News on the Wire

Job losses rise around Arkansas

This third week of February 2009 brought a rash of plant closings and layoffs around Arkansas that will result in the loss of more than 600 jobs. ConwaySan Antonio-based SAS…

Stockman not seeking return to Fort Smith IEC post

Michelle Stockman is not seeking a return to her former job as the director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Fort Smith. Fort Smith City Administrator Dennis Kelly said…

Life is not worth housing terrorist detainees in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Don’t send enemy combatants, aka terrorists, held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to Fort Chaffee, was the gist of a resolution approved Tuesday night (Feb. 17) by the Fort Smith…

COBRA changes could help recently unemployed with health care costs

While much has been made of how the newly signed federal stimulus bill will help big businesses and help build roads, the bill does have a provision that could provide…

Arkansas highway projects undecided for $357 million in stimulus funds

“The two questions everyone wants to know are ‘How much?,’ and ‘Where are you going to spend it?,’” Randy Ort, spokesman for the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department, said Tuesday…

Regional sales tax collections continue growth; Booneville sees decline

November county sales tax collections in Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties totaled $3.42 million, up 9% over collections in the same period in 2007, according to figures from the…

Wal-Mart Stores hits $13.4 billion in 2008 net income

It’s good to be the king of retail. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced early Tuesday (Feb. 17) morning that its total revenue for 2008 (Feb. 1, 2008 – Jan. 31, 2009)…

Average area home prices slipping

Average and median prices of new and existing homes in the Fort Smith/Van Buren markets dropped 11.1% and 2.6%, respectively, between Aug. 4 and Feb. 16. The overall housing market…

Mars Petcare plant on schedule for November start

The 260,000-square-foot Mars Petcare plant under construction at Fort Chaffee should begin ramping up mid-2009 for test runs, with about 50 people expected to be hired by the end of…

Firefighter caught in Sept. 11 tragedy to speak at regional banquet

Richard “Pitch” Picciotto, a former New York Fire Department battalion commander who was buried in the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center, is the featured at…

Whirlpool’s Fort Smith employees told Sears contract ends in 2010

Third on Whirlpool Corp.’s list of 15 “risks, contingencies and uncertainties” is the company’s ability to “continue its relationship with significant trade customers,” including Sears, which accounted for 11% of…

Arkansas Senate approves cigarette tax increase

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. By a vote of 28 to 7, the Arkansas Senate approved today (Feb. 12) the passage of HB 1204 that raises the tax on…

New home buyer credit has Realtors supporting federal stimulus

Although the debate continues about the wisdom and/or necessity of the federal stimulus bill, Arkansas Realtors are hoping a homebuyer tax credit provision of the bill stimulates home buying. Arkansas…

Times Record employees see cuts to retirement fund

Employees of Stephens Media, the Las Vegas-based company that owns the Times Record in Fort Smith, have been informed that their 401(k) retirement contributions will not be matched by the…

Possible response to unfit report: Walk it off

U.S. News & World Report reported in its Feb. 9 issue that the Fort Smith metro area is tied with Memphis for 10th place on its Least Fit Cities list….

Constitutional amendments, Clinton visit part of legislative filings

Wednesday (Feb. 11) was the last day members of the 87th General Assembly could file a bill for purposes of proposing a constitutional amendment. While there are a few minor…

And now for something completely different: Good manufacturing news

The increase in foreign wages and shipping costs are just two reasons companies might return their manufacturing operations to the U.S., according to Archstone Consulting. The Stamford, Conn.-based company said…

Local economy not immune from national housing sector woes

A recent report from Moody’s Economy.com predicts U.S. home prices will bottom by the end of 2009, with average U.S. home prices down 36% from their 2006 peak. Houston-based Metrostudy…

Phoenix Mall property gets interest from doctors

A few doctors anxious about financial and working relationships with area hospitals have expressed an interest in leasing 40,000-square feet of former clinic space in the old Phoenix Village Mall…

Wal-Mart cuts 700-800 corporate jobs

It appears that not even Wal-Mart Stores, the global retail giant based in Northwest Arkansas, is immune from the layoff bug. Wal-Mart officials have confirmed — based on reports from…