Mike Linn
Stories by Mike
PB, county sales-tax votes put off to ’11
posted: 08/03/2010 5:01 a.m. Discuss
Sales-tax proposals in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County have been postponed to February so that supporters of the taxes can better educate the public, an advocate for the taxes said Monday.
PB’s Dollarway School Board suspends superintendent
posted: 07/31/2010 5:06 a.m. Discuss
The Dollarway School Board in Pine Bluff has suspended its superintendent indefinitely but declined to give a reason for the move.
Police: PB man’s death an accident
posted: 07/31/2010 5:05 a.m. Discuss
An 18-year-old Pine Bluff man was found shot to death after an accident at a Pine Bluff motel early Friday, police say.
Leave to end for PB officers who shot man
posted: 07/29/2010 5:33 a.m. Discuss
Two Pine Bluff police officers placed on administrative leave in the shooting of a Pine Bluff man last week are to return to work today, police said Wednesday.
Pine Bluff police to lengthen shifts to 12 hours a day
posted: 07/26/2010 5:01 a.m. Discuss
The Pine Bluff Police Department will have officers work 12-hour shifts beginning Sunday, a plan expected to allow for more community policing and days off each month for officers.
Gould working on debt plan
posted: 07/21/2010 5:14 a.m. Discuss
The acting mayor of Gould, the Lincoln County community that recently exited Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, is working on a new contingency plan to settle $900,000 in debt.
After rise, fall, ex-alderman remains in midst of PB politics
posted: 07/19/2010 4:45 a.m. Comment 1
Jack Foster, more than a year removed from federal prison for attempting to sell Pine Bluff City Council votes on a zoning issue, has had his nose in Pine Bluff politics for 20 years now.
Murder suspect gives up at Texas sheriff’s office
posted: 07/13/2010 5:55 a.m. Discuss
The third suspect wanted in a July 1 killing and bank robbery in the Crossett area surrendered in Texas on Monday, telling authorities that he feared for his life.
County needs tax for jobs, panel told
posted: 07/05/2010 4:13 a.m. Comments 3
Two Pine Bluff businessmen have asked the Jefferson County Quorum Court to put a countywide economic development sales-tax initiative on the September ballot.
Killers go on to rob bank
posted: 07/02/2010 5:53 a.m. Comment 1
Authorities are searching for two men who abducted and killed a Crossett woman, then used her car as the getaway vehicle in a North Crossett bank robbery Thursday morning.
New police chief takes reins in PB
posted: 07/01/2010 4:12 a.m. Discuss
Brenda Davis-Jones took over as Pine Bluff’s new police chief Wednesday, winning the job over about 29 others who applied, although none came from within the Pine Bluff Police Department.
Female police chief PB’s first
posted: 06/30/2010 5:19 a.m. Discuss
Pine Bluff officials will introduce the city’s first female police chief at a news conference today, 3 1 /2 months after Mayor Carl Redus terminated former Chief John Howell for insubordination.
Mayor’s trip irks Helena council
posted: 06/27/2010 4:58 a.m. Comment 1
Some Helena-West Helena aldermen are upset that Mayor James Valley and 15 other city workers attended the Arkansas Municipal League conference this month without prior approval from the council.
Helena treasurer not doing his job, prosecutors say
posted: 06/26/2010 5:54 a.m. Discuss
Prosecutors are working to remove Helena-West Helena Treasurer Michael Boone from office over allegations that he’s not doing his job.
3-year-old in PB dies in fire
posted: 06/25/2010 4:37 a.m. Discuss
A Wednesday afternoon fire took the life of an outgoing little boy who loved to play outdoors, the boy’s grandmother said Thursday.
PB council lets 7 clubs serve liquor until 5 a.m.
posted: 06/22/2010 4:54 a.m. Comment 1
The Pine Bluff City Council passed an ordinance Monday that will allow at least seven private clubs to serve alcoholic beverages until 5 a.m., two hours later than under current city law.
Official urges PB to delete club laws
posted: 06/21/2010 5:06 a.m. Discuss
A Pine Bluff alderman wants the city to get out of the business of regulating private clubs and has proposed allowing them to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Search for flood’s victims ends
posted: 06/16/2010 6:28 a.m. Comment 1
The organized search for victims of a Friday flash flood in the Albert Pike Recreation Area ended Tuesday as U.S. Forest Service engineers and safety officers began inspecting the campground for hazardous areas.
