News on the Wire

State jobless rate remains at 7.8%

Arkansas’ unemployment rate was 7.8% in March, the third consecutive month for the rate level, with the number of employed moving up to 1.263 million. The Arkansas jobless rate in…

Area foreclosure actions drop 20% in Q1 2011

The number of Fort Smith area properties in a foreclosure action during the first three months of 2011 totaled 407, down more than 20% compared to the 2010 period, according…

Catsavis: Assessments not necessary

More than 17 hours of providing food service for events at Kay Rodgers Park (rodeo-fair grounds) was the reason Fort Smith City Director George Catsavis was the only director to…

88th Arkansas General Assembly: What it did and didn’t do

Editor’s note: Roby Brock, with our content partner Talk Business, wrote this report. He can be reached at [email protected] We took a comprehensive look at the major highlights of the…

Retreat offers insight into directors’ quirks, decision approach

Fort Smith City Director Pam Weber is a horrible cook. City Director Don Hutchings’ first sermon was a disaster. Such were the revelations during a Fort Smith Board of Directors’…

Micromanaging, priorities, aginners were topics at Fort Smith board retreat

Ron Holifield conducted an almost 7-hour retreat Saturday (April 16) with the bottom-line purpose of encouraging the Fort Smith Board of Directors to make decisions that are vision driven, evidence…

Fort Smith board may soon hire deputy administrator

The Fort Smith Board of Directors could hire a new deputy city administrator as early as Tuesday (April 19). The position, with a salary in roughly in the $85,000 to…

‘Team building’ part of Fort Smith directors’ retreat

Team building, understanding expectations and discussing board operations are parts of the agenda for a Saturday (April 16) retreat by the Fort Smith Board of Directors. The retreat begins at…

Tourism tax receipts up in Fort Smith, down in Van Buren

Weather slowed regional tourism activity during February, but the tourism sector still shows signs — albeit modest — of recovery. February hospitality tax collections in Van Buren totaled $27,718, down…

Walmart.com pursues former Overstock.com affiliates

Wal-Mart announced Friday (April 15) an “open invitation” to join their Internet affiliation, a response to the April 8 move by Overstock.com to drop its Arkansas affiliates in response to…

Gas may be $1 higher for peak travel season

Just weeks into the U.S. government’s official summer driving season, Arkansans and U.S. motorists are already seeing pump prices at peak vacation levels when most Americans hit the road. Traditionally,…

Wal-Mart wants a say in Arkansas energy rulemaking

The world’s largest retailer wants a say in Arkansas’ energy efficiency rulemaking, according to this report from Talk Business. In a Thursday filing at the state Public Service Commission, Walmart…

Judge Dawson: ‘Your judiciary at your service’

story by Michael Tilley [email protected] U.S. District Judge Robert Dawson was clear during a May 2010 conversation about the bullying case he was set to hear in Fayetteville. He…

Zero Mountain, Rumsey family donate $571,000 to UA

story info submitted by the University of Arkansas Fort Smith businessman Mark Rumsey and his wife Vicki have donated $571,000 to a child study center at the University of Arkansas…

J.B. Hunt, Bank of the Ozarks post positive earnings

First-quarter earnings of $50.1 million for J.B. Hunt Transport Services best analyst estimates, with the company’s intermodal segment again leading the positive results. Also, Bank of the Ozarks reported lower…

Area leaders seek the positive in Congressional redistricting

It’s not life and death, like his son David faces in Afghanistan, but Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman said political and business leaders in the Fort Smith metro area must…

RITA approves 5-year funding, program plan

A five-year funding and action plan for the Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority (RITA) was approved Wednesday (April 13), with much of the financial support coming from four area governments and…

Public hearing scheduled on ‘sufficiency’ of 1% petition forms

Fort Smith City Clerk Sherri Gard will hold a public hearing April 20 on the “sufficiency of referendum petitions” that seek a public vote on the 1% prepared food tax….

ABF waits on appeals court ruling in YRC case

Officials with Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System and those in the trucking industry closely watching a $750 million action by ABF against the Teamsters and trucking giant YRC must now…

Area leaders to face new Congressional realities

Now that it is becoming apparent the Fort Smith region will be diced up between the 3rd and 4th Congressional districts, area leaders are moving from angry resistance to less-than-angry…