Wednesday Wake up and Pat Classic summary

Bill Vickery and I sort out winners and losers on the Wednesday Wake Up. Tune in or set your DVR to KARK TV CHANNEL 4. We are on a bit past 5:45.

My morning news capsules are on twice every hour on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM with Don Burns on 93.3 and 100.7.

My radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

 

As the water in the Black, St. Francis, Cache and other Northeast Arkansas rivers and streams recedes and the ground starts to dry out, more and more land preparation is under way and spring planting has begun. The White River is a different story, and many farmers along its length are still weeks from getting into their fields in many places. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to dump water from swollen Norfork and Bull Shoals lakes.

As rivers subside, mosquitoes are already noticeable and expected to get worse. Mosquitoes can breed in small amounts of water, then spread diseases such as encephalitis, meningitis and West Nile Virus.

The Democrat-Gazette reports Martin Luther King Commission Executive Director DuShun Scarbrough made misrepresentations on five accident claims from 1996 through 2000, The state Department of Insurance has filed charges against a pair of cousins accused of insurance fraud, Scarbrough is not accused ot a crime and denies the allegations.

Authorities are trying to identify the body pulled from the Arkansas River last night. One victim of a construction accident on the I 430 river bridge is still unaccounted for.

Since January the state prison population has averaged 108 new inmates a month, more than three times the monthly average over the past 10 years.

The State’s office in Washington D. C. will not reopen.

The Clinton Library Foundation stil intends to restore the abandoned Rock Island bridge, which would become part of a trail for walkers and bikers. The cost has doubled to nearly $10 million according to CEO Bruce Lindsey.

The Little Rock Farmers’ Market will be open this week at the River Market. The new Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market is expected to open May 3 at the intersection of Fourth and Main streets on the North Little Rock side of the river.

A group of North Little Rock investors has bought an aging feed mill and about five acres in the city’s core that they plan to transform into a mixed-use district with a heavy emphasis on residential space.

A Titusville, Fla., jury has ordered Little Rock-based Stephens Inc. to pay more than $27 million to Titusville businessman Ralph Eckler for thwarting

Eckler’s attempt to buy back his company.

Only one-third of the year is gone, but nearly half of Jonesboro’s fuel budget has been spent.

Another sign of the time, State Police report an increase in the number of motor cycle drivers licenses.

Search will get $600,000 over the next five years from the increased state severance tax and that will fund improvements in city streets.

Jonathan Horton of Jacksonville is accused of impersonating a deputy U.S. marshal has been banging on people’s doors demanding information and tried to have blue lights and a police radio installed in his truck.

Fort Smith police have arrested a 16 year-old on misdemeanor charges of animal abuse after getting numerous complaints about a video of the alleged animal torture posted online

Former Senator David Pryor will publish his autobiography this fall.

Work has begun on the future site of Hendrix College’s multi-million dollar The Village at Hendrix development.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Tuesday morning summary 4/29/08

My morning newscasts are on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM 93.3 and 100.7 with Don Burns. I am on twice an hour, so check it out dog. (Getting that Randy Jackson thing.)

The radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Set your DVR or tune in to KARK TV Channel 4 at around 6:45 tomorrow morning for the Wednesday Wake Up. Bill Vickery and I will have our weekly winners and losers, and we usually have a moderately entertaining fight.

States can require voters to produce photo identification, the Supreme Court rules.

Nationally, the number of homes headed for foreclosure more than doubled in the first year this year compared to last.

The long-questioned death of Janie Ward at party in rural Searcy 19 years ago likely came from choking on some object or a sudden heart attack, a special prosecutor and forensic examiner contend. Her family contends Janie was killed. Ward was originally believed to have been killed by a 12-inch fall from a porch.. Look for national TV coverage.

On Roby Brock’s Talk Business, Governor Mike Beebe discussed a range of issues on the economy, workforce training, and illegal immigration.  In response to a question about a pending ballot initiative that would curtail benefits to illegal immigrants, Beebe said he’s studying the issue and has yet to stake out a position.

