 20-year habit of smoking cigarettes wants colleagues who chew tobacco to change their ways, too. Rep. Pam Adcock of Little Rock proposed changing House rules to bar representatives from chewing tobacco in the House chamber and committee rooms.

Arkansas State University officials told a legislative panel they have a tool that could help promote interest and demand for broadband technology in the state, but they lack funding to use it. At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Advanced Communications and Information Technology, ASU officials gave a presentation on the NETmobile, a van with wireless Internet access that the university acquired through a 2001 grant from the U.S. Department of Economic Development.

Volunteers seeking to raise $2 million to save Bald Knob schools say they are being hindered by untrue rumors that substantial sums have already been raised.

Rachel Hoffmann of Searcy has joined an elite group in the nation. She has achieved a perfect score of 36 on the ACT when she took the exam in June. The ACT is a test given to high school seniors used to qualify them for entrance into college.

A day after an e-mail chain sparked concern about safety in Little Rock’s River Market District, police arrested two teens Wednesday in a pair of carjackings occurring in the entertainment district in the past month.

A former Arkansas Tech University chemistry professor arrested in conjunction with a Russellville Police Department online sting operation designed to catch Internet predators has been indicted in federal court. Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons says he declined to continue prosecution of Albert Snow in Pope County Circuit Court after federal prosecutors notified him they planned to pursue the case in U.S. District Court.

A woman tried to plead guilty in an arson case Wednesday in hopes of keeping her children from losing both their parents to prison, but a judge wasn’t convinced of her guilt. “I can’t accept the plea,” U.S. District Judge Bill Wilson Jr. told Tawanna Thomas after she said she didn’t know that when she bought gas canisters for her husband, he planned to use them to commit a crime, let alone to ignite the Bada-Bing Grille nightclub in Pulaski County.

A 9-woman, 3-man jury was seated at the Craighead County Courthouse in the case of a Paragould woman charged with manslaughter and four counts of second-degree battery. Judy Cozart is charged in connection with a traffic accident on March 21, 2006, in which Greene County Justice of Peace Mark E. Reed was killed and four others were injured. Another motorist called 911 describing Cozart’s irratic driving prior to the wreck.

Country star Faith Hill will sing the opening theme to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” this season, the network announced Wednesday.

Big-time moviemaking returns to Memphis in October, when Matt Dillon, Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer and Vera Farmiga come to town to shoot "Nothing But the Truth," a political thriller from writer-director Rod Lurie.

What to do about Iraq

2007-08-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

While trying to save himself this morning on KARK TV Channel 4's Wednesday Wake-Up, Republican consultant and strategist Bill Vickery gained a momentary victory by asking what Democrats would do about Iraq.

Of course, no Democrat got us into the war and, last time I checked, it is a Republican who is commander-in-chief. Don't they even believe in personal accountability?

Anyway, I was researching another story when I came across a little story about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Here is what he has to say.

His plan for withdrawal calls for unifying Iraq by establishing autonomous regions for the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis with a central government that controls border security and distribution of oil revenues on a per capita basis.

Second, his plan includes securing Sunni support by guaranteeing them a proportionate share of oil revenues, putting Baathists back to work and re-integrating those with no blood on their hands.

Third, his plan calls for increasing economic aid by tapping the oil-rich Arab Gulf states. Biden also proposes convening a regional conference to enlist the support of Iraq's neighbors and create a Contact Group of major world powers to enforce their commitments.

Finally, his plan includes withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by 2008, which would allow time for the political settlement to take effect. In turn, a small residual force would be left solely for counter-terrorism and training.

Of the 27 million people in Iraq, about 4.2 million have self-cleansed, 2 million have left the country and 2.1 million have been displaced internally, according to Biden.

Arkansans Increase Amtrak Revenue

2007-08-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

If you missed it, my friend, Dr. Bill Pollard from Conway, got his picture on the front page of yesterday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Pollard is part of a volunteer team that has, for the past nine years, been successfully managing the sleeping car and coach inventory on Amtrak. They manage the price charged for tickets based on availability. Airlines do a similar thing.

This group also talks with train crews and helps them identify regular travelers, especially between St. Louis and Chicago, and target them to buy unused sleeping car rooms as office space. Since that is a short trip and the same room is sold later at night, when the business traveler is gone, it increases revenue. It looks like this little hobby has brought revenue up for the Eagle, which passes through Arkansas once daily northbound and southbound.

Why does every long distance train not have a marketing expert devoted to increased revenue production? The reason is that airline and highway interests want Amtrak service snuffed out anywhere it is not already booming.

That is the other dirty little secret. In the northeast, where there are modern fast trains on convenient schedules, rail travel is thriving. Around the world, many countries have trains going at over 200 mph.

(Broadcast August 29, 2007)

Wednesday summary

2007-08-29T05:59:00.001-05:00

Former Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Tom Coughlin, confined to his upscale Centerton residence since pleading guilty last year to defrauding Wal-Mart and the IRS, could end up in prison after all. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled his 27-month home-confinement sentence handed down by a federal judge in Fort Smith was too lenient and ordered a new sentencing hearing.

Two months after President Bush’s immigration plan collapsed in the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder on Tuesday heard an earful from several people here who said they want more to be done to crack down on illegal aliens.

Asa Hutchinson, who has held a series of high-ranking federal posts in Washington and Arkansas, says he would not rule out succeeding departing U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales if he is asked by President Bush.

Gov. Mike Beebe has announced a college grant program designed to attract late blooming high school students of limited financial means. The GO! Opportunities Grant is the first state-funded college grant program in Arkansas based solely on financial need, Beebe said.

Arkansas’ high school class of ’07 upheld recent past showings by performing above the national average on the SAT college-entrance exam. But, in contrast to national trends, a smaller and less diverse group of the state’s students took the exam.

A new high school on Springdale’s east side is not fiscally responsible, even if patrons are willing to pay a hefty price tag. Superintendent Jim Rollins says a new high school on the east side, comparable to Har-Ber High School on the west side, could cost $50 million or more in today's market.

A local Veterans Affairs official pledges to support Arkansas’ medical school and Washington County in their plans to locate a satellite medical campus on land the VA deeded to the county decades ago.

The Arkansas Supreme Court on has allowed $635,000 in settlement checks to former Little Rock School District Superintendent Roy Brooks and his associates to be distributed and cashed without fear of court penalties.

Deploying broadband Internet service to rural areas by using money from the Universal Service Fund was among ideas suggested Tuesday at a meeting on the state of high-speed Internet service in Arkansas.

Poor sales and a lawsuit settlement pummeled Dillard’s bottom line for the quarter ending Aug. 4. The Little Rock-based retailer reports that it suffered a net loss of $25.2 million, or 31 cents a share, in its second quarter. For the corresponding period a year ago, the company reported earnings per share of 20 cents on profit of $15.7 million.

Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker’s surgery for colon cancer has been delayed until Friday, after the procedure was started and stopped on Monday. Reached at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock, Baker said surgeons began the operation Monday before they halted it because of a “technical problem.”

A Searcy resident has filed a lawsuit against the Alcoholic Beverage Control board and Kelley’s Restaurant in Bald Knob seeking to have the restaurant’s liquor license revoked. Brett Watson, a 1991 graduate of Harding University and a member of the law firm of Anderson, Murphy and Hopkins in Little Rock filed the suit in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

A murderer given a life sentence as a teenager 30 years ago received a clemency recommendation by the Arkansas Board of Parole on Tuesday. Melvin Smith Jr. was 16 when he was convicted of killing Grover Howard Smith (not related) during a burglary of Smith’s house in Sweet Home in June 1977. Smit was given an additional 15 years in 1983 after being convicted of a prison stabbing.

An elderly Mansfield woman was found dead and her husband critically injured in what law enforcement officials believe was an attempted murder-suicide at the couple’s home. Police found a woman dead from a knife wound and her husband bleeding profusely from a knife wound to his neck area. Sebastian County Coroner Terry Campbell confirmed the identity of the deceased Mansfield woman as 83-year-old Marie Basham and her husband as Autry Basham, who is also in his 80s.

An El Dorado woman made her first appearance in Union County District Court on charges that she attacked her pregnant teenage daughter and cut her 8-year-old son with a knife or a box cutter. Latresa V. Manning was charged with aggravated assault on a family or household member and third-degree domestic battering, both felonies.

A funeral home director who police claim wanted to kill the Newport police chief and mayor is under arrest and will be charged with two counts of criminal solicitation to commit capital murder, authorities said. Lawrence Tolerson, owner of Tolerson and Sons Funeral Home, was arrested by Jackson County sheriff’s deputies and was taken to the Woodruff County jail in Augusta and held because that was where the plot to kill the two men originated.

A female resident of the Arkansas State University campus reported that her life was threatened, and she was kidnapped from the parking garage on the north side of the university and made to drive to Goobertown, about 10 miles away. The 18-year-old woman told University Police Department officers that while she was walking to her vehicle, “several men,” both black and white, “jumped her on the first level of the parking deck.”

The former treasurer of Sugar Creek Elementary School's Parent Teacher Organization turned herself in to police on a warrant charging her with stealing $23,130. Heather Diane Jennings is held at the Benton County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 bond set by Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith.

Larry Craig

2007-08-29T05:22:00.000-05:00

We are not supposed to gloat over our adversaries’ problems, so let us consider soberly the case of Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge arising out of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport men’s room.

Apparently some vice cop became suspicious about the foot tapping coming from the honorable gentleman’s stall. The first reaction, of course, is “good grief!” Surely such a powerful and wealthy man could find some other outlet for his sexual desires than such a public and humiliating venue.

The crime is an offense against his office and the institution of the Senate. And, just in case you are about to ask, yes I would apply the same standard in other high-profile cases, although an office is not quite as public as a restroom.

The folks back home in Idaho will remember how much he denounced homosexuals and espoused “family values.” Who knows? Maybe he is a compassionate conservative, although I doubt it. Apparently rumors about Senator Craig have been floating around for some time, so perhaps he just wanted to get caught. Surely a smart guy like this must know that cops patrol airport restrooms.

The genius of our system has a method to handle things like this known as elections.

(Broadcast August 28, 2007)

Democrat-Gazette breaks major Amtrak story

2007-08-28T13:50:00.001-05:00

My friend, Dr. Bill Pollard, is on the front page. This one is about how three volunteers manage the sleeping car and coach inventory on the Eagle, which passes through Little Rock.

The story is linked here. Please remember that the Democrat-Gazette is a subscription web site.

This item is discussed on my rail passenger blog, Trains for America.

Education investment pays off

2007-08-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

Here is something Mike Huckabee should be telling the Club for Growth. THIS is real growth, not just increased greedy gain for a favored few.

STATE’S PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS STRENGHTHEN SHOWING ON AP EXAMS, HOLD STEADY ON SAT

Arkansas’ public school students once again posted gains in terms of participation and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams in 2007 and maintained SAT scores that are above the national average, according to information released Tuesday by the College Board.

“Last year we were named ‘The Arkansas Model’ for other states to emulate in terms of our policies encouraging participation in Advanced Placement courses,” Dr. James said, “so it is wonderful news to hear that both participation rates and exam scores remain on the rise.”

In 2007, 16,013 public school students took AP exams, representing a 6.4 percent increase over the 15,054 students who took the exams the previous year. What’s more, there was an 8.8 percent increase in the number of exam scores of 3 or higher from last year for public school students. On AP exams, a 3 is “Qualified,” a 4 is “Well Qualified,” and a 5 is “Extremely Well Qualified.”

"It is impressive to see the increase in the number of students who score well on the AP exam," said Dr. Steve Floyd, Interim Director of the Department of Higher Education. "This means there are more high school students who are earning college credit and preparing themselves well for postsecondary education. Good preparation in high school will contribute to higher graduation rates from college."

As of the 2009-2010 school year, all high schools in the state will be required to offer an Advanced Placement course or its equivalent in each of the four core areas of English, mathematics, science and social studies. The state also began paying for students taking AP exams in May 2005. Both of these pieces of legislation have garnered national praise for Arkansas because of the increased access they gave public school students to rigorous course work.

“We know from research that anytime students take AP courses, they are greatly increasing their chances of finishing college in five years or less,” Dr. James said.

Arkansas public school students did not completely mirror the scoring trend found nationwide on the SAT Reasoning Test, which incorporates Critical Reading, Math and Writing portions:

· The state’s public school students’ mean score in Critical Reading increased by 2 points to 579, as compared to a one point drop in scores nationally to 502.

· The state’s public school students’ mean score in Math remained at 571 as compared to a three point drop in scores nationally to 515.

· The state’s public school students’ mean score in Writing fell one point to 567 as compared to a three point drop in scores nationally to 494.

The state had 1,044 students taking the SAT in 2007, a 3.6 decrease in the number of test-takers in 2006.

Of the public school students taking the SAT, 87.2 percent enrolled in colleges, according to the College Board, and two-thirds of those attended Arkansas schools. The three colleges and universities in Arkansas receiving the most SAT scores from Arkansas test-takers were the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix College.

Tuesday summary

2007-08-28T06:52:00.001-05:00

The I-40 Mississippi River Bridge at West Memphis is open after being closed for several hours Monday. Highway officials cut off access to the Interstate-40 bridge over the Mississippi River near West Memphis for more than nine hours Monday after an inspector detected a slight shift in a pier on an approach to the main span.

Gov. Mike Beebe joined with three Democratic members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation to support the federal reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance for low-income children. The Program helps fund ARHealthNet, prenatal care for immigrant women, and ARKids B. Rep. John Boozman, the Arkansas delegation’s only Republican, voted against the House proposal because he feared privately insured children would switch to the SCHIP Program.

Arkansas' Democratic U.S. senators welcomed the resignation Monday of embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales but expressed concerns about reports that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff may be nominated as his replacement. AP and Bloomberg also mention former Arkansas gubernatorial candidate and Undersecretary of Homeland Security, Asa Hutchinson.

Gov. Mike Beebe will not call the Legislature into special session to change the Arkansas law that allows children of any age to marry if they have their parents’ consent.

The continued backlog of state prisoners being held in county jails across Arkansas prompted the state Board of Corrections on Monday to invoke the Emergency Powers Act, making up to 704 inmates eligible to apply for early parole.

Closing the border with Mexico is not a solution to America’s immigration problem, according to Mexican Consul Andres Chao. The solution, he says, lies in open communication and in both countries accepting responsibility in what he called a complex relationship. Chao is troubled by law enforcement agencies in Northwest Arkansas that are sending officers to receive immigration enforcement training.

Three years after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee announced a campaign to reduce obesity rates in Arkansas, the state has seen little progress among adults. His Healthy Arkansas initiative sought to cut the state’s adult obesity rate from 23 percent in 2002 to 15 percent. Since then, the percent of adults who are considered obese has actually increased to 26.9 percent in 2006.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is suing an out-of-business Pine Bluff car dealer for failing to pay off debt on traded-in vehicles, leaving the former owners responsible. McDaniel also alleges that when McKay Motors LLC and owner John P. McKay sold new vehicles to consumers through its McKay Hyundai dealership, the business failed to make sales tax payments for consumers when it promised consumers it would do so.

A Financial Times of London article reveales that Wal-Mart is evaluating new store formats as well as mergers and acquisitions in America. The company is searching for a senior executive to head the initiative, according to a job posting at its web site. With same-store sales slowing in the U.S. and new threats from niche retailers as well as the pending arrival of British competitor, Tesco, Wal-Mart wants to evaluate a multi-format strategy to boost growth.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday will continue discussion about a proposed ordinance making English the official language of the city. The board voted 4-3 last week to table the matter until it could be studied further, before voting to approve or reject the ordinance.

The civil-rights era is a model for the country’s future, not a just a historical event, said civil rights historian Taylor Branch to an audience of more than 200 at the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock on Monday.

A move to add zoning restrictions on businesses that make “payday loans” has North Little Rock officials looking at a two-year, citywide moratorium on new check-cashing businesses. The ordinance would establish a 24-month moratorium on the establishment of check-cashing businesses while the city studies zoning measures that would specifically affect payday lenders.

The Little Rock School District is buying three pieces of property on Arkansas 10 and Taylor Loop Road West as a site for the district’s first new school on its western edge since 1978.

The Searcy City Council is considering an ordinance by which the mayor would not preside at meetings and would not be allowed to speak unless recognized.

A 20-year-old former nursing student, diagnosed with a mental condition that led her to make her toddler daughter sick, admitted Monday she repeatedly injected the 11-month-old with insulin while the girl was hospitalized in Little Rock for low blood sugar. Tammy Ramme pleaded guilty to a first-degree charge of endangering the welfare of a minor in exchange for five years probation.

Three members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club pleaded not guilty to felony battery charges stemming from the beatings of four members of a rival gang in Eureka Springs last month.

According to a Missouri Associated Press story, Northwest Missouri State claims it won Thursday night’s season opener 21-0, even though lightning ended the game with 2:30 left in the first quarter. According to Arkansas Tech, the game never happened. It will be up to the NCAA to decide the final outcome, and ATU head coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins said that decision would come from the NCAA some time soon.

Swift justice

2007-08-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

Let us take a look at the crime report. In my hometown, two men were shot in the head while sitting on the front porch late at night. That would make a total of 31 killings so far this year, which is actually quite a bit better than last year.

There is a trend I note in Pine Bluff, that is both tragic and agreeable. Twice in the past week a young man with a gun has been shot to death inside a residence. That should telegraph a little message. I do not approve of the death penalty as it is carried out in our legal system, which favors the well situated and wealthy. I do not believe in any cruel or unusual punishments, and I expect every criminal defendant to receive the full compliment of constitutional rights. We need to be careful of government, so that is how it must be.

On the other hand, when somebody enters a residence armed with a handgun, they have informed the homeowner of an intention to do harm and deserve whatever happens. It is regrettable because the two deceased individuals are rather young, but they made a grownup decision. Do not call them “boys.”

I would not execute either one of them, but I am glad some righteous homeowner has done it for me. The world is a better safer place today.

)Broadcast August 28, 2007)

Monday summary

2007-08-27T06:42:00.000-05:00

Arkansas starting defensive end Marcus Harrison has been suspended indefinitely after a traffic stop late Friday night revealed he had marijuana and Ecstasy in his possession. Harrison was arrested on a felony drug charge and cited for several traffic violations, including speeding, driving on a suspended drivers license and not wearing a seat belt.

Joe Adams plans to play football with the University of Southern California. Adams, a Central Arkansas Christian student, is the top high school football player in the state and one of the best in the nation. ESPN has ranked Adams #24 in its ESPN 150 high school football prospects list for the class of 2008. Former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain left the University of Arkansas to play at USC after his freshman year.

Unless “substantial” electric-grid upgrades occur in southwest Arkansas, a coalfired power plant planned for Hempstead County would likely have to be downsized, state regulators learned Friday.

The Morrilton Municipal Airport Commission extended an official invitation to Conway and Faulkner County to join together with it to share airport facilities, in an open letter to city and county officials and the Federal Aviation Administration on Aug. 15. It's an offer the city might consider, Mayor Tab Townsell said, if plans for an airport in the Lollie Bottoms area fall through.

Sewer charges would go up 9 percent this fall in North Little Rock in the first phase of a rise in rates over five years under a proposal on course for City Council approval. The only public hearing regarding the increase is scheduled for the North Little Rock City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The meeting has been moved from tonight to avoid a conflict with the final Arkansas Travelers baseball game at Dickey-Stephens Park.

A federal appeals panel has ordered a new hearing on death row inmate Terrick Terrell Nooner's request for a mental health evaluation. The reversal of a U.S. district court judge's decision comes less than a month before Nooner's scheduled Sept. 18 execution. The decision does not postpone the execution, but allows for Nooner's attorney to request a stay of the execution so a hearing in U.S. district court on the latest appeal can be held.

The father of a 12-year-old boy slain by a West Memphis police officer wants action in a $225 million damage suit filed in federal court to be suspended until a Crittenden County court names an administrator of the boy’s estate. Robin Perkins, father of DeAuntae Farrow filed a motion Friday to intervene in a wrongful-death suit filed by the boy’s mother, Debra Farrow.

Two Little Rock men were found shot to death on the front porch of local residence early Saturday, becoming the 30th and 31st homicides of the year.. There was no sign of a struggle, police said. Both had been shot in the head.

A woman police say shot a man in the face and shoulder surrendered after an hour-long standoff with Springdale police.
Police officers negotiated with Regina McClellan of Tontitown for a few minutes because she didn't want to give up. McClellan kept police at bay by holding a gun to her head before surrendering. After surrendering, McClellan lost consciousness and was taken by Springdale emergency personnel to Northwest Medical Center-Springdale.

A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed by a man who told police the teenager broke into his home and started shooting. Winston Walls Jr. was found wounded in the abdomen inside the home of Jimmy Shaw near Dollarway High School. Police said the teenager kicked in the door of Shaw’s home and entered it, armed with a handgun.

A Jonesboro couple faces charges after leaving a 1-year-old child strapped inside a vehicle where temperatures reached 120 degrees. Penny Louise Towell and Willis D. Brewer were arrested for three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and possession of an instrument of a crime.

The father of a 7-year-old was arrested after police said he bit his son's toes. Todd Wayne Hall of Rogers was arrested on a warrant for felony second-degree battery. Hall was convicted in 2000 for the same crime involving his 11-month-old daughter while they lived in Bentonville. In February, the Department of Human Services placed the boy in the custody of his grandparents.

A Fayetteville man accused of raping and videotaping a 14-year-old girl pleaded not guilty in Washington County Circuit Court. Daniel Chappell is charged with rape, computer exploitation of a child, distributing, possession or viewing sexually explicit conduct involving a child and possession of methamphetamine.

A Texas man who police say attempted to rob a White Hall bank Wednesday with his wife admitted to robbing at least three other banks since March. Alan Glazier told authorities that he and his wife Tracy Estabrooks both of Corpus Christi, netted $91,000 in three bank robberies in Louisiana and Oklahoma before attempting to rob the White Hall Financial Center on Wednesday.