Girl’s body found, believed the last
posted: 06/15/2010 5:54 a.m.
Discuss
Search teams found the body of a young girl Monday near the Albert Pike Recreation Area, raising the death toll to 20 from Friday morning’s flash flooding.
Rescuers find 19th victim of flood
posted: 06/14/2010 6:15 a.m.
Discuss
Search and rescue teams found the body of a 19th flood victim Sunday and will continue to search today to find what officials believe is the last missing person from Friday’s flash floods at a campsite in the Ouachita National Forest.
Water quickly had rescuers clinging for their lives
posted: 06/12/2010 4:10 a.m. Discuss
Monty Coffman, a first responder with the Caddo Gap Volunteer Fire Department, got the sheriff’s office call shortly after 3 a.m. Friday to go help rescue flood victims at the Albert Pike Recreation Area.
Plan to rename street for King put aside
posted: 06/08/2010 4:50 a.m. Discuss
Carrying signs saying Hazel Street “ain’t broke,” residents came to the Pine Bluff City Council meeting Monday to express dissatisfaction over an alderman’s proposal to rename Hazel Street after the late Martin Luther King Jr.
Website new stop for PB’s city data
posted: 06/07/2010 4:47 a.m. Discuss
Pine Bluff has implemented a new mapping system that allows access to information on elections, education and government services by typing an address into the city’s website.
Keep reinstated officer out, mayor tells chief
posted: 06/03/2010 4:32 a.m. Discuss
Capt. Michael Edwards is back working for the Brinkley Police Department, but Mayor Barbara Skouras doesn’t want him fighting crime this week.
Ex-county judge acquitted by jury in PB graft trial
posted: 05/27/2010 5:37 a.m. Comment 1
A Jefferson County jury Wednesday acquitted former County Judge Jack Jones of four counts of theft of property, deciding he never concealed the offenses he was accused of and therefore couldn’t be convicted.
Another worker testifies in trial
posted: 05/26/2010 4:42 a.m. Discuss
An employee of former Jefferson County Judge Jack Jones testified Tuesday that she worked on an estate for Jones for a year or two while on company time.
County workers testify in graft trial
posted: 05/25/2010 3:55 a.m. Discuss
Jefferson County employees who worked under County Judge Jack Jones testified Monday that they worked on Jones’ property with county equipment while on county time.
Former official’s trial set to begin
posted: 05/24/2010 3:32 a.m. Discuss
Former Jefferson County Judge Jack Jones is scheduled to stand trial today in Jefferson County Circuit Court over allegations that he ordered county employees to work on private property and paid them for that work with county tax dollars.
Mayor will reprimand 2 who work for Helena
posted: 05/20/2010 5:19 a.m. Discuss
The mayor of Helena-West Helena said Wednesday that he plans to write a disciplinary letter to the city’s police chief, who sent an e-mail to aldermen accusing some of them of racial bias and comparing them with people who “wear hoods and white sheets.”
Peru ruler better in 2nd term, envoy says
posted: 05/18/2010 4:58 a.m. Discuss
Peru’s President Alan Garcia “destroyed the country” during his first term in the late 1980s but has now steered Peru toward economic success, the nation’s ambassador to the United States said Monday.
Death penalty dropped in PB case
posted: 05/17/2010 5:53 a.m. Comment 1
Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty against James Jordan III, who is accused of two counts of capital murder in the August 2008 beating deaths of an elderly Pine Bluff couple.
Officers: Mayor’s nose in PB cases
posted: 05/11/2010 5:01 a.m. Discuss
Pine Bluff Police Department officers testified Monday that Mayor Carl Redus is more involved in the Police Department than previous mayors and has sought criminal-history and investigative information typically privy only to lawenforcement officers.
Arsenal cutback prompts planning
posted: 05/03/2010 5:21 a.m. Discuss
Economic development officials are developing a plan to help re-employ as many as possible of the 1,100 Pine Bluff Arsenal workers expected to lose their jobs within the next couple of years.
