So long 2008 headlines

Bill Vickery and I will have winners and losers for the Wednesday Wake Up on KARK TV Channel 4 this morning at 6:45.

My morning updates are on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM at 93.3 and 100.7. You can also hear my early morning headlines on Y-95 in Camden.

I occasionally add items of state and local interest on my Lynch at Large blog

https://lynchatlarge.wordpress.com/

My train blog is very popular, so check out Trains for America.

http://trains4america.wordpress.com/

Hogs beat #4 Oklahoma 96 – 88.

Arkansas’ U.S. senators apparently are prepared to refuse to seat the embattled Illinois governor’s appointee as Senate replacement for President-elect Barack Obama if the issue ever comes to a vote. Gov.

Home sales were down about 35 percent in November, according to the latest report from the Arkansas Realtors Association.

The ACLU filed its lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Act 1, the state law that goes into effect Jan. 1 to require would-be foster and adoptive couples to be married.

Rep. Lindsley Smith, D-Fayetteville plans to bring back the resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U. S. Constitution during the 2009 session and is confident it will pass this time.

A late Christmas present for Springdale-based Tyson Foods. Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that Mexico has approved 20 of 30 suspended U.S. meat plants to resume shipments to that country.

The chief executive of Tyson received a higher salary in fiscal 2008 but his take-home pay tumbled by more than half because the value of stock and stock options he was awarded plunged. Richard L. Bond had compensation valued by the company at about $4.9 million in fiscal 2008, according to an analysis of a proxy statement filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year his compensation was valued at $12.9 million.

Fort Smith Baking Co. will permanently close on Saturday putting 48 employees and 34 outsourced workers out of work.

A judge won’t block Windstream Corp.’s plan to reduce retiree benefits and force retirees to share health insurance costs.

Baptist Health will assume operations of Stuttgart Regional Medical Center with a long-term lease agreement beginning on Thursday.

An elderly man was found dead in his Cleburne County home after the residence exploded and caught fire. Fire suspect a leaky gas heater caused Monday night’s explosion at the home of 90-year-old Lawrence Hamilton.

The Arkansas Parole Board recommended a reduced sentence for a man serving 28 years in prison for attempted first-degree murder and other charges that were brought after he hid in his estranged wife’s home and got into a gunfight with her relatives. Eric Crowder-Jones, 28, of Pulaski County says he is a minister and wouldn’t hurt anybody.

You may be at a party tonight, but the North Little Rock City Council will be hard at work in a special session to consider the downtown TIF districts. North Little Rock public schools have voiced strong opposition to the development which would drain hundreds of thousands from school finances.

The municipal bond market is too unpredictable at the moment for Little Rock to move forward with its $6.4 million plan to renovate city parks, forcing the zoo to stop construction on a new exhibit and postponing other park projects.

Early Tuesday musings

Bill Vickery and I will have winners and losers for the Wednesday Wake Up on KARK TV Channel 4 tomorrow morning at 6:45.

My morning updates are on K-106.3 The Greatest Hits of All Time with John Lee and Spirit FM at 93.3 and 100.7. You can also hear my early morning headlines on Y-95 in Camden.

I occasionally add items of state and local interest on my Lynch at Large blog

https://lynchatlarge.wordpress.com/

My train blog is very popular, so check out Trains for America.

http://trains4america.wordpress.com/

Out-of-state conservatives are opposing raising the Arkansas cigarette tax by at least 50 cents per pack and using the revenue to pay for a new statewide trauma system. In a “call to action” letter e-mailed to 500,000 subscribes last week, Washington, D.C.-based FreedomWorks, led by former Republican Congressman Dick Armey of Texas, said cigarette taxes are regressive, unfairly burden the poor and often do not generate the revenue promised.

The U.S. Postal Service’s 2009 postage stamp program ranges from commemorating President Abraham Lincoln to civil rights pioneer Daisy Gatson Bates.

Representative Dawn Creekmore is headed to the Arkansas State House this session with 6 domestic violence related bills to increase penalties. Creekmore says part of protecting victims means first re-evaluating how the state looks at stalking. She also wants to strengthen charges for repeated violations of an order of protection.

State Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-East End, filed a bill Monday that would allow all consumers to place security freezes on their credit reports.

Fayetteville aldermen are asking the legislature to revisit the state law that requires cities of the first class to pay their mayors 50 percent of their ending salaries each year for the rest of their lives after they retire with at least 10 years of service. Senator Sue Madison (D-Fayetteville) and Rep. Jim House (D-Fayetteville) are looking into changes.

