Lynch at Large

Get ready for the Wednesday Wake Up on KARK TV Channel 4. Bill Vickery and I will be on at around 6:45 with this week’s  winners and losers. Tune in or set your DVR.

My morning updates are on K106.3 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 an hour from 6 to 9, so catch my act on your drive in.

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

Bank authorities are investigating a $2.1 million embezzlement of Twin City Bank. Allegations concern a senior official in North Little Rock. The bank tells federal regulators that no customer’s funds were lost.

The University of Central Arkansas will seek an attorney general’s opinion on whether a $300,000 bonus for President Lu Hardin violated the law by exceeding a state-mandated salary cap.

There is still an opening on the Central Arkansas Water board after Little Rock attorney Jane Dickey, who has served for 11 years, withdrew her name from consideration.

Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines  says the county’s  financial condition has improved enough that plans to expand the jail will proceed. A repair of the old jail is expected to be complete this fall.

The proposal by two Pulaski County Justices of the Peace to charge for viewing documents on the County website is dead for now.

Expanding a service center near downtown to help central Arkansas’ homeless will be up to the North Little Rock City Council at next Monday’s meeting. It will consider a special-use permit for a homeless resource center operated by River City Ministry, east of downtown.

Dogtown News Wire reports that North Little Rock City Council also is about to deal with the orange cones blocking some public parking places near Dickey-Stephens Park.

Wanting to make sure motels offering extended-stay deals don’t turn into apartments, Little Rock directors are considering limiting people to 30-day stays at non-chain motels and hotels.

For the time being, school bus transportation in the 18,000-student Pulaski County Special School District will continue to be a district-run operation.

Wal-Mart  has won a permanent gag order and agreed to drop its lawsuit against a fired security employee who detailed to media what he said were the retailer’s surveillance practices. A Benton County judge granted Wal-Mart a permanent injunction against Bruce Gabbard, a technician who alleged that a manager pressured him to find security leaks.

For the last nine months, Conway water has been without fluoride. It is because of damage to a pipe near where fluoride injection occurred and it will cost over $100,000 to get it fixed.

The Pine Bluff City Council will formally oppose a proposed countywide one-half cent sales tax initiative for economic development and workforce training.

A batch of an adulterated or over-strength drug — which at least one buyer thought was cocaine — has sent several people people to a Jonesboro hospital overnight, police say. Four of the victims needed to be put on respirators, and all are listed in critical condition.

Arkansas death-row inmate Frank Williams Jr. should be spared from execution because of mental disabilities and issues surrounding his 1992 murder conviction, his lawyers argue in a new clemency request. Williams faces a September 9 execution.

Amy Qualls of White Hall will repay nearly $30,000 she admitted taking from Matthews Memorial Baptist Church. She was sentenced to five years of supervised probation.

A 70-year-old Rogers woman told police on Monday she was the victim of a telephone scam. It all started when she was notified on June 11 that she won $750,000 with the Australian International Sweepstakes. The Morning News agreed to protect Ozella’s identity and use only her first name. (nice gesture. Not many Ozella’s around, are there?)

Attention collectors, the City of Dover is putting its 1967 Chevrolet Howe fire truck up for sale on eBay. Since buying a 1984 Mack fire truck, the city just does not have room to store the older model.

My morning news capsules run 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

Tomorrow morning is another Wednesday Wake Up on KARK TV Channel 4 at 6:45. Bill Vickery and I have the winners and losers. Tune in or set your DVR.

Sgt. Anthony Lynn Woodham of Rogers  is dead in Iraq as the result of non-combat related injuries in the vehicle maintenance area. He was a member of the 39^th. Infantry Brigade.

Backers of a ballot measure aimed at denying state benefits for illegal immigrants abandoned their effort to appear on November’s ballot while supporters of a proposal to keep homosexuals from adopting or fostering children acknowledge they will probably need to gather more signatures.

State emergency management officials say an Atkins woman has died from injuries she suffered during the Feb. 5 tornado outbreak, bringing the state’s death toll from the storms to 14.