Student exodus straps schools
posted: 05/02/2010 4:31 a.m. Discuss
As the bell sounds, students at Hamburg High School file out of class and walk past four decades of senior class photos that hang high on the hallway walls.
PB leaders roll out plan to play up city’s assets
posted: 04/29/2010 4:25 a.m. Comment 1
Pine Bluff officials unveiled an economic development agenda Wednesday that focuses on enhancing the quality of the city to help reverse the decades-long trend of business and population loss.
2 PB aldermen now on recall group’s list
posted: 04/28/2010 3:26 a.m. Comments 2
The coalition spearheading a recall effort against Pine Bluff Mayor Carl Redus Jr. is now seeking the recalls of two members of the City Council, a spokesman for the group said Tuesday.
Alderman charged with DWI
posted: 04/28/2010 2:43 a.m. Discuss
A Helena-West Helena City Council member was arrested about 1 a.m. Sunday on a drunken driving charge, although the alderman said he had not been drinking.
Road likely to end PB shop
posted: 04/26/2010 4:30 a.m. Discuss
Leroy Hayes is holding out a sliver of hope that his barber shop at 420 N. University Drive will still be standing for years to come, but he’s certain the chances are slim.
Jurors in PB murder case detail verdict
posted: 04/22/2010 4:43 a.m. Discuss
Two jurors who acquitted a Pine Bluff man in the beating deaths of an elderly couple said Wednesday that the defendant’s use of police lingo in his confession and a lack of evidence placing him at the crime scene helped them reach their verdict.
Star City teacher accused of having sex with boy, 17
posted: 04/22/2010 4:26 a.m. Discuss
Prosecutors filed a felony sexual assault charge Wednesday against a Star City teacher accused of having sex with a high school student.
Man convicted of arson, burglary
posted: 04/21/2010 4:57 a.m. Discuss
A Jefferson County jury found Jeremy Gipson guilty of arson and residential burglary but innocent of capital murder late Tuesday in the deaths of an elderly couple.
Jurors hear tape with confession of fatal beating
posted: 04/20/2010 4:34 a.m. Discuss
Jeremy Gipson admitted to breaking into an elderly couple’s home early on Aug. 26, 2008, and hitting 79-year-old Cleophas Boyd “twice in the head and once in the chest” with a baseball bat, a taped interview played in court revealed Monday.
PB try at recall gaining ground
posted: 04/19/2010 3:12 a.m. Discuss
A group attempting to get Mayor Carl Redus Jr. voted out of office say they have collected approximately 5,000 signatures on a petition for a recall election, a spokesman for the group said.
Trial details fatal clubbing of PB couple
posted: 04/17/2010 4:10 a.m. Discuss
Jeremy Gipson and James Jordan III used baseball bats to break through the window of an elderly couple’s Pine Bluff home and beat the couple to death in their bed, a prosecutor said Friday.
Pilot in emergency lands on road near Monticello
posted: 04/15/2010 4:46 a.m. Discuss
A pilot in a single-engine airplane dodged power lines and tractor-trailers to make an emergency landing Wednesday on U.S. 425 about seven miles north of Monticello.
Economy in Delta focus of race
posted: 04/12/2010 4:48 a.m. Discuss
Two term limited state representatives want to prolong their political careers through election to the Arkansas Senate.
Unhappy with mayor, PB group seeks recall
posted: 04/10/2010 5:48 a.m. Comments 4
A coalition of Pine Bluff residents wants to recall Mayor Carl Redus Jr. for what they describe as poor leadership skills and an inability to attract and retain businesses in the largest city in southeast Arkansas.
PB investigated over used air conditioner
posted: 04/10/2010 5:25 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas State Police is investigating Pine Bluff’s Economic and Community Development Department after the department installed a used air-conditioning unit rather than a new unit into a couple’s home.
Officials to reclaim PB arsenal alert radios
posted: 04/05/2010 5:13 a.m. Comment 1
Emergency management officials in Grant and Jefferson counties plan to collect radios that were given to residents to notify them in case of a chemical weapons accident at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.
Ex-police chief sues PB mayor, council over firing
posted: 04/02/2010 4:57 a.m. Comments 2
Former Pine Bluff Police Chief John Howell filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Carl Redus Jr. and the Pine Bluff City Council on Thursday, seeking his immediate return to work.