Changes in state law have North Little Rock rethinking the proposed increase in sales tax. The earliest it could go in effect is January 1, and the cash received March 1 next year. Public response is less than enthusiastic.

Be careful about cash. Central Arkansas police say they are now handling as many counterfeiting cases in a month as they once handled in a year. It’s the economy.

One stole his money the old fashioned way Monday. There was a bank holdup at Simmons First in West Little Rock. White guy, 40, 175 pounds and a pony tail.

Daily paid circulation among major U.S. newspapers dropped 3.6 percent in the six months ending March 31, but most Arkansas papers reporting to the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed an increase

The Seminole Twin Towers at ASU will come down early Sunday Morning May 25 in a controlled implosion.

Former Arkansas offensive lineman Robert Felton agreed to deal as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, former Arkansas middle linebacker Weston Dacus says Kansas City Chiefs have invited him to their minicamp this weekend, and he could be signed as an undrafted free agent if he does well at the tryout.

Filed under: Arkansas

Monday summary

Look for my column on the Voices page in today’s Democrat-Gazette in the Arkansas section. It’s my “take” on the latest developments with the lottery.

My morning headlines are on twice every hour from 6 to 9 on 106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee Spirit FM with Don Burns on 93.3 and 100.7.

The radio show starts at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

 

Tax rebates start coming out today.

In the NFL Draft…First round

McFadden to Oakland , 4^th pick

Felix Jones to Dallas,  22^nd

Third round… Marcus Harrison to Chicago

Seventh round..  Nate Garner (offensive tackle) to New York, 211^th

Peyton Hillis to Denver, picked 227^th

Marcus Monk to Chicago, 248th.

ASU safety Tyrell Johnson was drafted 43^rd overall in the second round by Minnesota

Turnout for the red-white game was around 40,000 and Bobby Petrino’s offense looks good.

New farm legislation is taking shape. Cuts have been proposed in both direct crop payments and disaster-assistance payments to farmers. At the same time, at least $800 million would be added to the food-stamp program. Congressman Marion Berry says “it’s about the best we can get.”

Little Rock has recorded its twelfth homicide of the year.

Bill Valentine says the Arkansas Travs plan to turn off the power and water at Ray Winder Field May 1.

North Little Rock City Council will consider a new fire station for the east end of town tonight.

The Lonoke County sheriff’s office is investigating the reported theft of 700 pounds of fish from a bait shop and fish hatchery near Carlisle.

A 5-year-old Craighead County child is undergoing a series of shots after being bitten by an opossum that tested positive for rabies.

Work could begin this summer on a new Delta Regional Airport near the town of Colt in St. Francis County.

A southwest Arkansas lumber mill that closed last summer, putting 250 people out of work, plans to reopen soon. The reopening of the Curt Bean Lumber Co. plant in Glenwood is tentatively set for May 5, calling back 150 employees.

Broderick Lloyd Laswell lost 105 pounds over the past eight months. Laswell is an inmate in the Benton County Jail and has filed a federal court suit complaining about the food. He is down to 308 pounds.

Filed under: Arkansas

Friday summary

Listen for my morning updates on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM with Don Burns on 93.3 and 100.7. I am on twice an hour, so tell all your friends and thank the stations.

My radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesvill

KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Be sure to check my column in Monday’s Democrat-Gazette. It’s about the state lottery debate and you will find it in the Arkansas section on the Voices page.

GOP presidential nominee apparent John McCain is in town today for a big fundraiser. He also stops off at Arkansas Baptist College.

The upper White River was predicted to rise again today after Thursday rain in north Arkansas led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Little Rock to open spillway gates at the swollen Beaver, Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes.

Good news for college students. The state Board of Finance tentatively approved a loan of $80 million from the state to the state’s Student Loan Authority

Lawyer John Walker has written a letter distributed to the Little Rock School Board that indicates that the Hathaway real estate firm has refused his FOI request for its records relating to work done for the Little Rock School District on real estate matters.