A survey of 3,700 Arkansas children in grades 6 through 12 found that half of the students are unsupervised after school on a regular basis, according to a new report released calling for more after-school programs

A survey of box turtle populations by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission has generated more participation by “citizen scientists” than its past survey efforts. 2500 participants last year.

The Little Rock City Board of Directors will probably vote tonight on whether to extend Jane Dickey’s eleven year term on the Central Arkansas Water Board. Mayor Stodola recently replaced Larry Lichty from the Airport Commission citing his previous five years of service.

Long time Little Rock School Board member, Larry Berkley, is calling it quits after months of discord between members. He’s served Zone five for 12 years, but this Friday when the filling period opens Berkely’s name will be absent. 

Saying it would add a layer of protection for information contained in online public documents, Pulaski County Quorum Court members Steve Goss and Allen Kerr have proposed an ordinance that would charge a per-page access fee for data found on the county’s Web site.

After 16 years in prison, Patrick Waller of Magnolia is now a free man, exonerated by DNA evidence. He is the 18th inmate in Dallas County, Texas to be cleared by DNA testing since 2001.

You may have heard of recent incidents of criminals impersonating police officers. Helena-West Helena cops are investigating the theft of one fellow officer’s uniforms. It’s a good idea to ask for identification.

Partick Duval is still fired as Alexander fire chief after an executive session of the city council They mayor fired Duval after allegations of an in appropriate relationship with a local police officer.

Stephens Inc. is adding 7 investment bankers to its Dallas offices.

My always informative and provocative column runs on the Voices page in this morning’s Democrat-Gazette. Look for me in the Arkansas section. I promise to have something to offend everybody.

My morning radio news updates are on twice every hour 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.

My radio show starts at 9. Tune in.

KSMD 99.1 FM - Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM - Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM - Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM - Heber Springs/Clinton

Presumed Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain will reportedly promise to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term today according to a policy paper to be released today.

Texas officials have approved Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s plans to build a $1.52 billion coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County, joining utility regulators in Arkansas and Louisiana who also favor the plant. An application by SWEPCO for an air permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is still pending.

The state ended the fiscal year with a $176 million dollar surplus and there are lots of ideas on how to spend the money, including more inspectors for gas wells in the Fayetteville Shale Play. The state Oil and Gas Commission says it has eight inspectors for all the wells in the state.

Conway’s Log Cabin Democrat reports on a special fund available to UCA Trustees. The money comes from bookstore and on-campus food sales. This is the source of President Lu Hardin’s $300,000 bonus. The paper also reports the chairman of the trustees can spend up to $5000 without permission from other board members.

Gov. Mike Beebe says the HP announcement of a new facility in Conway “has actually created some dialogue with other companies that we weren’t talking with before the HP announcement.” Beebe made those comments in an interview with Arkansas News Bureau columnist Roby Brock.

Guards at Arkansas state prisons would be able to use force on inmates who failed to obey “lawful orders” under a new rule being considered by correction officials, the first change to the department’s corporal punishment policy in nearly three decades.

70 mph winds ripped through Benton County in a Saturday evening storm that dumped 300 gallons of fuel into Beaver Lake.

The Democrat-Gazette reports Little Rock’s city manager Bruce Moore gave Moses Tucker Real Estate more than $130,000 in unusual fee waivers on its $65 million River Market Tower. That happened just before the city ended 2007 with over a $3 million deficit.

Little Rock is expanding the number of part-time workers who cut the weed lots that overtake some neighborhoods in the summer months.

Today is the first deadline for citizen groups trying to get initiated acts on the November ballot. Some of those who fall short of the required number of valid signatures may be able to get extensions.

The Public Employees Retirement System and the Arkansas Teachers Retirement System are lead plaintiffs in three separate class action lawsuits including allegations of fraud which may have cost the state as much as $7 million.

The 146 acres leased by FEMA at the Hope city airport for $25,000 a month to store trailers for victims of natural disasters isn’t enough to meet the agency’s needs, so the city board has approved rental of 85 more acres for an additional $5,000 monthly. That new land reportedly will be used to repair and stage trailers as they are shipped out.

