Matthew S.L. Cate
Stories by Matthew S.L.
Out there bare
posted: 05/24/2010 2:07 a.m. Discuss
After decades of sorting through newfangled innovations that expanded their running-shoe options, a growing number of runners are turning to the next big wave.
Shoeless running takes a slow start
posted: 05/24/2010 1:55 a.m. Discuss
If you’re determined to kick off your shoes and give barefoot running a try, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
State law complicates alcohol rebates
posted: 02/13/2010 5:19 a.m. Discuss
The coupon offers thirsty consumers a chance to buy a Canadian whisky for “less coin.” But state alcohol regulations make it a little more complicated to cash in.
Panel sends budget bills to legislators
posted: 02/11/2010 3:32 a.m. Discuss
Appropriation bills began moving Wednesday, the third day of the General Assembly’s first-ever “fiscal” session.
House panel votes to ban fiscal-session contributions
posted: 02/09/2010 1:29 a.m. Discuss
The House Rules Committee ruled Monday that no representative may accept campaign contributions in a fiscal session. The Senate decided that senators could.
Beebe gives Proctor job to Sanders
posted: 02/06/2010 2:54 a.m. Discuss
As Gov. Mike Beebe named a replacement Friday for ousted Pulaski County Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr., a Little Rock attorney alleged that Proctor illegally forced probationers to attend Bible readings and submit to prostate exams and blood tests.
Lawyer suspended, told to repay client
posted: 02/05/2010 3:18 a.m. Comment 1
A Little Rock lawyer has been suspended, fined and ordered to pay $5,000 to a former client whom a disciplinary panel found the lawyer did not properly represent.
New 1st District circuit judge a former activist, prosecutor
posted: 02/04/2010 4:53 a.m. Discuss
When he was stealing library books as a teenager in Lee County, Olly Neal Jr. mostly had one thing on his mind: He didn’t want to get caught being a bookworm.
$25 million lottery winner named
posted: 02/03/2010 4:44 a.m. Comment 1
A Conway man won the $25 million Powerball jackpot claimed last week from Arkansas’ lottery, lottery officials said Tuesday.
Justices court kids with debate
posted: 02/01/2010 3:10 a.m. Discuss
As the lawyers argued before Arkansas’ highest court over a complicated contract dispute, 31 seventh-graders from the KIPP Delta school looked on, staring at the men at the lectern and the justices at the dais.
Neal to fill judgeship left vacant by Simes
posted: 01/29/2010 2:30 a.m. Discuss
Former Court of Appeals Judge Olly Neal Jr. of Marianna will return to the bench after Gov. Mike Beebe appointed him to an east Arkansas circuit court on Thursday.
Abuse of corpse wrong charge, high court says
posted: 01/29/2010 2:05 a.m. Discuss
A Mena woman who killed her husband, cut him up and sank the pieces in a pond will have her prison sentence reduced by six years after the state Supreme Court on Thursday said she was wrongly prosecuted for abuse of a corpse.
Man who killed toddler loses appeal
posted: 01/28/2010 4:24 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday said that statements to police by a Little Rock man who fatally beat his toddler stepdaughter were properly used against him in court.
Henry files petition for court race
posted: 01/28/2010 4:14 a.m. Discuss
Saying her campaign for the state Supreme Court rises from the “grass-roots level,” Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Courtney Henry on Wednesday filed more than 14,000 signatures in her effort to appear on the May 18 ballot.
Circuit judge quits post to receive retirement pay
posted: 01/27/2010 4:45 a.m. Discuss
An east Arkansas circuit judge said Tuesday that he will resign his appointment to the bench because he won’t receive his full retirement pay while in that job.
Justices unseat Proctor, cite judge’s ‘poor judgment’
posted: 01/26/2010 5:34 a.m. Comment 1
The Arkansas Supreme Court stripped Willard Proctor Jr. of his circuit judgeship on Monday, ruling that his effort to rehabilitate criminals sapped public confidence in the judiciary.
GOP hopeful starts state tour
posted: 01/26/2010 4:34 a.m.