Construction could begin in summer next year on a new $20 million airport for Conway. After a fatal incident in2007, the FAA approved the land use plan and this week has given the green light on an environmental study. It will be southwest of town in the Lollie Bottoms area.

A Washington County jury has recommended a death sentence for the first time in 27 years in the murders of a Fayetteville couple. Gregory Christopher Decay was convicted Wednesday on two counts of capital murder.

A man convicted of first-degree murder in Randolph County deserves a new trial because the sheriff and state police kept asking him questions despite his saying he didn’t want to talk, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

An insurance company is not obligated to cover the vehicle of a client who intentionally rammed her car into another, the state Supreme Court Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Lynda King, an employee of the Pine Bluff School District has been suspended and faces termination for allegedly preparing bogus purchase orders and requesting payments in excess of $100,000,

The plot thickens in the case of a $500,000 reward offered in the alleged shooting of a Malvern police officer in local woods. The Arkansas Times blog is reporting that it all centers around a civil suit against the unnamed Malvern officer filed by Joe Beard, president of Dallas-based Westdale Asset Managemen. He is the same Dallas businessman who posted the reward.

For the first quarter of 2008, Southwestern Energy reported profits grew 113% over last year. The phenomenal growth was accelerated due to the company’s Fayetteville Shale production and higher natural gas prices, according to a Southwestern statement

CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Co., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, announced its plans to gauge market interest in two new pipeline facilities in parts of Arkansas.

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden reiterated at yesterday’s NFL draft luncheon that he would love to be a Jet. D Mac says the Jets seem interested and it would be a good fit. The Jets have the sixth pick in the draft, but Oakland is 4 and they are also interested.  There’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

University of Arkansas officials are expecting a big turnout for Saturday’s red-white game.

SI.com reports that three additional bowl games are looking for approval. They’ll join a list of 32 other bowl games, which would mean 70 of 119 would be involved in postseason play.

The University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble is going overseas The 50-student ensemble was accepted to perform in the American Celebration of Music in Austria.

John Daly teed it up just a couple of weeks after surgery for a torn stomach muscle, playing in the Byron Nelson Classic at the TPC at Las Colinas, and shooting a 5-over-par 75.

Filed under: Arkansas

Thursday summary 4/24/08

My morning news capsules are on twice an hour on John Lee’s show on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time and with Don Burns on Spirit FM 93.3 and 100.7.

The radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Arkansas lawmakers say a proposed gasoline tax “holiday” for this summer is going nowhere. Sen. Mark called John McCain’s plan bad policy. Even Republican John Boozman says that plan is not a priority.

Sam’s Club is limiting how much rice customers can buy because of what it calls “recent supply and demand trends,” the company said Wednesday Wal-Mart stores has no plans to limit food purchases, however.

Two weeks after the next president is elected, Mike Huckabee will publish a book sharing details on his failed bid for the White House and offering his vision for remodeling the conservative movement.

Darrenn McFadden is on the cover of Sports Illustrated April 28 issue.

Prosecuting Attorney Fletcher Long in Forrest City is asking for a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate 2006 election irregularities. A Senate committee recommended federal and state officials investigate while recommending incumbent Jack Crumbly keep his state senate seat.

Today, the state Board of Finance will consider loaning $80 million from the state to the Arkansas Student Loan Authority to make sure students attending college in Arkansas can obtain student loans

Arkansas’ public school districts have decreased the percentages of their expenditures on classroom instruction even as the totals have increased in recent years, according to a report a legislative panel reviewed Wednesday.

When Republican presidential candidate John McCain visits Arkansas for the big fundraiser next week, he will also spend some time at Arkansas Baptist College.

Frontier Airlines will no longer serve Little Rock National Airport starting June 1. That ends 2 daily flights to Denver. Delta discontinues direct service to Orlando in May.

Things are booming in Searcy where the city government is talking about getting the land for the north bypass road project.

