Column

by The City Wire staff -

Questions about Halter’s promise

It seemed like a good time and place for Democratic candidate Bill Halter, the “sparkplug promoter” behind the Arkansas Lottery for Scholarships, to inform this local crowd of his gubernatorial…

by The City Wire staff -

Tax Cuts and other moves

A majority of the 135 Legislators in Little Rock campaigned on tax cuts, not surprisingly in a conservative state. Campaigning and enacting are two different measures, and there were a…

by The City Wire staff -

89th Session Wrap, part I

What began as a Session with historical implications ended as a lesson in real world governance and bi-partisanship with major agenda items being completed. The newly minted Republican majorities in…

by Michael Tilley -

Media smarts

Folks sometimes wonder about the intelligence of us media folks. I was laid off by one of them big newspaper companies, so my IQ must have been below the bar….

by The City Wire staff -

Hogs on the Buffalo

Even the 89th General Assembly, which just went home this week, admits there is a problem. But they didn’t fix the problem. Yes, there is a problem with a hog farm…

by The City Wire staff -

Seek first an exit strategy

I recently heard an attorney say 70% of partnerships end in “divorce.” She didn’t give her source for the 70% statistic, but from my own observations, the majority of partnerships…

by Michael Tilley -

Recycling and gift shops

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false-face for the urge to rule it.
 – H.L. Mencken Recently toured several of the fine museums in Chicago. The city…

by The City Wire staff -

More Whirlpool spin

No one expects a quick outcome to a hazardous chemical spill, made decades ago by Whirlpool Inc., that has leached its way into the working class neighborhood of Fort Smith…

by The City Wire staff -

Campaigns go ugly early

We’re officially now one day into the fight for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and Mike Ross and Bill Halter are already trading jabs. During his Little Rock stop Wednesday (April…

by Michael Tilley -

Of game changers and barbecues

The optimist says the HMA deal bringing around 400 new and good-paying jobs to the Fort Smith area is a sign the region can recover from the more than 12,000…

by The City Wire staff -

The April 15 Survival Guide

There are the “haves” and the “have nots”; the haves, the individuals who have already filed their tax returns, and the have nots, those who haven’t filed their income tax…

by The City Wire staff -

The gubernatorial frontrunners

Somehow the announcement last week that former Congressman Mike Ross, D-Prescott, has quit his cushy job as the Governmental Affairs of the Southwestern Power Pool, seems appropriate. And timely. It…

by The City Wire staff -

A call to action

Like every other community in America, the Fort Smith Region is currently experiencing a silent crisis – CHILD ABUSE. This crisis has been going on for far longer than any…

by The City Wire staff -

Major legislative issues loom

• The Senate Report: Week 10 review The only people wanting the Legislature to drag on are those counting on the per diem checks for their livelihood. For the rest of…

by The City Wire staff -

Protecting animal protection

As The City Wire has reported, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, introduced two anti-speech bills, SB 13/SB 14, that, if passed, will criminalize the actions of those who dare to document…