A judge willallow Patsy Stephens to keep pursing a lawsuit against her old boss, former Wal-Mart executive Tom Coughlin. She is suing him in connection with her conviction with him on charges of stealing from the retailer.

Roby Brock reports on TalkBusiness.net that the Verison takeover of Alltel may happen as early as January 6, and probably before January 26.

A report by the American Wind Energy Association represents good news for the Arkansas economy. Wind power developments in 2008 are on pace to be the second-largest source of new U.S. power generating capacity for five consecutive years. In the past two years, four windmill-production companies have located in Arkansas with more than 2,150 direct jobs expected.

Farmers in Arkansas have planted nearly two-thirds fewer acres of soft red winter wheat this fall, as high fertilizer costs and falling wheat prices have put a strain on growers.

The Forrest City Airport Commission will be dissolved in the new year and the airport will be sold when the new regional facility in Colt opens later in the New Year.

Two teenagers are dead after they pulled onto railroad tracks and were struck by a Union Pacific Train. The accident happened north of Paragould.

Two boys broke into the state fish hatchery compound in Lonoke County, stole a truck and ripped through a muddy field, authorities said Monday.

Deputies found the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission truck stuck in the mud in a subdivision southwest of Lonoke on Sunday evening and arrested the boys, 12 and 14,

Levi, a 3-year-old rat terrier, is being hailed as a hero by his owners after alerting the sleeping Chuck Brown family that its home in the Macedonia community near New Edinburg was on fire.

The Democrat-Gazette’s lawsuit over jail records of the man accused of killing a local television anchor has been withdrawn because, according to newspaper officials, by the time the case was heard it would be moot.

Jacksonville City leaders signed a deal that will keep North Metro Medical Center open! For months the fate of Jacksonville’s only hospital has been up in the air. Most months the hospital is operating in the red. Allegiance Health Management is expected to buy that hospital January 1.

Effective January 2, 2008, Central Arkansas Transit will increase the fares for all bus and para transit services, including those routes in North little Rock.  The base fare one way bus fare will increase from the current $1.25 to $1.35 with the adult 31 day pass going from $34.00 to $36.00.

It’s Monday!

My column in today’s Democrat-Gazette is about the freethinker’s billboard “Beward of Dogma.” Now, whose side do you think I come down on? Find it on the Voices page in the Arkansas section.

Check out my Lynch at Large blog.  If there should be any important breaking news, I will have it.

https://lynchatlarge.wordpress.com/

My morning updates are 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. You can also hear my early morning headlines on Y-95 in Camden.

My train blog is very popular, so check out Trains for America. (It has a lot more readers from all over the world than my Lynch at Large blog,)

http://trains4america.wordpress.com/

Former campaign manager for Governor Huckabee’s presidential run is facing serious criticism about his Christmas gift choices. Chip Saltsman, now running for chair of the Republican National Committee sent a CD of parody songs–including one with racial references to the president-elect.

A report, compiled by the Legislative Task Force to Study Homelessness, says more than 20,000 Arkansans were homeless last year, about 4,300 of them children. The report said 35 percent of the children lived with their families in shelters, while the rest sought shelter with family members in other places, such as in vehicles, motels, woods or with friends.

State Senator Kim Hendren of Gravette will introduce legislation next month to restrict contract buyouts for public school officials.

The Chicago owner of the Pines Mall in Pine Bluff says rumors of its closing are untrue. Roby Brock reports on TalkBusiness. Net that the publicly owned real estate company is dealing with legal problems and refinancing billions in debt.

Former Springdale  and Razorback assistant coach Gus Malzahn is the new offensive coordinator at Auburn.

Authorities say a member of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries church could be sentenced to five years in federal prison next month for trafficking in counterfeit musical compact discs.

Authorities say a De Queen woman, Julie Milligan, has been charged with theft by deception for allegedly selling cookie dough for a military homecoming for soldiers and pocketing the money.

Police in a rural Pennsylvania township are investigating  21 year-old Stanley Carter of Truman who stole from a local family while living in their attic. He took clothes, food, and ultimately a laptop and iPod.

The storm which passed through North Little Rock Saturday caused a significant disruption to the operations of the City’s Emergency Operations Center on Sycamore Street.

Stephens Media Group columnist David Sanders reports that Congressman Vic Snyder plans to run for reelection in 2010, despite the recent arrival of triplets.