Hoxie and Walnut Ridge and Lawrence County are working together to create an intrmodal park.

The Crossett City Council on Monday approved mandatory microchips for all cats and dogs in a pet-identification ordinance that would rank among the strictest in the country

Gene Pfeifer, who fought the city of Little Rock over condemning some of his land for the presidential library, is pushing for the Clinton Library Foundation to renovate the old Rock Island bridge, like it promised. The website is buildourbridge.com.

Just more than 1-in-10 adult drivers in Arkansas admit to drinking and driving — a lower percentage than in all but four other states, according to a national report.

TETRA Technologies , an oil and gas services company, will break ground on a new chemical processing facility in El Dorado tomorrow.  The $100 million facility will employ 400-500 construction jobs over the next 18 months.  When completed, the plant will employ 50 production workers and managers.  

Filed under: Arkansas

Wednesday Wake Up on KARK TV 4 and Pat Classic

The Wednesday Wake Up is on at 6:45 on KARK TV Channel 4. Bill Vickery and I have the week’s winners and losers. That means we will sort out results from Pennsylvania.

Listen for my updates twice an hour on Spirit FM with Don Burns on 93.3 and 100.7 and The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee on 106.3. I am on twice an hour, so check me out!

The radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville
KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy
KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta
KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Hillary takes Pennsylvania by 10%.

The Arkansas Times blog reports that Malvern is buzzing over a $500,000 reward for the arrest and successful prosecution of a man who shot a Malvern police officer in woods last week.

Term limited state lawmaker Jim Argue, says there are still too many school districts and the state education department needs more say in how local schools spend their state grants.

The Family Council will have a news conference at 10:30 a.m. today at the Capitol to announce a campaign to oppose the state lottery.

Two Little Rock AME ministers have sued their bishop in Pulaski Circuit Court, saying he assigned them to new congregations without giving them sufficient notice. The Rev. Rickey H. Hicks the Rev. Randolph Martin say Bishop Richard Allen Chappelle Sr. violated the denomination’s Ministers’ Bill of Rights by transferring them without 90 days of warning.

The Pulaski County Quorum Court refused to extend a moratorium on development in the Lake Maumelle watershed by three months. That is where our drinking water comes from.

Little Rock will appeal the new FEMA flood zone map.

The Searcy Economic Club heard a report that White County is at the center of the economic boom. Chesapeake has said they are increasing their drilling rig count in the county from 14 to 25 by the end of the year. The number of Arkansas workers is up to 40%.

Wal-Mart promised state legislators Tuesday that any product with a radio tag would be clearly labeled.

Wal-Mart paid its president and chief executive officer Lee Scott $29.61 million in 2007, according to the proxy statement the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Plans for a new air terminal in Little Rock have subsided to a whisper. High fuel prices and dislocations in the airline industry mean the present facility will likely be upgraded instead.

A nonprofit economic development corporation is proposing a half-cent sales tax to help recruit industry to Jefferson County under a plan that, if passed by voters, would generate about $4.5 million annually.

The Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University-Jonesboro and Harding University in Searcy have formed a partnership. The two universities have signed an agreement to partner in the development of pharmaceutical research opportunities.

The father of an infant who died under what Pine Bluff police called “suspicious circumstances” Friday will be held without bond while prosecutors consider filing capital murder charges.

The Home Grown Market Association is scheduled to have its first farmers market in Maumelle starting at sunrise Thursday.

Filed under: Arkansas

Tuesday summary 4/22/08

First thing every morning, be sure to catch my updates on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM with Don Burns at 93.3 and 100.7. I am on twice very hour from 6 to 9 AM.

My radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville
KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy
KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta
KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Remember, the Wednesday Wake Up is on tomorrow morning at around 6:45 on KARK TV Channel 4. Bill Vickery and I sort out the week’s winners and losers.

Polling inside the Clinton campaign show the New York senator with an 11 point lead over Barack Obama in today’s Pennsulvania primary. The justice department will monitor the election.