Bentonville police obtained an arrest warrant for a woman they believe stole about $23,000 from the Sugar Creek Elementary School's Parent-Teacher Organization. Officers think Heather Jennings, former treasurer for the parent-teacher organization, is in Bentonville after she reportedly moved to Colorado.

The Fayetteville School District will require a password to access its new online bus-routing system after parents complained that the system could be misused to harm children. Randy Willison, Fayetteville’s associate superintendent, says that officials will limit access to the site to parents when it’s launched next week. The system posts school bus pickup and drop-off times on the Web.

LR Touchdown Club TODAY!

2007-08-27T05:20:00.000-05:00

TODAY, MONDAY, at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, Embassy Suites

"Former Head Coach of the National Champion Miami Hurricanes"

LARRY COKER

...2001 National Champions (12-0) National Coach of the Year, 2002 12-1 and 2003 11-2... -In his 6 years as head coach of the Hurricanes Coker’s career record was 60 wins and 15 loses, an .800 winning percentage- 4-2 Bowl Record, 5-2 vs Florida State and 3-0 vs Florida...This season he will serve as a commentator for ESPNU

If you have not sent an RSVP YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO ATTEND WITH YOUR GUESTS as the Embassy Suites will do its best to provide lunch to everyone.
PLEASE DO NOT RSVP TODAY!!

We are expecting a LARGE TURNOUT, so please get there early if you can, and hang in there with us as we check everyone in...the buffet lunch will be served from 11:00-12:00 and the program is from 12:00-1:00

Special thanks to our GREAT VOLUNTEERS, our true SPECIAL TEAMERS, who assist with CHECK IN!

TD Club Membership- $50.00 for the entire season
Lunch Costs $15.00 for members, $25.00 for non-members
Non eating attendance - $10.00

Embassy Suites Hotel
Buffet Lunch 11:00-12:00 / Program 12:00-1:00

***
The Little Rock Touchdown Club
"Where Everyone's Opinion Counts"

presented by
METROPOLITAN NATIONAL BANK

Thanks also to Embassy Suites, Popeye's Videos, Impact Photography and website host Gregg Petersen & Anthony Short

LRTOUCHDOWN.com

Arkansas, land of opportunity

2007-08-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

It looks like the big secret is out. It is a curious development that SWEPCO admits in hearings before the Public Service Commission that one of the big reasons they want to build that coal-fired plant in Hempstead County is because Texas does not want any part of it.

That had been suspected but it is almost refreshing to hear somebody just come out and publicly say that one of the benefits of doing business in Arkansas is that our laws and regulators are so impotent, we will roll over for anything. That looks like a strong industrial recruitment tool for me, it is almost as good as one of the other current favorites; our workers are not as well educated but they work cheaper.

Let’s get busy and tell the nation.

If your business can’t operate anywhere else, if you are bad for the air, and dump chemicals in the water, we want you in Arkansas.

If you create a load of hazardous waste, welcome to Arkansas.

If you expect to hire workers just barely above the average salary of a Chinese political prisoner, we want you.

Come to Arkansas because we are so gosh darned desperate for any new business, we just don’t care. One more thing, while you are fouling our air and water, we have huge tax incentives waiting.

(Broadcast August 24, 2007)

David Sanders explores New Hampshire politics on Unconventional Wisdom

2007-08-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

This month's Unconventional Wisdom on AETN is the best yet, according to host David Sanders.

On this month's addition of Unconventional Wisdom, I'll be discussing presidential politics with two New Hampshire journalists . Andrew Cline is the editorial page editor of the New Hampshire Union Leader and James W. Pindell is a reporter and blogger with the Boston Globe.

Is Mike Huckabee's second-place finish in the Iowa straw poll helping to launch him into first-tier status? How is he playing in New Hampshire? Can Hillary Clinton maintain her lead over Obama and Edwards in the state's Democratic Primary? Why is the New Hampshire primary so important to the rest of the country?

Those questions and more on Unconventional Wisdom, Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at noon on AETN. Outside Arkansas? Stream it over the Web at www.aetn.org starting tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

Friday summary

2007-08-24T07:30:00.001-05:00

A paratrooper from Malvern is one of the latest Arkansans killed in Iraq. Specialist Donavan Witham died Tuesday in an IED attack near Baghdad. Specialist Tyler Seidman, 20, from Lincoln, Arkansas in Washington County was also killed in Iraq. He died in a helicopter crash Wednesday.

A Michigan state judge has dismissed a wrongful-termination suit against Wal-Mart by high-profile former ad chief Julie Roehm. The judge says the case should have been filed in Arkansas. Details by both sides in the lawsuit and a Wal-Mart counter lawsuit have revealed embarrassing details about an alleged affair by Roehm and a subordinate, accusations of violations of company policies by Roehm, and alleged ethics violations and misconduct by the retailer’s CEO Lee Scott and other Wal-Mart executives.

The state Education Department's new guidelines for teaching Arkansas History in public schools do not appear to violate state law, according to an opinion issued by state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. The attorney general issued the opinion at the request of state Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, who has been an outspoken critic of the new guidelines that went into effect this month.

The Central Arkansas Library System will ask Little Rock residents to go to the polls in November and approve two property-tax questions that would raise money for two new libraries and additional services across the city.

NASA has awarded UALR a $750,000 grant to conduct research into “non-invasive methods of exploring the subsurface of the moon for ores and minerals.”

U.S. District Judge James M. Moody dismissed a lawsuit filed by former state senator and current head of workforce education Bill Walker, who sought to have his daughter placed on the Central High School cheerleading squad.

Preventing the extinction of the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker could cost more than $27 million over five years, according to a draft recovery plan released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Kenneth Osburn's pre-trial hearing lasted several hours inside the Desha County Courtroom Thursday. Prosecutors say he murdered and kidnapped Casey Crowder. She was reported missing August 28, 2006 when her car ran out of gas on Highway 65 in Dumas. Six days later, investigators found her body near a canal. Now, authorities say, DNA evidence and resident interviews led to the arrest of Kenneth Osburn.

The status of thousands of misdemeanor warrants in Arkansas is in question because of a recent court ruling that says issuing them violates a procedural rule requiring that only summonses be issued for nonviolent offenses.

The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reports it is still unclear just how local police officers would be involved in immigration enforcement despite the release of draft agreements between federal immigration authorities and four Northwest Arkansas law enforcement agencies.

Masquerading as a federal agent to scare companies into changing their hiring practices of undocumented workers is a crime, a Little Rock man learned Thursday. Carl Dean Wynn Jr., an out-of-work house framer, confronted Hispanic workers, “threw down ultimatums” outside the Graham Smith construction company and sent the company letters citing the U.S. Code and claiming that the company was “under investigation for criminal hiring misconduct.” He was also accused of vandalizing company property, and got a one-year suspended sentence.

A federal appeals panel has ordered a trial in a lawsuit filed by a state prison inmate whose truck was towed in Pine Bluff in 2003 as part of a homicide investigation and later sold without the owner’s knowledge. The ruling reversed a district court judge’s decision to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Ricky Smith against Insley’s Towing & Recovery in Pine Bluff.

The parents of a Jacksonville toddler face murder charges in connection with the boy’s Aug. 16 death. Sharilyn Lopez pleaded innocent to charges of second-degree murder and acting as an accomplice in the death of 2-year-old Jaden Cotton. Police have an outstanding warrant for capital murder against her husband, Ausencio Lopez, who is hospitalized after a suiciden attempt.

Two brothers are under arrest for the Monday robbery of First Arkansas Bank and Trust in Guy. David Wade Sandlin and James Ronald Sandlin Jr. were apprehended in the Cleburne County area.

A quick response from law enforcement agencies throughout Jefferson County resulted in the arrest of two unnamed suspects who allegedly attempted to rob a bank at White Hall.

An argument between two people in the same car ends with a deadly crash on Chenal Parkway in west Little Rock. Police say the driver of the car died, his two passengers including a young child have serious injuries. Traffic was at a standstill for hours.

A change of heart

2007-08-23T06:29:00.000-05:00

One benefit of having a mind is being able to change it. Lately, I have been tempted in several areas. It seemed that electing a pushy woman from Chicago was a stretch, but now I am starting to wonder. Hillary Clinton’s endorsements from Mark Pryor and Mike Beebe and her show of fundraising strength here tell me that Arkansas will likely be a blue state in 2008.

That is pivotal because the Democratic nominee must carry one southern state. Mrs. Clinton is a lot closer than I thought. Of course, in politics, a week is like a thousand years, so the election is a long way off.

State Representative Steve Harrelson has started to change my mind about the need for a special session, but you will have to wait for next week’s column for that.

I have not changed my mind about the Little Rock School Board. The black majority is not a gang, but a duly elected body and they are wrong much of the time. There will be some big mean chickens coming home to roost there.

Another thing I have not changed my mind about is Michael Vick. He is a total loser. Period. A friend of mine was suggesting that, perhaps, Vick might have a different outlook if NFL quarterbacks were killed every time they lost a contest. Blessed are the merciful.

(Broadcast August 22, 2007)

Writing better laws

2007-08-23T06:25:00.000-05:00

Back in the springtime, the Arkansas General Assembly tried to do a good deed by fixing up a state law that treated guys and girls differently on the age of marriage without parental consent. At least that part is my recollection. It started off completely harmless, but by the time it was over the fix may be worse than the cure.

At the root of the problem is a little three-letter word, “not.” The way things turned out, according to the law as passed by Arkansas General Assembly, boys and girls of any age may marry with parental consent. It was not the intend of lawmakers, and officials that take care of the Arkansas code decided to just drop the little negative word and fix things. It was a noble gesture, but the Legislative Council is having nothing to do with this quick and dirty solution.

As much as it grieves me to say so, this time the legislative branch has it right. If unelected bureaucrats decide to edit any law they think does not look right, there is no end to the mischief. At the end of this almost hilarious story is an expensive and inconvenient special session.

That is not the cheapest, easiest or most efficient outcome. It is absolutely the best for all concerned.

(Broadcast August 21, 2007)

Thursday summary

2007-08-23T06:22:00.000-05:00

Opposition to coal-fueled electricity in Texas and the prospect of a tough permitting process played a key role in selecting Arkansas for a proposed $1.4 billion power plant, Southwestern Electric Power Co. officials said during the fourth day of Arkansas Public Service Commission hearings that could decide the 600-megawatt facility’s fate.

Children in the state child welfare system continue to go without timely care that would ensure their safety and services needed to support them and their families. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a Little Rock-based nonprofit organization, also noted improvements in the state Children and Family Services Division’s staffing levels and an increase in state funding, in its third annual report, “Children in Crisis: An Update on the Arkansas Child Welfare System.”

The Arkansas Department of Education assumed control of the financially troubled Bald Knob School District on Wednesday, ousting the superintendent and the School Board.

The organization that sought unsuccessfully to prevent homosexuals from adopting or fostering children has submitted a 2008 ballot proposal that its leaders hope will accomplish much the same goal. The initiated act proposed by the Family Council is under review by the Attorney General.

The Arkansas Supreme Court will speed up its decision on whether former Pulaski County Comptroller Ron Quillin’s email exchanges with a vendor are public record. The high court clarified for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which sued Pulaski County over access to the emails, that a previous appeal by the county remained open and that both parties have seven days to file new court briefs. The parties then have until Sept. 4 to respond to each other.

Attorneys for four governmental entities in Northwest Arkansas participating in the federal 287(g) program released information this week despite directives from federal authorities not to do so. The information was requested by the American Civil Liberties Union and media outlets under the state's Freedom of Information Act.

The superintendent and junior high principal of the Watson Chapel School District may be on the hook personally if a jury finds, at a trial next month, that the district punished armband wearing students last October to suppress their viewpoints, a federal judge has ruled.

Arkansas National Guard officials plan to put the 39th Infantry Brigade on state orders in October to enable it and 12 other state units bolstering the brigade’s ranks to start training as full-time soldiers.

The chances are slim that predators would prey on children under the Arkansas law that allows children of any age to marry as long as they have parental permission, Gov. Mike Beebe says.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors will revisit a proposed ordinance making English the official language of the city, after the board narrowly voted to table the matter.

A Colorado millionaire has acquired the Royal Arkansas Hotel & Suites, according to real estate transactions at the Jefferson County assessor’s office. Bruce Rahmani, a hotelier and restaurateur from Northglen, Colo., has bought the hotel out of receivership from Zions First National Bank of Utah after the bank had foreclosed on its previous owners.

A Fort Smith woman and her 10-year-old male relative are both suspects in a purse-snatching spree throughout the weekend. Bridget Kursh and her juvenile relative were each arrested on nine counts of felonious property theft. They are accused of stealing purses from women shopping in stores in Fort Smith, including Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx, Kmart, Academy Sports and Central Mall with a scheme to distract women who had placed their purse inside their shopping cart.

Some of the biggest names in professional bass fishing will compete for $250,000 at the Bassmaster Legends event being held today through Sunday on Lake Dardanelle.

Wednesday summary

2007-08-22T05:59:00.001-05:00

Arkansas' largest National Guard combat unit received formal notice it will mobilize in January for another deployment to Iraq, only two years after returning home from its first tour of duty, officials announced Tuesday. The order for the 39th Infantry Brigade tells the state to provide 3,200 troops for a deployment that would last a little more than a year.

Gov. Mike Beebe says that if he calls a special legislative session to fix a flaw in the state marriage law, lawmakers shouldn’t expect an opportunity to introduce bills on other policy issues.

The Arkansas Municipal League announced Tuesday that it supports an increase in the state severance tax on natural gas, but a leading legislator, State Senator Bob Johnson of Bigelow who also leads the self-seeking “Brotherhood, said such an increase is a bad idea.

Arkansas’ bout of hot weather has been hard on crops, especially those not yet mature. About a million acres of late-planted soybeans “probably got hurt the most,” according to Jeremy Ross, soybean agronomist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

The government is investigating a series of errors made by air traffic controllers in Memphis that caused planes on six occasions in one week to come too close together, including jets flown by Southwest and American airlines. Air traffic controllers blame the mistakes -- including confused communication due to radio static and plain miscommunication -- to being chronically short-staffed.

Students and teachers began school in Bald Knob amid rumors of a state takeover coming on Wednesday. Teachers are also hearing that more jobs will be cut at the end of this school year, students are wondering if their school will still exist in 30 days, and a district in which 55 percent of students qualify for free or reduced price lunches is attempting to raise between $800,000 and $2 million within 30 days in order to save their school.

The Little Rock School Board and outgoing Superintendent Roy Brooks agreed to a $635,000 buyout package for Brooks. The board vote was a unanimous 7-0. The package will compensate Brooks for the two years remaining on his district contract, as well as any and all of his legal claims against the state’s largest district.

Hartford School District Superintendent Chris Rink wants to assure parents and guardians of Hartford students that the school is not closing. Recent rumblings throughout town have led Rink to contact the Times Record.

Palestine-Wheatley School Board will become the first district in the state to sue over state laws governing the School Choice Program. Board members agreed unanimously to file a lawsuit challenging the state law that allows students to transfer from one district to another.

Gov. Mike Beebe has set an Oct. 16 execution date for Jack Harold Jones Jr., who was sentenced to die in 1996 for killing a woman in Bald Knob.

Jacksonville police confirm that the death last week of a toddler whose stepfather jumped from an interstate overpass near the hospital he was being treated at was a homicide. Jaden Cotton died from brain damage at Arkansas Children’s Hospital Thursday, two days after his parents, Sharilyn and Ausencio Lopez, told Jacksonville police that he fell out of his bed while at their home at Little Rock Air Force Base.

Jail officials confirm that a state inmate who was serving a 40-year sentence at Faulkner County Detention Center for battery, forgery and various theft charges has apparently escaped. James S. Johnson was last seen by jail employees at 4:53 p.m. Aug. 11, and is suspected of fleeing the area with Sarah Bergmann, a former jail employee who resigned the same day Johnson escaped.

Authorities are looking for a white male who walked into the First Arkansas Bank and Trust in Guy on Monday and robbed the establishment of an undisclosed amount of money.

A 57-year-old Little Rock man whose ailing 85-year-old mother was found covered in vermin, bruises and sores on a urine-soaked mattress in his house was sentenced to two years in prison by a Pulaski County Circuit judge who described the case as “extreme neglect.” Warren Law was allowed to remain free on $2,500 bail while he challenges his conviction for adult abuse.

Tuesday summary

2007-08-21T15:53:00.001-05:00

Carol Dipert, the mother of slain Russellville beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer, has told the Russellville Courier she is considering a wrongful death lawsuit. Kevin Jones was recently acquitted of that killing.

Legislators and county officials have a mixed reaction to the possibility that Gov. Mike Beebe may call a special session to address a flaw in the state minimum marriage age law.

The Arkansas Parole Board rejected convicted murderer Terrick Terrell Nooner’s request for clemency, 32 days before he is scheduled to die by lethal injection.

Sen. Hillary Clinton says she will return to Arkansas during her 2008 presidential campaign and vowed to put Arkansas "back in the winning column" for Democrats. "I need your help and your support. We're going to win Arkansas and take back our country," Clinton said to cheers from a friendly crowd at Gloria Jean's Coffee on Dickson Street in Fayetteville.

Hearings that could decide the fate of Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s proposed $1.4 billion coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County are underway with the utility seeking limits on some environmental testimony. SWEPCO attorney Stephen Cuffman asked the Arkansas Public Service Commission to restrict how far plant opponents can go in arguing air quality issues under review by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

More than 1,040 homes in Arkansas were in some stage of foreclosure in July, the 17th highest rate of foreclosures in the country, a California real estate company reports. Arkansas’ July foreclosures were up 48 percent compared with July last year but down 15.4 percent from June. Nevada had the country’s highest foreclosure rate for the seventh month in a row.

Bald Knob School District Superintendent Wayne Fawcett could not confirm a rumor that the Arkansas Department of Education will take over Bald Knob Public Schools on Wednesday during a late Monday afternoon interview with Searcy’s Daily Citizen. Patrons of District filled the bleachers of their high school gymnasium Monday, eager to hear plans to raise $2 million in hopes of saving their district from a potential merger with a neighboring district.

When Mayor Ray Baker calls the Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting to order Tuesday, it will be 40 years ago to the day since the board met for the first time.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors will consider an ordinance making English the official language of the city of Fort Smith today. The ordinance was placed on the board’s meeting agenda at the request of Ward 4 Director Bill Maddox.

The West Nile virus is being blamed for a person's death in Arkansas, the State Department of Health said Monday.

Emergency workers assembling in the Little Rock area in case Hurricane Dean struck the Texas coast have been sent home, officials with the American Red Cross report.

A former insurance agent has been sentenced to 20 years with 10 years suspended for stealing from an elderly woman, the state insurance commissioner announced Monday. John Phillip Middleton of Van Buren pleaded guilty to five counts of theft of property, a class B felony, and was ordered to pay more than $138,000 in restitution to a woman in her mid-70s, from whom he took money for investment in his personal business ventures.

A Fort Smith man accused of negligent homicide is suspected of driving drunk and causing a crash that resulted in the death of his passenger. Kenneth Miesen was arrested at St. Edward Mercy Medical Center after crashing his Mercury Tracer into parked cars. The crash killed passenger Thomas McAlister, also a Fort Smith resident.

A teenager has been arrested on animal cruelty charges, accused of stabbing a cow and trying to run over a herd of cattle, authorities said. The youth, who was not identified because of his age, faces charges of first-degree cruelty to animals and first-degree criminal mischief, Pleasant Plains Marshal Matt Thomas said.

The fourth season for the growing Little Rock Touchdown Club begins Monday with former University of Miami coach Larry Coker as the speaker, club president David Bazzel announced Monday.

Huckabee heats up

2007-08-20T20:25:00.000-05:00

All well-informed people will read my column in this morning’s Democrat-Gazette. Since I wrote that last week, Mitt Romney won a beauty contest in Illinois and Mike Huckabee finished a bit further back in the pack, which matters very little.

Romney is another example of how far money will carry those of limited ability. I hit on something in today’s paper that has been eating me for some time. Voters naturally want to know what candidates really believe, so many have been very quick to tell folks exactly what they think they want to hear. It turns out to have been lies more than once. You just can’t see inside somebody’s heart.

Our government was never meant to be some sort of extension of the church. It is more than foolish to look at politicians as spiritual leaders. The best we can hope for is that they would be good people. There are some things Mike Huckabee did as governor of Arkansas that commend him as somebody who cares about human beings. Of course, his record is not perfect. I guess I am saying that, by their fruits you will know them.

(Broadcast August 20, 2007)

Monday summary

2007-08-20T20:22:00.001-05:00

For many Arkansans, today is the beginning of the school year. It is against the law to pass a stopped school bus. Drivers are required by law to report offenders to the superintendent within two hours.

Changing a law regarding the age of consent to marry would have to be done in a special session called by the governor or during the next legislative session in 2009, legislators said Friday. The Legislative Council voted to ask the Arkansas Code Revision Commission to reverse the clarification it made to the law last month, saying the change it made went too far and changed the meaning of the legislation.

The former executive director of the state Board of Architects, John Harris of Little Rock, has been fined $2,500 and issued a public letter of reprimand by the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Two state audits found that Harris collected about $210,000 in improper travel reimbursements from 1995-2006 and that he reimbursed about $105,000 of that to the board. The audits have been turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Seven months into Gov. Mike Beebe's term, the state's Washington office remains vacant, with legislative leaders saying they would leave it to the governor to decide when or if the office should reopen. The state pays about $3,000 a month rent for the five-room suite of offices on Capitol Hill. The lease runs through next year.

For the second time in less than three years, an elected Jefferson County circuit clerk has resigned her position amid allegations of mismanagement of county funds. Annette Branch, who took office Jan. 1, submitted her resignation, effective at 5 p.m. Friday. A state police investigation is underway.

A group of Little Rock School District residents challenging the constitutionality of the School Board’s plan to buy out Superintendent Roy Brooks for half a million dollars or more have taken their case to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

A judge has dismissed an amended suit over the University of Arkansas’ handling of a harassing e-mail to a former freshman quarterback.

