Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Back to work Wednesday summary
Travelers across Arkansas will see an increased police presence from members of the Arkansas State Police during the Thanksgiving holiday period which is set to officially begin at 6 p.m. today.
A legislative committee on has tentatively rejected budget increases requested by the state Supreme Court, with one legislator citing the court’s mandates for more public school funding. Rep. Chris Thyer, of Jonesboro, made the motion. “At the risk of being disbarred, this court has been very interested in how this body has treated K-12 education in the past,” Thyer, a lawyer, said. “We sent [public schools] out at base, so I would say let’s treat [the Supreme Court] the exact same way and send them out at base.”
The growth of non-farm jobs in Arkansas slowed slightly in October as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
Arkansas should offer an earned income tax credit to help families make ends meet, members of a community activist group said Monday. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, announced plans to push for several measures at the state and federal levels, including a state earned income tax credit similar to the tax credit offered by the federal government.
More than 60 percent of Arkansas voters support reduced penalties for marijuana offenses, according a poll, conducted by Zogby International, found that 61 percent of respondents support reducing penalties for marijuana convictions.
Arkansas’ prison and parole agencies will keep a bigger slice of the estimated $4 million generated by calls between inmates and their families under a tentative deal approved Tuesday by the state Board of Corrections.
Virginia-based G4S Youth Services agreed Tuesday to enter into contract negotiations with Arkansas to take over the Alexander Youth Services Center - at least temporarily.
A third death from West Nile virus has been confirmed in Arkansas, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday.
A law firm hired by the Little Rock School District to investigate claims of misconduct against high-ranking school district officials regarding desegregation obligations turned in a report Tuesday describing the “significant disagreements” among staff but leaving the School Board to draw its own conclusions about who was right and wrong. The claims all have implications in the district’s efforts to show a federal judge that it is in compliance with a 2004 court order to evaluate its programs for their effectiveness in raising the achievement levels of black students.
The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission is leaning toward severing its ties with Mayor-elect Mark Stodola’s law firm and voted Tuesday to seek more information before it formally acts, perhaps as soon as next month.
Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask, who recently won reelection, now acknowledges that his office illegally sold firearms and improperly kept evidence and contraband, and declined to comment on a prosecutor’s allegation that he has operated an illegal “slush fund.”
Former Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Barry Travis has paid the agency $1,500 to cover part of the cost of a 2005 Malibu given to him for his February retirement. Still unresolved is $9,000 in payments made toward the car from the agency’s budget, most of which is generated by the city’s hotel and restaurant tax.
Following the completion of investigations by the state Legislative Audit Committee and the Pope County Sheriff's Office, a former Dover Middle School secretary is facing charges of misusing more than $5,000 of the school's money. Tina Lewis, who served as secretary for about six years, is with felony theft in Pope County Circuit Court and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Daily World reports that the City of Helena-West Helena is not supplying payroll tax information despite a request under the state FOI law. The Internal Revenue Service has filed a tax lein which shows the former city of West Helena owe over $37,000 in federal withholding taxes.
First lady Janet Huckabee underwent knee replacement surgery on both knees at Baptist Health Medical Center. Janet Huckabee suffered for several years from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, caused by the breakdown or loss of joint-protecting cartilage, the governor’s office said.
Recreational vehicles are already arriving for Friday’s sold-out game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Louisiana State University Tigers at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.
From Conway’s Log Cabin Democrat, this advice. Grease is the word - in the kitchen year-round, and especially on Thanksgiving, Fire Marshall Randy Freeman says, "One main danger to watch out for around Thanksgiving, if you're deep frying a turkey, is unattended grease left on the stove or the fryer," According to Freeman "Residents come in and put a pan of grease on the stove or in the burner, cook their turkey or french fries, and if the that grease is unattended, and it gets to a certain temperature, it ignites."
The annual state Capitol Christmas lighting ceremony will take place Dec. 2, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said Tuesday. It will follow the Big Jingle Jubilee Downtown Holiday Parade in Little Rock. The parade begins at 3 p.m. and ends at the Capitol. Around dusk 300,000 white lights on the Capitol will be turned on.