Comments 4
Declaring a “showdown of historic proportions” against “thugs gone wild” in Washington, retired Army Col. Conrad Reynolds on Monday began a statewide tour with the man known as “Joe the Plumber.”
Court rejects library request on tax decision
posted: 01/22/2010 6:03 a.m. Discuss
The state Supreme Court on Thursday said it would not reconsider its decision that a tax increase for Little Rock libraries was levied a year too soon.
Palin to headline GOP fundraiser
posted: 01/19/2010 4:01 a.m.
Discuss
Sarah Palin will headline a Republican Party of Arkansas fundraiser next month, the group said Monday.
Texan’s casino plan passes a state step
posted: 01/16/2010 7:29 a.m. Discuss
A plan to establish a casino monopoly in Arkansas can now take the next steps needed to amend the state constitution after the attorney general’s office found that the proposal’s language meets state legal requirements Friday.
LR lawyer reprimanded, fined
posted: 01/16/2010 6:43 a.m. Discuss
A Little Rock lawyer has been reprimanded and fined $1,000 for failing to properly represent a client in the medical-malpractice suit she hoped to pursue.
Had pure motives, Proctor tells court
posted: 01/15/2010 6 a.m. Comment 1
Maintaining that his “motives were nothing other than pure,” Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr. argued Thursday against his recommended removal from the bench by contending that the panel seeking it failed to follow procedural rules.
Interim judge loses bid to keep retiree pay
posted: 01/15/2010 5:37 a.m. Discuss
After losing a request Thursday to keep receiving retirement benefits while holding a judicial appointment for the rest of the year, a retired east Arkansas judge said he’s now considering whether to quit.
Rethink ruling on library tax, justices asked
posted: 01/14/2010 5:45 a.m. Discuss
An effort to reverse a state Supreme Court ruling on a tax increase for Little Rock libraries threatens to delay the repayment of millions of dollars to city taxpayers, the lawyer whose side won the case has told the court.
Court overturns gun, drug case
posted: 01/14/2010 5:34 a.m. Discuss
A Conway man who confessed that he had guns and drugs at his home in violation of his parole had his conviction overturned Wednesday when the state Court of Appeals ruled that police hadn’t informed him of his Miranda rights.
Ex-police chief’s wife won’t appeal case
posted: 01/13/2010 4:53 a.m. Discuss
Acknowledging that she “will forever stand convicted” of crimes related to the criminal gang said to have been run by her husband, Kelly Campbell has decided to drop her appeal.
McDaniel: Health bill ‘unfair’
posted: 01/12/2010 4:49 a.m. Comments 11
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on Monday urged top Democrats in Congress to eliminate part of the health-care legislation the U.S. Senate passed last month, contending that it “would unfairly burden Arkansas.”
Supreme Court election draws LR’s Moorehead
posted: 01/12/2010 4:42 a.m. Comment 1
Saying she wants to make the court system friendlier to “the people,” Little Rock lawyer Evelyn Moorehead on Monday announced that she will seek election to the state Supreme Court.
Mansfield school official at center of ethics inquiry
posted: 01/12/2010 4:27 a.m. Discuss
A west Arkansas school official directed a $14,534 contract to someone who owed him money, state auditors said. And a panel of lawmakers on Thursday forwarded the case to the Sebastian County prosecuting attorney.
Raccoon feast lures politicos to Gillett
posted: 01/09/2010 4:45 a.m. Discuss
With hundreds of pounds of hickory-smoked coon steaming atop long rows of tables and hordes of back-slapping vote-seekers making their near-obligatory rounds, this small Arkansas Delta town again stood in the center of the state’s political universe.
Mena lawyer reprimanded, fined $2,000
posted: 01/09/2010 4:14 a.m. Discuss
A Mena lawyer has been reprimanded and fined $2,000 for his failure to adequately represent a client in her lawsuits against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and a construction company.
Justices toss out death sentence for killings of 3
posted: 01/08/2010 5:18 a.m. Comments 3
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the death sentence imposed on a Fort Smith man who killed his girlfriend and her two children in 2006, ruling that the victims’ family unfairly pleaded with jurors as they considered his fate.