Arkansas’ unemployment rate rose half a percentage point to 5.5 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Profits from Richard Branson's travel related companies could soon go towards the development of Arkansas' alternative fuels industry. Craig Sieben, president of Chicago-based Sieben Energy Associates says that Gov. Mike Beebe has applied for funding from Branson, who announced last September that he would invest an estimated $3 billion over the next nine years to fight global warming.

A potential landfill expansion in southwest Little Rock faces rejection from a newly empowered mayor and some of his city board colleagues if the issue reaches City Hall. The publicly stated opposition by Mayor Mark Stodola and other members of the Little Rock Board of Directors signals a likely defeat of BFI Waste Services’ plans to boost its Mabelvale Pike operation.

In a brief e-mail to Conway Mayor Tab Townsell, the FAA says that it has approved the city’s land-use plan for the proposed airport site in the less-populated Lollie Bottoms area just southwest of town and near the Arkansas River.

When given the opportunity to tell the Arkansas Board of Parole why he deserved to live, death-row inmate Terrick Terrell Nooner talked about why he wanted to die. Nooner was convicted of capital murder in 1993 for the slaying of Scot Stobaugh, 22, a college student who was shot seven times in the back at a 24-hour laundry in Little Rock. Nooner is scheduled to be executed Sept. 18.

The state wants murderer Shirley Marie Curry's inheritance, and has sued Curry to get the money to pay for her room and board, medical care and other costs of keeping her in custody. Curry, convicted Oct. 16, 1979, of two counts of murder in Washington County inherited $58,666 from an estate. The cash is in her prison account. She is serving a life without parole.

A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by a Pine Bluff pawnshop owner who said the teenager tried to break into his business. Taron Hopkins was found about 11:30 p.m., facedown beside a small pile of dirt inside a fenced-in area connected to Chuck Smith’s Pawn Shop. Smith, the store’s owner, told police he shot the teenager with a .38-caliber revolver as the boy and others tried to break into the store. Smith says he was in bed in his apartment at the time.

On Friday, three days after his 18th birthday, a Pope County man pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter. Originally scheduled to stand trial Sept. 11, Harvey Lee Epperson was sentenced to serve 35 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction in connection with the death of the baby, who died of multiple blunt-force trauma. He will be eligible for parold at age 42.

A man accused of shooting and paralyzing a 19-year-old man he found hiding in his daughter's bedroom is now charged with first-degree battery and a terroristic act. George David Reed was arrested July 31 and is free on a $150,000 bond.

The Mansfield School District’s transportation director has been removed from a Department of Human Services child maltreatment directory after he was mistakenly placed on the list. Transportation Director Larry Wagoner and Mansfield High School Principal Tina Smith were targeted in a second investigation conducted by the Division of Child and Family Services regarding the alleged mishandling of information about sex abuse by a male student on a district bus.

Former Razorbacks quarterback Clint Stoerner is returning to football in Arkansas by way of Tampa, Fla. Stoerner, along with former Hogs J.J. Jones, Chrys Chukwuma and Anthony Brown, signed contracts with Arkansas’ unnamed All American Football League franchise Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.

Demons cast out of Pat Lynch

2007-08-20T20:13:00.000-05:00

Now that I have your attention, Let me draw your attention to a great interview with my pastor, Philip Jones. He is at St. Andrews Anglican Church in Little Rock and we are having the big Grand Opening this Sunday. We talked about the significant place of this church in the history of Anglicanism in America. Philip and I got into several other things, including a great program for folks who would like to know more about the Christian religion. It's ALPHA and it starts in September at St. Andrews. Better yet, it's free. You can learn all about it in the FREE "on demand" audio section of my home page, lyncho.com.

Some weekend reading from my rail passenger blog

2007-08-19T09:58:00.000-05:00

Over at Trains for America, things have been busy for the past week. Here are a few headlines from recent posts.

Wilmington Whine
Question mark over Michigan Amtrak operations
Minnesota conference on energy hits important rail issues
New Minneapolis bridge will be ready for light rail
Rick Murphy: No Madison stop for Twin Cities train
Fort Worth Stat-Telegram comes close
The trains are coming back to Goldsboro
Maine tackles highway congestion with rail solution
Michigan on the move
But we would fall off the edge of the world!!!
Make those who cause the damage pay for highways
Albany reader calls for improvements to existing service
After bridge colapse, Minneapolis holding out for the best plan Portland, Maine prattle
PLAN TO FIX BAY AREA’S GRIDLOCK: NEW TRAINS
Amtrak June revenue and ridership up
Amtrak equipment shortage highlighted by Talgo failure
Houston Chronicle readers question airport congestion
Beaumont, Texas is on the radar
Bombardier looks ahead
North Carolina's positive viewpoint
Passenger rail safer and faster
Atlanta - Macon corridor gets a nod
Major airports connect to transit and Amtrak
And you thought The Sunset had problems?
Baltimore is burning
Talking tall in Texas
Amtrak makes Bush's "naughty" list
Micro-managing Amtrak

That last one is particularly appropriate for folks who think Amtrak should be run like a business. It contains a lengthy direct quote of the appropriation bill's language about requirements Congress slaps on Amtrak.

Lyncho in the Lions Den

2007-08-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

Did I mention my Wednesday noontime speaking engagement?

It will be just like old times when I return to the Little Rock Founders Lions Club, of which I was a member for many years. They meet at the Lions World Serivces for the Blind near UALR.

I am getting my "A" material ready. The house will be rockin'.

Nervous financial markets

2007-08-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

The international financial markets are very jittery these days, and I am not going to tell you that things will be OK, even though that is what I think. There are some very unnerving situations, including an irrational fear of the mortgage industry. A certain portion of that segment is in deep trouble, banks and companies that wrote proper loans will be just fine.

I am thinking of Franklin Roosevelt. At a difficult moment he said that all we have to fear is fear itself. I don’t recall that personally, but I do read. My old pal, the late radio analyst Lowell Ruffcorn, used to say that there are only three reasons people make an investment: ignorance, fear or greed. This is all psychological.

Investors are looking for justifications for the decisions they have already made. All it takes is a little push. We will make it through this, although it might be a good idea, in the future, not to give any more loans to folks that do not have an income of a good history of debt payment.

Bankers have all but ignored an old standard known as the “3 “C”’s”. They are character, capacity and collateral. That does not necessarily cut out the small borrower, especially from a hometown bank that understands the person and the local situation.

(Broadcast August 17, 2007)

Huck advances

2007-08-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

Mike Huckabee says that his “win” in the Iowa straw poll moves him into the top tier of presidential candidates. Checking with a couple of my conservative friends, David Sanders and Bill Vickery, there is some disagreement with the former governor’s overly optimistic assessment. Let’s just say that he is in a position to raise more money, get more exposure, be taken much more seriously and eventually move up to the top tier.

Whether this happens will have a lot to do with how Huckabee does under close scrutiny. Take it from me, the Arkansas media is a bunch of lap dogs. It is significant that Mike Huckabee did well against a very well financed front-runner. Mitt Romney, who poured millions of personal money into Iowa, should have performed much better.

The other part of this puzzle is radio ads sponsored by the so-called Club for Growth. These guys are all over the former governor for raising money to improve the worst public school system in America. Their children go to private school someplace else, so it is some sort of crime for people to pay for roofs, wiring, books, and programs to help young people?

It looks like folks in Iowa, even home-schoolers and evangelicals, saw through that nonsense.

(Broadcast August 16, 2007)

Friday summary

2007-08-17T06:57:00.000-05:00

The National Weather Service reports the Sharp County community of Evening Shade registered the highest temperature in Arkansas for the current heat wave, 112 degrees. Observer reports from neighboring states did not show any higher readings, either.

U.S. Rep. Marion Berry continued to praise the cooperation in the House during negotiations on the farm bill that has been passed through the House and sent to the Senate. “All commodity groups and stakeholders came together” to write a bill that Berry said can help America’s farmers stay in business and provide the safety net that is needed in hard times.

The time has come for the U.S. to leave Iraq and the war there, U.S. Blanche Lincoln said during stops in Northwest Arkansas. The Springdale Chamber of Commerce had a message of its own for the senator: The city will not cooperate on future regional highway projects unless some progress is made on the U.S. 412 bypass.

The University of Arkansas is part of a seven-way tie as the 124th best university in the nation, according to rankings released today by U.S. News and World Report. The ranking brought Arkansas into the upper tier of the magazine's rankings. The university was ranked in the third tier last year, and in the second tier in 2005.

Education Commissioner Ken James syas that getting more students to take a “rigorous” course load in Arkansas high schools is the key for improving college retention and graduation rates “One of the problems we’ve got across the state is simply the fact that we don’t have a large portion of our kids in certain pockets of the state engaged in a rigorous course of study,” James said. “

Legislators are skeptical of a push by developers to shift infrastructure costs from buyers of new homes to all real-estate buyers. Rep. Ray Kidd of Jonesboro likened the proposal to “putting it on the poor folks.”

Rogers and Springdale Police departments, and the sheriffs' offices in Benton and Washington counties received Freedom Of Information Act requests from lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas on Thursday "for all documents and records relating to the ... consideration of and participation in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's 287(g) program or other enforcement of immigration laws."

An Oklahoma law denying benefits and jobs to illegal immigrants raises concerns among the Hispanic community, the region’s Mexican consul said Thursday. Consul Andres Chao says those concerns come as police agencies in northwest Arkansas prepare to send officers to federal immigration training. However, as Arkansas’ cost of living remains low, the state will draw immigrants wanting to save money to send home to their families, he said.

Complaints about high prison phone charges and spotty service prompted state legislators to question whether the about $2.5 million in state commissions on inmate calls is an appropriate way to fund some correctional operations. Sen. Kim Hendren of Gravette, said he thought the rate of $4.80 for a 15-minute call was “pretty steep” and expressed concern that the state’s “profit” was at the expense of family and loved ones of prisoners.

A dispute over a law intended to set a minimum marriage age boils down to whether changing “not pregnant” to “pregnant” in the law is a “technical” correction. The argument is expected to come to a head in today’s meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council. It focuses on a clause intended to allow pregnant teenagers to marry if they have parental permission. But the bill was passed with an extraneous “not.” It authorized women “not pregnant” to obtain parental consent to marry. That would remove any minimum marriage age, allowing even infants to marry if their parents OK it.

Workers in violent wards of two state mental health facilities will soon be eligible for hazardous-duty pay under a proposal approved by an interim legislative committee.

The former treasurer of a prison employee association has resigned after accusations that she stole thousands of dollars from the charitable organization. The Department of Correction’s internal affairs division began to investigate the 31-year old employee at the Jefferson County Jail y last week after the new treasurer noticed discrepancies in the accounts of the employee association.

MMI Investments, the shareholder that has opposed a $3 billion buyout of Acxiom, says that it has re-evaluated the deal and now won’t ask others to vote against it.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has approved a 60-day duck season with a six-duck bag limit for 2007-2008. Nineteen changes in Arkansas fishing regulations in 2008 were approved by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at its monthly meeting Thursday.

Environmental activists who live in and around the Ozark National Forest want federal officials to set fewer and smaller fires to manage the forest, and they’re trying to bring U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln around to their way of thinking.

Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau Chief Financial Officer Janet Charles’ retirement incentive package will cost taxpayers up to $75,000.

The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has turned down a Jonesboro chain restaurant’s request for a private club liquor permit. ABC Director Michael Langley on Friday denied the permit for Ruby Tuesday, citing “significant public opposition” to warrant a full hearing before the board.

A businessman’s excellent record trumped a police chief’s concern about what might happen as the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted 4-to-1 Wednesday to grant a permit to sell beer for off-premises consumption to Jordan’s Kwik Stop No. 12 at the intersection of Highway 463 and Cedar Street in Trumann.

For the second time in a week, a 25-year-old Rector woman has been charged with first-degree sexual assault involving a 15 year-old male from her church group, the Singing Hands, at First Baptist Church in Marmaduke. Monica Cluck was first arrested last week after her husband, Jeffery, approached Greene County authorities with evidence of his wife’s sexual involvement with a 17-year-old male, who was also a member of this same group.

A Mexican national who fought extradition to Arkansas for more than a year pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of raping children. A judge ordered that Daniel Lopez Bibiano be held in lieu of a $1 million bond on two charges of rape, one charge of attempted rape and two charges of sexual assault against five girls ages 5 to 15.

A man was arrested Tuesday night after the Fort Smith Police Department received a report that he assaulted his son. Jamie Mark Edwards stands accused of striking his son, Eric Edwards, with a pool cue and firing a gun at him. Edwards was booked on complaints of aggravated assault, domestic battery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A McDonald’s restaurant in Pine Bluff that is on the National Register of Historic Places is scheduled for closure. The restaurant is notable because it has a single arch, which is a design from the 1950s. The owner of the restaurant is moving to a new location, with construction to start soon. Restaurant manager Tequila Jones is not sure whether the arch will move to the new location.

Thursday summary

2007-08-16T06:45:00.001-05:00

Wal-Mart has reached an agreement with the California Labor Commission to pay about 50,000 employees a total of $3.9 million in overtime, waiting time penalties and interest.

Gov. Mike Beebe told a group of health advocates that states like Arkansas have to find ways to expand health care options on their own instead of waiting for guidance from the federal government.

Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders says a lack of sex education in the nation's public schools has hastened the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and sex crimes against children. Speaking at the health care summit, Elders said only education, not any amount of money, could improve the U.S. health care system.

State Education Commissioner Ken James paints a bleak picture for the Bald Knob School District, telling a gymnasium full of parents and teachers that the community needs to come up with at least $2 million to even begin to save the district.

The Corps of Engineers has lifted the small craft advisory on the Arkansas River from Fort Smith to Pine Bluff, and expects to remove it for the remaining part of the river downstream from Pine Bluff on today. The decision ensures that the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza tournament will go on as rescheduled for Friday through Sunday. The tournament, originally scheduled for June, had been postponed because of the hazardous boating conditions.

Patrons frequenting Southland Park in West Memphis or the Oaklawn Jockey Club in Hot Springs will now be allowed to consume free drinks in either park’s gambling areas under an amended regulation passed by the state board that regulates alcohol.

A teary-eyed Richard Hodo buried his head in his hands when the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved his request to sell alcohol from his restaurant in the historic district of downtown Van Buren. The board's 4-1 vote cleared the way for alcohol sales in Crawford County for the first time since June 27, 1942, when residents voted to make the county dry.

State funds contributed to plans for a second expansion of an aircraft services and completion site here, according to the state economic development agency. Dassault Aircraft Services says it will build a new $10 million hangar, doubling the capacity of its service space and adding about 100 jobs over the next three years.

Friends are mourning the death of four family members from Fayetteville killed Tuesday in a car accident about an hour south of Cancun, Mexico. Paul Hoover and his wife, Maureen, were in a rental car with Paul's father and stepmother, Steve and Sharon Hoover, when another car crossed the highway median and struck the car they were in.

A former prison psychologist swallowed a quantity of prescription drugs in an apparent courtroom suicide attempt moments after a jury convicted her of having sex with an inmate. Anna Clark was found guilty of two counts of third-degree sexual assault for having sex with a severely depressed and suicidal inmate in the mental health barracks at the Cummins Unit at Grady. The jury of seven men and five women recommended sentencing her to three years in prison or possible probation.

Two skateboarders who sparked controversy after their arrest on multiple misdemeanor charges June 21 in downtown Hot Springs pleaded no contest Wednesday in Hot Springs District Court.

Animal control officers say that as many as 114 dogs may have been left without proper food and water for up to four weeks before being found abandoned at a kennel in Bloomer, near Fort Smith. Control officer Richard Rivera was called to the kennel in this town along Arkansas 22, about 15 miles east of Fort Smith. He said two of the 114 dogs were dead and the rest had run out of food and water.

Free meals for the whole student body in the Dollarway School District will be a thing of the past when students return to the classrooms next week. Previously, the district — which has 93 percent of its student population eligible for free and reduced priced lunches — provided free meals to every student. The failure to collect official applications from parents last year means that Dollarway will have to nix the across-the-board free meals.

Marked Tree and Tyronza in Pointsett County have passed sales tax increases for community improvements.

Four instances of formal indebtedness and contracts between Lowell and several companies were questioned by the Arkansas Division of Legislative Audit in a preliminary report filed recently.

Parking any type of vehicle on the grass in residential areas of Fort Smith could be prohibited in the near future. The Fort Smith Board of Directors directed Wally Bailey, director of planning and development, to draft an ordinance that would prohibit parking a vehicle in a residential area on anything other than a hard surface.

This politics is local

2007-08-15T22:36:00.000-05:00

It looks like my viewpoint did not prevail in the special election in Little Rock. The people have spoken and my heart is troubled for the those whose neighborhoods will surfer at the hands of special interests who always get their way in land use decisions.

I am not a big fan of the federal lawsuit filed here to stop the election, although I think it may slow down the big changeover. Although I like Mark Stodola personally, he was not elected to exercise the kind of authority passed by the voters yesterday and I think a federal court may agree. Then again, I could be wrong.

You know what is really disheartening? It is the lack of participation in local elections and I bet this happens in your town too. Good men and women have suffered and died so we could all have a say. What’s more, the local government scene is a place where our voices can be heard. You can make a difference in local politics, if it is doing nothing more than casting a ballot. Folks in Washington seem to march to their own drummer, but the city council makes decisions we have to live with every day. I truly wish that more people would have an interest in local affairs.

(Broadcast August 15, 2007)

Wednesday summary

2007-08-15T05:55:00.000-05:00

Little Rock voters have approved a pair of measures designed to bolster their mayor’s role at City Hall, changes that must now clear a federal lawsuit. More than 61 percent of voters awarded the job full-time status and gave the mayor veto power over the city’s Board of Directors.

Teachers, principals and other employees at five Little Rock elementary schools shared $242,507 in performance pay this week for achievement gains made by the children in their classrooms or in their schools over the past year.

The Little Rock School District has offered Superintendent Roy Brooks $550,000 to buy out his contract, an amount that School Board President Katherine Mitchell says is “the bottom line.” But Brooks said he is entitled to more.

The federal regulator for national banks has reprimanded ANB Financial of Rogers, the second-largest locally owned bank in Northwest Arkansas. The federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found “unsafe and unsound banking practices relating to the supervision”. ANB’s commercial real estate lending is the target of the notice.

St. Mary's Hospital in Rogers may soon belong to Benton County. The Benton County Committee of 13 approved putting down $50,000 in earnest money for the entire hospital, which includes 255,000 square feet in the main building, multiple outbuildings and about 12 acres.

A 4-year-old Plainview boy who was apparently left unattended in a vehicle parked outside Ozark Gun and Pawn on North Arkansas Avenue in Russellville is dead after being hit by a truck in an alleyway.

A former prison inmate testified that he had sex about a dozen times with a prison psychologist at the Cummins Unit before they were caught in the act by a corrections officer. Anna Clark, the former prison therapist fired soon after the incident in April 2006, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of third-degree sexual assault.

The family of the Hartford woman who was run over by the chief of Hartford police are dismissing reports that she was lying in the street when struck. Brandi Wooten was seriously injured when Chief Stephen Layne ran over her with his vehicle. Deanna Webb, Wooten’s mother, says the scenario that Wooten was passed out in the road is false.

The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office along with several other local agencies seized large marijuana crops planted in fields behind the Fort Smith Regional Airport. Investigators were notified by members of the Arkansas Air National Guard approximately three weeks ago that during a flight, Guard pilots saw marijuana crops growing in fields behind the airport.

Little Rock officials say that they will seek more information before considering a resolution to sue Pulaski County to force it to accept more inmates at the county jail.

Professional illusionist/escape artist Michal Angelo, a Fort Smith native, asked the Sebastian County Park Board for permission to stage for free a seemingly death-defying escape stunt in Ben Geren Regional Park on Sept. 8. Angelo said the straitjacket escape while attached with a burning rope to a five-story tall crane is a birthday present he wants to give to his hometown — his birthday is Sept. 1.

The Fort Smith Parks Commission has voted to recommend fines for people who feed the Canada Geese in Carol Ann Cross Park. Parks and Recreation Director Mike Alsup said that people feeding the fowl have led to overpopulation of geese at the park, which has created several issues, including complaints about aggressive behavior by the geese and excessive amounts of feces.

VOTE "AGAINST" TWICE IN LITTLE ROCK TODAY - UPDATE

2007-08-14T06:40:00.000-05:00

if you scroll down, there is plenty of information on today's election. Big money special interests, listed in the news summary below, have fairly well strangled the flow of information on this important decision.

For example, if it is such a good thing to raise Mark Stolola's salary to $160,000 a year, why do the expensive full-color mail out ads not say that? The dishonesty is obvious.

I have several essays below, so make up your own mind. Information on polling locations is available by calling (501) 340-8383.

UPDATE: Marie and I voted during the noon hour. Short line and it appeared that there was fairly moderate voting for a special election in August on a brutally hot day. It looks like more people than I expected have turned out. This is GOOD NEWS for those of us who want to defeat this power grab. It is possible to beat the Stephens interests and the other big real estate developers ONLY if you take the time to get out and VOTE "NO" TWICE. (actually you vote "AGAINST"). We can win the day!

Tuesday summary

2007-08-14T06:39:00.001-05:00

A federal judge has decided to let Little Rock voters cast ballots today on whether their mayor should have more say at City Hall and more pay for the extra responsibility, more quadrupling the salary to $160,000. Further hearings are expected.

Principal backers of the move to increase Little Rock’s mayoral powers, according to the Democrat-Gazette are Stephens Investments Holdings, Coulson Oil of North Little Rock, Alltel employees’ political action committee, Phillips Development Corp., Vratsinas Construction Co. Williams and Anderson law firm; Glass Erectors, run by 2 Votes for Leadership Co-Chairman Gary Smith; McLarty Companies Inc.; Herren Hickingbotham; real estate developer Rector Phillips Morse; the Stone Ward public relations firm; and Lakewood Village Shopping Park of North Little Rock. There is no number available on how much money has been spent in this effort, although they have raised nearly $50,000 to date.

