Friday, June 30, 2006
Friday anticipation
The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a state regulation banning gays from becoming foster parents was unconstitutional, stating that the board that issued the regulation did not have the power to do so.
The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Calvary Christian School in Forrest City defamed a student who was expelled after his parents complained about a video camera in a classroom that was used as a dressing room for school events. The jury awarded $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to the boy for defamation. The Parents complained about the camera to school authorities at a school meeting attended by other parents. Suzanne Hess, one of the school’s principals, denied the camera’s presence but later admitted it was placed there by a School Board member. Hess admitted telling the board and the other high school principal, that she had a photograph of the student “giving her the finger.” No photo was ever produced.
A group of Phillips County residents has filed a pair of class-action lawsuits that question the constitutionality of last month’s primary election in the majority-black Delta region. The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court, say voting problems and redrawn districts have disenfranchised black voters in Phillips County.
The state will pay $265 million to help finance public school construction projects across Arkansas, including new school buildings in at least 16 districts.
Arkansas highway officials commemorated the history of road construction with an eye on funding future highway needs from the state's general treasury. Officials view sales tax revenue and a burgeoning budget surplus as potential sources of new revenue to supplement motor fuel taxes to fund future upkeep of the Arkansas' interstate highways.
Gas prices are on the rise again, just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. AAA reports the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded is now at $2.86 a gallon. That’s 65 cents more than a year ago.
William D. Downs Jr., professor of mass communications at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, has been chosen to serve as chairman of the Arkansas Educational Telecommunications Network Commission for the third consecutive term.
The Arkansas Racing Commission heard public testimony on how the state should regulate “electronic games of skill,” complex wagering machines that two Arkansas racetracks hope to install.
About 150 Arkansas National Guard soldiers have been called up to support U.S. Border Patrol enforcement in the Southwest along the border with Mexico. The soldiers from Arkansas' 39th Infantry Brigade are part of the assignment of 6,000 National Guard soldiers from several states to the Mexico border.
A driver can’t be cited if an adult passenger in his vehicle isn’t wearing a seat belt, according to a recently released opinion by the Arkansas attorney general’s office.
James T. Conway, a Marine Corps lieutenant general, has been nominated by President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to become the 34th Marine Corps commandant, the nation's top Marine. General Conway was born 58 years ago in Walnut Ridge.
Arkansas should be working harder to attract plants that produce alternative fuels such as ethanol instead of automobile plants, state Rep. Allen Maxwell of Monticello told the Pine Bluff Kiwanis Club. “We do not need to be working to attract Toyota plants,” Maxwell said, stressing the need to promote agri products and wood products, as well as agricultural based alternative fuels.
An emergency landing late Wednesday afternoon at the Newport Municipal Airport resulted in no injuries, but led to the temporary closing of runway 422 until the Federal Aviation Administration could begin an investigation.
The latest two days of enforcement at Cadron Settlement Park by the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office resulted in 11 arrests on a variety of solicitation and public indecency charges. One man charged in the June 15 sweep was back to be arrested again this week and another gentleman who resisted officers was also charged with thrd-degree battery.
The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Calvary Christian School in Forrest City defamed a student who was expelled after his parents complained about a video camera in a classroom that was used as a dressing room for school events. The jury awarded $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages to the boy for defamation. The Parents complained about the camera to school authorities at a school meeting attended by other parents. Suzanne Hess, one of the school’s principals, denied the camera’s presence but later admitted it was placed there by a School Board member. Hess admitted telling the board and the other high school principal, that she had a photograph of the student “giving her the finger.” No photo was ever produced.
A group of Phillips County residents has filed a pair of class-action lawsuits that question the constitutionality of last month’s primary election in the majority-black Delta region. The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court, say voting problems and redrawn districts have disenfranchised black voters in Phillips County.
The state will pay $265 million to help finance public school construction projects across Arkansas, including new school buildings in at least 16 districts.
Arkansas highway officials commemorated the history of road construction with an eye on funding future highway needs from the state's general treasury. Officials view sales tax revenue and a burgeoning budget surplus as potential sources of new revenue to supplement motor fuel taxes to fund future upkeep of the Arkansas' interstate highways.
Gas prices are on the rise again, just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. AAA reports the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded is now at $2.86 a gallon. That’s 65 cents more than a year ago.
William D. Downs Jr., professor of mass communications at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, has been chosen to serve as chairman of the Arkansas Educational Telecommunications Network Commission for the third consecutive term.
The Arkansas Racing Commission heard public testimony on how the state should regulate “electronic games of skill,” complex wagering machines that two Arkansas racetracks hope to install.
About 150 Arkansas National Guard soldiers have been called up to support U.S. Border Patrol enforcement in the Southwest along the border with Mexico. The soldiers from Arkansas' 39th Infantry Brigade are part of the assignment of 6,000 National Guard soldiers from several states to the Mexico border.
A driver can’t be cited if an adult passenger in his vehicle isn’t wearing a seat belt, according to a recently released opinion by the Arkansas attorney general’s office.
James T. Conway, a Marine Corps lieutenant general, has been nominated by President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to become the 34th Marine Corps commandant, the nation's top Marine. General Conway was born 58 years ago in Walnut Ridge.
Arkansas should be working harder to attract plants that produce alternative fuels such as ethanol instead of automobile plants, state Rep. Allen Maxwell of Monticello told the Pine Bluff Kiwanis Club. “We do not need to be working to attract Toyota plants,” Maxwell said, stressing the need to promote agri products and wood products, as well as agricultural based alternative fuels.
An emergency landing late Wednesday afternoon at the Newport Municipal Airport resulted in no injuries, but led to the temporary closing of runway 422 until the Federal Aviation Administration could begin an investigation.
The latest two days of enforcement at Cadron Settlement Park by the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office resulted in 11 arrests on a variety of solicitation and public indecency charges. One man charged in the June 15 sweep was back to be arrested again this week and another gentleman who resisted officers was also charged with thrd-degree battery.
