As task-force costs soar, limits shelved
Payments to legislators for attending task-force meetings have ballooned, reaching a new high of $78,000 this year, nearly double the previous record.
Stories by Seth Blomeley
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ATV-crash case ruling upheld
The state Supreme Court, finding an “ultra-hazardous ” situation, upheld a verdict in favor of a man whose trachea was damaged after striking a cable while rid…
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UAMS settlement passes subcommittee
A legislative subcommittee signed off Monday on a negotiated settlement between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a deceased former patient’s…
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School funds spur clash
At the heart of the Arkansas Department of Education’s attempt to collect a combined $2.6 million from four school districts is a question of whether that mone…
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Beebe revives state workers’ cost-of-living raises
Gov. Mike Beebe announced Thursday that he’s reinstating cost-of-living raises for state employees, costing about $18 million a year.
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Agency: No papers for claim on species
There are no documents that support a claim made by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission chairman that the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act is a detriment …
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District vows suit if schools combined
The head of a rural school district in Northwest Arkansas alerted legislators Wednesday of his intent to sue the state to prevent his district from being conso…
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State finds crumbling in $18.5 million building
A building the state paid $18.5 million to buy earlier this year has floors that are crumbling in spots.
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Emotions, care run deep, says new secretary of state
Mark Martin, the newly elected secretary of state known for bursts of emotion, says he received political inspiration from a longtime Democrat, retiring U.S. R…
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Passailaigue ouster is on Beebe’s radar
Gov. Mike Beebe said Wednesday that he would favor the ouster of lottery head Ernie Passailaigue if financial problems at the Arkansas Lottery Commission aren’…
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State calls in cash from schools
State Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell said Friday that for years his department has erred in calculating how much money some districts should have and is n…
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Medicaid computer plan not an easy sell
State Medicaid Director Eugene Gessow was greeted with skepticism and apprehension from legislators Thursday as he proposed revamping his agency’s computerized…
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Game, Fish chief contrite over law flap
The chairman of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission apologized to lawmakers Thursday for having considered a proposal that would have exempted the agency fro…
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Negotiators work on plan to repay U.S. jobless funds
Labor and management officials negotiating over the state’s unemployment insurance tax and benefits said Tuesday that they each favor requiring businesses to p…
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Secretary-elect: Legislator out of line
Rep. Mark Martin, Arkansas’ secretary of state-elect, said Tuesday that legislators shouldn’t get involved in his work and accused one legislator of stepping “…
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Raises, tax cut in Beebe budget
Gov. Mike Beebe on Wednesday proposed a $4.59 billion general-revenue budget that holds most agencies’ spending flat, gives a small increase to colleges and un…
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Beebe again seeks tax cut on groceries
Gov. Mike Beebe will ask the Legislature in 2011 to adopt a one-half percentage point cut to the state sales tax on groceries, his spokesman said Tuesday.
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Justices restore full sentence in PB swindle
A Jefferson County circuit judge erred in reducing the sentence of a woman convicted of stealing $800,000 from the Pine Bluff School District, the state Suprem…
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63 at Game & Fish give back state cars
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission released Friday a list of 63 employees, including top administrators, who have given up state vehicles assigned to them f…
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2 parties divvy up panel seats in House
Republicans, fresh off their historic gains in the Legislature in Tuesday’s election, on Friday filled the majority of the seats on the state House of Represen…
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39 give up perk of using state cars
Gov. Mike Beebe’s more restrictive policies on the use of state vehicles have so far led to 39 administrators at state colleges and agencies turning in their s…
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Court disbars imprisoned tax activist
The Supreme Court on Thursday cited “serious misconduct” as justification for disbarring Fort Smith lawyer Oscar Stilley.
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Win’s size surprises Boozman
U.S. Rep. John Boozman said Wednesday that for weeks he felt confident he would win but never expected to unseat U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln by 21 percentage poi…
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GOP wins control of House
Republican John Boozman on Tuesday became only the fourth person in Arkansas history to defeat a sitting U.S. senator and only the state’s second Republican in…
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Arkansans end final push
Candidates in the state’s top races rallied their supporters Monday in a final push for victory today, Election Day.