Pulaski County authorities say two people who were discovered dead in Little Rock on Sunday and a South Dakota truck driver who died Monday at a North Little Rock truck stop are possible heat-related deaths.

The original optimism over Marcus Monk’s recovery from a knee injury was tempered substantially Monday as Arkansas’ star receiver underwent arthroscopic surgery that will sideline him at least a month.

Forty-seven of Arkansas’ 1,067 public schools were put on probation Monday by the state Board of Education for violating accreditation requirements in the 2006-07 school year.

Entergy bills stand to be lower - regardless of customer class - after state utility regulators upheld their earlier rejection of the utility’s $106.5 million-a-year rate increase request. Under new calculations made by the Arkansas Public Service Commission - which are based on electricity use similar to that of the previous year - residential ratepayers can expect a 6.7 percent reduction in monthly bills.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says that his second-place showing in Iowa's Republican Party Straw Poll was as good as a win and should put him in the top tier of presidential candidates.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., a leading contender for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, is scheduled to appear at big-ticket fundraisers in Arkansas next week.

Reports from state agencies reveal that Arkansas spends about $169 million annually to educate and imprison immigrants and their families, a number that state lawmakers say is bound to grow if they don’t take steps to curb illegal immigration.

Officers and deputies from four law enforcement agencies are traveling to Boston on Monday for federal training. Rogers Mayor Steve Womack confirmed on Monday that six officers with the Rogers Police Department are scheduled to begin 287(g) training next Tuesday.

A Rosston man appeared in Nevada County Circuit Court on Monday facing two counts of capital murder in the shooting deaths of his ex-wife and her husband in front of his own 11-year-old daughter. Kelvin Box told police that he tackled his ex-wife, Tracey Lambert, and then shot her three times in the face, just after he fired four shots to the back of the head of Jerome Lambert.

A capital city man is dead after being shot outside his house Monday night. The death was Little Rock’s 28th homicide this year. At this time last year, there had been 42 homicides in the city.

While discretely pursuing a suspect, the chief of the Hartford Police Department ran his vehicle over a woman who was reportedly lying in the street early Sunday morning. Brandi Wooten was struck by Chief Stephen Layne at around 1:03 a.m. Sunday. Wooten was lying on the roadway at East Third Street when Layne ran over her when he took his foot off the brake and began to move, according to Cpl. Ray Triplett with Arkansas State Police.

History is in the making at Riverview High School on the east edge of Searcy as balls will be flying through the air, whistles will be blown and fans will pack the stands in just a few weeks. The district’s school board continued to approve final touches on the school’s new football stadium, which also contains a track.

Tough on crime?

2007-08-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

Governor Mike Beebe has been doing well, for the most part. He has been very judicious in the use of executive clemency. Of 107 recent applications, he has granted two.

One is a gent from Michigan who got in trouble for drug use. I would grant pardons to every single druggie and get them out of the system immediately. Law enforcement wastes far too much time with this so-called “war on drugs.” Of course, it has become a growth industry and plenty of folks are getting rich off the misery of others.

The other man is from the capital city and has been convicted of burglary, terroristic threatening and aggravated assault. Now, I might as well clue you in that local law enforcement has no complaint with this proposed pardon, but I have a real problem. One of the reasons violent crime is such a problem is that we do not take it seriously.

I will say this to the day I die, so you can just get used to it. Write it down. When somebody makes a decision to do bodily harm, they have told the rest of us they do not intend to obey the rules. All such people should be considered dangerous and locked up for many decades. I recommend they stay behind bars till at least age 70. By then, bad boys are too tired to cause any more trouble.

I’d never turn a violent criminal out of prison if I had the choice.

(Broadcast August 13, 2007)

Monday summary

2007-08-13T06:09:00.000-05:00

Arkansas National Guard officials this week will decide if more Guard units will need to be called up to supplement the 39th Infantry Brigade as it prepares to return to Iraq — the first National Guard unit mobilized for a second tour of duty in the 4-year-old war.

Mike Huckabee finished second Saturday in a pivotal straw poll in Iowa, a surprising vote that could vault him to the top tier of Republican presidential contenders.

Attorneys for the Democrat-Gazette asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to expedite a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit regarding access to e-mails of Pulaski County’s former comptroller, who is accused of theft. Circuit Judge Mary Spencer McGowan deemed that more than 600 e-mails between Ron Quillin and a vendor were public records.

A lawsuit seeking to halt Tuesday’s special election on mayoral power in Little Rock is set for a this morning hearing in federal court. Little Rock voters will go to the polls to raise the annual salary of Mayor Mark Stodola to $160,000. (SCROLL DOWN FOR SEVERAL INFORMATIVE POSTS CONCERNING THIS ELECTION.)

Eureka Springs voters will decide in an election tomorrow whether to refinance a bond issue to complete work on a sewage treatment plant.

Arkansas is trying to sign up more adults for health coverage through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, just as funding for the federal subsidy is up for debate in Washington. President Bush has threatened to veto legislation that he thinks expands the federal program too much, but Arkansas needs funding increases in part to keep up with new coverage for the uninsured that state officials are heavily promoting.

Gov. Mike Beebe intends to grant two pardons from a total of 107 clemency applications. A 30-day waiting period now opens to receive public feedback. Beebe intends to grant pardons to James B. Hudson of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who is serving time for Drug Possession and Kyle Ogden of Little Rock who was convicted of burglary, terroristic threatening, and aggravated assault.

A judge has denied motions by two newspapers to force hearings in a capital murder case to be opened to the public. Benton County Judge Tom Keith ruled at the end of a hearing that two murder suspects’ rights to a fair and impartial trial outweigh the public’s right to know, but he will open documents filed in the case.

A Fayetteville woman pleaded guilty Friday to killing a child in her care. Lorita Lanej, who was caring for the boy; will serve 20 years before she becomes eligible for parole. The child's parents, Elmitha Saito and Junious K. Annam of the Marshall Islands pleaded guilty to failing to get medical help for the child who was abused.

An employee at the state’s Booneville Human Development Center for people with disabilities has been fired for providing false information about a resident who was found dead earlier this month. Jesse Ingram was found dead early Aug. 2 in an outbuilding where he worked shredding paper during the day. Results from an autopsy are pending, but authorities believe Ingram may have suffocated.

Three workers remain in critical condition after suffering burns in a fire at a Deltic Timber Corp. sawmill at Columbia County.

A Mena-based Sonic Drive-In and its holding company will pay $75,000 to settle a sexual-harassment lawsuit filed last year by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith, charged that a night manager subjected two women to sexual harassment during their employment at the Sonic. One of the women was a teenager at the time.

There IS an election going on in LR

2007-08-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

There is an election happening right now in Little Rock, but you would never know it from the level of non-discussion. What is it they don’t want us to know about the proposal to grant move authority to the mayor, while keeping the city manager? Although supporters of the power grab are mighty short on details, these two positions will, I strongly suspect, require around $300,000 in annual salaries.

There is a certain risk that, by vigorously opposing this matter, I will gain a reputation as the eternal antagonist, somebody who fights every stride for progress just for the sport of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and I would like to begin by discussing the things about city government that I would improve and enhance.

Little Rock has a good man in the mayor’s office these days and the position deserves more prestige. The capital city should have a truly representative form of government. What we need is a city-council arrangement with full ward representation. North Little Rock has it, and that is the style in most larger cities. It brings accountability right to the mayor’s front door.

Proponents of the proposal before voters today are trying to pull a fast one on us by confusing people into believing that, by passing this new scheme, they will be getting all the many benefits of a mayor-council format. That simply is not true.

This election is a diversion. Passing these twin questions puts off real reform for many years. It has been 15 long years since Little Rock people had a chance to make a change, and it will not come back around for a long time, and there is a very good reason for me making that prediction.

The banking, real estate interests, Hillcrest and the downtown folks who are accustomed to running things, will continue to have the advantage of owning six of the eleven seats on the city board. They will do anything to hang on to those three “at large” seats. When you see Mark Stodola or Dr. Kumpuris around town, ask them how many “at large” directors are on the city council in North Little Rock, or any town in Arkansas, or any city anywhere.

The answer is, of course “none.” It’s undemocratic and blatantly unfair to dilute the voting power of ordinary folks represented in ward council members. This is a question of mathematics, so stick with me. It’s not hard. Promise.

It costs a lot of money (in six figures) to seek office citywide. The three directors who run “at large” have to raise more money and are more attuned to the voices of those who make the campaign contributions. With the three “at large” directors, and a mayor, there are four votes which are overly attentive to big money. Then we add two more affluent wards and you have the six votes to win every time. The rest of us are always shut out when it’s something important. Ask yourself, isn’t that pretty much how it has always been? That is no accident.

The proposal presently being considered in central Arkansas actually means less accountability in city government because the mayor can hire and fire the city manager and the city attorney. If the professionals oppose something the big dollar people want, there are always six votes available to toss out the offending contrary voice.

You didn’t know that did you? It is part of the plan to keep people in the dark, but the mayor will have that kind of authority. Always remember the magic number “SIX.” In the new arrangement, the mayor always has the muscle.

If this thing passes, wise old heads in Fifty for the Future and the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will announce that, yes, it might be nice to someday go to a mayor-council form of local government, but we haven’t really given this time to work. And, trust me, they will need LOTS of time.

By defeating these two bad ideas, the concept of truly representative local government moves to the front burner. It is nothing but an insult that Little Rock does not already have such a modern form of government.

I will wholeheartedly support a proposal for a mayor-council government for the capital city. In the meantime, we have a duty not to let the city hall insiders derail necessary reform again.

VOTE “NO” TWICE on August 14, and in early voting.

UPDATE: Tildy and Edna have given this a bit of discussion on "Matilda's Rants and Advice," and, wouldn't ya' know it, a new piece of information as been advanced. I feel pretty dumb to not have realized that in a REAL mayor-council arrangement (as is the case in North Little Rock) the city attorney is ELECTED. He is INDEPENDENT. In the Little Rock Power Grab, the city attorney is an employee who can be fired at the whim of the mayor any time he starts giving opinions that go against the local power brokers. Remember that, in the proposed Power Grab, the mayor always has the votes tied up to defeat anything ward representatives, those that represent regular people, may desire.

A million thanks to Tildy and Edna!!!

NOW.. as an added bonus... in honor of today's Democrat-Gazette editorial endorsement (which somehow fails to address even one of the following grown-up fiscally sensible questions) I have decided to include here, at no extra charge SEVEN HARD QUESTIONS FOR LITTLE ROCK POWER BROKERS...

1. What will be the exact dollar amount of salary paid to the mayor under the new arrangement? Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

UPDATE: Although TWO expensive full-color advertisements have been sent to my mailbox in the past two days, each fails to mention that Stodola will make $160,000 if the items pass. Why do they not tell voters this useful bit of information?

2. Please list the duties of the mayor in the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

3. Please state the exact dollar amount of compensation for the city manager in the proposed organization. Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

4. Please list the duties of the city manager under the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

5. Please explain why a city manager is needed in this new proposed arrangement.

6. If the measures should pass, will the city manager be accountable to the mayor, or the city board of directors

7. It has been reported in the Democrat-Gazette that the City of Little Rock may be facing a $3 million budget shortfall. In view of the substantial increase in compensation for Little Rock's mayor, which employees or services will be cut to pay for this new expenditure?

It is also noteworthy that, under this novel proposed reorganization, the city attorney loses all independence, since he can be fired by the mayor. Yes, I know there is the appearance of needing board approval, but the mayor, as you have seen in earlier posts, always has the six voted needed to do anything in his hip pocket. In a true mayor-council form of government, such as in North Little Rock, the City Attorney is an elected position.

Scroll down for several good essays on why this measure makes things worse for neighborhoods and regular folks.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON AUGUST 14, and in early voting too!

STODOLA SALARY $160,000 IS POWER GRAB PASSES IN SPECIAL ELECTION TUESDAY

2007-08-10T22:55:00.000-05:00

The big secret is out, and only days before the election. Although the latest slick mail-out paid by local swells makes no mention whatsoever of the seemingly insignificant matter of COMPENSATION, Arkansas Times reports in a generally favorably framed article (concurring with the official editorial position) that Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will earn an annual salary of $160,000, if voters should approve two items in an August 14 special election.

This is the same salary as City Manager Bruce Moore, even though the Mayor gets no more real power under this new arrangement. Doesn't the mayor already make appointments? Can't he already influence the budget? Proponents have FAILED to list duties demonstrating that the new responsibilities amount to a full-time job.

Read the Arkansas Times story for yourself, and them read the SEVEN crucial HARD QUESTIONS I have raised over this election, which are posted below. Decide for yourself. That is all I can ask.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON AUGUST 14, and in early voting.

Little Rock deserves a mayor-council form of government. Passing these measures will assure no further reform for decades, which is exactly what people like old money city director Stacy Hurst (of the large florist business) and Tommy Folez (who describes himself as a bio-diesel entrepreneur) want for Little Rock. These are two members of the local power elite who have endorsed the ballot items on the latest full color slick paper ad paid for by big money special interests. Hurst and Folts forgot to mention that Stolola gets $160,000 as a result of this scheme.

I appreciate that Arkansas Times has, at least, been willing to reveal some of the details of this matter. Thanks to Allen, Max and reporter Jennifer Barnett Reed.

Scroll down for more useful information, and talk to your friends! VOTE NO TWICE ON AUGUST 14!

LR election lawsuit UPDATE

2007-08-10T22:34:00.000-05:00

There was a lawsuit filed in federal court yesterday seeking to stop the current election seeking to expand the duties and compensation for Little Rock's mayor.

If I understand the premise, and I may be mistaken, the plaintiffs argue that, if passed, the outcome would diminish the electoral "weight" and powers of minority members of the city board. Not being an attorney, I may not be doing much of a job explaining this.

It seems possible that there is a viable civil rights argument here. It seems to me that Little Rock has been allowed to establish a completely unique form of local government, each of which is a creature of state government. At least, cities and towns are organized according to state law. It may be possible to argue that the proposed form, but giving an at-large mayor a veto and keeping the at-large directors, dilutes the voting rights of minorities.

My opinion is that the proposal lessens the voting rights of all local citizens, to the benefit of a few elite special interests. I have no idea if a federal court will find that this bad proposal rises to a constitutional or voting rights violation.

It might be that a court would allow the election to proceed, but stay implementation until the sitting directors have completed their terms. It might also be that the court would order a new election for mayor, thinking that Mr. Stodola was elected to a certain term with certain responsibilities and is not entitled to the increased salary ($160,000) and veto powers without direct election for that purpose.

Finally, Mr. Bruce Moore is, by all appearances, a professional of the highest order and a fine politician. The city manager, in my opinion, is not the target of this move to expand mayoral powers. If somebody has evidence to the contrary, let them speak now.

In one way, this litigation plays into the grubby hands of local power grabbers. For many white people, it might seem that if African-Americans are against something, it must be good for whites. Very sad situation.

While the African-American community has had its' voice and electoral power shamefully diminished by local power brokers, it is white neighborhoods that have been ravaged by the Little Rock real estate establishment.

The special interests which run city hall and control our board of directors have an equal disdain for decent working people, regardless of race.

VOTE "NO" TWICE AUGUST 14.

UPDATE: Arkansas Times blog reports that the election will go forward and that a hearing will be set on the issues of this lawsuit.

Razorback Red!

2007-08-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

The Memphis Commerical had an item the other day about how things are so much different for Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick. This year, the paper fawns, Dick will not have to endure the suspense of wondering if he is the starting quarterback. Without that pesky Parade All-American, Mitch Mustain around to muck things up, Casey can expect clear sailing.

Although I believe Mr. Dick to be a talented athlete, it’s a good bet that most of us are not quite so enthusiastic about being rid of Mustain. Well, there is that one outspoken woman who once addressed him as “Mr. Interception King,” but most of us would have liked for Mitch to stick around.

The other big question mark this year is the outstanding Darren McFadden, who came within a breath of gaining the Heisman Trophy last season. McFadden is the real thing. He’s got a target on his back this year. This will not be easy going. OK, there is that game against Chattanooga in Little Rock, but other than that, it will not be easy going. On second thought, on any given Saturday… I guess you know the rest…

(Broadcast August 10, 2007)

Good for Judge Griffen

2007-08-10T14:52:00.000-05:00

Somewhere back in the dark ages, one old guy, beleaguered by harsh public accusations, and acquitted by a jury, was heard to wonder out loud, where do I go to get my name back? One images that is exactly how appeals court judge Wendell Griffen must feel today.

He has been harassed by anonymous accusers for doing no more than expressing personal opinions. Now, judges should be cautions about comments on anything that could come before their bar of justice. Griffen’s commentary has been directed toward federal reaction to Hurricane Katrina and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Finally, the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission realized that he will certainly be upheld in federal court, where this case was ultimately headed.

Here is a man who you can actually get a feel for. He is out front without prejudicing himself. Wendell Griffen is the personification of honesty and fairness and that makes the daily dragging of his good name through the news all the more lamentable. The people of this state have deprived themselves of a powerful mind and a clear conscience on our state supreme court. I am pleased as punch to see the judge free of all these useless allegations.

(Broadcast August 9, 2007)

Lynch and Vickery preview Iowa straw poll at 5 PM Friday on KARK Channel 4

2007-08-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's make or break time for former governor Mike Huckabee in the Iowa straw poll tomorrow. Or, is it? Bill and I will have all the answers this evening in the early segment of the 5 PM news on KARK Channel 4.

Trains for America UPDATED

2007-08-10T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy time over at my "other" blog, Trains for America.

• Bombardier wins signalling contract for high-speed railway in China
• High-speed stampede from Calgary to Edmonton
• Are the Dead From the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Victims of Conservative Ideology?
• Fresh start for Talgos
• Hillary Clinton is on board?
• Oklahoma City Hub UPDATE
• Illinois activity
• East Texas corridor developments, and a modest proposal for Dallas - Orlando service
• Transbay Terminal drama continues
• Flight delays at worst level in at least 13 years
• London’s new Eurostar line is booming
• Guess what? Passenger rail makes sense - even in Texas
• Amtrak August meltdown
• FAA steps into 21st. Century

A HARD QUESTION for the Little Rock FOP concerning more money for the mayor

2007-08-10T12:10:00.000-05:00

Since it has been disclosed that Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will get a raise to $160,000 per year, and since your police union has endorse the two votes for increasing the mayor's powers, and presuming an annual police officer salary of $40k, has the mayor's office identified which THREE officers will be laid off to pay for his raise.

Have you been promised that the cuts will not come from the police department? I ask this only as a concerned citizen and I would hate to think any police officer suffered any financial harm because of this bad idea, because you provide an essential service and you are good professional people.

If the LRPD will not bear the cuts to pay for this new salary line-item, who will? The city has announced a shortfall of $2.5 to $3 million. This is not an idle question.

I mean no disrespect to the police, but I believe your union has done you a tremendous disservice.

Friday summary

2007-08-10T07:04:00.001-05:00

Only communities around Arkansas’ capital city neared the national average for per-capita income this year, as the rest of the state continued to trail historically behind. Statistics from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis show the per-capita income in the area that includes Conway, Little Rock and North Little Rock at $34,485 in 2006, a growth of 5.2 percent.

Only 45 supporters of a $1.4 billion coal-fired power plant proposed in Hempstead County showed up as state utility regulators opened a long-awaited public hearing that could decide the facility’s future. The 45 backers were, according to reports, mostly elected officials.

The 11 Arkansas highway bridges similar in design to the span that collapsed last week in Minnesota have been inspected and appear to be structurally sound.

Arkansas’ Martin Luther King Jr. Commission will interview two finalists for the commission’s executive director job again. They are interim director Jerelyn Duncan, who has worked at the commission since 1999, and DuShun Scarbrough of Little Rock, a former director of a nonprofit group that worked with disabled individuals in Tallahassee, Fla.

Twenty-two state legislators have agreed to spend just $3 a day for food over a three-day period next week to raise awareness of hunger and low benefits for food stamp recipients.

Opponents of a move to give Little Rock’s mayor more power and pay want a federal court to block the special election set for Tuesday.

Attorneys are attempting to hash out the particulars of a buyout agreement with outgoing Little Rock School District Superintendent Roy Brooks and, at the same time, draft a contract for the interim superintendent who will take over when he leaves.

A resident's complaint against Tontitown Alderman David Sbanotto led to a letter from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality about an illegal solid waste dump on family property. Pete Sbanotto has 20 days to formulate a plan of action to clean up the site.

92 year-old George Beyers Jr, is in Jefferson Regional Medical Center after his 46-year-old wife allegedly beat him and attempted to steal a large amount of money. Cynthia Marie Beyers is being held for investigation of second-degree domestic battery, kidnapping and attempted theft of property.

Federal prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for Antoine Demetrius Baker, a reputed Little Rock gang leader who faces a jury trial in the 2002 death of a man scheduled to testify against him in a robbery case.

A Little Rock man demanded the death penalty Thursday for wounding a hotel clerk in a dispute over clean sheets, and Pulaski County jurors did their best to accommodate him, recommending the maximum sentence of life plus 235 years in prison. Robert Thomas Maxwell did not get to hear their decision. He refused to return to the courtroom after throwing a tantrum, proclaiming his innocence in a stream of profanities.

A headline in Wednesday’s edition of The Jonesboro Sun apparently contributed to a mistrial in a capital murder case after several jurors admitted they violated a court order and read the newspaper. Bailiffs earlier detained a private citize, Scott Parker, for taking notes in the courtroom.

An industrial accident claimed the life of a 48-year-old employee of a Russellville contractor Wednesday afternoon at the City Corp. Water Treatment Plant in northern Russellville. A steel beam that weighed approximately 500-600 pounds fell off a piece of equipment, struck Roy A. Bradley in the head.

July brought more bad news for Little Rock-based Dillard’s Inc., which saw sales at stores open at least a year tumble 6 percent from the corresponding period a year ago. Except for March, Dillard’s hasn’t reported a gain in such monthly sales since May 2006.

Ruby Tuesday, which is under construction in Conway, applied to the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for a private club license. The restaurant is expected to open before Thanksgiving.

