Arkansas
updated
12:41 p.m.
Another shoe drops on the state's Human Development Centers, this time the Alexander Center , which houses 110 adult males with severe to profound retardation and other health problems. A state review found problems in emergency transportation, supervision of residents, use of restraints and condition of the facility. Gov. Mike Beebe has ordered a change of leadership and approve...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 12:38 p.m.
A very interesting article in Arkansas Business by Mark Friedman rounds up organizational changes at Wal-Mart that could portend a decline in jobs in Northwest Arkansas -- both at Wal-Mart and its vendors -- unrelated to the economic downturn. ...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 9:23 a.m.
Gov. Mike Beebe has appointed Ray Scott to oversee spending of $15 million the state has received in federal stimulus money for health information technology. I've asked the governor's office for the amount of stimulus that will reach Scott personally....
Arkansas Daily Blog - 9:23 a.m. - 2 clicks 
So you tell me what to make of Sen. Gilbert Baker's website to follow the NCAA basketball tournament. Notable quote: You may not know this about me, but I am a big basketball fan! My boys sure can give me a hard time as their Dad, but when it comes to playing a pick up game of basketball in our backyard, they have a lot of respect for my jump shot! ...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 9:05 a.m.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet won't wait to start the fall campaign until after the primary election. He's going to challenge Gov. Mike Beebe at an afternoon news conference today to declare on national health legislation. Beebe is already on record with reservations about the cost to the state. I think Keet will have a hard time localizing this national issue, particularly s...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 8:05 a.m.
Somebody call Rush Limbaugh or Mike Masterson. Some so-called experts at the University of Arkansas apparently haven't gotten the message that climate change is a liberal hoax. Don't they know it snowed this winter? Remedial education is needed, quickly. Meanwhile, for the reality-based community, a snippet of actual research: University of Arkansas researchers examined records of...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 7:07 a.m. - 2 clicks
The New York Times has assembled four expert viewpoints on charter schools. They include committed advocates for charters, but also some push-back to the notion that if its name is charter it automatically must be good. Such as Richard Kahlenberg: Scholars have discovered that success stories like KIPP are unrepresentative. Stanford University researchers , backed by pro-charter school...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 5:22 a.m.
How can you claim to be a Washington outsider while bragging about the pork you've hauled home for your constituents and spending campaign millions raised from special interest lobbyists? I think you can guess that the scenario described by John Brummett applies to Sen. Blanche Lincoln. ...
Arkansas Daily Blog - 4:41 a.m. - 3 clicks
U.S. Rep. Mike Ross wants a congressional hearing on the decision to sell all the FEMA trailers stored at the Hope airport to one bidder. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says he expects a judge’s ruling staying the execution of condemned killer Jack Harold Jones Jr. to be overturned and the execution to take place Tuesday as [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Sun 10:23 p.m. - 4 clicks
The Katrina chronicles: Formaldehyde-laced trailers set to claim another set of victims | FavStocks. Filed under: National politics ...
Lynch at Large - Sun 9:47 p.m.
We don’t usually link to John Brummett here. John’s a good guy but he has enough people kissing his rear end already without me falling in line. John addresses the deplorable Texas school book selection process in his latest column. I wrote about it a few weeks ago. We agree, but John has a great suggestion [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Sun 9:22 p.m. - 4 clicks
Sorry. I have family obligations. Thanks to Munford for catching the horse race news. The line is open. Most interesting headline of the afternoon: War of the Worlds Part II. Panic in the former Soviet republic of Georgia over a mock TV documentary reporting a Russian invasion. ...
Arkansas Daily Blog - Sun 3:46 p.m.
The owner of Rachel Alexandra today backed out (for the second time) of a head-to-head match-up against Zenyatta at Oaklawn on April 9. Rachel Alexandra got beat in a prep race Saturday, while Zenyatta won her prep....
Arkansas Daily Blog - Sun 2:03 p.m.
