Column

by Michael Tilley -

Breaking the law

The trust and transparency deficit with Fort Smith municipal government took another hit Friday (July 10) when Mayor Sandy Sanders admitted – maybe unwittingly – that the Board broke state…

by Michael Tilley -

The jobs hole

Recent numbers reflect well on the Fort Smith metro economy, but there remains a four-letter word that makes unpleasant a more in-depth conversation: Jobs. Positive economic headlines have been frequent…

by The City Wire staff -

Our naïve idea about Iraq

Some Iraqis are now beginning to say the country should be divided into regions composed of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. The Kurds have pretty much gone their own way, the…

by The City Wire staff -

A tough sale for Huckabee 2.0

Recent political history has it that the Democratic Party tends to “fall in love” with its presidential nominees, while the Republican Party tends to “fall in line” behind the presumptive…

by The City Wire staff -

Lessons learned from a bad experience

When businesses become customers of other businesses, the interactions between the companies can be very instructive, providing each company with “how to” lessons, and many times with “how not to”…

by The City Wire staff -

You should know Jack

Let’s take a moment and talk about the late Jack White and leadership and paperclips. Jack is remembered by the Jack White Legislative Golf Classic held each year by the…

by The City Wire staff -

A call for judicial independence

Despite the talk radio criticism facing him today, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is a conservative justice and quickly becoming one of the greatest figures in modern…

by The City Wire staff -

A tale of two flags

The murder of nine people inside Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., by a 21-year-old addict and self-identified white supremacist, has re-ignited a debate over the Confederate battle…

by The City Wire staff -

Celebrating Riffraff

In 2009, a 21-year-old interior design major at the University of Arkansas took a risk, trusted her gut, and started her own business on just $100. Today, that business —…

by The City Wire staff -

Regulations and manufacturing productivity

Despite Arkansas’ reliance on the manufacturing industry for economic growth and jobs, manufacturing within the state has languished. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arkansas’ manufacturing GDP…

by The City Wire staff -

A governor in Europe

A few weeks ago, I was in Silicon Valley in California. Last week, I was in Newport and Batesville. Saturday, I leave for Paris and Germany. The locations change but…

by The City Wire staff -

Arkansans to the rescue

As I deliver today’s radio address, the floodwaters in our state’s rivers finally should be cresting. In the coming days, the weather forecast calls for no rain and sunny skies…

by The City Wire staff -

As good as it gets

Imagine living in a place where you live within easy walking or bicycling distance to a university where you can take in first rate plays and musical performances; or a…

by The City Wire staff -

The Mayor and the vision thing

The irrelevance of the office of mayor in Fort Smith is a structural deficiency that needs to be corrected. Under our current form of government the mayor’s function is designed…