A state trooper was dispatched to the Searcy County courthouse Wednesday morning to assist an apparent dispute between District 20 Circuit Judge Rhonda Wood and Marshall District Judge Jerry Patterson. Both judges denied reports from multiple sources that they held each other in contempt and ordered sheriff's agents to arrest each other, though both confirmed the occurrence of a dispute as to which judge was scheduled to hear cases at the courthouse.

The Arkansas Wildlife Federation named Griffin Smith, executive editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “Conservation Communicator of the Year” Thursday night.

Hillary Clinton makes concrete response to Minnesota bridge colapse

2007-08-09T13:12:00.000-05:00

The Clinton campaign is saying a lot of the right things about infrastructure. Of course, the usual special interests flat-earth crowd will fight till the biter end. Get all the details on my blog devoted to good ground transportation. Trains for America.

There IS an election going on in LR

2007-08-09T12:25:00.000-05:00

There is an election happening right now in Little Rock, but you would never know it from the level of non-discussion. What is it they don’t want us to know about the proposal to grant move authority to the mayor, while keeping the city manager? Although supporters of the power grab are mighty short on details, these two positions will, I strongly suspect, require around $300,000 in annual salaries.

There is a certain risk that, by vigorously opposing this matter, I will gain a reputation as the eternal antagonist, somebody who fights every stride for progress just for the sport of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and I would like to begin by discussing the things about city government that I would improve and enhance.

Little Rock has a good man in the mayor’s office these days and the position deserves more prestige. The capital city should have a truly representative form of government. What we need is a city-council arrangement with full ward representation. North Little Rock has it, and that is the style in most larger cities. It brings accountability right to the mayor’s front door.

Proponents of the proposal before voters today are trying to pull a fast one on us by confusing people into believing that, by passing this new scheme, they will be getting all the many benefits of a mayor-council format. That simply is not true.

This election is a diversion. Passing these twin questions puts off real reform for many years. It has been 15 long years since Little Rock people had a chance to make a change, and it will not come back around for a long time, and there is a very good reason for me making that prediction.

The banking, real estate interests, Hillcrest and the downtown folks who are accustomed to running things, will continue to have the advantage of owning six of the eleven seats on the city board. They will do anything to hang on to those three “at large” seats. When you see Mark Stodola or Dr. Kumpuris around town, ask them how many “at large” directors are on the city council in North Little Rock, or any town in Arkansas, or any city anywhere.

The answer is, of course “none.” It’s undemocratic and blatantly unfair to dilute the voting power of ordinary folks represented in ward council members. This is a question of mathematics, so stick with me. It’s not hard. Promise.

It costs a lot of money (in six figures) to seek office citywide. The three directors who run “at large” have to raise more money and are more attuned to the voices of those who make the campaign contributions. With the three “at large” directors, and a mayor, there are four votes which are overly attentive to big money. Then we add two more affluent wards and you have the six votes to win every time. The rest of us are always shut out when it’s something important. Ask yourself, isn’t that pretty much how it has always been? That is no accident.

The proposal presently being considered in central Arkansas actually means less accountability in city government because the mayor can hire and fire the city manager and the city attorney. If the professionals oppose something the big dollar people want, there are always six votes available to toss out the offending contrary voice.

You didn’t know that did you? It is part of the plan to keep people in the dark, but the mayor will have that kind of authority. Always remember the magic number “SIX.” In the new arrangement, the mayor always has the muscle.

And what exactly will the new mayor be paid? Why have none of our highly paid and professionally educated journalists posed that question? Let’s get a specific answer. What exactly does the job pay?

If this thing passes, wise old heads in Fifty for the Future and the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will announce that, yes, it might be nice to someday go to a mayor-council form of local government, but we haven’t really given this time to work. And, trust me, they will need LOTS of time.

By defeating these two bad ideas, the concept of truly representative local government moves to the front burner. It is nothing but an insult that Little Rock does not already have such a modern form of government.

I will wholeheartedly support a proposal for a mayor-council government for the capital city. In the meantime, we have a duty not to let the city hall insiders derail necessary reform again.

VOTE “NO” TWICE on August 14, and in early voting.

UPDATE: Tildy and Edna have given this a bit of discussion on "Matilda's Rants and Advice," and, wouldn't ya' know it, a new piece of information as been advanced. I feel pretty dumb to not have realized that in a REAL mayor-council arrangement (as is the case in North Little Rock) the city attorney is ELECTED. He is INDEPENDENT. In the Little Rock Power Grab, the city attorney is an employee who can be fired at the whim of the mayor any time he starts giving opinions that go against the local power brokers. Remember that, in the proposed Power Grab, the mayor always has the votes tied up to defeat anything ward representatives, those that represent regular people, may desire.

A million thanks to Tildy and Edna!!!

NOW.. as an added bonus... in honor of today's Democrat-Gazette editorial endorsement (which somehow fails to address even one of the following grown-up fiscally sensible questions) I have decided to include here, at no extra charge SEVEN HARD QUESTIONS FOR LITTLE ROCK POWER BROKERS...

1. What will be the exact dollar amount of salary paid to the mayor under the new arrangement? Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

2. Please list the duties of the mayor in the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

3. Please state the exact dollar amount of compensation for the city manager in the proposed organization. Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

4. Please list the duties of the city manager under the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

5. Please explain why a city manager is needed in this new proposed arrangement.

6. If the measures should pass, will the city manager be accountable to the mayor, or the city board of directors

7. It has been reported in the Democrat-Gazette that the City of Little Rock may be facing a $3 million budget shortfall. In view of the substantial increase in compensation for Little Rock's mayor ($120,000? It's just a guess, and absolutely low end.) which employees or services will be cut to pay for this new expenditure?

It is also noteworthy that, under this novel proposed reorganization, the city attorney loses all independence, since he can be fired by the mayor. Yes, I know there is the appearance of needing board approval, but the mayor, as you have seen in earlier posts, always has the six voted needed to do anything in his hip pocket. In a true mayor-council form of government, such as in North Little Rock, the City Attorney is an elected position.

Scroll down for several good essays on why this measure makes things worse for neighborhoods and regular folks.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON AUGUST 14, and in early voting too!

Buddy Villines big secrets

2007-08-09T06:41:00.000-05:00

My column in yesterday’s Democrat-Gazette deals with Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines’ determined efforts to keep emails from accused felon, and former country controller, Ron Quillin, secret. Judge Mary McGowan has reviewed all 600 emails between Quillin and a female vendor with the county with whom he was having a romantic relationship, and has decided to keep the sexually explicit pictures each sent under wraps. That seems reasonable, but I could be wrong.

Villines wants to keep the press, and you, from seeing any of it. There is a lot more than voyeurism at work here. Folks are entitled to know how contracts are awarded and what kinds of favors get swapped. This story is also an important study in human nature, as regards the attempt to cover up what has happened.

Human nature is all wrapped up in greed and power. What we will do to get either money or authority over others is remarkable. That goes for Quillin and Villines. Government is like a living creature that needs nourishment to survive. The nourishment is money and respect. If we do not keep our eyes open, almost anybody can be corrupted. That is why secrets are such a bad thing. It is just a basic understanding of fallen human nature.

(Broadcast August 7, 2007)

Another Janie Ward outrage

2007-08-09T06:36:00.000-05:00

When I read Mike Masterson’s column about the reburial of Janie Ward’s earthly remains after her third autopsy, there was this sinking sick feeling. How Ron and Mona Ward must have suffered since learning that their daughter had mysteriously died at a teenage party at a rural cabin near Marshall back in 1989.

The official story is that she fell about twelve inches from a porch, broke her neck and died. Much physical evidence, even the original autopsy photos, belies that cock-and-bull nonsense. The cover-up has continued since the day of her demise.

The Arkansas Democrat smelled something fishy just a few months after Wards death, and now ABC TV is on the verge of broadcasting a major documentary on this shameful miscarriage of justice. That national spotlight is the one and only thing that would ever get special prosecutor Tim Williamson off his do-nothing rear end.

The real purpose of last weekend’s examination is to provide a pretext to declare her cause of death as “undetermined.” That overlooks a reputable private autopsy performed two years ago and emerging eyewitness accounts of Janie’s murder.

The Ward’s civil lawsuit will not go away and Janie will get justice someday.

(Broadcast August 8, 2007)

Thursday summary

2007-08-09T06:32:00.000-05:00

A panel of the state commission that disciplines judges agreed Wednesday to recommend dismissal of ethics charges against state Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen. The panel determined that public comments that Griffen made critical of the Bush administration's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, among others, was protected speech under the First Amendment.

A state employee’s e-mail contains evidence in a lawsuit over the University of Arkansas’ handling of a harassing e-mail to a former quarterback, a plaintiff’s attorney contends. Fort Smith attorney Eddie Christian Jr. says an e-mail from Department of Finance and Administration employee Sherri Darby points to a cover-up by key witnesses in the case stemming from an e-mail sent in December to Mitch Mustain, a freshman quarterback at the time.

Gov. Mike Beebe says he will consider pushing an initiated act to raise the severance tax on natural gas if energy companies, legislators and counties do not reach a consensus. Although a major player in the Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas has the lowest severance tax in the region.

Sandra Hochstetter resigned from the Arkansas Public Service Commission amid concerns that conflicting interests could rise if she presides over cases involving her future employer — the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. — or one of its competitors.

Gov. Mike Beebe says that he won’t delay the implementation of new social studies standards that historians have said will de-emphasize the teaching of Arkansas history.

The state will loan $33 million for construction of a regional wastewater treatment facility in Northwest Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe announced Wednesday. The package, which also calls for the state to bear finance and interest costs for 3.5 years at a cost of about $4.3 million, will allow construction to begin immediately with a planned completion date of late 2009 or early 2010.

A new law in Fayetteville will put the brakes on residents using lots of their front yard for parking. The Fayetteville City Council has approved limiting how many vehicles can be parked in front of residences, and how much of a front yard can be used for parking.

Jacoby Cooper, an 8-year-old boy from Hope is dead after apparently shooting himself accidentally while visiting a friend, according to the Hope Police Department.

Five correction officers are being disciplined by the Department of Correction, most for knowing about abuse of inmates at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys and not coming forward to report it.

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley wants the Arkansas State Police to investigate a nonprofit probation program and its relationship with a Pulaski County court after an audit pointed to conflicts with state law. The state police received the information on Cycle Breakers, a nonprofit program that works with probationers from the 5th Division Circuit Court.

A 27-year-old Little Rock man accused of killing his stepfather is back in jail after a detective testified he saw him threaten the victim’s family in front of the Pulaski County Courthouse the day before. Attorneys for Harold Terrance Dison, who is charged with first-degree murder, argued he’d been provoked by the family members.

A Maumelle man is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond after being charged in the abduction and rape of two women he met outside a Little Rock nightspot while posing as a narcotics officer. Chase A. Prater, 23 faces two counts of kidnapping and single counts of rape, sexual assault and criminal impersonation in the assault.

A rape suspect believed by prosecutors to be 22 years old has 30 days to prove he is 17 and eligible to have his case transferred into juvenile court. Hugo Eriberto Morales was arrested in March after Fort Smith police responded to a report that a 14-year-old girl was obtaining a pregnancy test at a local clinic. Police suspect Morales of being involved with the girl in what the defense contends was a consensual relationship.

A growing air of violence on Beale Street, highlighted by the assault on a patron by a security guard, has the landlord of the entertainment district wanting to scale back its hours. Now, John Elkington, the leasing agent the city-owned entertainment district, says he plans to appear before Memphis City Council to lop off those last two hours of operation, to 3 a. m..

Is this Dodge City?

2007-08-08T17:21:00.001-05:00

Little Rock police are working a broad daylight shooting at 12th and Woodrow. Apparently, it happened right out in the open and the victim is still alive.

Will the Wall Street Journal still be "fair and balanced?"

2007-08-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

At 9 Friday morning, Eric Boehlert, a Senior Fellow at the progressive media watchdog Media Matters for America, will be on the line. Boehlert’s recent column discusses Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones Co. which as he puts it, has thus far “become glaringly obvious that [Murdoch] does not have The Wall Street Journal's editorial well-being at heart, and that the newspaper is in for a world of hurt under Murdoch's reign.”

Blanche Lincoln, sweet potato queen?

2007-08-08T16:24:00.000-05:00

Michelle Page, the crack reporter at the Helena Daily World, spent some time with me this morning. She observes that Senator Blanche Lincoln is in town for the dedication of a sweet potato processing plant for a baby food company. Page comments on negative comments Lincoln has gotten on her immigration votes, the Helena Blues, Festival, the river bridge, local government, and more. The interview is newly added to the "on demand" audio section of my home page.

Some good news for Dumas

2007-08-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Members of Arkansas Congressional Delegation
Announce $230,000 Grant for Dumas

Washington -U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor along with Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) announced Wednesday that the City of Dumas has been awarded a $230,000 grant through the Delta Regional Authority (DRA). The funds will help the city make needed sewer improvements to repair damage caused by the February tornadoes.

"In the aftermath of the storm, we promised the citizens of Dumas that we would look for ways that the federal government could help the community get back on its feet," Lincoln said. "I am pleased the Delta Regional Authority, which Congress created in 2000, has recognized this need and is able to offer this crucial assistance."

"Repairing the sewer system brings us a step closer to revitalizing the economic well-being of Desha County," Pryor said. "Investing in Dumas' infrastructure is pivotal to the city's recovery, and I commend the DRA's decision to help in this effort."

"After the devastating tornadoes that ravaged Southeast Arkansas in February, I pledged my support to help secure federal resources to assist with the cleanup and rebuilding efforts," Ross said. "The Delta Regional Authority has proved to be a vital resource to numerous Delta communities with their economic development needs, and this funding for Dumas is a prime example of how this federal entity can truly make a difference and help communities move forward."

The tornadoes caused a sewer back-up due to storm water infiltration affecting more than 120 homes and 49 businesses. By repairing the sewer system, homes and businesses can return to pre-storm conditions and begin revitalizing the economic health of the area.

Just one question for the Little Rock power brokers

2007-08-08T15:45:00.000-05:00

It's tough to always be such a sorehead. The idea to pay Mark Stodola a full-time salary to be mayor looks fair and straightforward, so only a total jerk would be against it, right?

There is no problem with Mark, or the city manager, Bruce Moore. The problem is in the details of two ballot items being placed before local voters. The real intentions of the backers of this idea is, I fear, a bit devious. Specifically, the people behind this need to derail reform to keep a system that is structurally against the ordinary folks. It's really about keeping the "at large" seats on the board. A true mayor-council form of government, which I wholeheartedly support, does away with the special privileges our current organization gives to wealthy special interests who are over represented on the board.

Here is one question that ought to tell you for sure that their intentions are not right.

Why does none of the backers expensive advertising NOWHERE mention how much salary will be paid to the mayor with the expanded powers? Is it some sort of secret? Aren't they proud of their proposal?

Sorry, that is three questions, but you do get my point.

They want to give the mayor more power but they do not outline in the ads just what those powers are. Nor do they say what the city manager will do, or whether we are required to keep the city manager. They nowhere say why we need two highly compensated executives.

This has been put forward to keep people from asking for what Little Rock REALLY needs, a mayor-council form of government like North Little Rock. The mayor-council type has an independent city attorney, in the new scheme, that is impossible.

In the mayor-council arrangement, there are no "at large" council members, no special privileges for real estate developers and local fat cats. The current, and proposed enhanced mayor, forms in Little Rock are nothing but AFFIRMATIVE ACTION for the rich.

Scroll down. There is a lot to read on the subject.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON AUGUST 14, and in early voting too!

Wednesday summary

2007-08-08T05:59:00.000-05:00

The war in Iraq has claimed the life of another Arkansas soldier. The department of defense says Sergeant Bradley Marshall of Little Rock died from indirect enemy fire while supporting operation Iraqi freedom.

An attorney for Stephens Media represented The Morning News before a judge Tuesday, asking that hearings and motions filed in a road rage murder case be open to the public. Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith previously ordered that all motions filed in the case be sealed. The judge has also allowed attorneys to meet privately in his chambers -- and gather at his bench where the public can't hear conversations.

Sandra Hochstetter, a member of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, will join the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. as vice president of strategic affairs in “a month or so.” But she recused herself from a high-profile hearing set to begin Thursday on Southwest Electric Power Co.’s proposed $1.4 billion coal-fired plant in Hempstead County. Governor Mike Beebe named former Supreme Court Justice David Newbern of Little Rock as a special member of the Arkansas Public Service Commission for the case.

Federal farm legislation now moving through Congress could be the last version in which farmers have a major say, according to U.S. Rep. John Boozman. H.R. 2419 passed the House on July 27. Boozman said he supported the bill until the tax on foreign-owned businesses was added.

Gov. Mike Beebe on Tuesday named former state legislator Brenda Gullett of Fayetteville to the state Board of Education.

The Arkansas State Police has turned over its investigative file to special prosecutors on the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy by a West Memphis police officer. The FBI is also investigating.

A Rogers police dog trainer was bitten on the arm Tuesday by a fellow officer's dog during obedience training. Cpl. Joe Warren was participating in routine training when Cpl. David Crawford's dog, Bo, bit his right arm.

The state Board of Finance will seek a 4.75 percent interest rate from banks for $150 million in state funds to be invested through the board in six-month certificates of deposit.

RED Development Inc will put in a nine-screen theater, including one IMAX screen, at the new The Promenade at Chenal, the first IMAX to play feature films in Arkansas. The Chenal Parkway 9 will have wall-to-wall screens, high-rise stadium seating, rocker chairs and digital surround sound. It will show mostly mainstream and some educational films on its 66-footby 85-foot IMAX screen with 3-D capacity.

Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. closed City Hall at noon Monday because of an air conditioner system malfunction. Two City Council committee meetings and the regular council meeting scheduled for Monday evening were postponed.

A Shreveport hospital management company will take over operations at the Randolph County Medical Center within 14 days, keeping the 52-year-old hospital open after threats of its closure earlier this spring.

Court TV’s series Psychic Detectives features the 1981 Ron Orsini murder investigation in an episode airing tonight titled “While You Were Sleeping.” Orsini’s wife, Mary Lee, dubbed “the Black Widow,” was eventually sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Former President Clinton told a Little Rock audience Tuesday evening that people spend too much time obsessing about their differences instead of celebrating how much they have in common.

Seven hard questions in Little Rock's "secret" election to expand the mayor's power

2007-08-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

1. What will be the exact dollar amount of salary paid to the mayor under the new arrangement? Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

2. Please list the duties of the mayor in the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

3. Please state the exact dollar amount of compensation for the city manager in the proposed organization. Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation separately. Be specific.

4. Please list the duties of the city manager under the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

5. Please explain why a city manager is needed in this new proposed arrangement.

6. If the measures should pass, will the city manager be accountable to the mayor, or the city board of directors

7. It has been reported in the Democrat-Gazette that the City of Little Rock may be facing a $3 million budget shortfall. In view of the substantial increase in compensation for Little Rock's mayor ($120,000? It's just a guess, and absolutely low end.) which employees or services will be cut to pay for this new expenditure?

It is also noteworthy that, under this novel proposed reorganization, the city attorney loses all independence, since he can be fired by the mayor. Yes, I know there is the appearance of needing board approval, but the mayor, as you have seen in earlier posts, always has the six voted needed to do anything in his hip pocket. In a true mayor-council form of government, such as in North Little Rock, the City Attorney is an elected position.

Scroll down for several good essays on why this measure makes things worse for neighborhoods and regular folks.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON AUGUST 14, and in early voting too!

Tuesday Stuff

2007-08-07T06:36:00.001-05:00

Home sales were down almost 14 percent in Arkansas in June, the biggest decline this year, according to the Arkansas Realtors Association. It was the 18th straight month that home sales have been off in Arkansas, following a national trend of declining new- and existing-home sales.

An elderly Central Arkansas resident became the second heat-related fatality of the year, the state Health Department reports.

Negotiations between the Little Rock School District and the Joshua intervenors on the district’s unitary status - set for 9 a.m. Thursday - were abruptly canceled Monday by a federal appeals court settlement director. John H. Martin, settlement director for the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at St. Louis, announced the cancellation ina letter to attorneys in which he gave only a vague explanation.

After Gov. Mike Beebe met for about 80 minutes with supporters and foes of the state’s new history standards, Beebe’s options include recommending that the state Board of Education delay implementing them for a year to consider possible changes or proceed with implementing them for a one-year trial.

Contractors who’ve won state building projects without submitting competitive bids will become defendants in a lawsuit over whether the practice violates the state constitution.

MBC Holdings LLC has entered into a contract to purchase the Indian Mall in Jonesboro, which could result in development of a $50 million upscale open-air shopping center.

Boaters and water-sports enthusiasts won’t be allowed to use kite tubes on Arkansas waters anymore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Little Rock District said Monday. The district made permanent a temporary ban imposed last summer on the inflatable raftlike devices that are designed to go airborne when towed behind boats.

U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, renewed his support Saturday for legislation that would require doctors to tell women seeking abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy that fetuses may feel pain.

Little Rock is raising the prospect of seeking a federal court order to force Pulaski County jailers to hold more of the city’s criminal suspects. The city’s Board of Directors is scheduled to consider measures on Aug. 14 to take the county to court and tie the more than $1.2 million the city sends to the county’s jail fund to a requirement that inmates no longer get private-hospital health care.

The former finance director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra admits to stealing $160,000 from the group, in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence and paying $24,000 in restitution. Robert David Lee, wearing the uniform of a Waffle House manager, pleaded guilty to theft by deception, a Class B felony, after prosecutors agreed to drop five lesser charges of filing fraudulent income tax returns from 2002 through 2006, each a Class D felony.

The Arkansas Municipal League will pay $25,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over an illegal search by Rogers police. David Robbins and Debra Steenblock sued several Rogers police officers in October in U.S. District Court after the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled a late-night, warrantless search of their home was illegal.

Darren McFadden scored touchdowns for Arkansas as a runner, receiver, passer and kickoff returner last season. McFadden, a junior All-American tailback from Little Rock, may add returning punts to his resume this season.