Can there be too many reminders of the dishonesty and underhanded tactics of the Bush administration and chief puppeteer Karl Rove (mentor of Tim Griffin , who hopes to bring Rovian politics to Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District)? No. Today, Frank Rich points out a few more lies. Now the revisionist floodgates have opened with the simultaneous arrival of Karl Rove’s memoir a...
Arkansas Daily Blog - Sun 6:22 a.m. - 3 clicks
Andrew DeMillo considers Halter-Lincoln and the fall Senate contest in the context of two earlier famous challenges of sitting Arkansas senators. One succeeded. One didn't. The one who lost ended up having something of a future anyway....
Arkansas Daily Blog - Sun 6:22 a.m. - 5 clicks
Gorbachev on today;s Russia. Op-Ed Contributor – Today’s Russia – Perestroika Lost – NYTimes.com. Filed under: Uncategorized ...
Lynch at Large - Sat 2:46 p.m.
Friends bid farewell to Jim Powell at a memorial service this afternoon at Second Baptist Church. The retired Gazette editorial page editor died Wednesday at 90. Glenn Beck would have hated it. Ray Higgins and Matt Cook eulogized Jim in a manner keeping with the history of the downtown church Jim had attended for 50 years. They preached some mighty social justice, thundering just ...
Arkansas Daily Blog - Sat 1:30 p.m.
Yesterday President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to drive an immigration reform bill forward this spring. We echo the urgency in the President’s message. The AFL-CIO and the entire labor movement remain committed to comprehensive immigration reform and united around the framework for reform that we put forth a year ago. Our framework protects American workers, secures our borders, ensures th...
NWA Labor News - Fri 12:26 p.m.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet responds to Governor Beebe’s defense of the federal accusations against the Conway Human Development Center. Keet promises to would work to ensure that this facility is not just warehousing the disabled A report by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences says students are seeing fewer unhealthy foods at school and [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Thu 9:22 p.m. - 2 clicks
Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor says he’s open to passing health care reforms with a simple majority in the Senate – but says it’s not his first choice. Gov. Beebe responds to the federal suit to halt admissions to the Conway Human Development Center. Beebe says the Department of Justice wants to move disabled people from large [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Wed 9:27 p.m. - 8 clicks
Whoa : Arkansas' filing deadline passed Monday afternoon and while Republicans made a lot of noise about their chances in the 1st district in the days after Rep. Marion Berry (D) announced his retirement, all the sound and fury may have actually signified nothing.... In the end, the only Republican to join the contest after Berry announced his retirement was Princella Smith, a former congr...
DailyKos (Arkansas) - Wed 2:47 p.m. - 7 clicks
This is too good to be true. American Conspiracies Lies, Lies, and more Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura will discuss his new book, “American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us,” in which he claims the mainstream press has refused to consider alternate possibilities and ask [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Wed 1:47 p.m. - 3 clicks
Limbaugh promises to “leav[e] the country” if his health care distortions come true Video. Filed under: Health Insurance Reform ...
Lynch at Large - Wed 7:50 a.m.
U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln reiterates her opposition to passing the health insurance reform bill using budget reconciliation. The Green Party will begin March 20 gathering 10,000 signatures on petitions to certify the party for the ballot. It has 90 days to obtain the petitions. It has succeeded twice before. Once certified, the party will hold a [...] ...
Lynch at Large - Tue 9:05 p.m. - 6 clicks
No one could've predicted that a primary challenge would turn Blanche Lincoln into a better Democrat . A moderate Democrat who had vowed to oppose any effort by party leaders to push a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote is rethinking her position. Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Tuesday that she wants to see what is in the companion bill before deciding. Of co...
DailyKos (Arkansas) - Tue 8:48 a.m. - 9 clicks
Today's the day where most filed candidates will click refresh a time or two on the Secretary of State's website to find out about the last minute filings. Scott Wallace will file as a Republican for the 2nd District congressional seat today at 10:30. I'm filling in for Rep. Bubba Powers to speak to the Hempstead County retired teachers today so he can run up and file for his last term. Othe...
