Opinion

Beebe: More work needed on teacher insurance

For only the second time as governor, I have called legislators to the State Capitol for a special session. These sessions are meant to be narrow in focus and efficient…

The shutdown is your fault

The 535 members of Congress and the kids over at The White House are gathering a lot of blame for this shutdown thingy and the complete cluster that is our…

The need to control costs

The power of compound interest is one of the first subjects a person is taught when learning about personal finance. Compound interest uses the leverage of time and returns (interest,…

The need to swear

“Raise your right hand.” Usually, when one hears those four little words things start to get serious in a court of law. And now, it seems, testifying in front of…

This week, energy leaders, environmental experts, education professionals and a host of other industry specialists will gather in Tulsa for the Third Annual Oklahoma Governor’s Energy Conference. The conference, which…

Elections have consequences

As a kid, one of my favorite things every Saturday morning was watching Mid-South Wrestling. It was always filled with theatrics, high drama, and a lot of bad acting. Every…

A lesson learned from the UA fiasco?

The ongoing saga at the Advancement Division of the state’s flagship University, while still mired in controversy, took a different turn this week. Finally, someone on campus, Dr. John Watkins,…

Bloomberg’s second strike

The first time Bloomberg news fouled up a story about Wal-Mart Stores one could simply consider it a surprising and ill-advised report. A one-off, if you will. Even a smart…

Premium assistance

Tuesday is the big day, the opening of the American Health Benefit Exchanges, more commonly referred to simply as the state insurance exchanges. You can expect a lot of chatter…

Campus reflections

On the well-manicured University of Arkansas at Fort Smith campus it was early evening, with the dusk again managing the shift change between day and night. This time of soft…

Alice and the Rockwells

It’s not often one gets to give a suggestion to a member of the wealthy billionaire Walton Clan of Northwest Arkansas. But here goes. “Dear Ms. Alice: “Please consider buying…

It’s a New Day!

A new day is how the U.S Department of Health and Human Services describes Jan. 1, 2014 “for the 19% of Arkansans who don’t have insurance, or Arkansas families and…

Rep. Womack’s fashion statement

Ah, that pesky First Amendment. It cuts both ways, or so we learned this week from Arkansas’ 3rd District Congressman Steve Womack, R-Rogers, and a self-proclaimed “Mexican-American” student named Yardley…

Arkansas must fight for manufacturing jobs

The last two decades have not been kind to manufacturing, once Arkansas' largest private industry sector. Manufacturing peaked at 247,300 in February 1995, and has shed 93,400 jobs – an unprecedented…

A color roadmap to Arkansas politics

It’s still very early, but many people have already made bold predictions about the 2014 election cycle based on early polling data. It’s always important to remember that polls are…

Recycling education

While the vocal critics of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality rage on about the lack of public notices of their various permitting corporate hog farms near the Buffalo River,…

Let’s get gassed

There are a few points to make about Fort Smith officials taking a close look at using compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel alternative in a portion of its…

Now is the time

We respectfully disagree with the view of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, who believes a looming budget battle is not the time to defund and/or otherwise kill the federal healthcare law…

Listen to the rock star

A couple of weeks ago Bono, the lead singer in the rock group U2 and advocate for the developed world to assist in the economic development of Africa, made the…

Bigger than a postcard

This past week, the 1.3 million Wal-Mart associates in the United States received a post card reminder that the open enrollment dates for their health plan insurance is approaching. But…

Oklahoma court ruling threatens poultry industry in Arkansas

GDP up 4.3% in the third quarter, consumer confidence declines

St. Bernards to expand Maternal Life360 HOME program into Greene County

Then and Now: Cooperative business model a good fit for Mitchell Johnson