The average price for gasoline in the US is now $3.51 a gallon.

After 36 years and 42 national titles, John McDonnell will retire as head track coach at the University of Arkansas.

The families of two men presumed dead after scaffolding collapsed under a bridge 100 feet over the Arkansas River at Little Rock have sued two construction companies and a foreman in charge of the bridge project.

The soft housing market has hit Deltic Timber with a first quarter loss of over $360,000. Last year’s first quarter showed a $6 million profit.

Bank of America profit dropped for a third straight quarter as the company set aside $6.01 billion for bad loans.

The world’s largest retailer is once again the world’s largest company in terms of revenue, according to Fortune magazine’s list of the top 500 companies. Wal-Mart reported 2007 total revenues of $378.79 billion.

Rising corn prices have hurt ethanol’s cost-effectiveness as an alternative fuel in the short term, speakers at a sustainability conference in Fayetteville said Monday.

Arkansas school districts that canceled classes for as many as 14 days this year over bad weather and other reasons received state Board of Education permission Monday to run a shortened school year.

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels reminds business owners that those franchise taxes are due. May 1.

Keep Arkansas Legal, a group supporting a proposed ballot initiative on illegal immigration is questioning Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s ability to be impartial in reviewing it because he has received campaign donations from members of the Arkansas Friendship Coalition, which opposes the measure.

Little Rock surgeon’s error – mistakenly removing the wrong part of a teenager’s brain – didn’t do the boy any real harm, an attorney for Arkansas Children’s Hospital’s insurance provider told a Pulaski County jury on Monday. The boy’s lawyer says the mistake destroyed his life. A jury will figure it out.

Patrick West of McRae faces first degree battery charges, for now, in the death of his five month old son, who was rushed to the hospital Sunday with several skull fractures.

20 year-old Francisco Razo of Pine Bluff faces capitol murder charges in the death of his two month old son.

Saying “it’s too important to do it wrong,” Pulaski County Justice of the Peace Wilandra Dean has proposed a three-month extension of a moratorium banning development in the Lake Maumelle watershed.

Conway Circuit Judge Rhonda Wood will not step aside from a criminal case at the request of a prosecutor who has questioned her competence in handling adult cases. Defense attorneys had contended that her handling of a sentencing form caused an inmate to spend too much time in jail.

Police have arrested a pizza restaurant manager on allegations he sold marijuana from his drive-through window in Fort Smith.

Filed under: Arkansas

Monday morning summary

My column is in today’s Democrat-Gazette on the Voices page. If you want the latest insight on national politics, check me out!

My morning updates run twice hourly on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee, and with Don Burns on Spirit 93.3 and KAWW 100.7.

The radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville
KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy
KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta
KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

THANK YOU NOTE!!! I do appreciate the kind free mentions David Bazzel and Tommy Smith gave me last week. Actually, guys, I am not out of touch with rednecks. I know what rednecks think, and I know what I think. I am very comfortable saying what I think and most willing to take the consequences – and there have been consequences. Again, thanks for your kind words.

CHIP THE TALKING BEAR HISTORIC SITE DAMAGED IN RECENT STORMS. Marie and I took a little spin and found that the Indiana Ave. duplex formerly in habited by me and “the broom rider” lost its roof. The historic dumpster was moved years ago.

GENE LYONS AND PAT LYNCH AT THE DOG PARK! It was a moment of great importance. Gene had his bassets and gave our Molly a pet. She would have preferred a treat. I have pics and will probably post them soon on lyncho.com.

I have already posed Glen Hooks picture wearing the very cool green Earth Day tie. Interview highlights can not be far behind.

Dillard’s has retained Stephens Inc. to assist it in “evaluating its options” with regard to its partial ownership interest in CDI Contractors. CDI and its relationship with Dillard’s has been at the center of controversy since CDI President Bill Clark died in 2007 and the mysterious disappearance of CDI chief financial officer John Glasgow.

