Column

A week for job news

This week, Arkansas landed the largest economic-development project in its history. Big River Steel plans to build a $1.1 billion steel mill near Osceola that will employ 525 people. The…

Building consensus

• Senate Report: Week 2 review While there is still a hint of sluggishness to the Session, it is beginning to pick up some momentum. Bills are being filed, committees agendas…

A violent hall pass

Whether we should allow guns into our places of worship is as much a test of the faith and goodwill we put into our communities as it is how far…

The debates begin

• Senate Report: Week 1 review If pomp and circumstance is appealing to you, then the first couple of days of the Session would be quite exciting. There are grand gestures…

Staying under 50

An obstacle to small business growth beginning in 2014 is the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires businesses with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide their…

The confidence factor

Confidence is a funny thing. The mere existence of confidence about the future among the players in an economy can lead to growth, while the absence of assurance often guarantees…

To hell with political parties

The movers, shakers, entrepreneurs, job creators and individual Americans have become the pawns of the federal government. Washington is displaying the most inept leadership, anti-business environment and confusion that I…

The Session begins

After all the talking, scheming, and planning, it is time to begin. Monday marks the first day of the 89th General Assembly, and it will look quite different from anything…

Cotton’s politics

The shiny new U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, who with a Republican label represents Arkansas’ expansive and politically diverse 4th Congressional District, isn’t making friends within the national media and what…

Cotton’s hypocrisy

Is it possible to practice hypocrisy without being a hypocrite? Answer: Certainly, yes. For instance, I don’t think U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Dardanelle, is a hypocrite. But I do think…

Teenage politics

The older of the young ladies in the Fort Smith branch of the Tilley family is in the process of morphing into a teenager. There is a new sense of…

Are you an ID theft contributor?

Give me your name, address, birth date, and Social Security number and I can become you. That is identity theft. If I can get your credit card or your bank…

Guys like us

It’s just another day, really. Another week. Another month. Another year, one hopes, above the daisies and dirt. But this calendar shift comes with an unavoidable remembrance that, honestly, best…

Allow for campus defense

The Arkansas State Legislature will once again consider if concealed carry will apply to the campuses of state colleges and universities. Good. Maybe this time, they’ll get it right. Those…

A call for compromise

Compromise is generally defined as an agreement or the settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions. Just two ongoing debates illustrate the petty refusal of…

2013 housing market outlook

It’s safe to say that members of the real estate business will look back at 2012 as one of the best years when it comes to low mortgage rates. For…

The rate game

It seems that mortgage interest rates are difficult to predict. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen both economists and mortgage bankers trying to figure out when rates will…

Don’t hate yourself; consider these resolutions

New Year’s resolutions, as a rule, fail miserably. The two most common New Year’s resolutions people make are to start an exercise program and to eat better. When I step…

Legislative uncertainty is certain

Uncertainty reigns supreme as the 2013 Arkansas legislative session approaches. There are many big issues to address in a timely manner, and most will not be settled until the last…

Ready to serve

It was only two days after the election when The City Wire asked me to write a guest commentary. I quickly agreed, thinking December was a long time away, but…