Byron Tate | Staff

Pine Bluff Commercial Editor870-329-7846870-329-7846btate@pbcommercial.com

Recent stories by Byron Tate

Garner doubles down on opposing mask mandates The sponsor of a state law that bars most public entities from requiring face masks was unmoved by Gov. Asa Hutchinson's desire to amend the legislation to allow school districts to mandate them. Sen... August 3, 2021

Nurse, doctor emphasize need to get vaccinated against covid Erin Bolton told of the harrowing experience of getting the news more than a year ago that Jefferson Regional had admitted the state's first covid patient, and then she transitioned to the hospital's ... July 31, 2021

Heat hits triple digits for first time since '15 Pine Bluff's triple-digit high temperature on Friday was the first since 2015, according to the National Weather Service. Dylan Cooper, a meteorologist with the service's office in North Little Rock,... July 31, 2021

Evergreen Packaging exits 1 line of business Pactiv Evergreen, the company that operates Evergreen Packaging in Pine Bluff, is exiting the coated groundwood paper business and will "permanently cease" production of coated groundwood paper at its... July 30, 2021

Vaccine urged by Sheridan doctor No matter what your personal opinion is of the covid vaccination, you should take advantage of fact that there is one and it's highly effective. That was the message from Dr. Scott Winston, a long-ti... July 26, 2021

Covid-19 scare shuts just reopened center Two days after the Strachota Senior Center opened, it had to close temporarily from a "covid scare," according to an administrator. After being closed for months because of the covid pandemic, the Pi... July 24, 2021

Boil water, Altheimer customers told A contractor who was drilling in Altheimer hit a water line on Wednesday causing the city to issue a boil order, according to a city official. Mayor Zola Hudson said the contractor was drilling for t... July 23, 2021

Franklin named interim Pine Bluff police chief Three hours after Monday night's City Council meeting ended, Mayor Shirley Washington sent out a news release saying that Lloyd Franklin Sr. had been hired as Pine Bluff's interim police chief. The m... July 21, 2021

Virus numbers worry area leaders There were as many covid patients in Jefferson Regional hospital Monday as there were when the pandemic patient numbers were at their peak, officials said. And a mask mandate in Jefferson County buil... July 20, 2021

1 in custody after fatal shooting in Pine Bluff, police say One person is in custody after a man was found killed in an apartment parking lot Sunday night, according to the Pine Bluff Police Department. Officers went to the apartments at 4332 Union Ave. aroun... July 19, 2021