Manuel Camacho and Serafin Sandoval-Vega plan to blame each other when their capital-murder trial starts Tuesday in Benton County Circuit Court. They are defendants in an unusual simultaneous trial for the 2006 shooting of Daniel Francis. 

My morning updates run twice every hour from 6 to 9 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 had lunch with Don yesterday and I think he was pretty much traumatized by the experience.

My radio show is on at 9 if YOU would like to be traumatized.

KSMD 99.1 FM - Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM - Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM - Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM - Heber Springs/Clinton

I am off Friday. It’s a national holiday. Independence Day. Remember? Have a safe weekend and check my column in Monday’s Democrat-Gazette.

Razorback linebacker Wendel Davis faces a felony criminal mischief charge after police say he punched through the window of a car that bumped his scooter. Davis, however, tells police that, over the past few days, the driver of the car had sent him threatening text messages.

University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin says his school’s trustees should better explain votes they take on salary matters, after they approved his early $300,000 longevity bonus behind closed doors.

State revenue for June was up. The gross amount was up 4.2 percent over the same month last year and up 8.5 percent over forecast. The state ended with a surplus of $176.5 million in general revenues.

A convicted murderer serving a life sentence for the 1990 beating death of a man who picked him up as a hitchhiker should be granted clemency, the state parole board says. The Arkansas Board of Parole recommended for the fifth time that Denver Mitchell Jr., who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1992, be eligible for parole.

Riceland Foods Inc. in Stuttgart subjected the state’s rice farmers to an “ultrahazardous risk” when it experimented with genetically modified rice that contaminated the commercial supply, a suit representing 4,000 rice growers filed Wednesday alleges.

Arkansas will host the National Symphony Orchestra for a week next year as part of a program designed to bring the orchestra of the nation’s capital to all 50 states.

If you purchased 16 oz. packages of Private Selection Natural Ground Beef from a Kroger anytime since late May, you need to return it for a full refund. The beef has been linked to several cases of e. Coli-related illness.

Get ready for the latest thing from Sam’s Club. Square milk cartons stack more easily and trucks carry 9% more milk.

Roby Brock, of TalkBusiness.net, will interview Governor Mike Beebe on his economic development strategy on his weekend television program.

An Alma man already sentenced to 100 years in prison and free on an appeal bond was arrested for delivery of a controlled substance.  Clifford “Joe” Pullan, 80, was arrested on a petition to revoke a $100,000 appeal bond after he allegedly sold hydrocodone to a confidential informant.

The Wednesday Wake Up is on KARK TV Channel 4 this morning at 6:45. Bill Vickery and I will have this week’s winners and losers. Tune in or set your DVR.

My informative morning news updates are on twice an 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

President Bush is confident he will reach a deal with Congress on a housing-rescue plan. The Senate is considering a $300 billion plan to back cheaper loans for people who risk losing their home, but that measure has stalled. Bush was in Central Arkansas for a housing conference and a Republican fundraiser.

The Pentagon is considering a plan to ship deadly chemical weapons to military sites in four states, including Arkansas, to accelerate the destruction of the munitions, a new report to Congress says. The idea is prompting opposition from Congress and watchdog groups.

A Minnesota judge has ruled Wal Mart violated state wage and hour laws, requiring employees to work off the clock, and the discount retailer could now face more than $2 billion in possible fines. The court ruled that Wal-Mart owes $6.5 million to thousands of current and former employees.

Starbucks will close 600 stores nationwide, but it is not saying which ones will be shut down. The Seattle coffee brewer has 38 stores in Arkansas.

Stephens Media columnist Harry King reports that the Arkansas Razorback Sports Network may be for sale. ARSN is a division of KATV Channel 7 and the exclusive provider of all Razorback football and basketball programming. For that right, the network pays the UA around $1.5 million per year.

Supporters of a proposed initiated act that would ban unmarried couples from adopting or serving as foster parents believe they have enough signatures to get the measure on the general election ballot.

University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin received $300,000 in private funds ahead of schedule as an incentive for him to stay at the school he has overseen since September 2002.

