Nancy Cole
Stories by Nancy
$1 million given to Mount St. Mary
posted: 08/21/2009 6:08 a.m. Discuss
A Little Rock couple has donated $1 million to Mount St. Mary Academy, a Catholic secondary school for girls in the city's Hillcrest neighborhood.
Rules left unaltered on turtles
posted: 08/21/2009 5:07 a.m. Comment 1
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission voted unanimously Thursday to leave unchanged state regulations governing the commercial harvest of wild, aquatic turtles but to investigate concerns about contaminants in turtles and the impact of harvests.
Snyder: No big fan of public option
posted: 08/19/2009 5:01 a.m. Comments 11
The presence or absence of a government-run insurance option in proposed health-care legislation is not a personal "deal breaker," U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder told a crowd of more than 1,100 people Tuesday at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Clock ticking on reappraisals
posted: 08/14/2009 5:45 a.m. Discuss
Pulaski County homeowners who believe the assessor's office incorrectly valued their real estate have until Monday to file an appeal of their reappraised values.
Tree-planting firm in contempt again
posted: 08/06/2009 3:15 a.m. Discuss
An Arkansas-based tree-planting company has been held in contempt for a third time by a federal judge in Columbia, Tenn.
State ranked 47th in children's well-being
posted: 07/29/2009 2:55 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas lags behind all but three states, ranking 47th in children's health, education and economic well-being, according to a report released Tuesday by a national child-advocacy group.
Charter schools, state stir LR flap
posted: 07/24/2009 4:32 a.m. Discuss
An attorney for the Little Rock School District says the state has undermined the 1989 settlement agreement in the Pulaski County school desegregation case by approving open enrollment charter schools to operate in the county without addressing their impact on desegregation.
LR School Board OKs plan to spend stimulus funding
posted: 07/24/2009 4:09 a.m. Discuss
The Little Rock School Board voted unanimously Thursday in favor of plans for spending a little more than one-third of the $36 million in federal stimulus money that has been allocated to the state's largest school district over the next two years.
Faulkner County debates historic courthouse's future
posted: 07/22/2009 3:09 a.m. Discuss
Representatives from a historic preservation group met Tuesday with members of the Faulkner County Quorum Court's courthouse task force to discuss the future of the county's 1936 vintage courthouse at 801 Locust St.
Counties look for help as aquifer levels fall
posted: 07/18/2009 6:23 a.m. Discuss
Several northeast Arkansas conservation-district boards have asked the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to designate the western portions of their counties as a "critical groundwater area." Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene and Poinsett counties have submitted formal petitions, and St. Francis County plans to do so, said Crystal Phelps, an attorney with the commission.
UALR preparing to select building project
posted: 07/16/2009 5:43 a.m. Discuss
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is considering as many as 15 building projects and a bond issue of up to $30 million to help pay for them.
Union for farmworkers marks 75th anniversary
posted: 07/13/2009 4:04 a.m. Discuss
Seventy-five years ago today, 11 whites and seven blacks met near the eastern Poinsett County town of Tyronza and formed the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union.
Wildfires in '09 burn near norm after calm 2008
posted: 07/04/2009 3:02 a.m. Discuss
After a record-low year for wildfires in 2008 and nearly no such fires during May this year, the number of wildfires in Arkansas is running about average through the first half of 2009.
Petition to ban commercial turtle harvests gets Game and Fish airing
posted: 06/26/2009 3:17 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas' aquatic turtles are not imminently threatened by commercial harvesting, the fisheries chief of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Thursday.
Aim higher, Beebe tells city leaders
posted: 06/19/2009 3:20 a.m. Discuss
City officials from across the state gathered in Hot Springs for the Arkansas Municipal League's 75th annual convention to discuss new state laws, economic development and good management.
Program seeks to speed library Net connections
posted: 06/13/2009 6:08 a.m. Discuss
One-third of Arkansas' 221 public-library locations lack Internet connections fast enough to meet people's basic needs.
Trustees OK tight budgets for UA schools
posted: 06/06/2009 3:41 a.m. Discuss
The University of Arkansas board of trustees Friday approved relatively moderate increases in tuition and mandatory fees for the coming school year.
Distance learning ignites trustee row
posted: 06/06/2009 3:40 a.m. Discuss
A move by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith to offer distance learning led UA System trustees to question Friday how the system's campuses should expand into the field.
UA System trustees notebook
posted: 06/06/2009 2:24 a.m. Discuss
Center to research faith, ethics at work The University of Arkansas System board of trustees voted unanimously Friday to establish the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace in the Sam M. Walton College of Business on the Fayetteville campus as of July 1.
Institute on Aging again gets major gift
posted: 06/05/2009 3:11 a.m. Discuss
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation on Thursday announced grants totaling $33.4 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging.
Mexican workers awarded $36,000
posted: 06/04/2009 2:18 a.m. Discuss
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered an Arkansas farm to pay 24 Mexican workers a total of $36,000 for violating federal employment laws and for breaching the terms of the workers' contracts under the federal government's H-2 A guest-worker program.
Biofuel industry path seen getting bumpier
posted: 05/25/2009 4:45 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas' first biodiesel plant began production nearly four years ago and state officials expected others to quickly follow, bringing employment to the Delta and converting soybeans into an environmentally friendly, renewable fuel that could help reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.
Governor recognizes 61 top scholars from LR district
posted: 05/23/2009 3:47 a.m. Discuss
Sixty-one of the Little Rock School District's top scholars were honored Friday morning during a ceremony in the Grand Hall of the Governor's Mansion.
