Thursday, July 13, 2006
Another Thursday
With Gov. Mike Huckabee and Senate President Pro Tempore Jim Argue out of state and Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller ailing, House Speaker Bill Stovall is the state’s acting governor. Rockefeller notified officials over the weekend that he was unable to fulfill the duties of his office because of illness.
Today’s Los Angeles Times reports Bentonville seemed like an Emerald City of sorts Wednesday as hometown giant Wal-Mart put on display its latest efforts to go green. The company hosted former Vice President Al Gore's talk on global warming, welcomed an environmental group's plan to locate an office in the corporate neighborhood and talked about the progress it was making to improve the global effects of its worldwide operations.
A state law allowing police to pull over motorists who don’t wear seat belts would save dozens of lives a year, prevent almost 500 serious injuries and save $93 million in associated costs, a federal highway safety official told the Arkansas Highway Commission on Wednesday. Commissioners will consider making seat belt use a “primary” violation, for which motorists can be pulled over by police.
The Arkansas Highway Commission has authorized the state to enter into an agreement with federal transportation officials on a $211 million toll road around Bella Vista.
Arkansas Congressman Vic Snyder on Wednesday accused administration lawyers of using scare tactics to persuade Congress to approve the Pentagon’s military tribunals for prosecuting suspected foreign terrorists. Snyder’s comments came during congressional hearings spurred by the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that the Defense Department lacked the authority to create special commissions to try terrorism suspects.
In a contempt motion filed Wednesday in bankruptcy court, a creditor involved in former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson’s Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy case accuses Robinson of using two sons as “henchmen” to attack him at a Brinkley restaurant Tuesday night. Local authorities are investigating the incident.
A judge has decided that the sister of Leroy Johnson, a developmentally disabled man who died after fighting with employees at a state institution in April, has a right to documents about his death. The records will not, however, be available to the public.
Lance Brauman stepped down as an assistant track coach at the University of Arkansas on Wednesday after he was convicted of five of the eight counts stemming from his tenure at Barton County Community College from 1997-2002, The college is in Great Bend, Kan. The mail fraud charges involved Brauman sending false academic credentials to Arkansas on behalf of former sprinter Tyson Gay.
Nearly 69 percent of Van Buren voters said “yes” to an extension of the half-cent sales tax to fund the construction of a new, 16,000-square-foot library in Tuesday’s special election.
The state plans to seek the death penalty in the trial of Stephen McCoy accused of killing his wife in the drive-thru of a Conway fast food restaurant in April, according to Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney H.G. Foster.
A Crittenden County justice of the peace, Jack Moten, was arrested at his West Memphis home and accused of secretly videotaping a girl inside his home. Moten is also wanted in Shelby County, Tenn., on charges of identification theft and fraud, and has been considered a fugitive in that state for more than a year.
A horrible case of animal abuse was discovered in White County. One is dog dead and 21 others mostly pit bulls were left outside on chains with no food or water. Officials are also investigating evidence of possible organized dog fights on the property.
Janice Linderman of London is suing the other members of the Pope County Prince Cemetery board of directors to stop replacing natural stone markers with concrete patio paving blocks. Lindeman is is also seeking to stop moving the decades old graves of two infants.
The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reports that a pair of adult bald eagles have built what is believed to be the first-ever nest at Beaver Lake. The proud parents have apparently raised one young eagle that has already learned to fly and is now learning to fish.
Today’s Los Angeles Times reports Bentonville seemed like an Emerald City of sorts Wednesday as hometown giant Wal-Mart put on display its latest efforts to go green. The company hosted former Vice President Al Gore's talk on global warming, welcomed an environmental group's plan to locate an office in the corporate neighborhood and talked about the progress it was making to improve the global effects of its worldwide operations.
A state law allowing police to pull over motorists who don’t wear seat belts would save dozens of lives a year, prevent almost 500 serious injuries and save $93 million in associated costs, a federal highway safety official told the Arkansas Highway Commission on Wednesday. Commissioners will consider making seat belt use a “primary” violation, for which motorists can be pulled over by police.
The Arkansas Highway Commission has authorized the state to enter into an agreement with federal transportation officials on a $211 million toll road around Bella Vista.
Arkansas Congressman Vic Snyder on Wednesday accused administration lawyers of using scare tactics to persuade Congress to approve the Pentagon’s military tribunals for prosecuting suspected foreign terrorists. Snyder’s comments came during congressional hearings spurred by the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that the Defense Department lacked the authority to create special commissions to try terrorism suspects.
In a contempt motion filed Wednesday in bankruptcy court, a creditor involved in former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson’s Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy case accuses Robinson of using two sons as “henchmen” to attack him at a Brinkley restaurant Tuesday night. Local authorities are investigating the incident.
A judge has decided that the sister of Leroy Johnson, a developmentally disabled man who died after fighting with employees at a state institution in April, has a right to documents about his death. The records will not, however, be available to the public.
Lance Brauman stepped down as an assistant track coach at the University of Arkansas on Wednesday after he was convicted of five of the eight counts stemming from his tenure at Barton County Community College from 1997-2002, The college is in Great Bend, Kan. The mail fraud charges involved Brauman sending false academic credentials to Arkansas on behalf of former sprinter Tyson Gay.
Nearly 69 percent of Van Buren voters said “yes” to an extension of the half-cent sales tax to fund the construction of a new, 16,000-square-foot library in Tuesday’s special election.
The state plans to seek the death penalty in the trial of Stephen McCoy accused of killing his wife in the drive-thru of a Conway fast food restaurant in April, according to Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney H.G. Foster.
A Crittenden County justice of the peace, Jack Moten, was arrested at his West Memphis home and accused of secretly videotaping a girl inside his home. Moten is also wanted in Shelby County, Tenn., on charges of identification theft and fraud, and has been considered a fugitive in that state for more than a year.
A horrible case of animal abuse was discovered in White County. One is dog dead and 21 others mostly pit bulls were left outside on chains with no food or water. Officials are also investigating evidence of possible organized dog fights on the property.
Janice Linderman of London is suing the other members of the Pope County Prince Cemetery board of directors to stop replacing natural stone markers with concrete patio paving blocks. Lindeman is is also seeking to stop moving the decades old graves of two infants.
The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reports that a pair of adult bald eagles have built what is believed to be the first-ever nest at Beaver Lake. The proud parents have apparently raised one young eagle that has already learned to fly and is now learning to fish.