The state securities commissioner ordered a Maumelle insurance agent to stop advising clients on investments. Alonza Lilly, doing business as Covenant Senior is reported to be improperly using various professional designations to imply that he possesses specialized qualifications.

The Democrat-Gazette reports an alleged identity theft by a Baptist Health worker. Medical records and social security numbers reportedly compromised. An arrest was reportedly made at a local Wal Mar

Plans for the new Park Avenue retail and residential development on the site of the old University Mall are on “go” after approval from the Little Rock City Board.

Dogtown News Wire reports that rumors of a $6 million renovation to McCain Mall is untrue.

The Little Rock City Board has deferred action on Jane Dickey extended term on the Central Arkansas Water Board. She has already served 11 years.

Arkansas has already had two linebackers get arrested this offseason, and a third could be facing criminal charges stemming from a traffic accident. Junior Wendel Davis’ scooter was hit from the rear by a car. Davis injured his hand pounding on the car and he broke the windshield. He could be charged with criminal mischief.

Thieves in northwest Arkansas made a huge withdrawal at a Bella Vista Pulaski Bank - they took a whole automated teller machine with them.

My cheery and informative news updates are on twice hourly 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. Check me out twice an hour.

My daily show is on the air at 9.

KSMD 99.1 FM - Searcy/Batesville

KWCK 1300 AM - Searcy

KAPZ 710 AM - Bald Knob/Augusta

KAWW 1370 AM - Heber Springs/Clinton

President Bush is in North Little Rock for a conference on housing today and then he’s on to sedate Camack Village for a private Republican Party fundraiser.

The state sales tax that manufacturers pay for electricity and natural gas will decrease another notch and state departments and agencies will have $107 million less than expected for the fiscal year beginning today.

Representative Vic Snyder and his wife, the Rev. Betsy Singleton  are expecting triplets. They already have one child.

The Little Bock City Board will decide tonight whether to renew the term of Rose Law Firm attorney Jane Dickey. She has served 11 years already. The Rose Law Firm represents Deltic Timber, which has substantial property around Lake Maumelle.

Work is expected to resume in January on the home-building project at the Little Rock Air Force Base, commander Brig. Gen. Rowayne A. Schatz Jr. told about 120 people at a town-hall meeting.

Phillips County Sheriff Deputies have arrested Helena-West Helena Mayor James Valley on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Valley denies wrongdoing in releasing the town’s pound dogs into the national forest.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP has started building a 167-mile, $500 million pipeline to take natural gas from the Fayetteville Shale in north-central Arkansas to market in Louisiana. A peak of about 1,300 people will be employed in Arkansas during the construction, which is expected to be complete early next year.

Now that Tyson Foods has unloaded its Canadian beef operations, it has moved into the Indian poultry market It will operate under the trade name “Real Good Chicken.”

Arkansas farmers this year are expected to harvest fewer acres of cotton, corn and grain sorghum than last year, but more acres of soybeans, wheat and rice.

Chrysler will close one Missouri plant indefinitely this fall and cut production at another due to slumping demand for trucks and other large vehicles.

Jacob Wingo, a Hot Spring County teenager, told authorities he soaked a makeshift cross in lighter fluid, stuck it outside the home where a white woman and her three biracial children lived and set it ablaze. Wingo was arrested on felony charges of terroristic threatening and aggravated assault in connection with the June 21 burning in rural Donaldson, about 12 miles from Malvern. A fire destroyed the home where the cross was burned less than a week later.

The investigation into the weekend death of a Marmaduke toddler continues.

1-year-old Ethan Ray Roberts was found dead Saturday morning at his Marmaduke home. Kelly Honeycutt, the mother, says it was an accidental drowning but police say the child had been dead at least 12 hours by the time they were called to the scene.

A Bryant firefighter faces felony charges and is on administrative leave after being charged with the rape of an 11-year-old girl over a two-year period. Robert Michael Cadmus of Bauxite turned himself into the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department.

The Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission has unanimously rejected a request by environmental groups to change Arkansas’ air code to consider carbon dioxide an “air contaminant.