Another hard question about Little Rock's "secret" election to give the mayor more power

2007-08-07T05:56:00.000-05:00

Since city hall and local media have declared an information blackout, I will raise this matter as strictly a rhetorical question. Of course, the swells who have dreamed up the latest power grab never have to answer questions from mere taxpayers, but here gores anyway.

It has been reported in the Democrat-Gazette that the City of Little Rock may be facing a $3 million budget shortfall. In view of the substantial increase in compensation for Little Rock's mayor ($120,000? It's just a guess, and absolutely low end. Nobody knows the correct answer.), which employees or services will be cut to pay for this new expenditure?

Scroll down for more hard questions on the "secret" election. Tell all your friends, and VOTE "NO" TWICE on August 14 (and in early voting).

Tax 'em!

2007-08-06T17:34:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite topics is back on the public agenda, so get ready for another blistering mindless harangue. It has recently come to light that oil company trucks have been doing considerable damage to county roads getting in and out of land being drilled as part of the Fayetteville Shale play. The drillers have apparently expressed a willingness to compensate for the destruction to local roads. That is a nice gesture, and we are all really impressed.

Governor Beebe has expressed support for a temporary increase in our minimal severance tax. It’s a good sentiment, but why all the tiptoeing around special interests? Gas producers will make lots of money in the Fayetteville Shale, and they pay very high severance taxes in other states. Oil is a non-renewable natural resource which should be considered the property of all the people.

When a private interest is allowed to exploit that valuable heritage, they should pay top dollar. Why is Arkansas so timid about being treated like a real state that provides necessary services? We have stepped up to the plate on education and medical care and Arkansas is entitled to respect, and revenue. I don’t know if this tax requires one of those super-majorities in the next legislative session, but it ought to be quickly passed.

(Broadcast August 6, 2007)

Dirksmeyer Developments - the jury

2007-08-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

This is not groundbreaking stuff, but the Russellville Courier interviewed several jurors in the Kevin Jones murder trial. I think they got it right. That is, the prosecution did not meet its' obligation to prove guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."

There is, however, a chilling comment from an elderly person who served as a juror. Please tell me that nobody is so sheltered and unworldly. Sorry to say so, but Christians do lie. Or, to be more precise, those claiming to be Christians can be real snakes.

Monday summary

2007-08-06T06:29:00.000-05:00

The cost of athletic programs at public colleges and universities in Arkansas is expected to grow to $89.23 million this fiscal year. Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff each will transfer $1.08 million from their education and general budgets, which cover everything from professor salaries to building maintenance, for athletics.

Arkansas National Guard officials notified several units this week to begin preparing to mobilize with Arkansas’ 39th Infantry Brigade next year if the brigade deploys to Iraq as planned.

More than 600 e-mail exchanges between Ron Quillin and a vendor, many of them explicit in nature, will stay private for now as Pulaski County prepares an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court asking it to review whether the former county comptroller’s messages are public records.

Filing for school board seats ends today for Arkansas districts. School elections are September 18.

The Harmony Grove School District will ask patrons on Sept. 18 to approve a 2.3 mill property tax increase to fund a bond issue that would add a football program, according to Superintendent Danny Henley.The district property tax rate now is 39.7 mills.

A temporary tax on natural gas production in Arkansas has been discussed as a way to generate money for counties and cities struggling to pay for repairs to roads damaged by the heavy trucks traveling to and from drilling rigs, Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday.

Arkansas will see a significant decline in federal money for teaching students who don’t speak English fluently this school year. The almost $900,000 decrease follows an unprecedented amount of such funding last year that some officials said is a symptom of an inaccurate federal funding system.

Department of Highway and Transportation bridge inspectors will be looking closely at 11 Arkansas highway bridges similar in design to the one that collapsed Wednesday in Minneapolis. The longest of the 11 bridges is on U.S 63 in Northeast Arkansas at Black Rock and crosses Black River.

The beginning of the end to one of the state’s most expensive road projects — now almost two years behind schedule — is in sight for motorists who ply the section of Interstate 40 through the Levy area of North Little Rock.

Excessive spending and stale tax receipts have put Little Rock on course for a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, a gap that could further sap an already depleted City Hall staff. Lagging behind some of its suburbs’ growth in sales-tax collections, Little Rock is expected to fall short in that area by more than $2 million this year. And its spending on supplies, employee overtime and utilities is on track to pass the budget by $3 million.

A man was killed and another was critically injured in what police described as a Sunday evening shootout in a residential street in southwest Little Rock. The men drew guns and fired at each other. One ran to his house and collapsed in the driveway, where he was found dead. The other man ran to a nearby house and collapsed on the porch. The death was Little Rock’s 27th murder this year and the second of the weekend. At this time last year, there had been 40 homicides in the city.

An American Cancer Society volunteer is accused of taking money intended for the agency, then repaying it after the bank grew suspicious, before being charged with a felony. Shannon Wayne Hix opened a bank account March 8 and deposited $23,000 he took from other volunteers.

CenterPoint Energy Inc., one of the state's largest natural gas suppliers, reported second-quarter net income of $70 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, compared to $194 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, in the same quarter last year.

The White River Journal enters its’ second century this week as it continues under the ownership of the same family for 100 years. The weekly newspaper was founded on Aug. 9, 1907, by Charles A. Walls, and is today published by his daughter-in-law, Dean Walls.

Hard questions on Little Rock election

2007-08-05T10:15:00.000-05:00

Since the local Kremlin establishment has imposed a ban on any objective reporting on the current power grab, I thought I might rhetorically pose a few hardball questions about the pending initiative that would increase mayoral powers.

Since they are only reasonable inquiries, they aren't actually hardball, but here goes anyway?

1. What will be the exact dollar amount of salary paid to the mayor under the new arrangement? Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation. Be specific.

2. Please list the exact duties of the mayor in the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

3. Please state the exact dollar amount of compensation for the city manager in the proposed organization. Please list fringe benefits and non-cash compensation. Be specific.

3. Please list the exact duties of the city manager under the new method of operation. Be specific. Include supporting legislative documentation.

4. Please explain why a city manager is needed under this form of government.

5. If the measures should pass, will the city manager be accountable to the mayor, or the city board of directors?

(There is a lot of additional commentary below. Scroll down and share it with everybody you know.)

UPDATE - There's an election going on in Little Rock?

2007-08-03T22:48:00.000-05:00

There is an election happening right now in Little Rock, but you would never know it from the level of non-discussion. What is it they don’t want us to know about the proposal to grant move authority to the mayor, while keeping the city manager? Although supporters of the power grab are mighty short on details, these two positions will, I strongly suspect, require around $300,000 in annual salaries.

There is a certain risk that, by vigorously opposing this matter, I will gain a reputation as the eternal antagonist, somebody who fights every stride for progress just for the sport of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and I would like to begin by discussing the things about city government that I would improve and enhance.

Little Rock has a good man in the mayor’s office these days and the position deserves more prestige. The capital city should have a truly representative form of government. What we need is a city-council arrangement with full ward representation. North Little Rock has it, and that is the style in most larger cities. It brings accountability right to the mayor’s front door.

Proponents of the proposal before voters today are trying to pull a fast one on us by confusing people into believing that, by passing this new scheme, they will be getting all the many benefits of a mayor-council format. That simply is not true.

This election is a diversion. Passing these twin questions puts off real reform for many years. It has been 15 long years since Little Rock people had a chance to make a change, and it will not come back around for a long time, and there is a very good reason for me making that prediction.

The banking, real estate interests, Hillcrest and the downtown folks who are accustomed to running things, will continue to have the advantage of owning six of the eleven seats on the city board. They will do anything to hang on to those three “at large” seats. When you see Mark Stodola or Dr. Kumpuris around town, ask them how many “at large” directors are on the city council in North Little Rock, or any town in Arkansas, or any city anywhere.

The answer is, of course “none.” It’s undemocratic and blatantly unfair to dilute the voting power of ordinary folks represented in ward council members. This is a question of mathematics, so stick with me. It’s not hard. Promise.

It costs a lot of money (in six figures) to seek office citywide. The three directors who run “at large” have to raise more money and are more attuned to the voices of those who make the campaign contributions. With the three “at large” directors, and a mayor, there are four votes which are overly attentive to big money. Then we add two more affluent wards and you have the six votes to win every time. The rest of us are always shut out when it’s something important. Ask yourself, isn’t that pretty much how it has always been? That is no accident.

The proposal presently being considered in central Arkansas actually means less accountability in city government because the mayor can hire and fire the city manager and the city attorney. If the professionals oppose something the big dollar people want, there are always six votes available to toss out the offending contrary voice.

You didn’t know that did you? It is part of the plan to keep people in the dark, but the mayor will have that kind of authority. Always remember the magic number “SIX.” In the new arrangement, the mayor always has the muscle.

And what exactly will the new mayor be paid? Why have none of our highly paid and professionally educated journalists posed that question? Let’s get a specific answer. What exactly does the job pay?

If this thing passes, wise old heads in Fifty for the Future and the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce will announce that, yes, it might be nice to someday go to a mayor-council form of local government, but we haven’t really given this time to work. And, trust me, they will need LOTS of time.

By defeating these two bad ideas, the concept of truly representative local government moves to the front burner. It is nothing but an insult that Little Rock does not already have such a modern form of government.

I will wholeheartedly support a proposal for a mayor-council government for the capital city. In the meantime, we have a duty not to let the city hall insiders derail necessary reform again.

VOTE “NO” TWICE on August 14, and in early voting.

UPDATE: Tildy and Edna have given this a bit of discussion on "Matilda's Rants and Advice," and, wouldn't ya' know it, a new piece of information as been advanced. I feel pretty dumb to not have realized that in a REAL mayor-council arrangement (as is the case in North Little Rock) the city attorney is ELECTED. He is INDEPENDENT. In the Little Rock Power Grab, the city attorney is an employee who can be fired at the whim of the mayor any time he starts giving opinions that go against the local power brokers. Remember that, in the proposed Power Grab, the mayor always has the votes tied up to defeat anything ward representatives, those that represent regular people, may desire.

A million thanks to Tildy and Edna!!!

More on the Minneapolis bridge colapse

2007-08-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a long week and I am about posted out, but the "big story" still requires a bit of commentary. I happened upon an item written by Oklahoma lawyer and transportation advocate Evan Stair. It is posted on my Trains for America blog. It is something to consider.

Rebekah Kennedy drops by

2007-08-03T17:17:00.001-05:00

Some people will say that Rebekah Kennedy does not stand a chance in her quest to unseat Senator Mark Pryor. Kennedy was the Green candidate for Attorney General, and gained a great deal of attention on AETN. She is an attorney, well educated, articulate, and has a good instinct.

Elections are not horse races, they ought to be open discussions. We are generally better off hearing a variety of opinions, even bad opinions. Kennedy does not fall into that category, however. She totally rips Pryor as a reliable Republican vote whenever the GOP needs a little extra help. She correctly points to some of his votes regarding the national security scares, and I agree completely.

Kennedy also has bad things to say about Congressman John Boozman (R-Wal Mart), so she can’t be all bad.

The Green Party has decided to circulate petitions to be on the November 2008 ballot, so sign it – even if you don’t plan to vote for her. A vote for Rebekah Kennedy can be consturd as supporting a more progressive agenda.

I do not know how I will vote more than a year from now, but we need more than the homogenized safe platforms of the Republicrats.

(Broadcast August 3, 2007)

Friday summary

2007-08-03T06:31:00.000-05:00

Pulaski County has been ordered to publicly release more than 600 e-mails its former comptroller exchanged with a vendor, except for two e-mails containing “graphically, sexually explicit” photos the two sent each other in 2005 and seven others, a judge ruled Thursday.

A Jacksonville woman held at gunpoint and assaulted by a police swat team serving a search warrant on the wrong house received $7,500 from a Pulaski County jury for back injuries and violation of her God-given constitutional rights.

Authorities will exhume the body of Janie Ward of Marshall today and perform a third autopsy and other tests in an effort to determine how she died nearly 18 years ago. A private autopsy performed two years ago determined that Ward was murdered.

State prison officials fired seven corrections officers for abusing inmates at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys, including pepper-spraying non-combative inmates and intentionally walking at least one inmate into prison bars. The firings come in the midst of an FBI investigation announced earlier this month into reports of civil-rights violations against inmates.

Tax revenues fell 7 percent in the first month since the state cut taxes on groceries and manufacturers' utilities. Net available general revenues totaled $351.6 million in July, $26.8 million lower than a year ago, though the total still was $11.1 million, or 3 percent, above forecast.

A project that would pump water from the White River to rice fields in eastern Arkansas will not endanger the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials concluded in a review ordered by a federal judge.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Rita Gruber will challenge incumbent Judge Wendell Griffen for his seat on the state Court of Appeals next year. Gruber said her more than 16 years of handling juvenile law in the state’s largest county suit her for the job. She said the appeals court, which often rules in child custody and parental-rights cases, lacks that experience.

Starting Oct. 1, people eating out in Jacksonville or picking up prepared foods at the grocery store will pay an additional 2 percent sales tax that will benefit parks and help promote the city.

A man who lay in wait to kill a man he believed raped a woman he knew will serve to 10 years in prison. Brandon Clark Fritts of Huntington, who is charged with attempted capital murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the Jan. 22 shooting of Keith Leon Elmore, is being sent back to the Arkansas Department of Correction for violating his parole.

The police chief hired by the Huntington City Council in late June to replace one fired a month earlier has resigned.

From the "on demand" audio department - UPDATE

2007-08-03T05:25:00.000-05:00

Over on the home page, lyncho.com, I have been adding recent segments for those who miss the show "live" 8 - 11 AM Central. By the way, the "stream" is now up during my show only, but be advised that it is the radio network feed, so there are times when it is silent.

Here are the latest offerings.

UPDATE: Today's conversation with blogger and public relations wiz Blake Rutherford is now available. We discussed several things, but mostly the upcoming election on expanding the powers of Little Rock's mayopr. Of course, I am AGAINST that, but we had good fun. It was a fine hour and he will be back.

The newest school board candidate, Drew Pritt, talks about his desire to become the "swing vote" on the board. He handles a couple of "tough" questions, but it is a rather lighthearted romp.

Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy has ugly things to say about John Boozman (R-Wal Mart) and Mark Pryor. She also talks about getting the petition drive going that will put her on the Nov. 2008 ballot.

Ron Ward, father of Janie Ward who was murdered back in 1989, discusses her third autopsy which will be performed this weekend.

The Sports Doctor Gary Campbell says all is well in Hogland USA.

The bridge disaster

2007-08-02T17:16:00.000-05:00

The following moment of dithering is brought to you by Awesome Disaster. It always happens that, after an Awesome Disaster, all the resident ninnies come out, almost immediately, suggesting brainless ideas to make everybody safe from any possible danger.

I firmly believe in government regulations to protect consumers, workers, travelers, and patients. Don’t think I have completely crossed over to the dark side and become some sort of neo-con. Not so.

A week ago, when a coach was tragically killed when he was struck by a baseball at Dickey-Stephens in North Little Rock, within hours there were some wondering if those coaches should be required to wear helmets. Every time there is an accident involving a school bus, some will start in on seat belts for those vehicles. That happens despite an abundance of research suggesting the opposite. I guess now we will have to quit using bridges, or if that is too hard, every bridge in the country needs to be inspected tomorrow.

The bridge in Minneapolis was reportedly inspected three weeks ago. This is hard to say, but things happen. Man is not in charge. Despite what you may have been told, we are, more often than not, powerless to change what is happening around us. We are in the hands of a Higher Power.

(Broadcast August 2, 2007)

Thursday summary

2007-08-02T06:47:00.000-05:00

Jurors will begin deliberations today in the case of a Jacksonville family whose home was invaded by Jacksonville police, who entered by breaking down a door weapons drawn. Martha Smith suffered an asthma attack during the assault, and a back injury from a police officer’s boot. Jacksonville police claim no liability though the search warrant was served on the wrong house.

A broad expansion of a federal health insurance program for children “appears to be is a first step toward socialized medicine," according to Rep. John Boozman, the only Republican in Arkansas' congressional delegation. The Senate is on track to add $35 billion over five years to the State's Children's Health Insurance Program, despite a veto threat from the president. A House version calls for a $75 billion expansion.

Bob Balfe, the chief federal prosecutor for Western Arkansas, tried to keep his bosses in Washington informed of news in the state regarding Carl Rove operative, voter suppression specialist and Eastern Arkansas federal prosecutor Tim Griffin, according to an e-mail made public on Wednesday.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now investigating whether college athletic departments nationwide - including Arkansas State University- steered student athletes to education lenders in exchange for kickbacks.

An investment manager for the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System decided to sell a system-owned building in downtown Little Rock for $9.25 million, about $2.5 million less than the system paid for it 13 years ago. Former State Senator, and convicted felon, Nick Wilson received a $250,000 “finders fee” at the time of the original transaction.

The relationship between Pulaski County’s 5th Division Circuit Court and a probation program appears to violate state ethics and conflict-of-interest statutes, an investigative report released by the Legislative Audit Division found. The report found no theft but questioned thousands of dollars in payments Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr. and court employees received from Cycle Breakers Inc.

Gov. Mike Beebe plans to meet next week with supporters and opponents of new guidelines for teaching Arkansas history in public schools, his spokesman said Wednesday. Beebe is to meet privately with state Education Commissioner Ken James, Tom Dillard, president of the Arkansas History Education Coalition, the group that opposes the new curriculum, and others Monday at the state Capitol.

The Ozark Regional Transit board of directors approved a 2008 budget that calls for the elimination of two bus routes and four jobs because of shrinking federal funding. Despite surging ridership levels, the transit system faces a $167,000 budget shortfall for 2008. Ridership for paratransit and fixed routes is up 22.4 percent over 2006.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas has ruled unanimously that Arnell Willis' appeal challenging the outcome of the State Senate district 16 seat should be heard and that Phillips County Circuit Judge L.T. Simes may have broken a judicial Canon by failing to expedite the case.

Arkansas ranks among the worst states in the nation for adults with a college education, placing 49th for the second consecutive year in percentage of adults over age 25 with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Faulkner County District 10 Justice of the Peace Johnny Brady has filed a motion for retired Circuit Judge Russel Rogers of Stuttgart to stay a ruling that determined he lost the Nov. 7 election to Jerry Roberts.

The first of two meetings to gauge the public’s pulse on the financial future of the Dollarway School District will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Martin Elementary School cafeteria in Altheimer.

Arkansas is stepping up inspections and testing at facilities in the state that distribute foreign fish in response to the recent discovery of an antifungal agent in some imported catfish in the state. Richard Bell told the Arkansas Agriculture Board that the Arkansas Bureau of Standards will begin checking to make sure they have proper documentation verifying sanitary conditions by their foreign processors and packagers.

The drop in Little Rock-based Dillard’s Inc.’s stock price gained speed Wednesday, as shares fell 8 percent and closed under the retailer’s 52-week low of $28.40.

Alltel Corp. reports a 54 percent drop in second-quarter income compared to results from the same quarter a year ago, which included profits from its landline business, which was spun-off to create Windstream in July 2006.

George David Reed is free on bond from the Benton County jail as his daughter’s boyfriend, Michael Austin Guzman, has surgery to treat a bullet lodged in his spinal cord. Police say Reed found Guzman hiding inside her bedroom closet, beat him bloody with a pool stick, then left the room to fetch a gun. The daughter and boyfriend blocked the door with a dresser, so the father shot through the closed door, hitting the boyfriend in the back and paralyzing him.

Forrest City police are searching for a man who allegedly escaped from a police car and a woman who allegedly opened the door for him to escape. That incident was related to the arrest of another man for marijuana possession and another woman for alleged interference with government operations.

Six black students’ largely forgotten attempt to integrate North Little Rock High School in 1957 will get its own tribute next month in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Little Rock Central High’s integration. The September 9, 1957 incident marked the first actual violence in Arkansas’ desegregation of public schools.

My train thing

2007-08-01T18:58:00.000-05:00

The "other" blog, Trains for America, has been humming along and here is a sampling of a few of the latest posts.

American high-speed rail at dead end?
Amtrak lifeline for Montana Hi-Line
License plates pay for trains
A little history lesson?
Quad Cities quest
Norway is heard from
The European rail barrons
The Ohio Hub

The executive summary of "The Ohio Hub" is especially informative. I also highly recommend "A little history lesson." That one might stir some conversation. Reactions are always invited.

No apology needed

2007-08-01T17:37:00.000-05:00

Congress has passed a rather stupid non-binding resolution calling on Japan to apologize to the 200,000 women forced into sex slavery during World War II. That was 62 years ago. Emperor Hirohito and the militaristic leadership of that defeated nation are not around to do the appropriate public repentance, and it seems unfair to put that off on the current government.

This little bit of meddling has also stirred up the Japanese nationalist factions, and I don’t think anybody thinks that is a good idea. We would all agree, I think, that this kind of thing relegates atrocious misdeeds to the level of bad manners. It is not fair to say that nobody ever brought this up before. The perpetrators have had plenty to feel embarrassment over, if they are even capable of such.

You may be wondering, so let me clarify that American military people forced into Japanese labor camps may not seek damages under the terms of surrender. That is my final point. I was not alive then, and I bet most of you were either, but surrender means that. It was absolute and unconditional. That should settle everything. Those interested in righting wrong might look toward Cambodia, Rwanda, or Iraq.

(Broadcast August 1, 2007)

Not angels of light

2007-08-01T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Banditos and Hell’s Angels have rumbled in Arkansas’ most colorful city, Eureka Springs. The mystical mountain town is home of the Great Passion Play of Gerald L. K. Smith and thousands of hippy types left over from the 60’s.

They merrily roll out the carpet for all sorts of tourists. Eureka Springs is host to a huge UFO convention, so you know the locals are very open-minded. The town simply loves oddballs, even motorcycle gangs. If memory serves, the famous Harley riding outdoorsmen and women have come this way many times before without major incident.

