Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Whazup Wednesday?
Entergy Arkansas has filed an application with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to increase its base rates by 7.5 percent, effective Sept. 14. If approved, it would be the company's first base rate increase in 21 years. Entergy's rates went up 9.9 percent in July after the commission approved an earlier request. The company predicted its base rate increase would result in a 9.3 percent rise for the average electricity bill.
Arkansas college-bound students saw their average score on the state’s most widely used college entrance exam increase by its largest margin in four years, but the state still trails the national average. National ACT scores due out today showed that students who graduated from Arkansas high schools this year earned an average composite score of 20.6, up from 20.3 last year.
The father of a Little Rock Central High School student testified Tuesday in federal court that his 15-year-old daughter, who is diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, was not provided with legally mandated educational and behavior support for her condition, which contributed to her losing a place on the cheerleading squad.
A "judgment and commitment" order, outlining the rules of former Wal Mart vice-president Tom Coughlin's home detention and probation, has been filed in Fort Smith federal court. Coughlin, whose net worth is reported at well over $20 million, will get a substantial break on the cost of home monitoring by paying $5 a day. The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reports that expense can be as much as $45 per day.
Sen. Mark Pryor says he had developed a possible compromise in the estate tax debate. Pryor said his plan would increase the exemption to $5 million and set the tax rate at 35 percent. The senator also said he expects to regain a seat on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee next year.
A recent attorney general’s opinion indicates the Saline County sheriff Phil Mask may have violated a state law by signing a contract with Evercom Systems, a Texas company, to provide telephone service to inmates in the county jail. According to the Democrat-Gazette, that the company would pay the sheriff a $55,000 “signing bonus,” including $32,000 to be placed in a “discretionary” fund for his use and $3,000 for the sheriff to attend a function of the National Sheriffs Association. The contract does not indicate how the remaining $20,000 would be used.
North Little Rock recorded its 11th homicide of the year late Monday night when a 24-year-old man was found shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
State and local law-enforcement officers will perform “saturation patrols” beginning this weekend through the Labor Day weekend to curb drunken driving.
A Memphis City Schools principal was arrested early Sunday after allegedly fighting with police on Beale Street. Jason Bolden of Kirby Middle School was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and public intoxication.
Building a stadium for anything other than an affiliated minor-league baseball franchise would require approval from Springdale voters. The city’s bond counsel. Shep Russell, of the Little Rock-based Friday, Eldredge & Clark law firm, sent a memo to City Attorney Jeff Harper on Monday, a week after several Springdale aldermen asked to hear proposals from independent baseball teams.
A Mississippi federal judge decided Tuesday that two men did not talk enough when they sat in a Pascagoula insurance office almost a decade ago to update a homeowner's policy. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter ruled the homeowner made an "erroneous inference" by assuming his policy covered damage from Hurricane Katrina's storm surge. Senter ruled Nationwide's policy did not cover damage caused by wind-driven water.
Experian, a California-based information company, says that it will open a call center in Van Buren that will bring as many as 400 jobs to the Arkansas River Valley over the next two years.
Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge has received a $400,000 donation from the estate of Judge Edward S. and Kathryn Maddox of Harrisburg.
More than $1 billion in construction, renovation and repair projects are needed on Mississippi’s college campuses. Maintenance of things as routine as fire sprinklers and gas lines, repairs of 35-year-old buildings and construction of wheelchair ramps rate among the highest priorities at most of Mississippi's universities. "After 30 years," said Delta State University President John Hilpert, "things get old." Leaders of the state's eight public colleges are expected to ask the Legislature for $100 million in next year's session for the capital projects. Last year, only $27 million came through.
Citing concerns over recent “high summer heat,” the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation and the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau have rescheduled Al Green’s concert at Riverfest Amphitheater from Saturday until Oct. 27.
Arkansas college-bound students saw their average score on the state’s most widely used college entrance exam increase by its largest margin in four years, but the state still trails the national average. National ACT scores due out today showed that students who graduated from Arkansas high schools this year earned an average composite score of 20.6, up from 20.3 last year.
The father of a Little Rock Central High School student testified Tuesday in federal court that his 15-year-old daughter, who is diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, was not provided with legally mandated educational and behavior support for her condition, which contributed to her losing a place on the cheerleading squad.
A "judgment and commitment" order, outlining the rules of former Wal Mart vice-president Tom Coughlin's home detention and probation, has been filed in Fort Smith federal court. Coughlin, whose net worth is reported at well over $20 million, will get a substantial break on the cost of home monitoring by paying $5 a day. The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reports that expense can be as much as $45 per day.
Sen. Mark Pryor says he had developed a possible compromise in the estate tax debate. Pryor said his plan would increase the exemption to $5 million and set the tax rate at 35 percent. The senator also said he expects to regain a seat on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee next year.
A recent attorney general’s opinion indicates the Saline County sheriff Phil Mask may have violated a state law by signing a contract with Evercom Systems, a Texas company, to provide telephone service to inmates in the county jail. According to the Democrat-Gazette, that the company would pay the sheriff a $55,000 “signing bonus,” including $32,000 to be placed in a “discretionary” fund for his use and $3,000 for the sheriff to attend a function of the National Sheriffs Association. The contract does not indicate how the remaining $20,000 would be used.
North Little Rock recorded its 11th homicide of the year late Monday night when a 24-year-old man was found shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
State and local law-enforcement officers will perform “saturation patrols” beginning this weekend through the Labor Day weekend to curb drunken driving.
A Memphis City Schools principal was arrested early Sunday after allegedly fighting with police on Beale Street. Jason Bolden of Kirby Middle School was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and public intoxication.
Building a stadium for anything other than an affiliated minor-league baseball franchise would require approval from Springdale voters. The city’s bond counsel. Shep Russell, of the Little Rock-based Friday, Eldredge & Clark law firm, sent a memo to City Attorney Jeff Harper on Monday, a week after several Springdale aldermen asked to hear proposals from independent baseball teams.
A Mississippi federal judge decided Tuesday that two men did not talk enough when they sat in a Pascagoula insurance office almost a decade ago to update a homeowner's policy. U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter ruled the homeowner made an "erroneous inference" by assuming his policy covered damage from Hurricane Katrina's storm surge. Senter ruled Nationwide's policy did not cover damage caused by wind-driven water.
Experian, a California-based information company, says that it will open a call center in Van Buren that will bring as many as 400 jobs to the Arkansas River Valley over the next two years.
Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge has received a $400,000 donation from the estate of Judge Edward S. and Kathryn Maddox of Harrisburg.
More than $1 billion in construction, renovation and repair projects are needed on Mississippi’s college campuses. Maintenance of things as routine as fire sprinklers and gas lines, repairs of 35-year-old buildings and construction of wheelchair ramps rate among the highest priorities at most of Mississippi's universities. "After 30 years," said Delta State University President John Hilpert, "things get old." Leaders of the state's eight public colleges are expected to ask the Legislature for $100 million in next year's session for the capital projects. Last year, only $27 million came through.
Citing concerns over recent “high summer heat,” the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation and the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau have rescheduled Al Green’s concert at Riverfest Amphitheater from Saturday until Oct. 27.
