Tuesday morning summary

In an ordinance under consideration today, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, who just been granted veto power and authorization for an annual compensation of $160,000, has proposed to change the $12,000 annual salaries of the 10 city directors into an unidentified amount to be determined every year. The change would mean that pay increases for city directors no longer would require a new city law.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is seeking the Republican Party presidential nomination, paid a $15,000 filing Monday with the Republican Party of Arkansas to get his name on the state’s presidential primary ballot.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville is beginning a five-year campaign to raise $15 million for scholarships for undergraduate students with the greatest financial needs.

Arkansas hopes to bolster the number of minority contractors in the struggling Delta region through a new pilot program announced Monday. Gov. Mike Beebe and state officials said the program will help train minority-owned businesses in 17 eastern Arkansas counties.

A shake-up for the Jermain Taylor camp.  Hall-of-fame trainer Emmanuel Steward is let go by Ozell Nelson. It all comes on the heels of Taylor’s loss to Kelly Pavlik in September.  If there was a re-match with Pavlik Steward would have had to train three fighters for three major fights in three weeks. To make matters worse a press conference is scheduled to announce Taylor vs. Pavlik round two is cancelled.

The commercial building and multifamily housing sectors in northwest Arkansas now face the same oversupply issues that have plagued the region’s residential market for more than a year. According to the latest Skyline Report conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, all four commercial building sectors are now oversaturated with too much empty space.

Tyson Foods Inc. finished its one-year financial turnaround with a profitable fourth quarter, but the stock declined Monday when per-share earnings were reported below Wall Street’s expectations by a penny.

People will be able to walk inside one of the largest dams in the southeastern United States when regularly scheduled tours of Bull Shoals Dam resume next year. Security concerns after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks resulted in the suspension of public tours at all 25 dams in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Little Rock District in Arkansas and Missouri

The condition of a Fort Smith teenager who was accidentally shot by another teenager improved to fair condition on, according to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Tornin Thomas was injured Friday when he and another 15-year-old male were handling a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol outside of a Fort Smith apartment. Although investigators suspect the shooting was unintentional, the other teen was arrested on suspicion of second-degree battery because he recklessly caused serious physical injury with a deadly weapon.

Filed under: Arkansas