Friday, December 29, 2006
On-time Friday summary (for a change)
Friday December 29, 2006
Roby Brock, of SuperTalkArkansas and TalkBusiness.net reports that Gov.-elect Mike Beebe has cast doubt on prospects for a highway construction program during the 2007 legislative session. Beebe also said the more than $250 million needed for public school renovations next year should come for the state's bulging budget surplus and that his plan to phase out the state sales tax on groceries is not negotiable.
Gov. Mike Huckabee plans to use $2 million to pay for new cancer, diabetes and obesity research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, leading two of the state’s top budget officials to question the governor’s financing mechanism for the programs.
Arkansas joined 12 other states in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a case consumers brought against the insurance industry's use of credit scoring in determining auto insurance rates. In two separate cases, plaintiffs claimed Safeco and GEICO violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act by not sending out adverse action notices when a consumer's credit information resulted in the consumer receiving a higher rate.
The slowdown in the Arkansas housing market continued last month but at a reduced pace, reflecting an encouraging national picture. The decline in Arkansas home sales slowed in November, off 6.6 percent from the corresponding month last year.
Little Rock leaders appointed a team of City Hall lawyers and financial advisers Thursday to investigate the city’s troubled Convention and Visitors Bureau, but refused to consider removing members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, including City Board member Dean Kumpuris, from the Commission.
North Little Rock’s City Council unanimously approved tax-increment financing districts Thursday for two major developments, one of which is a Bass Pro Shop, while promising it won’t ignore the needs of the city’s school district. TIF districts subsidize private businesses out of school district funds.
The winner of a contested Quorum Court race in Jefferson County will be sworn in as scheduled Monday, Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt ruled Thursday.
Rep. Dawn Creekmore filed a bill Wednesday that would allow victims of identity fraud to prevent credit-reporting agencies from releasing credit histories to prospective lenders.
A German company has tentatively agreed to purchase a North Little Rock DVD manufacturer in the process of closing, but with no assurances that the remaining work force of 400 will be retained.
Searcy’s unemployed workers will be glad to know a small drop has landed in the job market bucket as TitleVue, Inc., a software development company, has announced it is hiring 40 new data entry workers. 600 Whirlpool workers became unemployed last week.
A teenager is dead after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a pickup driven by his father in rural Baxter County. Samuel B. Roth was killed near the Roth family home in the Buford community. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery identified the pickup’s driver as the youth’s father, Steven J. Roth, who was not injured. Neither father nor son was aware that the other would be driving on the gravel road when the accident happened.
Benton County deputies drew their guns Tuesday night on four boys they thought were armed and dangerous, a report said. The boys, ages 11 and 13, were dressed in black and carrying toy guns that appeared to be real,
State and local police are gearing up for a busy New Year’s Eve, announcing plans for increased patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for drunken drivers.
Roby Brock, of SuperTalkArkansas and TalkBusiness.net reports that Gov.-elect Mike Beebe has cast doubt on prospects for a highway construction program during the 2007 legislative session. Beebe also said the more than $250 million needed for public school renovations next year should come for the state's bulging budget surplus and that his plan to phase out the state sales tax on groceries is not negotiable.
Gov. Mike Huckabee plans to use $2 million to pay for new cancer, diabetes and obesity research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, leading two of the state’s top budget officials to question the governor’s financing mechanism for the programs.
Arkansas joined 12 other states in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a case consumers brought against the insurance industry's use of credit scoring in determining auto insurance rates. In two separate cases, plaintiffs claimed Safeco and GEICO violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act by not sending out adverse action notices when a consumer's credit information resulted in the consumer receiving a higher rate.
The slowdown in the Arkansas housing market continued last month but at a reduced pace, reflecting an encouraging national picture. The decline in Arkansas home sales slowed in November, off 6.6 percent from the corresponding month last year.
Little Rock leaders appointed a team of City Hall lawyers and financial advisers Thursday to investigate the city’s troubled Convention and Visitors Bureau, but refused to consider removing members of the Advertising and Promotion Commission, including City Board member Dean Kumpuris, from the Commission.
North Little Rock’s City Council unanimously approved tax-increment financing districts Thursday for two major developments, one of which is a Bass Pro Shop, while promising it won’t ignore the needs of the city’s school district. TIF districts subsidize private businesses out of school district funds.
The winner of a contested Quorum Court race in Jefferson County will be sworn in as scheduled Monday, Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt ruled Thursday.
Rep. Dawn Creekmore filed a bill Wednesday that would allow victims of identity fraud to prevent credit-reporting agencies from releasing credit histories to prospective lenders.
A German company has tentatively agreed to purchase a North Little Rock DVD manufacturer in the process of closing, but with no assurances that the remaining work force of 400 will be retained.
Searcy’s unemployed workers will be glad to know a small drop has landed in the job market bucket as TitleVue, Inc., a software development company, has announced it is hiring 40 new data entry workers. 600 Whirlpool workers became unemployed last week.
A teenager is dead after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a pickup driven by his father in rural Baxter County. Samuel B. Roth was killed near the Roth family home in the Buford community. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery identified the pickup’s driver as the youth’s father, Steven J. Roth, who was not injured. Neither father nor son was aware that the other would be driving on the gravel road when the accident happened.
Benton County deputies drew their guns Tuesday night on four boys they thought were armed and dangerous, a report said. The boys, ages 11 and 13, were dressed in black and carrying toy guns that appeared to be real,
State and local police are gearing up for a busy New Year’s Eve, announcing plans for increased patrols and sobriety checkpoints looking for drunken drivers.
