Arkansas

A new bill focused on reforms of Arkansas's Freedom of Information Act has passed the House and is now heading to the desk of Gov. Sarah Sanders.

This comes as the legislation, Senate Bill 10 (SB10), passed out of the Senate on Wednesday by a 29-2 margin.

SB10 is the restructured FOIA bill that was introduced by Arkansas Sen. Bart Hester on Tuesday evening. This amended proposal allows the state to deny access to details about the governor's security and other constitutional officers who travel on the Arkansas State Police plane. It also denies access to the cost of trips.

"We all don't agree on everything, right?" Hester said. "And so I think that's exactly what happened, here, but we got a vast majority of legislators and I believe Arkansans support of this legislation now."

Some politicians like Sen. Clarke Tucker described the bill as being "broad," but still voiced his support due to "security concerns" surrounding FOIA as currently constructed.

"We got to a point where everything but the security for the governor was stripped from the bill, and I want to be deferential and make sure that our governor and her family are secure," Tucker said. "So ultimately, that's why I'm going to vote for the bill."

Many Democrats and Republicans were frustrated with the original bill's restrictions on government transparency, including who joins the governor on taxpayer-funded trips.

Senator Bryan King has been one vocal voice against the bill and said more should've been added.

"A sunset clause would have allowed a reset in the 2025 session to relook at this and see how it happens and how it works," King said.

However, supporters claimed the legislation is for the safety of the governor and those around her.

In a classic "solution for a problem that doesn't exist for the purposes of pandering and political theater"...

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) has signed a bill that bans state and local governments from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for workers after a similar ban expired last month.

The legislation signed Thursday is aimed at defending citizens’ “individual liberty,” Sanders said at a press conference prior to its signing.

The legislation also prohibits COVID-19 vaccinations from being required as a condition of education, or for obtaining a service or licensure, permit or certificate of some kind. Any potential risks and harms associated with the shots must also be recorded and published by the state.

... and a minor reference to an actual problem :

A separate bill she signed restricts the public release of her travel and security records.

Producers, marketers and consumers of Delta 8 THC products received some welcome news Thursday after a federal judge blocked the state from enforcing a law -- Act 629 of 2023 -- banning the sale of such products in the state.

U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson issued the ruling in the wake of a motion hearing held Aug. 23 in federal court in Little Rock after a group of four cannabis-related businesses sued the state on the grounds that the law violated the U.S. Constitution's Commerce and Supremacy clauses.

Act 629, passed in the 2023 regular session of the General Assembly, sought to ban the production and sale of products containing Delta 8, Delta 9 and Delta 10 and other THC isomers inside the state of Arkansas. Such products have been legal federally since 2018 under provisions contained in the 2018 Farm Bill that removed hemp containing less than 0.3% dry weight Delta 9 THC as a controlled substance. According to federal law, hemp containing more than 0.3% dry weight Delta 9 is classified as marijuana and remains prohibited federally, despite 38 states -- including Arkansas -- having legalized marijuana for medical use and 21 of those states and the District of Columbia giving the OK for recreational use.

On July 31, the day before the state's ban on Delta 8 products went fully into effect, a group of hemp product marketers in Arkansas, Colorado and Texas filed suit in federal court in Arkansas seeking to overturn the law and asking the court to block enforcement through a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit moves forward.

After 50 years of serving the central Arkansas community as KUAR/KLRE Public Radio, we are proud to unveil our new identity: Little Rock Public Radio.

This transformative change reflects our deep commitment to the vibrant communities we have been privileged to engage with over the decades. While our name has evolved, our dedication to delivering unparalleled news, informative content, and captivating programming that embodies the spirit of central Arkansas remains unwavering.

Little Rock Public Radio is more than just a name; it's a representation of the heart and soul of our community. Our programming will continue to provide a trusted source of connection and inspiration, weaving together the stories, voices, and music that define us.

Just 48 hours before the first day of school, the Arkansas Department of Education announced that Advanced Placement African American Studies wouldn't count towards graduation. They said they’re reviewing the course for possible indoctrination.

Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders went on Fox News to explain her administration's decision to de-prioritize AP African American studies.

