Nonstop flights set to go to Washington
American Airlines will offer nonstop service between Northwest Arkansas and Washington, D.C., beginning April 5.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport executives announced the new service this week and said sales will begin Monday. The nonstop flight will operate daily, leaving Northwest Arkansas in the morning and returning from Washington at night.
American Airlines also operates nonstop service to Dallas, New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Charlotte, N.C., from Northwest Arkansas.
"I know this service will be well-received by people throughout our region," Mike Johnson, Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport board chairman, said in a news release.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
National driver-data clearinghouse OK'd
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a final rule Friday establishing a national drug and alcohol clearinghouse for commercial drivers, which will create a centralized database of violations.
Carriers, medical review officers, substance-abuse professionals and other third-party service agents will be required to report any violations to the database beginning in January. Until now there has been no national record of violators for carriers to consult before hiring.
Arkansas implemented a state-specific database for Arkansas commercial license holders in 2008, which Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton said in a news release was "a good step in making highways safer."
However, she said, the national clearinghouse was "always the end goal. It is vital to closing loopholes and keeping alcohol and drug abusers off the road in Arkansas, and across America."
-- Emma N. Hurt
State index off 0.06, ends week at 362.00
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, slipped 0.06 to 362.00 Friday.
Nine stocks declined, eight advanced and one was unchanged.
Bank of the Ozarks fell 2.8 percent in light trading.
P.A.M. Transportation rose 4.5 percent on double its average volume.
For the week, winners and losers were evenly divided.
Murphy Oil had the best week, gaining 6.6 percent.
Acxiom dropped 7.8 percent for the week.
Total volume for the index on Friday was 19 million shares. The average daily volume for the week was 23.2 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 12/03/2016