Wednesday coffee and 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/

The Hogs defeated nationally ranked Texas, 67-61. That’s two wins over two top ten teams in one week. Yes, that was Eddie Sutton in the stands.

The cold, moist weather that hung around the state Monday and Tuesday led to the deaths of four men in Northwest Arkansas but didn’t cause widespread accidents on state highways

Tyson Foods pleads guilty in court and will pay the maximum fine for violating worker safety regulations.  In addition to the fine, the company will be placed on probation for one year. The Justice Department said the company did not take sufficient steps to protect employees from harmful gasses and one employee died as a result.

The Family Council will reportedly seek to intervene in the ACLU lawsuit to temporarily halt implementation of Act 1 prohibiting unmarried couples from being adoptive or foster parents.

Arkansas Business reports setting up the state lottery is the biggest thing on the plates of the new leaders of the Arkansas House and Senate, while Gov. Beebe is sticking to his plan to further reduce the grocery tax.

Lawmakers decided Tuesday to further explore privatizing at least some state prisons. Privatizing Arkansas prisons is opposed by Gov. Mike Beebe and Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Johnson.

State Rep. Roy Ragland, R-Marshall, filed a bill that would bar any state, local or private agency from requiring an animal owner or real estate owner to register or enroll in the national animal identification system unless otherwise required to do so by a law or rule in effect before Jan. 1, 2009. USDA uses the system to track diseases in herd animals.

UCA’s presidential search committee has met for the first time to finalize language for an ad to run nationally.

The Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is seeking the help of the Pine Bluff community to help them participate in the inaugural parade on January 20th.

With boll-weevil eradication nearly complete, some Arkansans are focusing their efforts on repaying nearly $20 million in debt that has accumulated since the effort began more than a decade ago.

A Texarkana man accused in the August slayings of his mother and stepfather was found unfit to stand trial and was committed to the Arkansas State Hospital after telling a judge Monday that he doesn’t believe they are dead.

William Clark, who succeeded his late father as chief executive officer of CDI Contractors of Little Rock, resigned from the company according to ArkansasBusiness.com. Clark confirms that he voluntarily stepped down and has no immediate plans. He said the parent company, Dillard’s, would have to respond to any questions.  CFO John Glasgow disappeared almost one year ago.

Blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber is laying off more than 150 employees and temporarily shutting its Scott Hamilton facility, it announced today. Project delays thanks to the poor economy were cited.

The A&P Commissin will buy a lot at Markham and Scott from a Fort Smith developer for $85,000 more than was paid in May. The sell ing price is just over $1 million for property that was about to be condemned.

Margaret Kolb, one of the members of the Women’s Emergency Committee to reopen Little Rock’s schools in 1958, died at the age of  89.

The Bank of America branch across from UAMS, was robbed, and police already have a suspect. Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Robert Tupac Shakur, AKA Robert Green.