For the second straight year, a House committee has admonished the Delta Regional Authority over its spending priorities and voted to slash the agency’s annual budget by half.

The Arkansas State Police will not open a criminal investigation regarding the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission because the Legislative Audit Division was unable to confirm that anything was missing from the commission’s office.

A Pulaski County Circuit judge has rejected a petition to impanel a grand jury to investigate voter-intimidation allegations in the Perry County sheriff ’s race after Arkansas State Police couldn’t find evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

A nurse who is on the Guy City Council is challenging U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder in the Nov. 4 election. “Deb” McFarland is running against the Democrat from Little Rock as a Green Party candidate.

House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson told the Fayetteville Political Animal Club it would be difficult for House members to refuse Dwayne Dobbins of North Little Rock his seat in January if he wins the General Election.

Today is the final day for John White as Chancellor of the University of Arkansas and also the last day of the Razorback Foundation’s  $500,000 annual payout of Nolan Richardson’s  contract.

Arkansas backup linebacker Freddy Burton was arrested early Sunday morning and booked into the Washington County Jail on misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and careless driving. He’s the fourth player to be arrested since Bobby Petrino was hired as Arkansas’ football coach on Dec. 11.

Employees disabled part of the Pulaski County clerk’s public records Web site so that Social Security numbers on thousands of Arkansans’ real-estate records can be removed.

Robbers attacked two different diamond salesmen traveling through the South only two days apart from each other, stealing an estimated $1 million worth of jewels. The thefts, in Nashville and Pine Bluff, look similar to authorites. Both happened in parking lots and in Pine Bluff, they even stole diamonds hidden in the salesman’s socks.

A special judge authorized an arrest warrant Friday for Helena-West Helena James Valley, finding reasonable cause to believe that Valley committed animal cruelty by releasing stray dogs to fend for themselves near a national forest.

Calhoun County sheriff’s deputies say a 4-year-old boy moving into a new house with his family found a handgun and accidentally shot his 5-year-old sister with it.

The driver of a private security firm van ferrying prison inmates through south Arkansas fell asleep behind the wheel, causing a crash that killed two prisoners and injuring four others.

A veteran Fort Smith police officer suspended earlier this month for the second time in less than a year was disciplined for a public altercation with his wife while on duty. Cpl. Tim Randolph was suspended for 30 days without pay following a May 11 incident at the Fort Smith Regional Airport. A Delta Airlines employee told police that Randolph was “yelling, kicking and throwing things” as a woman, later identified as Randolph’s wife.

A former Fort Smith police officer, Tom Judkins, arrested on suspicion of theft by deception is accused of stealing more than $12,000 from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 39, while serving as treasurer for the organization.

A judge ruled four of six teenagers accused in a February armed robbery of Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers in Rogers will be prosecuted as adults.

My early morning newscasts 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.

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

My column is a launching of arrows. What do the fates have in store? Look Monday in the Arkansas section of the Democrat-Gazette on the Voices page.

Mike Masterson will write about Janie Ward and the ABC investigative report in Sunday’s paper.

The United States Supreme Court has struck down the District of Columbia’s absolute ban on handguns.

The Arkansas Supreme Court denied requests from defense lawyers seeking to expand what a circuit judge can consider this fall in reviewing cases against their clients in the murders of three West Memphis boys.

Conservation groups will go before the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission today to argue for a change in definition of air contaminants to recognize the harmful effects of carbon dioxide.

Little Rock Vice Mayor Stacy Hurst will reimburse the City of Little Rock for the $1700 for her inclusion in the “Power Women” listing in the June issue of Soiree.

Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending, says 101 of the156 payday stores targeted by McDaniel on March 18 have closed. The remaining 55 are believed to be operating in defiance of the order.”

Lt. Gov. Bill Halter submitted 138,615 signatures in support of his proposed constitutional amendment to create a state lottery. That is about double what is necessary to get on the November ballot.