Appointment to bench puts retiree in spot
posted: 12/31/2009 6:18 a.m. Discuss
A retired east Arkansas judge won’t be allowed to draw his benefits during an appointed, one-year return to the bench, a requirement that the jurist said he was unaware of when he accepted the job.
Judge denies Verizon ex-exec curb
posted: 12/24/2009 4:32 a.m. Comment 1
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Verizon Wireless to keep one of its former executives from working for a startup competitor.
400 jobs in state hinge on patent ruling
posted: 12/19/2009 5:51 a.m. Discuss
The fate of a promised wind-turbine factory with 400 jobs near Fort Smith remained uncertain Friday after a decision in a patent fight between two conglomerates was delayed until next month.
Firm gets 1,800-blade deal
posted: 12/18/2009 4:32 a.m. Discuss
LM Glasfiber said Thursday that it has secured a five year deal to make at least 1,800 windmill blades at its U.S. plants.
Panel extends rice testing to weed out altered variety
posted: 12/17/2009 4:44 a.m. Discuss
The state Plant Board on Wednesday agreed to continue testing rice seed to help root out a genetically modified variety that has hindered exports and sowed a crop of lawsuits.
EPA revises limits on building runoff
posted: 12/12/2009 2:50 a.m. Discuss
The building industry will soon confront a new federal clean-water regulation that is expected to cost nearly $1 billion per year.
Fordyce plywood plant closing
posted: 12/10/2009 6:39 a.m. Discuss
Shutting off a potential source of post-recovery jobs for one of Arkansas’ hardesthit regions, Georgia-Pacific said Wednesday that it will permanently close its Fordyce plywood mill.
Water-saving tax incentives passed
posted: 12/09/2009 4:07 a.m. Discuss
Farmers in seven northeast Arkansas counties can now qualify for tax incentives designed to keep them from taking too much water out of the ground.
Homes in state getting facelifts
posted: 12/08/2009 4:44 a.m. Discuss
More than 200 foreclosed or blighted homes and apartments across the state will get a government-subsidized makeover designed to help the poor and middle class find affordable housing.
Act on climate bill, farmers told
posted: 12/03/2009 5:24 a.m. Comments 10
The top farm adviser for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged Arkansas farmers on Wednesday to get behind climate-change legislation he said is sure to be enacted.
Windstream inks deal for Iowa firm
posted: 11/25/2009 4:08 a.m. Discuss
Extending its shopping spree across rural America into the upper Midwest, Windstream Corp. said Tuesday that it will buy an Iowa phone company in a $1.1 billion deal.
State’s farms, loggers afflicted, panel hears
posted: 11/24/2009 3:50 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas farmers and loggers have been hit hard this year and need immediate, direct federal aid to overcome the big financial losses expected to come, a panel of speakers said Monday.
Offered Entergy alternative to coal plant, utility tells PSC
posted: 11/19/2009 5:50 a.m. Discuss
A Florida utility with a large but mostly idle gas-fired power plant at El Dorado has offered an alternative to Entergy Arkansas Inc.’s $780 million plan to upgrade one of its coal-fired plants.
State’s housing sales log 10% rise
posted: 11/17/2009 5:26 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas home sales in September jumped 10 percent over the same month a year ago, the Arkansas Realtors Association said Monday.
Soybean harvest nears record
posted: 11/11/2009 5:28 a.m. Discuss
As they wrap up the year’s harvest, Arkansas soybean farmers are on track to put up near-record numbers this year.
Peabody now with four stars
posted: 11/10/2009 3:18 a.m. Comment 1
The Peabody Little Rock was declared Arkansas’ first four-star hotel on Monday, a distinction that puts the downtown landmark in a well-known luxury class.
State’s farm losses forecast to worsen
posted: 11/07/2009 3:32 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas farm losses due largely to an abnormally wet year are projected to be well over $225 million, a team of agricultural researchers said Friday.
River commerce riding a wave
posted: 11/06/2009 5:47 a.m. Discuss
Despite swollen rivers and an economic downtown, commerce along the Arkansas River is barging ahead, already surpassing last year’s tonnage.