“We cannot perpetuate a lie to our students, and push this propaganda leftist agenda, teaching our kids to hate America, and hate one another," she said.

Sanders has not pointed to anything specific in the AP African American Studies curriculum. The Arkansas Department of Education notified teachers that they’d deleted the course code for AP African American Studies. That means students can’t get graduation credit for taking it.

UA Little Rock Public Radio welcomes the newest member of the news team: All Things Considered Host Maggie Ryan!

In the summer of 2021, Maggie served as a reporting intern for the San Antonio Heron, a nonprofit newsroom focused on housing and development in south-central Texas. After covering stories ranging from low-income development projects to local politics for the Heron, Maggie continued to develop her reporting skills as a writer and editor for the Profile, the campus magazine at Hendrix College.

Maggie's first day anchoring live newscasts during NPR's All Things Considered will be Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. After that, you can hear her on the air weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed a new member of the Arkansas State Board of Education Friday. The governor announced Leigh Keener, an early childhood education teacher, will take on the role.

Sanders said Keener was “one of her best friends,” with their relationship going back 20 years. She grew emotional reflecting on their friendship, explaining Keener is the godparent to her son, Huck.

Keener has worked as a teacher for two decades, and has a certificate in early childhood education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Surrounded by her family, Keener said early childhood education is a complicated part of a child's development.

Sanders said she was excited to have Keener work to implement Arkansas LEARNS, a package of education legislation signed into law earlier this year.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is celebrating the construction of a new $11.75 million headquarters in downtown Little Rock.

The symphony held a groundbreaking Thursday at the future site of the Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in the city’s East Village neighborhood.

"We're going to immediately have space to fulfill the needs of the E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy, we will have a recording studio with the capability to reach people in their homes, in their schools and in residential facilities from long-term care to rehabilitation clinics to prisons," Robson said.

The symphony joins other notable Little Rock institutions with a presence in the East Village neighborhood, including the Clinton Presidential Center and the headquarters of Heifer International. The new facility will house the symphony’s E. Lee Ronnel Music Academy, and will feature spaces for performance, practice and instrument storage.

Arkansas lawmakers passed 890 laws during this year’s legislative sessions, and most take effect on Tuesday.

The Social Media Safety Act, which requires parental permission for children under 18 to create a new social media account, goes into effect Sept. 1. However, the law could be affected by a federal lawsuit that argues the age verification law violates the First Amendment rights of Arkansans.

I chose a few of the more interesting ones to highlight below.

Act 237 — Commonly called the LEARNS Act, this 145-page piece of legislation brings sweeping changes to the state’s education system. Among other things, the law raises the minimum teacher salary to $50,000, creates a school voucher program that will be phased in over three years, repeals the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, changes graduation criteria and requires students not reading on grade-level by the third grade to be held back.

There is a group that claims to have gained enough signatures to bring a repeal of Act 237 to the ballot. I won't go into the LEARNS details here but the description above sounds really good where the reality is ... not so much.

"Bathroom bill"

Act 317 — Requires students at public and charter schools to use the bathrooms that align with their gender assigned at birth. Republican legislators have said the law will protect children’s privacy, while LGBTQ+ rights activists and Democratic legislators have said the law is one of several passed this year that discriminates against transgender people.

Act 511 — Prohibits public schools and colleges from requiring employees to participate in implicit bias training. An institution would not be prohibited from requiring implicit bias training if 95% of it “is required by an accreditor, grantor, or licensor.”

Act 542 — Requires Arkansas public school teachers and professors to use the pronouns and names students were assigned at birth.

Act 195 — Removes the requirement for children under 16 years old who wish to work in Arkansas to obtain an employment certificate from the Division of Labor.

Act 274 — Allows minors who receive gender-affirming health care to sue physicians for medical malpractice for providing this care up to 15 years after they turn 18.

The reason PornHub is blocked :

Act 612 — Requires pornography websites to verify that users are at least 18 years old.

Act 629 — Outlaws Delta-8, Delta-9 and Delta-10 THC by classifying them Schedule IV drugs.

Act 777 — Clarifies that you don’t have to hold a permit to carry a concealed firearm in Arkansas.

