Lynch at Large

A panel of the state commission that disciplines judges agreed Wednesday to recommend dismissal of ethics charges against state Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen. The panel determined that public comments that Griffen made critical of the Bush administration's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, among others, was protected speech under the First Amendment.

A state employee’s e-mail contains evidence in a lawsuit over the University of Arkansas’ handling of a harassing e-mail to a former quarterback, a plaintiff’s attorney contends. Fort Smith attorney Eddie Christian Jr. says an e-mail from Department of Finance and Administration employee Sherri Darby points to a cover-up by key witnesses in the case stemming from an e-mail sent in December to Mitch Mustain, a freshman quarterback at the time.

Gov. Mike Beebe says he will consider pushing an initiated act to raise the severance tax on natural gas if energy companies, legislators and counties do not reach a consensus. Although a major player in the Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas has the lowest severance tax in the region.

Sandra Hochstetter resigned from the Arkansas Public Service Commission amid concerns that conflicting interests could rise if she presides over cases involving her future employer — the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. — or one of its competitors.

Gov. Mike Beebe says that he won’t delay the implementation of new social studies standards that historians have said will de-emphasize the teaching of Arkansas history.

The state will loan $33 million for construction of a regional wastewater treatment facility in Northwest Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe announced Wednesday. The package, which also calls for the state to bear finance and interest costs for 3.5 years at a cost of about $4.3 million, will allow construction to begin immediately with a planned completion date of late 2009 or early 2010.

A new law in Fayetteville will put the brakes on residents using lots of their front yard for parking. The Fayetteville City Council has approved limiting how many vehicles can be parked in front of residences, and how much of a front yard can be used for parking.

Jacoby Cooper, an 8-year-old boy from Hope is dead after apparently shooting himself accidentally while visiting a friend, according to the Hope Police Department.

Five correction officers are being disciplined by the Department of Correction, most for knowing about abuse of inmates at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys and not coming forward to report it.

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley wants the Arkansas State Police to investigate a nonprofit probation program and its relationship with a Pulaski County court after an audit pointed to conflicts with state law. The state police received the information on Cycle Breakers, a nonprofit program that works with probationers from the 5th Division Circuit Court.

A 27-year-old Little Rock man accused of killing his stepfather is back in jail after a detective testified he saw him threaten the victim’s family in front of the Pulaski County Courthouse the day before. Attorneys for Harold Terrance Dison, who is charged with first-degree murder, argued he’d been provoked by the family members.

A Maumelle man is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond after being charged in the abduction and rape of two women he met outside a Little Rock nightspot while posing as a narcotics officer. Chase A. Prater, 23 faces two counts of kidnapping and single counts of rape, sexual assault and criminal impersonation in the assault.

A rape suspect believed by prosecutors to be 22 years old has 30 days to prove he is 17 and eligible to have his case transferred into juvenile court. Hugo Eriberto Morales was arrested in March after Fort Smith police responded to a report that a 14-year-old girl was obtaining a pregnancy test at a local clinic. Police suspect Morales of being involved with the girl in what the defense contends was a consensual relationship.

A growing air of violence on Beale Street, highlighted by the assault on a patron by a security guard, has the landlord of the entertainment district wanting to scale back its hours. Now, John Elkington, the leasing agent the city-owned entertainment district, says he plans to appear before Memphis City Council to lop off those last two hours of operation, to 3 a. m..