Water utility hires full-time attorney
The Central Arkansas Water Board of Commissioners voted to hire a full-time staff attorney last week, as opposed to contracting with a firm as it has done for the past several years.
During an executive session Thursday, the board approved hiring Tad Bohannon for an annual salary of $169,500 as the agency’s full time legal counsel.
Bohannon, who was the only person to apply for the position, has been representing the water utility for years as a lawyer at the firm Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP. He has served as legal counsel for Central Arkansas Water and its predecessor, Little Rock Municipal Water Works, as either a law clerk or attorney for more than 20 years, he wrote in his application for the position.
He will resign from his job at the firm and become an employee of Central Arkansas Water.
“We felt like increasingly there are going to be more legal issues brought up and a higher likelihood, with the prominence and size of the firm, that Lindsey and Jennings may be more and more conflicted in representing us,” said Graham Rich, the utility’s chief executive officer. “Mr. Bohannon is very knowledgeable. He has a broad background in legal areas - contracts, real estate,environmental law, municipal finance, all of those things.”
Last year, the utility hired outside legal counsel to handle the agency’s concerns over Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co.’s Pegasus pipeline running through Central Arkansas Water’s main source of drinking water, partly because Wright, Lindsey & Jennings had a conflict of interest.
Bohannon will report to the board, which oversees finances and certain operations of the utility. That gives another level of oversight by the board, Rich said.
Author to speak about civil rights
Author and comedian Dick Gregory will speak in Little Rock on Friday after a showing of the documentary The FBI’s War on Black America.
The film explores the lives and deaths of people targeted during the civil-rights movement by the U.S. government’s COINTELPRO program - an FBI-launched operation that aimed to disrupt organized efforts by blacks to gain civil rights, according to a news release from the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.
That group is partnering with the National Park Service, Conyers Institute of Public Policy, Beautiful Productions, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity to host the event.
Gregory began a career asa comedian in the late 1950s and became a civil-rights activist and author in later years. After the 7 p.m. screening at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center - 501 W. Ninth St. in Little Rock - Gregory will speak about his experiences during the civil-rights movement.
Admission is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. There is a limit of two tickets per person. Reservations are available by contacting the cultural center at (501) 683-3593.
$20,000 subsidy offered on house
A subsidy worth up to $20,000 is being offered to an eligible first-time homeowner who chooses to buy a certain house for sale near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The money, offered by the University District Development Corp., may be used for a down payment, closing costs or toward the cost of the house at 116 S. Harrison St. Listed at $99,500, the home has a garage, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining area, dishwasher, microwave and stove.
To qualify, applicants must meet criteria that includes having a maximum gross annual income of $33,700 for one person, $38,500 for two people, $43,300 for a family of three or $48,100 for a family of four.
Buyers must have an annual income of no more than 80 percent of the area’s median income. More information about the subsidy program is available by contacting Barrett Allen at (501) 683-7361 or blallen@uarl.edu.
New support group offered for women
The Women’s Mental Health Program of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is starting a weekly support group for women age 16 and older who have experienced dating violence.
The group will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at the university’s Psychiatric Research Institute. It’s open to women who have “been exposed to emotional, physical or sexual violence by their partner or spouse,” a news release said.
One in five women and nearly one in seven men who have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner first experienced some form of partner violence between the ages of 11 and 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Teen dating violence can include harassment from frequent phone calls or even monitoring of text messages and social media accounts, said Lori Graham, a clinical therapist in the program.
The hour-long sessions are free, but a participant must call in advance. More information is available by contacting Graham at (501) 526-8433 or at LKGraham@uams.edu .
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 02/16/2014