Fifty-nine dwellings and structures in Saline County so far have been identified as destroyed because of the April 3 storms.

Gov. Mike Beebe disclosed on Friday that $4.3 million in federal funding cuts to work force training could terminate state programs and force layoffs or furloughs.

In a 4-3 decision, an Arkansas Senate committee recommended that Jack Crumbly retain his Senate seat in a historic election contest case brought by a former House member.

Today is the last day to register for the Primary and Nonpartisan Election on May 20.

Richard Mellon-Scaife, the Pittsburg billionare newspaper publisher and underwriter of the Arkansas Project which spent millions diging up information on Bill Clinton, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.

Arkansas’ unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent in March, the second monthly decline in a row,

Former Attorney General Steve Clark, convicted of felony theft by deception 18 years ago, will run for Mayor of Fayetteville.

Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons asked the FBI to take over an investigation of the Russellville Public Works Department, where four employees have been fired since July 2007. A state audit found that the computer of the department’s former director, Morgan Barrett, contained pornography and also found that four city computers and a server were used for a private business owned by Barrett and the department’s former assistant director, David Garza.

Pine Bluff police are investigating the death of an infant under what they termed “suspicious circumstances.”

A search team pulled the body of an unidentified man from the Arkansas River near Murray Lock and Dam on Sunday afternoon.

Conway prosecutors believe that the 225-year sentences handed a pair of bank robbers over the weekend, may be the longest non-murder sentences in district history. Charges included aggravated robbery, attempted capitol murder of a state trooper and kidnapping.

A Little Rock man accused of robbing and killing a Mabelvale woman last year told authorities that his fascination with the number 28 prompted him to stalk her to her father’s Little Rock home.

Filed under: Arkansas

Friday morning summary

Before we adjourn for the weekend, my morning headlines ate on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM with Don Burns on 93.3 and 100.7 in Heber Springs. I am on twice an hour between 6 and 9.

The radio show is on at 9. Glen Hooks from the Sierra Club is on at 10 to talk about Earth Day.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville
KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy
KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta
KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

The proposed immigration initiated act is back in the Attorney General’s office. Secure Arkansas has culled the title to its previously-rejected ballot initiative down from four to two pages and added some specifics.

Federal and state authorities made 65 arrests in a major meth bust. It was a sophisticated interstate operation and the Arkansas hub was in Batesville.

London’s Economist is running a major piece on American prisoners being exonerated by DNA evidence and the West Memphis Three is prominently mentioned. Their appeal hearings are set for September.

Arkansas’s highest court has upheld $1.4 million in fines levied against the owner of a string of payday lending companies.

The Arkansas Death Penalty Moratorium Campaign Committee, which includes former State Supreme Court Justice Steele Hays,  announced it will collect signatures on a petition asking Gov. Mike Beebe to impose a moratorium on executions in the state and create a commission to study the issue.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of a job applicant who claimed he wasn’t hired because he has cerebral palsy

Eight of the 42 new positions authorized last year for the state’s Adult Protective Services will remain vacant because of cuts in the projected budget for the next fiscal year.

David Casters’ family in McRae has lost everything in a house fire. They have 6 sons between the ages of 3 and 13. David is currently serving with the 39th Infantry Brigade in Iraq.

When Sean Perkins was kicked out of Michelle Morris’ class at Lincoln High school, he decided to get even. Perkins and his teenage pal Nick Cortes are facing numerous felony charges after allegedly burning Morris’s Volkswagen beetle in the school parking lot.

The Arkansas Travelers have scored the first win of the season against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. It was 7 – 5. Attendance 6,600.

Bob Holt reports in the Democrat-Gazette that Arkansas’ new head football coach and its old one will be the only two among their SEC peers calling plays next season.

Regional officials are conferring on how to establish high speed rail transportation in the Little Rock to San Antonio corridor. No new land would need to be acquired.

Mike Huckabee will join John McCain when he attends a fundraiser in Arkansas next week.