Not too long ago, Arkansas welcomed the Rainbow Family, another bunch of delightful throwbacks. It’s all good clean fun, but somehow the Banditos have decided that Arkansas is their territory. I don’t recall an election, or even a call our survey. We should all be glad that motorcycle gangs feel at home here and spend their good money.

Except that there were some serious injuries, the fight in broad daylight on Sunday afternoon might have been entertaining. As it is, six Angels are in the Carroll County Jail, and several are hospitalized. Is this any way to spend your vacation, people? In the words of Rodney King, why can’t we all just get along?

(Broadcast July 30, 2007)

Upcoming guests on the radio program

2007-08-01T17:17:00.000-05:00

Libertarian candidate for the US Senate (and yet another lawyer) Rebekah Kennedy is on Thursday at 9.

Drew Pritt will be talking about his latest political ambition Thursday at 10. This one will ruin somebody's day, I promise.

Blake Rutherford from Blake's Think Tank blog is on Friday at 9. We have been having an excellent discussion about the mayoral power election on August 14. We will discuss that and more.

MORE GOOD NEWS ... the stream is now working from 8 to 11 AM Central Time. Log on and listen live worldwide, but remember that there will be some silent segments while local stations take the breaks.

Wednesday summary

2007-08-01T06:04:00.001-05:00

Death row inmate Terrick Terrell Nooner is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 18, according to a proclamation issued by Gov. Mike Beebe Tuesday, the first execution to be scheduled in his administration.

Sen. Mark Pryor urged renewal of tariffs on steel imports from China and other countries Tuesday, concerned that easing the trade barrier may cost Arkansas jobs.

Retired generals called on by a House panel to assess the war in Iraq said Tuesday advised against immediate withdrawal of American forces. The former generals agreed that decisions to immediately end U.S. involvement would escalate civil war in Iraq and cause instability in the Middle East. Their testimony came as a subcommittee headed by Rep. Vic Snyder of Little Rock, concluded hearings on war strategies.

Former gubernatorial candidate Jimmie Lou Fisher has a new job on the state payroll. Starting today, she’ll be working part-time for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, instructing people about how to avoid legal problems. Fisher will make $32,00 a year, which will supplement her state retirement.

A state advisory committee Tuesday awarded more than $266,300 to companies in 11 separate underground storage tank gasoline cleanup operations across Arkansas, including the former Holsum Baking Co.

Southwestern Energy Company says that its second-quarter earnings rose 29 percent to a record high behind strong results in the Fayetteville Shale play.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has established a research center to help quantify and reduce illiteracy rates in Jefferson County and the Arkansas Delta.

Pine Bluff Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. has issued an executive order effecting a hiring freeze by the municipality in an effort to provide city employees a raise in the 2008 budget.

Virginia Hillman will be sworn in today as Sherwood’s first woman mayor, after she beat interim Mayor Bill Harmon nearly 2-1 in a runoff Tuesday night.

A $43 million Pulaski County housing-bond deal that delivered more fees than housing - and brought federal bond regulators to the county’s doorstep - shouldn’t cost local taxpayers, Anne Parker, a lawyer for the county, said Tuesday.

Jonesboro city council members publicly expressed unhappiness at Mayor Doug Formon because city attorneys failed to answer an appeal of a planning commission rejection of a proposed development. Formon accepted service of the legal papers, but they never made it to the legal department. Formon also said the city didn’t have a legal leg to stand on anyway.

A Mississippi truck driver involved in a highway crash that killed five members of a Monticello family was charged Tuesday with five felony counts of negligent homicide. Roy Lee Jordan of Benton, Miss., also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, also a felony, and misdemeanor DWI, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kyle Hunter said.

Six men arrested Sunday in Eureka Springs in connection with felony first-degree battery charges may face even stiffer charges. The Carroll County Prosecutor's Office is considering upgrading charges against six men accused of beating four Bandidos motorcycle club members. Five of the six arrested are members of the Hells Angels.

Shane Gore of West Fork will serve 80 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction for the shotgun slayings of his parents and will be 90 years old before he becomes eligible for parole. Gore, who is mentally ill, entered guilty pleas for two counts of first-degree murder.

William Wynne, whose brutality case against Conway policemen once prompted years of litigation, has been arrested and charged with 14 drug and weapon related felonies.

Arrest warrants are out for a pair of Fort Smith residents accused of making a slew of purchases with stolen checks and credit cards. Robert Phelan and Sandra Bruce are wanted on suspicion of fraudulent use of a credit card and are suspected of a multitude of check forgeries, fraudulent transactions with stolen credit cards, vehicle break-ins and burglaries.

Blake's Think Tank responds to my commentary on the LR power grab UPDATE: I respond to Blake's response

2007-07-31T12:36:00.000-05:00

Blake Rutherford wrote an incredibly reasonable and complimentary response to my recent postings on Little Rock city government's current proposal to further solidify control in the hands of wealth special interests in his "Blake's Think Tank" blog.

He does me honor by the extensive quote of my arguments against the August 14 ballot measure. Alas, he's wrong.

It is an understandable error to take the twin items before voters as a first move toward more needed reform in Little Rock city hall. Alas, if this first step passes, it will surely be the last step taken for many years.

Proponents have only one object in the initiatives. They intend to preserve the three at-large seats which favor the wealthy interests that make contributions to those who run citywide for those positions. Doing so is essential to the larger plan to impose the land use plans of greedy real estate interests.

Let me quote myself. (Is this some sort of Internet first???)

The problem is the underlying hybrid manager-council arrangement in Little Rock, which includes three at large city directors. One more time, let us do the math. It costs more money to run citywide, so those individuals must raise enough to buy advertising and are more beholden to the special interests who make campaign contributions. They mayor also runs at-large. That’s four votes. Now, follow me. This is important.

There are eleven votes on the council, so it takes six to get something passed. There are two wards which would be considered affluent. Taken together with the mayor and three at-large seats, the wealthy special interests win every important vote.

The slick ad you got in the mail today never told you any of this, did it? They also did not tell you that, under this proposed reorganization, the mayor can hire and fire the city manager and city attorney. (Yes, we keep those high paying positions even though the mayor becomes a six-figure executive.) With six votes always in his back pocket, the mayor will attain absolute control over city hall.

As hard as it is to believe, things could actually get worse for neighborhoods and regular folks.

(WOW! That was fun!

Indeed, Little Rock needs a strong mayor and I would have no object to that man being Mark Stodola. The problem is institutional. The wealthy elites will never allow taking away their playhouse. As things are set up now, they win every time and this election changes none of that.

None of the cities cited as being successful with strong mayors has even ONE at-large board member AMONG THEM ALL. Without exception, the mayor-council form has local ward representation. One man, one vote. If it can work in South Africa, why not Little Rock? Why must the wealthy run everything?

Passing these measure assures 15 years of relentless tyranny.

Little Rock needs a mayor-council form of local government and the big shots will do anything to keep that from happening.

VOTE "NO" TWICE in early voting and on August 14.

UPDATE: My further response to Blake (who has a really cool and thoughtful blog and is going to be on my radio program Friday morning.)

It is true that I cannot foretell the future. I am good, but not that good. I do know something about history and human nature. The last tiem we in LR had the chance to "reform" city government was about 15 years ago. The power brokers ran a sneaky deal to keep control of things by offering up this hybrid thing with which we have been saddled ever since.

I must imagine that, once passed, the rich owners of local government will tell us worthless peons to "wait and see" how it works. All the while, they will continue robbing us blind. 15 years form now in 2022, we MIGHT get a chance to vote on a mayor-council arrangement. That is 15 long years of exploitation.

It would be such a good thing if the highly paid and more powerful mayor were held accountable by the people, but how is that supposed to happen? Who will have the money to run against him? If we got a mayor who represented neighborhood interests, the special interests would still control 5 votes. They only have to fool one ward representative to win the big ones.

I am holding out for the mayor-council form of government, and passage of the twin ballot items on August 14 assures no more reform for years. I believe my analysis is supported by history, common sense and an understanding of human nature.

VOTE "NO" TWICE ON THE LITTLE ROCK POWER GRAB.

Tuesday summary

2007-07-31T07:07:00.000-05:00

Arkansas is among a group of states that don't think the Internet should be a tax-free haven for online shoppers. Since 2001, Arkansas has worked with several states in a project to streamline tax codes so vendors can tax online and mail-purchases when the retailer is located outside the buyer's home state.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox will not stop the Little Rock School District from buying out the contract of Superintendent Roy Brooks. In two rulings issued Monday Fox declined to order a preliminary injunction to stop the payments, and issued a summary judgment for the school board and the district.

Three Texas men remain hospitalized, one in critical condition, after a fight Sunday between rival motorcycle clubs in Eureka Springs, where the Hells Angels met last week. Police arrested six men, including five who are Hells Angels. All are being held in the Carroll County Jail awaiting bond hearings, each on a charge of first-degree battery.

The small White County town of Garner is the new headquarters for a motorcycle club which is somehow affiliated with the Bandidos, a violent group known for its involvement in organized crime, especially the selling of methamphetamine. Local interest in the presence of Bandidos in White County began earlier in the spring when a building at 102 South Main Street was acquired by a motorcycle club.

Bikes, Blues & BBQ hasn't had a problem with motorcycle clubs or gangs because event organizers and a strong police presence discourage them from attending, Fayetteville officials said Monday.

Axciom has released the salaries of top executives. Charles Morgan, the Little Rock-based data broker’s chief executive, received $1,151,210 for the year. The total includes Morgan’s bonus, salary and other compensation. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette also includes the estimated value of stock options and awards granted for the year in its calculation. Frank Cotroneo, who resigned as chief financial officer in February after nine months, received $1,000,851, including the severance payment.

Tyson Foods Inc. exceeded analysts’ expectations Monday when it announced $111 million in net earnings for its third fiscal quarter, the best results for the meat company in two years.

The Bankers Bank of Georgia, the nation’s largest institution that supplies services to banks, is doing business with about 15 Arkansas banks and expects to open an office in the state eventually, one of its officers said Monday. »

A missing 3-year-old boy is safe after being found in a deer stand in Pearcy following a three-hour search by authorities and emergency personnel Monday morning. Connor Williams, wearing only a T-shirt and underwear, reportedly was abandoned in the tree stand in a thickly wooded area off Whitfield Road by his mother, Dianna Farmer who was arrested Monday on a felony charge of endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree.

Sherwood residents go to the polls today to fill the mayor’s office after an election earlier this month narrowed the race to interim Mayor Bill Harmon and City Clerk Virginia Hillman.

Jonesboro police have backed out of an offer to reimburse 18 traffic tickets issued by police officers conducting an operation to trap motorists into violating Arkansas’ new law requiring drivers to move to an inside land when police are on the shoulder. Attorneys are promising to fight the tickets.

Ex-American Idol Corey Clark, who claimed to have had an affair with show co-host Paula Abdul, is in the North Little Rock jail after being arrested early Monday on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Clark has outstanding warrants from Arizona for aggravated harassment and interference with judicial proceedings. He awaits extradition.

A dispatcher with the Hughes Police Department is facing charges of theft of property after her arrest Friday. According to a report from the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Department, Stephanie Fuller, 37, of Hughes, was arrested and charged with theft of property under $500.

Dirksmeyer Developments

2007-07-31T06:44:00.001-05:00

The Russellville Courier had a sit down with the local prosecutor over the just concluded Kevin Jones murder trial. Talk about a bunch of rationalizations and excuses. You can read it all here.

Clinton correspondence

2007-07-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

A former pen pal of young Hillary Rodham has released 30 letters penned by the then-Wellesley student from back in the mid-60’s. Some friend, huh?

Do not take this as a defense of the Democratic presidential candidate and former Arkansas First Lady, but Isn’t it just something how people who are supposed to be a friend just toss you under the bus? There was nothing intimate or sexual in the lengthy letters, although I am sure the far right slander machine will go to work on an intelligent and socially conscious young person who was desperately trying to get her own life organized and amount to something.

I wonder what sort of letters George W. Bush was writing when he was in college. Don’t you suppose those would be some kind of literary triumph? If I am correctly informed, young women could not be officially admitted to Harvard at the time, and Wellesley was the equivalent Ivy League college for brilliant young females. She was sure that.

If I had my head on half as straight, I might have made something of myself. The story is in the New York Times and I am sure you can find it online.

Of course, I’m not satisfied. I want to know what she was thinking in Junior High.

(Broadcast July 30, 2007)

We have guests

2007-07-30T17:22:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning at 9, the legal correspondent, local lawyer Les Ablondi, will stop in and I have a number of things to hash out with him.

Thursday at 9, yet another lawyer - and this one is a poltician, Rebekah Kennedy drops by. She is the Libertarian candidate for U. S. Senate.

If you missed my visit with the Sports Doctor, Gary Campbell, it is now posted on my home page, lyncho.com.

Monday summary

2007-07-30T06:09:00.000-05:00

Arkansas' ability to ensure health care for its neediest children will be jeopardized if a federally funded health insurance program is allowed to expire. In his weekly radio address, Gov. Mike Beebe called on Congress to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. Congress has been debating the future of the 10-year-old program. The program will expire if it is not reauthorize by Sept. 30.

More than 600 new state laws take effect Tuesday, including one allowing charitable bingo games. So far 141 organizations across the state have registered to host the games. Among other laws passed this year, one adds a 1 percent tax on beer. Another limits the marrying age.

Four members of a rival biker gang were stabbed, and two critically injured, in a melee Sunday afternoon with a group of Hells Angels outside a closed antique shop in Eureka Springs, police said. Six members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club are being held for questioning. Their names were not released.

A former Fordyce police chief is charged with capital murder in the shooting death of his wife, with whom he taught Sunday school. Paul Douglas Gill is accused of killing Sandra Kaye Gill on March 22 at their Fordyce home and then trying to make it look like a suicide.

Kenneth James Istre of Russellville is facing child rape charges in connection with a series of alleged rapes investigators say occurred while the victim, a family member, was between the ages of 6 and 8 years old.

A Barling woman is facing charges after reportedly striking two children with her vehicle and fleeing the scene. Jessica Nicole Turner was arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and driving while intoxicated. Two girls, aged 11 and 14, required hospital treatment. One sustained a broken ankle.

A Little Rock man accused in separate acts of firing a crossbow at a motorist and shooting out a window of a pizza restaurant with a shotgun was pronounced fit for trial Friday. A state psychologist who examined 27-year-old Wayne Allen Dierks Jr. found him competent to stand trial, diagnosing him with alcohol and marijuana dependence, in remission, and with a depressive disorder.

Authorities have identified a woman whose body was found hanging in a tree west of Batesville on Wednesday morning. Kevin Scott Honeycutt told police he found the body of Elizabeth Yvette Crutcher of Batesville hanging by a rope from a tree near his house.

A federal judge says that Hollis Wayne Fincher misrepresented his financial condition and will have to pay for his court-appointed attorneys. U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren also said he'll ask the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to send the case back to him so he can resentence the militia leader based on his actual assets.

El Dorado Chemical Co. is still a partner in a proposal to build a pipeline to ferry wastewater to the Ouachita River, a company official said Friday - a month after the chemical manufacturer announced it planned to withdraw from the project. Gregory Withrow, general manager of El Dorado Chemical, said that the company did not want its three partners to have to restart the permitting process.

The Arkansas Travelers Baseball Club Inc. has settled up with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, sending the agency $10,361 in back taxes from when the team played at Ray Winder Field.

Get ready for doomsday

2007-07-30T05:44:00.000-05:00

Since I was already up early, and the morning web walking was going well, I thought this might be a perfect opportunity to take the air out of your balloon, and ruin your day.

This may be hard to believe, but President Bush has yet another plan to take more power for himself. In this circumstance, all he need do is declare a disaster. The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the poop.

The plan, embodied in National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), was issued without fanfare by Bush on May 9. It draws upon blueprints prepared by past administrations stretching back to the Truman administration.

The latest directive underscores long-standing presidential authority to declare a "catastrophic emergency" and coordinate "enduring constitutional government."

But it also awards the president broader authority to take over disaster recovery from state officials and calls on federal authorities to provide "appropriate support" to the vice president to orchestrate any post-attack recovery, if necessary.

More power for the Vice-President? What could possibly be wrong with that?

One congressman, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, complains that the White House has rejected his request to review secret parts of the Bush plan.

"Maybe people who think there's a conspiracy out there are right," DeFazio speculates. "I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack."

Then again, President Clinton and Vice-President Obama may need expanded executive powers to deal with such dire contingencies.

Teaching Arkansas History

2007-07-29T14:47:00.001-05:00

All the discussion about teaching Arkansas History has been most enlightening. I have no idea which side is right, and since when should the governor decide? Mr. Beebe, you may be heading for your first serous mistake.

I studied Alabama history for a semester of my freshman year at McGill High in Mobile. Our teacher was a man named Bob Castalian. He had deep wrinkles from working on a shrimp boat, and we called him “Scuba Bob.” The other half of the year was civics, and I had known that material all my life.

I do vividly recall our instructor’s respect for the early native people who inhabited Alabama, the five civilized tribes. He talked at length about a game played by the Cherokees called “ball play.” It was some sort of primitive form of baseball, but they didn’t even have steroids back then. All of the explorers came through Alabama and everything was going fine till about 1860. Then it all fell apart and how are you supposed to teach that anyway.

Come to think of it, I have a renewed appreciation for folks in Germany and Japan teaching about the unpleasantness of 60 years ago. Judge Buzz Arnold wrote a book on colonial Arkansas which pretty much says it all. St. Louis became the big city and economic development moved north.

(Broadcast July 27, 2007)

Dems on YouTube

2007-07-29T14:37:00.000-05:00

Even with the added value of viewer questions by way of You-Tube, I could not bring myself to endure the debacle of another Democratic presidential debate. It’s like a deathwatch. Everybody is waiting for the fatal error, and that seems a little morbid.

Here is where things stand, just in case you were wondering. There are three legitimate leaders at this moment. Obama, Edwards and Clinton are out in front, but it is tighter than you may think.

Edwards is running well in Iowa and Obama is a hit in New Hampshire. If either, or both, should pull even a narrow upset over Senator Clinton, she will have to do some damage control. Obama is especially dangerous because he is raising large amounts of money with which to get his name and message out to voters.

It is still Hillary Clinton’s nomination to lose, but it is very early. In politics, it is useless to make predictions. One good thing that is happening is that the candidates are defining themselves and being civil about it for the most part.

The issues are a lot more important than personalities, and how they deal with issues tells us a lot about character.

(Broadcast July 26, 2007)

Little Rock Zoo attendance up so far this year

2007-07-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

Zoo Director, Mike Blakely, was in for a checkup Friday morning. He says that crowds are coming back to the zoo since much of the construction has ended and some new facilities are open. It's a fine hour, and I have posted it online at my home page in the Audio "on demand:" section.

The ominous brooding Mayor Stodola

2007-07-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

You may find the first salvo in the propaganda war to fool Little Rock voters into giving total control of Little Rock city government over to the special interests that already call most of the shots waiting in your mailbox.

I will say that the image of a brooding Mark Stodola looking down upon the capital city skyline sure scared the daylights out of me. It is not an image for the squeamish.

If this thing passes, instead of holding down an honest job, the mayor will work full time for the local swells. The beautiful (although somewhat frightening) multi-color oversize post card fails to mention that Stodola gets a 6-figure salary out of this deal, triple the current pay for mayor.

This is a slick and expensive advertising piece, so the financial backing of wealthy special interests is obvious.

Little Rock already has a mayor elected at-large and is, to some degree, a political leader for the entire city. This town is large enough to have a full-time and accountable mayor with authority to run city government. That is how it is in most communities of this size that have a mayor-council form of government. As a matter of fact, North Little Rock has that type of organization.

The problem is the underlying hybrid manager-council arrangement in Little Rock, which includes three at large city directors. One more time, let us do the math. It costs more money to run citywide, so those individuals must raise enough to buy advertising and are more beholden to the special interests who make campaign contributions. They mayor also runs at-large. That’s four votes. Now, follow me. This is important.

There are eleven votes on the council, so it takes six to get something passed. There are two wards which would be considered affluent. Taken together with the mayor and three at-large seats, the wealthy special interests win every important vote.

The slick ad you got in the mail today never told you any of this, did it? They also did not tell you that, under this proposed reorganization, the mayor can hire and fire the city manager and city attorney. (Yes, we keep those high paying positions even though the mayor becomes a six-figure executive.) With six votes always in his back pocket, the mayor will attain absolute control over city hall.

As hard as it is to believe, things could actually get worse for neighborhoods and regular folks.

Little Rock needs a mayor-council form of government, and that is the very last thing the big-shots ever want you to have a chance to vote on. Passing this power grab on August 14 will ensure that a sensible type of local governance, one that treats people equally no matter of street address or socio-economic status, will not be back on the agenda for 15 years. It was in the early 1990’s when we were last lied to on this urgent piece of business.

Demand real reform in Little Rock city government. Demand a change to mayor-council. Vote “no” TWICE on August 14, and in early voting.

Friday summary

2007-07-27T06:41:00.000-05:00

A group of Delta politicians and advocates has called on Congress and the presidential candidates to reverse what they characterized as the Bush administration’s neglect of the region. Caucus Director Lee Powell criticized the reduction of the authority’s budget from $30 million a year when it was created under President Bill Clinton in late 2000 to $5 million a year at one point. The budget for the current year is $12 million, said Rex Nelson, the agency’s alternate federal co-chairman.

The Senate has voted to spend $3 billion to beef up border security by hiring thousands of federal agents and constructing a 700-mile border fence. The funding would pay for 23,000 full-time border patrol agents in an effort that Sen. Mark Pryor claimed would "help restore American confidence in our immigration system."

On the eve of today’s court hearing on whether to temporarily stop the Little Rock School Board from using public money to buy out the remainder of Little Rock Superintendent Roy Brooks’ contract, Brooks has asked to be allowed to intervene. An injunction could stop him from receiving payments from the district when he departs in August.

Despite agreement on both sides that a 44-year-old Memphis school desegregation lawsuit should be dismissed, a federal judge says the request is premature and that Shelby County Schools has more work to do. In a 62-page opinion, U.S. Dist. Court Judge Bernice Donald ruled more needs to be done in areas of extracurricular activities, student assignment and faculty integration.

