Author: Wesley Brown

Wesley Brown

Trump administration to ‘deactivate’ lone rural Job Corps center in Arkansas, could affect 1,100 jobs nationwide

As Arkansans began the long Memorial Day weekend, the Trump administration quietly announced that it plans to shutter or outsource all of the nation’s rural Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers,…

Innovation Hub director witnesses viral story of $40 million gift to Morehouse College graduates

Last week, Pine Bluff native Chris Jones had no idea his trek to Atlanta for the 20th anniversary celebration of his graduating class at Morehouse College would be part of…

OG&E gains approvals to upgrade utility fleet, completes Shady Point power plant deal

Oklahoma Gas & Electric said Wednesday (May 22) it has received all state and federal regulatory approvals to move forward with the acquisition of two cleaner-burning power plants to reduce…

Governor names cabinet secretaries (UPDATED)

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday (May 22) named his 15 new cabinet secretaries who will be tasked with overhauling and then streamlining state government for the first time since former…

Stephens hires new vice president at Private Client Group in New York City

Little Rock investment banking group Stephens Inc. announced the hiring of Sarah Pickens as vice president within its Private Client Group. She is based at Stephens’ Wall Street office in…

Dillard’s CEO touts financial strength, notes ‘mall-based’ retailers going through tough time

After Dillard’s Inc. reported flat first-quarter sales and earnings last week, Chairman and CEO William Dillard II told shareholders over the weekend that the Arkansas department store will emerge stronger…

Phillips County ready to ‘go solar’ with new $1 million project

Armed with the new Solar Access Act enacted into law during the 92nd General Assembly, Phillips County is racing to become the first county in the Natural State to install…

State regulators to hold public hearing on permit for Sun Paper’s $1.5 billion paper mill

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) will hold a public hearing May 30 at Henderson State University to accept comments on the agency’s decision to issue an air permit…

Top House Democrat resigns from legislature, speculation centers on city of Little Rock job

Democratic House Minority Leader Charles Blake, D-Little Rock, who made national waves during the recent legislative session with a bill to remove any links to Arkansas’ Confederate past from the…

Dillard’s post flat 1Q profits, revenue and same-store sales from a year ago

Dillard’s Inc. on Wednesday (May 15) posted flat earnings and same-store sales compared to a year ago as the Little Rock upscale retailer and other mall-anchored department stores struggle to…

Arkansas arms sales jump nearly 500% in 2018, Saudi Arabia near the top of state export marketplace

Civilian aircraft parts, ammunitions and rice were the top Arkansas exports purchased by U.S. trade partners in 2018, representing more than 25% of the $6.5 billion in homemade goods shipped…

Windstream reports 1Q loss of $2.3 billion amid bankruptcy cloud, executive pay

Windstream Holdings Inc. on Wednesday (May 15) reported that losses had widened to $2.3 billion in the first quarter as the Arkansas telecom wades its way through federal court-supervised bankruptcy…

Little Rock apartment operator BSR REIT sees 1Q profits of $15.1 million

Fast-growing BSR Real Estate Investment Trust posted first quarter profits of $15.1 million Monday (May 13) nearly one year after the Little Rock-based apartment owner and operator completed its initial…

Hot Springs site of Arkansas’ first medical cannabis sales, long lines, delays expected into next week

The uneven roll-out of the state’s legal marijuana industry on Friday and Saturday is expected to extend into next week as hundreds of patients crowded two Hot Springs stores to…

Uniti sees a penny profit in 1Q, awaits news on Windstream bankruptcy

Uniti Corp. on Thursday (May 9) eked out a penny per share of profit in the first quarter as the Little Rock real estate investment trust awaits the outcome of…

CenterPoint 1Q earnings decline 15% as merger moves forward

CenterPoint Energy Inc., which closed its $6 billion deal to acquire Indiana-based Vectren Corp. in early 2019, on Thursday (May 9) posted first quarter profits below year ago results as…

Tech Park board nears deal with CDI to lead Phase II of $26 million, STEM-space project

The Little Rock Technology Park Authority on Wednesday (May 8) moved one step closer to closing a deal with local construction firm CDI Contractors to lead the still unfinanced $26…

Arkansas ends 2018 with only 1.5% GDP growth, last year’s expansion revised downward

Arkansas saw weak real gross domestic product (GDP) of only 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018, well below the national standard of 2.2% and 34th among the 50 U.S….

Bankruptcy court hearing to consider $20.1 million bonus retention plan for top Windstream execs

A federal bankruptcy court judge in New York has scheduled a May 14 hearing to consider Windstream Holding’s request for $20.1 million in bonuses to retain five “key” executives to…

Report: ‘Coming wave’ of millennial home buyers will further tighten housing market

A new study by Seattle-based Zillow shows that nearly 45 million people in the U.S. will reach the typical age for first-time home buyers in the next 10 years, further…