The effort to oust Little Rock City Director Erma Hendricks has failed, for now.

The Department of Prisons is beginning the feasibility study on the final phase of the federal prison in Forrest City. The last element wil be construction of a maximum security facility.

A Faulkner County Detention Center officer hired to provide security at a University of Central Arkansas-sanctioned End of the World has been suspended without pay for two weeks for improper conduct. Widespread claims among UCA students report that officer William Brents carried an AR-15 assault-style rifle while at the event.

Pine Bluff Police Chief John Howell will soon be asking area ministers to help his department recruit new officers.

Jonesboro Police Chief Mike Yates has received approval to recruit five additional officers as the first step in developing a task force that would deal with a growing gang problem.

Arkansas Post National Memorial will commemorate the 225th anniversary of Arkansas’ only Revolutionary War engagement April 19. The event will begin at 10:30. The Spanish Fort Carlos III at Arkansas Post was attacked by British partisans in 1783, with the help of the Chickasaw.

Filed under: Arkansas

Thursday summary

Tune in for my morning news capsules on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM (93.3 and 100.7 in Heber Springs) with Don Burns. I am on twice an hour, so you can get your Pat “fix”

The radio show is on at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM – Searcy/Batesville
KWCK 1300 AM – Searcy
KAPZ 710 AM – Bald Knob/Augusta
KAWW 1370 AM – Heber Springs/Clinton

Kyle Wilks, a Marine from Rogers died this week in Afghanistan. Wilkswas in a convoy of 36 vehicles in the Kandahar province when the vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says he doesn’t know whether Arkansas is ready to resume executions now that the Supreme Court has upheld Kentucky’s lethal injection procedure.

The Arkansas Highway Department says at least 30 state highways are damaged due to heavy rain and flooding.  On Highway 65 just south of Marshall one lane crumbled and disappeared down the embankment. Extreme cracks on Highway 16 in Madison County are also worrying highway officials. Arkansas estimates $12 million in statewide damage.

The Arkansas Highway Commission on Wednesday tentatively awarded an $8.6 million contract to build a bypass for U.S. 167 at Sheridan, part of a long-sought effort to create a continuous fourlane highway between El Dorado and Little Rock.

The City of Searcy experienced a 19 percent jump in sales tax revenue in March while White County saw a 21 percent rise.

NFL.com’s Adam Schefter reports Darren McFadden is the top-rated player on the St. Louis Rams’ draft board.

Almost 300 undocumented workers were rounded up at Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plants in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and West Virginia yesterday. Pilgrims Pride officials say they went to the federal agents with information about identity theft at the Batesville plant.

College students in Arkansas will have greater access to federally backed student loans than students in many other states this fall even if the Arkansas Student Loan Authority is unable to make loans.

Former state attorney general Steve Clark has scheduled a Saturday news conference to announce whether he plans to run for Fayetteville mayor, 18 years after a felony fraud conviction forced him out of elected office.

Monday, April 21 is the last day to register to vote for the May 20 Preferential Primary and Nonpartisan Judicial Election.

Big rigs will no longer be able to use their loud engine brakes within the Fayetteville city limits.

Officials at Pine Bluff Poultry expect the facility to be open by July 1 in the former Tyson Foods plant. 100 new jobs will be created immediately. An Illinois-based boot manufacturer is opening a new factory in Forrest City that is expected to employ 200 people.

Dillard’s will close its Louisville distribution center, laying off 89 employees.

Vince Davis and Hurshel Sanders are facing charges in connection with a string of Heights area break-ins. The crucial piece of evidence is the digital camera on which the suspects took pictures of themselves apparently celebrating the many stolen items.

A teenager accused of starting fires that caused $10 million in timber damage in southeast Arkansas can be prosecuted as an adult, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. Joel David Holland is charged as an adult in Ashley County Circuit Court with arson, causing a catastrophe and unlawful burning in connection with fires that burned nearly 4,000 acres.

Filed under: Arkansas