A legislative committee on has tentatively rejected budget increases requested by the state Supreme Court, with one legislator citing the court’s mandates for more public school funding. Rep. Chris Thyer, of Jonesboro, made the motion. “At the risk of being disbarred, this court has been very interested in how this body has treated K-12 education in the past,” Thyer, a lawyer, said. “We sent [public schools] out at base, so I would say let’s treat [the Supreme Court] the exact same way and send them out at base.”
The growth of non-farm jobs in Arkansas slowed slightly in October as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
Arkansas should offer an earned income tax credit to help families make ends meet, members of a community activist group said Monday. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, announced plans to push for several measures at the state and federal levels, including a state earned income tax credit similar to the tax credit offered by the federal government.
More than 60 percent of Arkansas voters support reduced penalties for marijuana offenses, according a poll, conducted by Zogby International, found that 61 percent of respondents support reducing penalties for marijuana convictions.
Arkansas’ prison and parole agencies will keep a bigger slice of the estimated $4 million generated by calls between inmates and their families under a tentative deal approved Tuesday by the state Board of Corrections.
Virginia-based G4S Youth Services agreed Tuesday to enter into contract negotiations with Arkansas to take over the Alexander Youth Services Center - at least temporarily.
A third death from West Nile virus has been confirmed in Arkansas, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday.
A law firm hired by the Little Rock School District to investigate claims of misconduct against high-ranking school district officials regarding desegregation obligations turned in a report Tuesday describing the “significant disagreements” among staff but leaving the School Board to draw its own conclusions about who was right and wrong. The claims all have implications in the district’s efforts to show a federal judge that it is in compliance with a 2004 court order to evaluate its programs for their effectiveness in raising the achievement levels of black students.
The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission is leaning toward severing its ties with Mayor-elect Mark Stodola’s law firm and voted Tuesday to seek more information before it formally acts, perhaps as soon as next month.
Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask, who recently won reelection, now acknowledges that his office illegally sold firearms and improperly kept evidence and contraband, and declined to comment on a prosecutor’s allegation that he has operated an illegal “slush fund.”
Former Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau chief Barry Travis has paid the agency $1,500 to cover part of the cost of a 2005 Malibu given to him for his February retirement. Still unresolved is $9,000 in payments made toward the car from the agency’s budget, most of which is generated by the city’s hotel and restaurant tax.
Following the completion of investigations by the state Legislative Audit Committee and the Pope County Sheriff's Office, a former Dover Middle School secretary is facing charges of misusing more than $5,000 of the school's money. Tina Lewis, who served as secretary for about six years, is with felony theft in Pope County Circuit Court and faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Daily World reports that the City of Helena-West Helena is not supplying payroll tax information despite a request under the state FOI law. The Internal Revenue Service has filed a tax lein which shows the former city of West Helena owe over $37,000 in federal withholding taxes.
First lady Janet Huckabee underwent knee replacement surgery on both knees at Baptist Health Medical Center. Janet Huckabee suffered for several years from osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, caused by the breakdown or loss of joint-protecting cartilage, the governor’s office said.
Recreational vehicles are already arriving for Friday’s sold-out game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Louisiana State University Tigers at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.
From Conway’s Log Cabin Democrat, this advice. Grease is the word - in the kitchen year-round, and especially on Thanksgiving, Fire Marshall Randy Freeman says, "One main danger to watch out for around Thanksgiving, if you're deep frying a turkey, is unattended grease left on the stove or the fryer," According to Freeman "Residents come in and put a pan of grease on the stove or in the burner, cook their turkey or french fries, and if the that grease is unattended, and it gets to a certain temperature, it ignites."
The annual state Capitol Christmas lighting ceremony will take place Dec. 2, Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said Tuesday. It will follow the Big Jingle Jubilee Downtown Holiday Parade in Little Rock. The parade begins at 3 p.m. and ends at the Capitol. Around dusk 300,000 white lights on the Capitol will be turned on.
