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Metro jobless rate ticks higher to 3.5% in October, number of employed down 0.1%
The Fort Smith metro jobless rate was 3.5% in October, up from 3.4% in October 2018, with the region seeing a slight decline in the number of employed and a…
Author: Michael Tilley
by - December 2, 2019 4:21 pm
Arkansas tourism tax up 8.1% in Crawford County; Fort Smith airport activity up 5.7%
Business and tourism travel in the Fort Smith metro is trending higher compared to a flat 2018, with Fort Smith Regional enplanements up almost 6% between January and October. Hospitality…
by - November 24, 2019 8:04 pm
Riff Raff: Thanking the academy …
(Portions of this essay were first posted on Facebook. Apologies to Facebook friends for the partial plagiarism of myself.) It doesn’t take long. When the awards shows – Oscars, Grammy’s,…
by - November 20, 2019 5:57 pm
$131.5 million operating budget, consent decree work to be part of Fort Smith budget hearing
The Fort Smith Board of Directors and top city staff are set to begin budget hearings Friday (Nov. 22) to review a budget that proposes more than $125 million in…
by - November 20, 2019 2:13 pm
Arkansas Tourism Ticker: Tourism tax up 6.2%, industry jobs up more than 4%
Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax revenue between January and August was up 6.2% compared with the same period in 2018, and also a gain from the 5.2% year-over-year increase through the…
by - November 17, 2019 12:08 pm
Riff Raff: Life, Luck and –30–
Editor’s note: What follows is an updated version of a commentary about Jack Moseley first published Oct. 16, 2005. Moseley passed away Nov. 15. It was August 1992 when, against…
by - November 4, 2019 5:54 pm
Investor note positive on ArcBest, shares rise more than 6%
Transportation industry analysts with Stephens Inc. remain positive about Fort Smith-based ArcBest even as the company reported lower than expected third quarter earnings, and even with reports of a tough…
by - October 30, 2019 7:14 pm
NCAA student-athlete pay review a ‘small first step,’ and a pre-emptive move
The about-face made by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Tuesday (Oct. 29) on the subject of paying athletes was not a surprise to those monitoring the long-brewing, controversial…
by - October 29, 2019 4:32 pm
Glatfelter income tops $12.2 million in the third quarter, revenue up 10.8%
Glatfelter on Tuesday (Oct. 29) reported third quarter revenue was up more than 10%. The company, which operates a manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, also reported earnings per share of…
by - October 28, 2019 3:28 pm
Fort Smith Board to begin hearings on more than $684 million in planned water, sewer projects
Almost 37% of the more than $684.821 million 10-year capital improvement plans for Fort Smith’s water and sewer system is related to federal consent decree requirements, with those requirements estimated…
by - October 26, 2019 11:50 am
Riff Raff: The return of Jerry Mack
There were several hundred folks at Jerry Mack Garrison’s funeral. Few there knew him. But he was a Lamar kid and most of us grew up there and we know…
by - October 10, 2019 5:46 pm
State Board of Education compromises on Little Rock School District plan, votes to end teacher association
The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday (Oct. 10) backed away from the Education Department’s plan to restore local control to parts of the Little Rock School District. The board…
by - October 9, 2019 3:42 pm
Former Sen. Files prison release date set for Nov. 11
Former Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, who now resides in the City of Faith halfway house in Little Rock, is set to be released from federal detention on Nov. 11,…
by - October 8, 2019 3:54 pm
Year-to-date travel out of Fort Smith Regional Airport up almost 5%
Business and tourism travel out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport continues to grow, with enplanements up almost 5% through the first nine months of 2019. September enplanements grew at…
by - September 26, 2019 5:22 pm
Fort Smith metro travel and tourism sector improves in first half of 2019
Travel and tourism business in the Fort Smith metro has rebounded in the first six months of 2019 compared with what was a down year in 2018. Hospitality tax revenue…
by - September 17, 2019 6:13 pm
Suit filed challenging residency qualifications of Judge Borengasser
Fort Smith attorney and judicial candidate Michael Pierce filed a lawsuit in Sebastian County Circuit Court challenging the residency qualification of Judge Claire Borengasser. Pierce is running for Fort Smith…
by - September 12, 2019 7:18 pm
64.6 director seeks focus on ‘sustainability,’ hopes for a new brand for the city
A goal of Talicia Richardson is to not only foster near-term growth and improvements in downtown Fort Smith, but include a “sustainability” focus so the momentum of recent years continues….
by - September 9, 2019 7:13 pm
Fort Smith Regional Airport traffic up more than 4% through August
Traffic gains out of the Fort Smith Regional Airport continue to grow, with the tally up 4.6% for the first eight months of the year compared to a 4% gain…
by - September 5, 2019 7:27 pm
Discussion among regional mayors part of second annual Invest Fort Smith event
A panel discussion with regional mayors will be part of the second annual Invest Fort Smith summit set for Sept. 19, according to 64.6 Downtown Executive Director Talicia Richardson. Richardson…
by - August 22, 2019 12:23 pm
Fort Smith sales tax revenue almost flat in first half of 2019
Fort Smith’s share of the 1% Sebastian County tax reached $8.51 million in the first six reporting months of the year, up 0.57% compared with the same period in 2018….