Act 160 — Requires able-bodied adults between the ages 19 and 64 to work, volunteer or participate in a workforce training program in order to receive federal housing assistance.

Barring any issues, sounds like this will go into effect and start powering homes in Conway in October of this year.

Most parking is reserved for Foundation members. So options seem to be the garage or Baum. I can't imagine tailgating would be allowed in the garage and there aren't any bathrooms out at Baum for my son.

So are there basically no options for me to tailgate personally?

Officials with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences are celebrating the opening of a new center focused on radiation therapy.

The UAMS Radiation Oncology center features new technology, clinic space and research laboratories located on the university’s main campus in Little Rock.

Sanders joined other commissioners and First Gentleman Bryan Sanders at the Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in downtown Little Rock for the Wednesday announcement. The governor said Adams would seek to protect the state’s natural resources in his new role.

Adams, of Fayetteville, operates several nursing homes in Arkansas and owns a number of hunting and fishing lodges throughout the state. He thanked Sanders for the appointment, citing his love of the outdoors.

Arkansas ended the fiscal year with a $1.161 billion tax revenue surplus driven in part by a more than 8% growth in sales tax collections. But recent federal data suggests Arkansas’ economy may not be as robust in the back half of 2023.

Total tax revenue in the fiscal year (July 2022-July 2023) was $8.85 billion, up 0.9% compared with the previous fiscal year and 1.7% more than the budget forecast, according to a report posted Wednesday (July 5) by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA).

Individual income tax revenue in the fiscal year was $3.916 billion, down 6.1% compared to the previous fiscal year and 1.1% above the budget forecast. Sales and use tax revenue in the fiscal year was $3.418 billion, up 8.4% compared with the previous fiscal year and up 1% above the forecast. Corporate income tax revenue was $842.5 million, up 0.6% compared to the previous fiscal year and 6.5% above the forecast.

The Vilonia Planning Commission unanimously voted against plans to build a cryptocurrency mine at an unusually packed meeting Thursday night.

Last week, the Vilonia City Council voted to cap town-wide sound at 60 decibels. At the same meeting, several residents expressed negative sentiments against the proposed mines.

No representatives from the company seeking to build the crypto mine came to the meeting. The only person connected to the mine was Barry Davidson, a civil engineer who had been contracted from a separate company. When asked before the meeting, Davidson struggled to remember the name of the mining company.

“You haven't met them, and you're their civil engineer,” commission member Kim Williams noted during the meeting. Another member said the fact that no one from the mining company was there showed an “unseriousness.”

NetChoice, a group whose members include Facebook parent Meta, TikTok and Twitter, filed a federal lawsuit over the measure signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April. The law requires social media companies to contract with third-party vendors to perform age verification checks on new users. The requirement is set to go into effect on Sept. 1.

Tomorrow (Thursday, 2023-06-29) the entire state will be covered in a Heat Advisory Warning with the majority of the state being covered in the more severe Excessive Heat Warning.

The Excessive Heat Warning covers heat index temperatures above 110F.

If you must be outside, drink plenty of water, rest frequently, and take advantage of shade where possible. Know the signs of heat related injuries such as heat stroke and know how to spot them in others.

The storms on Sunday (2023-06-25) caused damage and power outages across the state. The linked article is specific to Conway but the damage was certainly not limited to it.

I'll be roadtripping/vanlifing in a year or two and I've been trying to plot various travel destinations/routes - what's in Arkansas?

anything fun to visit? touristy? places to avoid? things to do/not do?

my grandparents had a cabin in the ozarks, so I've been there, 40 some odd years ago, but never again since.

Are there any concerts y'all are excited for? I saw Incubus and I'm going to see Disturbed in NWA. Just curious what the interests here are.

Excerpt :

The Vilonia City Council heard from several residents who voiced their concerns and objections to the newly-approved crypto-mining site in the city during its regular meeting Tuesday.

Dozens of concerned residents from Vilonia and the surrounding area filled the city hall chamber Tuesday to express their outrage about the facility in Vilonia.

At the April city council meeting, aldermen unanimously approved a conditional-use permit to allow for a new crypto-mining site in the city that would be located in the industrial mining district off Energy Lane.

More info in the article.