A citizens group will file suit today to overturn Cenral Arkansas Water's settlement with developer Rick Ferguson that allows him to build a subdivision overlooking Lake Maumelle, Little Rock’s water supply, near the water intake.

In northeastern Arkansas, some of the cash registers are now police informants. When drugstore customers buy more than three 10-caplet boxes of 12-Hour Sudafed in a day or seven boxes within a month, the county sheriff gets an e-mail alert listing the buyer’s name, address, birth date and the amount purchased.

The name of the historically troubled Alexander Juvenile Correctional Facility, the state’s largest youth lockup, is changing beginning Tuesday to the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center.

A man who was out on parole, and has been in and out of prison since the 1990s, is charged with capital murder in the slaying last month of a Conway florist. Charles Earl Glenn Jr. also was charged with two counts of theft of property and fraudulent use of a credit card in connection with Cynthia Farmer’s death.

A Bella Vista man pleaded guilty in federal court to having sexual contact with foster children in his care and filming the encounters. Brian John Bergthold admitted to producing child pornography and transporting child pornography in Arkansas earlier this year and to producing child pornography in Oregon in 2000.

Three men have been charged by White County prosecutors after being accused of sexual activity with minors in three separate incidents. Jerry Don Foster of McRae is charged with rape after a May 28 incident at Hays Livestock Auction on Booth Road in Searcy. Daniel Gene Moss of Judsonia is charged with sexual indecency with a child in connection with some allegedly inappropriate photographs. Enrique Jimenez of Bald Knob was charged with sexual assault in the second degree on an eight-year-old girl.

A man who police say robbed a downtown Pine Bluff bank by pointing a finger under his shirt was arrested Thursday after deciding to ditch his getaway vehicle and hail a taxicab to Little Rock. Police arrested Derrick Wilson and charged him with aggravated robbery.

Ginger Shaw is appealing a 30-day jail sentence for hitting another woman in the face at a Bentonville restaurant in an apparent spell of jealousy after seeing the woman talk to her husband, who was a Rogers Police officer. Thad Shaw, then a 10-year veteran of the Rogers force, resigned after his arrest on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication.

Kelley’s Restaurant in Bald Knob now has a private club license. The ABC Board ruling will allow Kelley’s to serve alcohol and join four other private clubs in White County that serve alcoholic beverages in an otherwise dry county.

Jack Fleischauer, who spent more than 30 years in the banking business in Arkansas, died Thursday of metastatic melanoma. He was 58. When Fleischauer former president of the western region of Regions Financial Corp., retired earlier this year because of health complications, he oversaw more than 350 Regions branches in Arkansas.

The boardwalk project at Lake Dardanelle State Park is a reality after years of patience and dreams. The 351-foot boardwalk will allow about 55 to 60 bass boats to tie up right along the bank.

New Audio available at lyncho.com

2007-07-26T17:30:00.000-05:00

After several days absence, the audio archives at lyncho.com have been updated.

David Sanders was on this monring discussing presidential politics with me and also hyping his Friday evening program on AETN. David has some surprising commentary. It is refeshingly blunt. David's TV guests are Rex Nelson and Kane Webb. It's on at 6:30 and again Sunday at noon.

Glen Hooks from the Sierra Club has a report that purports to show that Arkansas has been getting warmer. We have a lively chat over coal fired power plants.

Sandra Wilson has new information about the changing face of the homeless. More children and elderly are being tossed on the streets. What a great county.

I plan to add Zoo director Mike Blakely tomorrow afternoon afer he appears at 9 Friday morning.

New Arkansas media blog

2007-07-26T15:30:00.000-05:00

You just yawned. Cut it out!

The newest blog on Arkansas media and culture is pretty darned cool, even if it does spoof me a little. Just to set the record straight, I am darned serious about the bankers, real estate interests, and powerful local swells who use Little Rock's local government for a toy.

Secondly, I might have been a little hungry during that Wednesday Wake-Up on Channel 4. (She's darned perceptive!)

Anyway, it's Floaty's Arkansas TV news and culture blog. It rocks.

Arkansas congressmen vote on Amtrak

2007-07-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

I cover this in more detail on my "Trains for America" blog. It is noteworthy that the Arkansas delegation is, for the most part pro-Amtrak. I have a link to the votes cast by every member of congress over there, so knock yourself out.

There is an exception, so let's make a game out of this. Which Arkansas representative do you think is not in favor of reliable convenient ground transportation? Hmmmmm.... who could that be?

While you ponder, let's consider the five proposals that would have crippled Amtrak's ability to serve most of America.

The amendment offered by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) to require Amtrak to eliminate the train with the highest loss per passenger-mile [Sunset Limited] failed on a 139-283 vote.

Bachmann (R-MN; transfer $106 million from Amtrak to homeless programs) FAILED 110-308

Flake (R-AZ; eliminate $475 million from Amtrak operations to reduce the overall cost of the bill) FAILED 94-328

Flake (R-AZ; eliminate $425 million from Amtrak Capital and debt service grants to reduce the overall cost of the bill) FAILED 104-312

Sessions (R-TX; eliminate the Sunset Limited) FAILED 139-283.

OK. Time's up. If you guessed "John Boozman (R-Wal Mart), you win! He voted against the Bachmann proposal to transfer Amtrak funds to the homeless, so I guess John puts the homeless behind Amtrak passengers in the pecking order of worthiness. He was, otherwise, solidly anti-Amtrak.

Thanks to Congressmen Snyder, Ross and Berry for supporting rail passenger service, even though current proposals can only be described as embarrassingly inadequate.

Thursday summary

2007-07-26T06:51:00.001-05:00

Pulaski County government is among the targets of a federal investigation of bid-rigging in a $43 millioon bond scheme that was supposed to provide cheap housing to poor people, but instead lined the pockets of various bond daddies. A Democrat-Gazette FOI request discovered a Feb. 5 IRS letter alleging that the county had “no reasonable expectation” that it would spend the money for houses.

Southwestern Electric Power Co. and some state regulatory officials are hiding key facts about a $1.4 billion coal-fired power plant planned for Hempstead County, say owners of 15,000 acres of nearby hunting land. Property owners contend consultants hired by the Public Service Commission found that the proposed plant does not adequately deal with carbon dioxide emissions and is not the most economic option.

Gov. Mike Beebe is now open to delaying the curriculum guidelines that some scholars claim shortchange Arkansas history.

Arkansas State University Chancellor Robert Potts said Wednesday that he will accept suggestions from the public for a new university mascot and hire a sports marketing firm to help with the change.

Knight Vorachith is being held in the Sebastian County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in a Tuesday afternoon incident. Quy V. Nguyen was shot to death at the rear entrance of Wal-Mart Supercenter in Van Buren. Vorachith was arrested at the Valero across the street from Arkansas State Police headquarters after he called 911 from a pay phone outside the gas station.

Shawn Goodwin is no longer police chief for the city of Plainview.
Goodwin was arrested in Russellville for allegedly raping his then-13-year-old baby-sitter in 2006. Charges have yet to be filed in the case. Goodwin was accused of a similar crime in 2001, when his then 16-year-old baby-sitter filed a police report. Prosecutors declined to file charges in the case, although Russellville Police say the department will request the prosecuting attorney reopen that case.

The Wynne Police Department has made several arrests surrounding a fight last month at a construction site that sent several men to the hospital. Five men who work for Southern Plumbing, which is based in Wynne, and three men who work for A&K Drywall and Acoustical, which is based in Pangburn, are facing charges. Injuries included broken ribs, lost teeth, a broken jaw, and one gentleman was struck by an automobile in the course of this altercation.

Rich’s Package Story is open. It is the first Marion County liquor store in 60 years.

American Railcar Industries broke ground in Marmaduke on Wednesday on the latest part of the company’s expansion in northeast Arkansas that state officials say will create over 300 jobs.

Central Arkansas officials have approved a new route for the remainder of the North Belt Freeway, ending more than a decade of turmoil. The voice vote,paves the way for state highway officials to design the freeway, secure federal approval for it and, sometime next year, finally begin acquiring rights of way. Plans call for a 12.3-mile four-lane, divided highway from U.S. 67/167 westward to the Interstate 430/Interstate 40 interchange - a project now expected to exceed $200 million.

Acxiom Corp. ended its fiscal first quarter with a net loss of $11.5 million, behind $15.1 million in one-time expenditures associated with its pending buyout transaction with ValueAct Capital and Silver Lake. Without factoring in those expenses, Acxiom would have ended the quarter with a profit of $4.6 million, a 74 percent decrease from the company's fiscal first quarter of 2007.

Despite lower crude oil and natural gas sales volumes, Murphy Oil Corp. reported a 16 percent increase in second-quarter earnings Wednesday.

Arkansas Best Corp. saw its earnings dip by 39% due to market conditions, which have also forced the trucking giant to revise its capital expenditures downward for the year.

A lawsuit challenging the results of a 2006 election for a justice of the peace position in Jefferson County will go to trial Thursday afternoon in circuit court. Republican Mike Burdine, who was defeated by 17 votes, filed the lawsuit. Burdine contends that approximately 300 voters received faulty ballots because of errors in the county clerk’s office that were made following the 2000 census when the districts were reapportioned.

An amended land-use plan Mayor Tab Townsell hopes will "tie the ribbon" around the city's plans for a new airport in the Lollie Bottoms area, which still must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, has been passed by the Conway City Council.

Voters in Helena-West Helena may have not anticipated that refinancing the regional landfill bond would wipe clean all past city debt from the books, Crews & Associates says that, when the bond is refinanced, the city should be refunded the money put into various accounts. That will be an estimated $1.2 million dollars available at the beginning of October.

Several people at a meeting in Hoxie this week took a prospectus for investors in a soybean oil and biodiesel facility being planned for Corning. Interest is growing and already 36 people have invested in the facility which, when built, will not only provide a local market for soybeans, but will extract oil, sell soybean meal and process biodiesel motor fuel.

Teachers understand

2007-07-26T05:44:00.001-05:00

The capital city had one of those very hip “community conversations” earlier this week, and although I did not attend, it looked rather worthwhile. The Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association staged the event to get some discussion going on the gap in academic performance between whites and minority children. It is very worrisome.

Looking at statewide literacy rates, as reported by the Arkansas Times blog, some disturbing results at the eighth grade level emerge. Statewide 73% of white children pass while only 44% of minority kids are appropriately literate for the grade. Since most of us to not subscribe to racist theories, there must be something else driving these numbers.

Teachers suspect, and I agree, that early influences have a lot to do with how young folks do in school. Poor kids often come from homes with few books or magazines. They come to school unable to read and socially unprepared, and it is downhill from there. Parents often expect schools to do everything, and that is simply impossible.

In less well-off families, often headed by a single mom, there is no time to help kids study. Education just does not seem important to parents, and they obviously need some help.

(Broadcast July 25, 2007)

The Little Rock Power Grab Takes Shape

2007-07-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

They came out in the open yesterday. There were the usual suspects, Dailey, Stodola, Kumpuris, and the typical swells who have become accustomed to calling the shots in local government, to the direct detriment of neighborhoods and frequently in opposition to public opinion.

Jim Dailey's last official act as mayor was to shield the despicable from public scrutiny and immediate dismissal. If nothing else, they do take care of each other.

The 2 Votes for Leadership campaign carefully and deliberately misstates the facts of what will happen if voters approve the twin proposals.

It is, at least theoretically, true that Little Rock needs stronger and more accountable government. The suggested changes will actually result in less accountability, not more.

Instead of making a direct change to a mayor-council form, the power brokers maintain iron-fisted control of Little Rock City Hall by keeping three two at-large seats on the board. They (correctly) state that most large and vibrant cities have a strong mayor, but they omit that those cities have NO at large council members. The successful municipalities have a mayor-council organization, and that is the very last thing the big shots want.

Again, the math. There are eleven members of the board; therefore, it requires a majority of six to get things done. Under the proposed arrangement, the "fix" is always in and the mayor has absolute power over the city manager and city attorney. Wealthy interests control the "at-large" positions because it takes so much money to run in a citywide race. The mayor runs from the entire city. That's four. Add at least two affluent districts (West Little Rock and Hillcrest) and you're there. The rest of us always lose the important votes.

If South Africa can get "one man, one vote," why not Little Rock?

Mark Stodola gets a 6 figure salary out of this proposed change, and we still have a high dollar city manager and city attorney.

Our former Mayor, Jim Dailey, is very wrong to suggest that passage of this measure is a good "interim" step. It is yet another convenient delay to keep the same people in total control.

VOTE NO TWICE ON AUGUST 14! (and in all early voting too) It's important.

Wednesday summary

2007-07-25T06:02:00.000-05:00

Discerning whether former Pulaski County Comptroller Ron Quillin’s e-mail exchanges with a female vendor are personal or private will be difficult, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary Spencer McGowan said Tuesday. The judge met with attorneys to go over just how McGowan will review the more than 600 e-mails. Quillin is accused of stealing $42,000 from various county funds starting in January 2006.

Arkansas ranks 45th in the nation in the 2007 Kids Count Data Book, which ranks all 50 states based on their performance in 10 areas related to child well-being and is released annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Arkansas’ ranking remains unchanged from 2006.

Shareholders suing Alltel Corp. over its proposed $26.3 billion buyout by two private equity firms have reached a tentative agreement with the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier to settle their cases.

2005 ruling favoring Dillard’s Inc. has been reversed in a lawsuit that alleged the Little Rock-based retailer discriminated against black shoppers at a Columbia, Mo., store. The case will be returned to district court. Former employees have testified that it is Dillard’s policy to more closely monitor black customers and to treat their returned merchantdise more strictly.

The hospital management company taking over operations of the city-owned Eureka Springs Hospital in September said it will build a $25 million, privately owned hospital as part of the deal. Allegiance Health Management of Shreveport will enter a five-year lease with the city upon approval from the Eureka Springs Hospital Commission at its Aug. 20 meeting.

Two Arkansas factories will shutdowns and bringing 400 layoffs. Sanyo Manufacturing Corp. said it will cease all production and assembly at its Forrest City TV-manufacturing facility in October, and Wheatland Tube Co. will shut down its manufacturing facility in Little Rock by the end of September.

The federal minimum wage rose 70 cents Tuesday to $5.85 an hour, the first of three yearly, 70-cent increases that will set the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour in summer 2009. The Arkansas Legislature increased the state's minimum wage to $6.25, effective last October.

Former Benton County Coroner Kimberly Scott will serve 60 days in jail and pay a $10,000 fine as the result of her plea bargain in connection with stealing prescription medications from the homes of deceased persons.

Frank Greenwood, the tuberculosis patient who defied a medical isolation order and was on the run for 17 days before being captured, is now discharged a Little Rock hospital and charged in connection with the theft of two cars during his escape. Arkansas Health Department officials said recent tests revealed Franklin Greenwood is not infectious.

Les “Skip” Carnine, a former Little Rock and Texarkana school superintendent who retired in Rogers, announced Tuesday that he’ll run for a state House seat in District 94.

Jason Brown of Redfield allegedly set a house where his landlord lived on fire Friday and now will have to post a $100,000 bond to be released from the county detention center.

The aftermath of an altercation after last week's quorum court meeting has resulted in a peaceful resolution. Deputies separated White County Justice of the Peace Boss Vaughn and county judge Michael Lincoln after the meeting was adjourned. The dispute erupted when Vaughn suggested a possible violation of the Freedom of Information Act in disposing of the old jail.

University of Arkansas plant pathologists found Asian soybean rust, a serious yield-robbing disease, in a field of soybeans in Little River County. Left untreated, the disease can defoliate a crop in three weeks, causing a 50 percent or more yield loss.

Making sense of Arkansas prisons

2007-07-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

Here is a press release sent to my attention. Lord only knows that prisoners sometimes need our help.

Understanding the A D C
(Arkansas Department of Correction)

W o r k s h o p

All Public & Media is invited!

If you have a Friend or Family member that is Incarcerated and would like to learn how you can help influence changes in your loved one’s life to make a difference in how they are received back into the free world Please Join us at the Watershed located at:

3701 Springer Little Rock, AR 72206
10:00am to 12:30 (Refreshments provided)

Saturday July 28th, 2007

Guest Speaker T B A

Topics

Correspondence
Employment of Ex-Offenders
Institutional Record
Pardons/Parole/Clemency
Importance of Parole Plan
Who is F E I P A & What we do?

We may have breakout sessions in workgroups depending on attendance for certain topic discussions. Afterward we will have a special presentation by Rev. Hezekiah Stewart.

This program is Sponsored by Moody Chapel A.M.E. Church and F E I P A Program

Our Physical Address is:
F E I P A Program

3701 Springer Blvd
Little Rock, AR 72206 (501)-378-0176
E-mail: feipa_arkansas@yahoo.com

Wednesday Wake-up on KARK Channel 4

2007-07-24T17:24:00.000-05:00

Bill Vickery will join me at around 6:45 on KARK TV Channel 4. Who are the winners and losers? Get ready because we will rock the house. Set your DVR, or drag your sorry butt out of bed and watch!

Life is short

2007-07-24T15:47:00.000-05:00

There was an occurrence at Dickey-Stephens ballpark in North Little Rock that was so sudden and final it is almost beyond words, but here are a few anyway.

Death is the most natural and common of happenings. It is right up there with birth. There is a prayer in the Great Litany of the Anglican tradition which says, “from sudden death, good Lord Deliver us.” It is a fearful thought to imagine that one might die unprepared, and none of the hundreds of families present were prepared for what the witnessed.

The first base coach of the Tulsa Drillers is dead after being struck by a foul ball. Mike Coolbaugh was hit in the side of the head in the top of ninth inning. In North Little Rock on the same day, a fleeing purse-snatcher randomly murdered another man. There were many witnesses in both instances.

If you are expecting me to make sense of this, get ready to be disappointed. Let us always remember the shortness and uncertainly of human life. Two men were enjoying the day when their lives were snuffed without notice. There comes a time when there are no more “I love you”’s and no more chances to say “sorry” or “thanks.” The day is coming when there may not even be a simple “good-bye.” Time is our most valuable possession.

(Broadcast July 24, 2007)

Tuesday summary

2007-07-24T08:49:00.001-05:00

Only a few months into his new job as a Tulsa assistant football coach, Gus Malzahn had already created some recruiting buzz in his home state. Monday night’s publicity tour standing room only appearance at a Springdale restaurant with first-year Golden Hurricane Coach Todd Graham and other members of the staff magnifies a commitment to seeking out prospects in Arkansas.

Joshua Leallen Lofton is accused of snatching a woman’s purse and assauling her in the parking lot of a North Little Rock Wal Mart and then firing at least three shots into a crowd of by-standers, killing Dean Worden of Jacksonville. Lofton is charged with first-degree capital murder.

A Benton County man suspected of hurling a rock and killing his father is under arrest. John Edwin Crawford, 39, was sought in connection with second-degree murder charges and is being held in the Benton County Jail

Andrew Kumpuris, the son of Little Rock at-large City Director Dean Kumpuris, is facing charges arising from a fatal weekend car accident in Oregon. The younger Kumpuris struck some trees after running off a crooked road. His passenger was killed. Kumpuris is charged with second-degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving.

A group including two former Little Rock mayors and a sitting city board member is set today to kick off its campaign to support a stronger mayor’s office, and consolidate the power of special interests in city government, as outlined in two Aug. 14 special election proposals.

District parents, administrators and teachers gathered Monday night for a community forum to discuss ways to combat an “achievement gap” between white, black and Hispanic students in the district.

John Walker, an attorney for the Joshua intervenors in the Little Rock desegregation case, has submitted a one-paragraph motion to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis requesting that the court hold his appeal of the district’s release from court supervision “in abeyance” pending the outcome of mediation on a possible settlement between the intervenors and the Little Rock School District.

By next week, Shelby County Schools could be relieved of a desegregation order that has monitored the district's racial equality since the height of the civil rights movement. U.S. Dist. Judge Bernice Donald announced Monday she would write a decision in seven to 10 days.

The University of Arkansas continues to reap the benefits of its seven-year fundraising campaign two years after its end, bringing in $100 million in private gifts in fiscal 2007.

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter on Monday named his campaign manager, Michael Cook, as his chief of staff. Cook, 35, succeeds Ron Oliver, a former Democratic Party chairman, who is leaving the job to be executive director of the Arkansas Racing Commission. Cook starts Aug. 1.

Arkansas State University System President Dr. Les Wyatt stresses the importance of the university maintaining its independence and separateness. A lobbying network of 4-year colleges and universities in Arkansas has been established and is known as the Arkansas Association of Public Universities. However, Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech is not a part of the new organization.

A direct flight to Raleigh-Durham, N.C., from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is scheduled to begin Nov. 4, American Eagle Airlines officials announced Monday.

Alltel Corp. has scheduled a special meeting Aug. 29 for shareholders to vote on the proposed $26.3 billion buyout of the wireless giant by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners. The meeting will be held at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock.

Big week for Little Rock Power Grab

2007-07-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

There will be a press conference tomorrow to announce the local power brokers who will step forward in the latest deceitful scheme to wrest even more control of Little Rock city government. Scroll down or stick around and you will get a million reasons right here to be against the wicked scheme.

The next phase is fundraising for pay for the slick full-color lies designed to confuse and numb an unsuspecting citizen. The host committee is led by Mayor Mark Stodola, Directors Brad Cazort, Gene Fortson (appointed to the board), Stacy Hurst, Michael Keck, Dr. Dean Kumpuris, Doris Wright, and former Mayors Jim Dailey and Sharon Priest.

Well, at least nobody will accuse that crew of being representative of the ordinary people.

This charade will officially be known as "2 Votes for Leadership Campaign."

Actually, they might have more acurately called it the "2 Votes for Keeping the Same Worthless Special Interests in Charge."

It's Thursday 5 to 7 at Cothams and they have kindly suggested a free will offering of $100. That means the Chamber and the secretive 50 for the Future has already written large checks.

VOTE NO AUGUST 14. It's important.