$3.75 million Walker gift caps UAMS project
posted: 05/16/2009 2:52 a.m. Discuss
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences announced Friday the receipt of a $3.75 million gift for the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation.
Rainfall in some areas over 600% above normal
posted: 05/15/2009 5:30 a.m. Discuss
With May barely half over, monthly rainfall records already have been set across central and southern Arkansas, with some areas receiving more than 600 percent above normal rainfall.
4 Mexicans sue farmer, say they had to live in filth
posted: 05/15/2009 5:16 a.m. Discuss
Four Mexican workers are suing an Arkansas sweet-potato farmer, claiming labor trafficking and abuse from 2006 through 2008 when they worked on his farm near Austin in Lonoke County.
Blast claims three
posted: 05/13/2009 5:01 a.m. Discuss
Investigators are trying to find the cause of an explosion in a gasoline storage tank Tuesday afternoon that killed three people working inside.
Education groups get Verizon grants
posted: 05/12/2009 5:36 a.m. Discuss
Two educational nonprofits were among the recipients Monday of grants totaling $635,000 from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of New York-based Verizon Communications Inc.
Henderson State waiting in wings
posted: 05/10/2009 5:25 a.m.
Henderson State University officials hope to offer Arkansas' first training program for air traffic controllers starting in fall 2010 if the Federal Aviation Administration approves the school's application to become a certified training site.
Family grows baitfish by the billion
posted: 05/10/2009 4:27 a.m.
Sixty years and continuous innovations by four generations of Andersons have made the family's business a leader in the U.S. baitfish industry.
UCA committee whittles president search to top 5
posted: 05/09/2009 5:29 a.m.
The University of Central Arkansas' presidential search advisory committee voted unanimously Friday morning to narrow its list of seven candidates to five.
Horses, mules still reign for a few state growers
posted: 05/04/2009 5:11 a.m.
Buddy Harbour gardens the old-fashioned way, with a horse and plow.
Costs at Henderson State to increase
posted: 05/02/2009 4:13 a.m.
The average cost for one semester at Henderson State University - tuition, fees, and room and board - will increase by 3.1 percent this fall, from $5,516.75 to $5,688.75, according to the budget approved Friday by the school's board of trustees.
Study finds lack of food plaguing more families
posted: 05/01/2009 2:45 a.m.
The number of families with young children who lack enough food for an active, healthy life doubled between 2007 and 2008 - putting more infants and toddlers at greater risk for growth and learning problems, a study of Arkansas Children's Hospital patients has found.
Fraternity at UCA suspended for 3 years
posted: 04/30/2009 4:02 a.m.
CONWAY - Hazing allegations against the University of Central Arkansas chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity have led to the group's suspension from UCA for three years, the school announced Wednesday.
Higher tuition likely, HSU president says
posted: 04/24/2009 2:37 a.m.
Tuition at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia is likely to increase 3.6 percent for the 2009-10 school year, President Charles Welch said Thursday afternoon after a board of trustees' budget workshop.
Deal nets probation for former lawmaker
posted: 04/21/2009 5:23 a.m.
A former state representative from Texarkana who was headed to trial over allegations of running an illegal gambling operation pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of keeping a gambling device.
Detective joins push to clear 3 in killings
posted: 04/15/2009 5:52 a.m.
A retired New York Police Department homicide detective has joined an effort to exonerate the three men convicted in the 1993 slayings of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis.
Funds for 2 schools pass board
posted: 04/12/2009 3:07 a.m.
Board members for the Pulaski County Special School District voted unanimously Saturday night to approve a list of proposed budget cuts that would help pay for new school construction in Maumelle and Sherwood.
Dawn shows Mena extent of storm's hit
posted: 04/11/2009 5:54 a.m.
When the sun rose over this remote mountain town Friday, the storm's destruction became painfully clear.
UCA says 4 of 6 pledges claimed fraternity abuse
posted: 04/10/2009 2:36 a.m.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity pledges at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway said they were hit for failing to correctly answer questions about the group's history, according to a campus police report released Thursday.
Frigid threat troubles farmers
posted: 04/07/2009 5:36 a.m.
An overnight freeze forecast for most of Arkansas had farmers scurrying Monday to do what they could to protect their crops.
Aquifers at critical low, report says
posted: 04/05/2009 3:40 a.m.
Groundwater depletion in northeast Arkansas has reached such a critical stage that some area residents are assessing local support for a more comprehensive response to the problem.
State farmland drops 4.3% between '02, '07
posted: 03/27/2009 3:38 a.m.
Arkansas lost nearly 630,000 acres of farmland between 2002 and 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recently released 2007 Census of Agriculture.
Honeybee business gets stickier
posted: 03/26/2009 2:17 a.m.
Honeybees are in trouble nationwide and in Arkansas.
Wood utility poles weather recession
posted: 03/22/2009 2:42 a.m.
The depressed U.S. housing market has stunted demand for most wood products, but wood-utility-pole makers have escaped most of the recession's effects thus far.
AT&T GOOF: Hello: Phone books have Yellow Pages gap
posted: 03/14/2009 4:39 a.m.
Not all phone books are created equal.
Rice-checkoff bill stalls in panel
posted: 03/11/2009 2:43 a.m.
A bill that would modify Arkansas' rice research and promotion program failed Tuesday to receive a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development.
Rice shortage makes seeds hot commodities
posted: 03/10/2009 3:27 a.m.
Medium-grain rice is in short supply worldwide, and Arkansas farmers are scrambling to find seed so they can take advantage of that opportunity.
Tree program taking root in state
posted: 03/08/2009 1:50 a.m.
Planting oak trees is a long-term proposition.