Under The Dome - Mon 3:07 p.m. - 2 clicks
It was a big week in Arkansas, and for progressives, as Bill Halter launched the biggest primary challenge since the Joe Lieberman/Ned Lamont battle in 2006. Yup, it's been four years since we've engaged this heavily in a primary. And there were good reasons why the Netroots jumped aboard, with over $1.1 million for Halter in a single week (most of that in the first 48 hours): Why Oppo...
DailyKos (Arkansas) - Mon 3:07 p.m. - 5 clicks
The Northwest Arkansas Council, a business group funded by major corporate players, is in the process of developing a Strategic Regional Economic Development Plan for the four-county region of Northwest Arkansas. They have hired a consultant from out of state to interview "business leaders" about what they see as problems and what they want. They are not asking local unions or working families to...
NWA Labor News - Mar 6 - 4 clicks
After a lengthy discussion about Senator Lincoln's position on Healthcare, the appointment of Greg Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, the Employee Free Choice Act, and trade issues, the Arkansas AFL-CIO Executive Board voted to support Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter for his candidacy in the Democratic Primary for the United States Senate. We believe that Bill Halter will listen to ...
NWA Labor News - Mar 6 - 6 clicks
We're voting for the next speaker right now in the House chamber. I'll post the results momentarily. Update: Results: Rep. Johnnie Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia): 37 Rep. Robert Moore (D-Arkansas City): 63 Robert Moore will be the next speaker of the House. -- Post From My iPhone ...
Under The Dome - Mar 4 - 8 clicks
Lt. Governor Bill Halter jumped in the race for U.S. Senate this morning by sending out an e-mail blast. This move, anticipated by many, will also open up another race for Lt. Governor. Expect Sen. Shane Broadway to consider/announce for that. I'm en route to Little Rock now for the first day of filing and will update from the Capitol. ...
Under The Dome - Mar 1 - 7 clicks
Fulfilling Mayor Lioneld Jordan's dream of a Green Jobs Training Center in Fayetteville, Governor Mike Beebe announced on Thursday a $1.3 million grant for the program to be conducted by NorthWest Arkansas Community College. The facility is scheduled to be opened this summer. Pictured above at the announcement in Little Rock are Rick Mayes (NWACC Director of Building Sciences), Stephen Smith...
University Union Voice - Feb 28 - 2 clicks
“The Fayetteville Green Jobs Training Center of Excellence will soon be a reality. Thanks to everyone involved in helping make this happen. I had lots of help. Joining me yesterday were Alderman Sarah Lewis, Representative Lindsley Smith, UA Engineering Professor Panneer Selvam, Stephen Smith from the Northwest Arkansas Labor Council, and Steve Clark from the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, all ...
NWA Labor News - Feb 27 - 3 clicks
It took two years of tough bargaining, but University Professional and Technical Employees/CWA Local 9119 won a tentative agreement last week covering 9,000 researchers and technicians at the University of California . The five-year agreement provides for pay increases of 14.5 percent over the contract term, plus a $1,000 lump sum payment to be paid this July. The tentative settlement will ...
University Union Voice - Feb 25
With Governor Beebe preparing to file for re-election, both his radio and television call-in shows will stop airing until after the general election. "Ask the Governor" on the Arkansas Radio Network, and "Arkansans Ask: Governor Mike Beebe" on the Arkansas Educational Television Network have both halted production during previous elections to avoid giving any perceived advantage to a sitting go...
Under The Dome - Feb 25 - 2 clicks
I ran over to the Capital Hotel in between House Rules and the voting calendar to hear Dr. Steven Emerson discuss U.S. relations in Africa -- informative program. This organization, led by Warwick Sabin, brings well known speakers and interesting topics to Arkansas. ...
Under The Dome - Feb 25 - 5 clicks
The Texarkana Gazette editorial took aim at Eight-Liner machines and the Chuck E. Cheese law in this morning's Texarkana Gazette . Locally, it's believed that many of these arcades that have eight-liner machines are paying out cash prizes in violation of Arkansas law, which in turn takes legal money away from local charities via the legal bingo parlors around the area (mostly on the Arkansas...
Under The Dome - Feb 25 - 5 clicks
