Plant Board revises
its meeting schedule
The state Plant Board has revised the schedule for its regular quarterly meeting and public hearing next week in Little Rock.
The board's regular meeting at 10 a.m. Sept. 21 will include presentations from weed scientists and herbicide manufacturers about dicamba problems in the state. In separate, recent decisions, the board's pesticide committee and a state task force recommended an April 15 cutoff date on spraying the herbicide.
Any dicamba-related decisions made by the Plant Board -- and the recommendations of the task force and committee -- won't be brought up in the public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 21.
The public hearing, instead, is on final changes to the Plant Board's "matrix" that sets the range of penalties for illegal spraying of dicamba and other herbicides. A state law that took effect Aug. 1 increased from $1,000 to $25,000 the maximum penalty for "egregious" violations of herbicide regulations.
Changes to dicamba regulations face a 30-day public-comment period before a discussion at a public hearing, under the state Administrative Procedures Act. Changes then must go through Gov. Asa Hutchinson for his review, and then through the General Assembly.
-- Stephen Steed
World-changers list
recognizes Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is ranked No. 7 on Fortune's list of "Change the World" companies.
For the third straight year, the publication recognized companies that it said have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies. Fortune evaluated and ranked companies based on three factors: measurable social impact, business results and degree of innovation.
Fortune noted Wal-Mart's efforts to push suppliers to get rid of controversial chemicals in about 90,000 household items and its success in diverting from landfills about 82 percent of materials that used to be considered waste.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
State index up 1.00,
ending day at 351.84
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 1.00 to 351.84 Wednesday.
"The S&P Index closed at its high ... but traded in a relatively narrow range as strength in the energy sector offset weakness in the real estate and utilities sectors," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 24.8 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 09/14/2017