Thursday chilly news

Breaking news: Structure fire and Rosevelt and Broadway at the Save –a-Lot store, policee are investigating an early morning shooting of a local woman, and there is some snow on the radar, Roby Brock is running an interview with State Sen. Joyce Elliott on his Political blog and TalkBusiness.net. …. Otherwise….

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/

Mississippi  74 – Hogs 65

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez will be forgoing his senior year and entering the NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. That may open some doors for former Razorback quarterback Mitch Mustain.

House Speaker Robbie Wills  posts on the Under the Dome blog that the tobacco lobby has unleashed a campaign automatically generated phone calls against the proposed cigarette tax.

State Surgeon General Joe Thompson, tells legislators that the 23 programs in Gov. Mike Beebe’s $88 million-a-year health plan aren’t up for negotiation.

A new bill would make it a Class D felony to commit aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or horse by “knowingly” torturing it. The bill requires psychological evaluation for anyone who pleads guilty or is convicted. A Class D felony carries a penalty of up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.  The bill would criminalize all forms of animal-fighting. Currently only dogfighting is a crime.

A proposed new law would make seat belt violation a primary offense for a police stop. Thee is also a bill proposed to make the county sales tax a local option on food.

The Lowell area was the hottest “place” in terms of broad-based growth between 2000 and 2009 among Arkansas communities. Little Rock-based Gadberry Group used 14 to determine the eight highest-growth areas in the state for the past nine years. The areas after Lowell were, in descending order: Maumelle, Cabot, Bella Vista, Conway, Bentonville, Bryant and Benton.

Engine part maker Mahle Inc. says it will lay off between 30 and 35 workers at its plant in Russellville.

Producers with the CBS show “60 Minutes,” with reporter Lesley Stahl, will be in Blytheville until Friday, doing a story on the industry and its potential effect on President-Elect Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.

Twin Groves City Clerk Amie Ealy is questioning financial practices in the small town she was recently elected to serve. Ealy claims that depositing street fund grant money into the city’s general revenue fund and an alleged check for more than $3,000 written to a local day care facility, are questionable.

Little Rock police are on the hunt for a man who killed three people in less than 30 days. Two of those deaths happened just this week at two Little Rock apartment complexes.

North Little Rock’s school board will consider hiring legal counsel to fight the city’s downtown TIF district, which drains school money into private developments.

Little Rock Classroom Teachers Association leaders are urging the district’s School Board to act quickly on recommended budget cuts for the coming school year to avoid later cuts that could result in employee layoffs.

A report by a watchdog group called the Reason Foundation ranks Arkansas ninth in the country for urban interstate traffic congestion.