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Lincoln upbeat; so is Boozman
As only the second female U.S. senator elected in Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln often talks of feeling pride in following the “footsteps” of the first, Hattie Cara…
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UA poll shows Boozman with 12-point lead in race
A poll released Wednesday by the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville shows U.S. Rep. John Boozman with a big lead in the U.S. Senate race.
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2 expect tighter Senate contest
U.S. Rep. John Boozman said Tuesday that he believes his race with U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln will tighten but he remains confident of his chances on Election D…
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State race for U.S. Senate heading into final stretch
The U.S. Senate race in Arkansas kicked off 19 months ago when Vice President Joe Biden visited Little Rock to jump-start U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s re-electi…
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On trail, Lincoln’s run tale of 2 images
Shaking hands at the Pope County Courthouse, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln got up on her tippytoes, clasped her hands together and gave a supporter a big smile.
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Not sorry, Boozman says about his politics
John Boozman was wrapping up his speech about how the federal health-care legislation is bad and how the government should cut spending when he was confronted …
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For Gray, corporate practices fuel views
If his aging parents hadn’t become ill, John Gray said he’d still be in Mexico, enjoying the good life.
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Drown: Campaign a product of people
Trevor Drown, an independent candidate, says he’s running for the U.S. Senate because that’s what people wanted him to do.
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Candidate for lands chief hopes ads appeal to blacks
The Republican candidate for land commissioner says in a radio ad that he’s “one white boy” who identifies with blacks because his late wife was a “beautiful b…
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Conviction affirmed in ’07 murder-robbery
A capital-murder conviction in a Benton County killing was affirmed Thursday by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
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Elections, mileage themes in debate
Republican candidate for secretary of state Mark Martin on Thursday accused his opponent of being a “micromanager” who offers “misleading” comments.
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‘Fair tax,’ lottery enliven Senate debate
U.S. Rep. John Boozman said Wednesday that he didn’t know how a federal sales-tax proposal he co-sponsors would affect lottery proceeds for Arkansas college sc…
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State cuts off AIDS group from grants
The Arkansas Health Department, at the urging of Gov. Mike Beebe, on Tuesday suspended grant activities by Brotha’s and Sistah’s Inc., a Little Rock nonprofit …
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Legislative panel backs Game and Fish raises
Legislators on Tuesday signed off on a Game and Fish Commission plan to give its director a 21 percent raise and its deputy director a 14 percent raise.
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Nonprofit to repay commission $6,000
The head of a Little Rock nonprofit agency said Monday that it will repay more than $6,000 in grant money from the Arkansas Minority Health Commission to cover…
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Lincoln: Tax cuts for rich possible
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said Friday that she’s open to giving tax cuts to people making as much as $1 million a year, and perhaps more.
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Beebe’s order limits use of state vehicles
Gov. Mike Beebe signed an executive order Tuesday eliminating commuting in some state vehicles starting Nov. 1 unless agencies can convince a top administratio…
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State talks today on a cautious ’12 budget
Gov. Mike Beebe and key legislators said Monday that there will be little room for state program expansions as the state budget hearings commence today in a fa…
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In race, LR lawyer faces homemaker
The race for House District 34 in Little Rock pits a longtime civil-rights attorney against a homemaker who credits God with helping her campaign’s finances.
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First car-suit filer says GOP case flawed, political
The attorney who filed the first lawsuit regarding state vehicles offered harsh comments for the state Republican Party chairman who filed the second lawsuit o…
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GOP sues over cars, names 8 Democrats
The state Republican Party filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state’s seven constitutional officers and the House speaker — all Democrats — alleging that th…
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Sex offender wins in appeal
The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a sex offender shouldn’t have been sent back to prison for working at a day-care center.
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Town hall invites cause stir
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s campaign on Monday called “phony” her opponent’s asking her to join him at a town hall meeting.
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Hopefuls cite mood of voters
U.S. Rep. John Boozman said time hasn’t lessened Arkansans’ frustration over the federal stimulus program and the health-care revamp that U.S. Sen. Blanche Lin…
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Talk heats up between rivals for high court
A circuit judge and an appellate court judge are vying for one of the seven spots on the state’s highest court, where justices are elected for eight-year terms…