A new partnership between private insurance and Medicaid will help middle-income Arkansans protect their assets in their senior years or in times of long-term care decisions.  The Arkansas Long-Term Care Partnership will make it possible for Arkansans not to have to “spend down” their money by giving up property or selling off a family business.

Randy Zook is the new head of the State Chamber of Commerce. He moves over from the state Economic Development Commission.

There may be a bidding war for the Fayetteville High School campus. An unnamed group of investors wants an 90-day option to consider buying the Fayetteville High School campus for $60 million. The University of Arkansas has bid $50 million, to be paid by student fees.

Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs comes to a North Little Rock downtown sidewalk starting today to encourage people to stop and spend along the city’s still-redeveloping Main Street. Nathan’s on Cony Island is home of the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest and is the subject of Larry King’s famous “Moppo is dead” story.

President Bush will participate in a roundtable on housing counseling when he visits Arkansas next week Bush will headline a Camack Village fundraiser late Tuesday afternoon.

Tornado, the bustling bus line, that caters mainly to Hispanic clientele,  is up and running again after being forced late last year to close. Last year, a Tornado driver, drowsy and allegedly  hopped up on amphetamines, crossed a median near Forrest City, clipped a semi-truck, then rammed a pickup; four people were killed.

Social Security numbers are online in some documents posted online by the Pulaski County Clerk Pat O’Brien. He says it is not illegal.  There have been complaints from the public and some of the numbers are being removed by hand.

Sonny Weems was a Chicago Bull. And then he wasn’t. Fifteen minutes after being selected by the Bulls with the 39th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft, Weems received a phone call from his agent. Forget about Chicago, Montgomery said, and get ready for Denver Nuggets.

Consider this an open thread on reactions to last night’s ABC broadcast on the Janie Ward case. THANKS to the thousands of readers visiting for the first time.

I will be posting have posted archived interviews with her parents and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Mike Masterson concerning this case later today so check over at my home page. I also have photos from the investigation posted on my page.

My morning newscasts are on twice an hour from 6 to 9 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 program 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

The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule today on a handgun rights case in the District of Columbia. It is a major second amendment ruling.

The Democrat-Gazette reports Hewlett-Packard was offered more than $43 million in incentives from state and local officials to build a new customer and technical service center in Conway.

A Senate committee signed off Wednesday on a measure to force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make a plan to remove thousands of trailers from the Hope Municipal Airport. The bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., gives FEMA nine months to decide what to do with the temporary housing units the government has stored across the country.

Supporters and opponents of a proposed state lottery to fund college scholarships released two separate studies Wednesday, with each group saying its study supported its point of view. Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter’s group sets annual revenue at $100 million. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families sets it at $61 million.

A three-state study led by UAMS researchers suggests that laws intended to drive down the manufacture and use of methamphetamine in rural areas may be driving up the use of cocaine.

A Bermuda jury has acquitted a Little Rock lawyer Gary Barket, who was arrested for guns found in checked luggage. Add the name of Congressmen Vic Snyder to the local big shots who flew in to testify for Barket.

That cool publicity spread in Soiree for Little Rock Vice Mayor Stacy Hurst cost $1700. Not to worry. Arkansas Times reports the City picked up the tab.

Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission will move forward with plans to get land at the corner of Scott and Markham to build a parking deck. The space, which is currently a surface lot, was recently bought by CSK Hotels in Fort Smith for $950,000.

Loneoke County has new hot pink uniforms for jail inmates. Not meant to embarrass anybody, according to the sheriff. They just want prisoners to stand out.

Mexico and Europe ban all imports of chickens from Arkansas after a recent discovery of bird flu. Mexico is the largest U.S. trading partner.  Japan, Russia and Taiwan are also temporarily closed to American chicken imports. 

Officials plan to reopen the Washington County Health Unit today after blood tests given to those who became sick there last week were found to be inconclusive.

N.E.W. Customer Service Companies will bring 120 jobs to Jonesboro. The work-at-home jobs will provide technical troubleshooting support services to Direct TV customers.  Company officials said the jobs will pay $9 an hour.

Channel 4 reports the Bearden School District may be out $100,000. The superintendent has just returned from active duty in Iraq.