Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Tuesday summary
Gov. Mike Beebe’s bill to halve the state’s 6 percent sales tax on groceries cleared its first hurdle Monday, and a member of the House of Representatives introduced a major component of the House leadership’s rival tax plan.
Two more Huckabee administration department heads will not be keeping their jobs. Department of Economic Development Director Larry Walther and Department of Environmental Quality Director Marcus Devine were informed they no longer will head their agencies.
The Arkansas Senate’s chief of staff, Bill Goodman has resigned, effective March 1. He tendered his resignation after the Senate Efficiency Committee held an executive session on personnel matters lasting about 30 minutes. Last month, President Pro Tem Jack Critcher said he perceived Goodman as helping the other Senate faction in a dispute about whether to hold the Senate’s organizational session in November or December.
A proposed $2.6 million state contract to combine elements of the Arkansas Benchmark Exam with a nationally standardized test for grades three through eight failed to win approval Monday from a legislative subcommittee that reviews state agency deals. At stake, Arkansas Department of Education officials said, is a state and federally mandated testing program for the next school year.
House Speaker Benny Petrus says that legislation would be filed as early as today proposing financial incentives for the production and distribution of biodiesel fuel in Arkansas.
A motorcycle enthusiast has told lawmakers that it would hurt Arkansas tourism if the state reinstated its old helmet law. Rodney Roberts, says motorcyclists who attend huge rallies in Fayetteville and Hot Springs would be less likely to come spend their money in Arkansas if they were required to wear helmets.
A state board approved the distribution of $2.1 million last week to 14 community colleges and technical institutes to support preparations for the expansion of a program to help students with low-income parents attend those schools.
The Benton County School of the Arts board will vote Monday on whether to start a year-round schedule this fall.
Public comment gathered over the last three months indicates strong support for a single high school in Fayetteville, but patrons are more divided over the addition of the ninth grade to the current high school configuration.
A new book from a group advocating increased federal funding for children’s services says that children in red states - those who voted for President Bush in the 2004 presidential election, including Arkansas - are worse off than those living in blue states. The book, Homeland Insecurity... American Children At Risk, ranked Arkansas 43rd in a comparison of 11 measurements of child well-being based on U.S. Census and other government data on prenatal care, early death, child abuse and teen incarceration.
Federal and state officials have committed $9.4 million toward conserving 6,250 acres of wetlands and hardwood forests in the Cache River and Bayou DeView watersheds - land considered crucial for the ivorybilled woodpecker.
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville researchers have developed a portable device capable of quickly and inexpensively detecting avian flu in poultry.
The funeral science program at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home will be named for Denver and Christine Roller after members of the Roller family donated $200,000 to the school, university Chancellor Ed Coulter has announced.
A plant in Marianna will be closing in March, affecting around 91 people. Camaco, a plant which manufactures metal frames for car seats, will be closing. According to Lenny Gschwend, the Marianna plant has been furnishing frames to another company, which in turn manufactured car seats for Saturn.
A 10-year-old girl was abducted and raped on an elementary school campus last week, according to a news release from Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms.
A Bentonville firefighter has resigned after he was arrested for allegedly raping two women. Kevin Edward Thomasson of Pea Ridge was arrested by Rogers police in connection with the two counts of felony rape.
Reputed Klansman James Ford Seale walked away in chains Monday after a Jackson, Mississippi judge ruled he must remain behind bars until he goes on trial on kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the 1964 killings of two African-American teenagers.
Canadian officials say that they will seek the deportation of Saline County double-murder suspect Timothy Wallace at a hearing Thursday in Calgary, Alberta, provided they receive a death-penalty waiver by that time.
Arkansas State Police officers have arrested Joseph Camp, a prison computer technician, as part of an investigation into the theft of 42 laptop computers from a Department of Correction administration building last fall.
Two more Huckabee administration department heads will not be keeping their jobs. Department of Economic Development Director Larry Walther and Department of Environmental Quality Director Marcus Devine were informed they no longer will head their agencies.
The Arkansas Senate’s chief of staff, Bill Goodman has resigned, effective March 1. He tendered his resignation after the Senate Efficiency Committee held an executive session on personnel matters lasting about 30 minutes. Last month, President Pro Tem Jack Critcher said he perceived Goodman as helping the other Senate faction in a dispute about whether to hold the Senate’s organizational session in November or December.
A proposed $2.6 million state contract to combine elements of the Arkansas Benchmark Exam with a nationally standardized test for grades three through eight failed to win approval Monday from a legislative subcommittee that reviews state agency deals. At stake, Arkansas Department of Education officials said, is a state and federally mandated testing program for the next school year.
House Speaker Benny Petrus says that legislation would be filed as early as today proposing financial incentives for the production and distribution of biodiesel fuel in Arkansas.
A motorcycle enthusiast has told lawmakers that it would hurt Arkansas tourism if the state reinstated its old helmet law. Rodney Roberts, says motorcyclists who attend huge rallies in Fayetteville and Hot Springs would be less likely to come spend their money in Arkansas if they were required to wear helmets.
A state board approved the distribution of $2.1 million last week to 14 community colleges and technical institutes to support preparations for the expansion of a program to help students with low-income parents attend those schools.
The Benton County School of the Arts board will vote Monday on whether to start a year-round schedule this fall.
Public comment gathered over the last three months indicates strong support for a single high school in Fayetteville, but patrons are more divided over the addition of the ninth grade to the current high school configuration.
A new book from a group advocating increased federal funding for children’s services says that children in red states - those who voted for President Bush in the 2004 presidential election, including Arkansas - are worse off than those living in blue states. The book, Homeland Insecurity... American Children At Risk, ranked Arkansas 43rd in a comparison of 11 measurements of child well-being based on U.S. Census and other government data on prenatal care, early death, child abuse and teen incarceration.
Federal and state officials have committed $9.4 million toward conserving 6,250 acres of wetlands and hardwood forests in the Cache River and Bayou DeView watersheds - land considered crucial for the ivorybilled woodpecker.
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville researchers have developed a portable device capable of quickly and inexpensively detecting avian flu in poultry.
The funeral science program at Arkansas State University-Mountain Home will be named for Denver and Christine Roller after members of the Roller family donated $200,000 to the school, university Chancellor Ed Coulter has announced.
A plant in Marianna will be closing in March, affecting around 91 people. Camaco, a plant which manufactures metal frames for car seats, will be closing. According to Lenny Gschwend, the Marianna plant has been furnishing frames to another company, which in turn manufactured car seats for Saturn.
A 10-year-old girl was abducted and raped on an elementary school campus last week, according to a news release from Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms.
A Bentonville firefighter has resigned after he was arrested for allegedly raping two women. Kevin Edward Thomasson of Pea Ridge was arrested by Rogers police in connection with the two counts of felony rape.
Reputed Klansman James Ford Seale walked away in chains Monday after a Jackson, Mississippi judge ruled he must remain behind bars until he goes on trial on kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the 1964 killings of two African-American teenagers.
Canadian officials say that they will seek the deportation of Saline County double-murder suspect Timothy Wallace at a hearing Thursday in Calgary, Alberta, provided they receive a death-penalty waiver by that time.
Arkansas State Police officers have arrested Joseph Camp, a prison computer technician, as part of an investigation into the theft of 42 laptop computers from a Department of Correction administration building last fall.
