by - December 27, 2012 7:47 pm
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…
Opinion
by - December 23, 2012 3:49 pm
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…
by - December 21, 2012 10:54 am
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…
by - December 20, 2012 5:11 pm
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…
by - December 18, 2012 6:28 pm
When will the cows come home? Part III
Previous articles (Parts 1 and 2) have discussed several challenges and opportunities related to the how and where of rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd. This article discusses the most important…
by - December 16, 2012 8:10 pm
The cowards say …
The reaction by politicians and pundits to this horrible-beyond-description tragedy in Connecticut exhausted my reserve tank of benefit-of-the-doubt. Severed fully was any last string of belief in the credibility and…
by - December 12, 2012 6:50 pm
The end of the NCAA?
Poor Mark Emmert. The president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association has had to stand idly by as college football reconstitutes itself around him. Rutgers and the University of Maryland…
by - December 12, 2012 12:03 pm
The State of Tourism in the Natural State
In order to give an analysis of the state of tourism in Arkansas, it’s almost imperative to look back and see how far we’ve come in the last forty or…
by - December 10, 2012 11:16 am
Will the cows come home? Part II
A dramatic jump in demand for corn, which began in late 2006, has resulted in sharply higher prices for all crops in the U.S. A simple average across the eight…
by - December 9, 2012 8:12 pm
Justify the A-10 lobby
In this effort to reverse a decision to remove A-10 war planes now attached to the Fort Smith-based 188th Fighter Wing, much has been made of the unwillingness or inability…
by - December 9, 2012 2:44 pm
A cab driver’s smirk
I was riding in a taxicab last Tuesday night in Manhattan after seeing the Broadway musical "Wicked." My wife, her sister, and a friend were riding in the back seat,…
by - December 6, 2012 12:33 pm
Will the cows come home? Part 1
Can we rebuild the beef cow herd? That was the question posed to me by a producer in response to my recent article suggesting that two years of drought liquidation,…
by - December 3, 2012 10:55 am
The benefits of ‘Vendorville’
Years from now when they write the story of Northwest Arkansas’s economic boom, research will show that it was ignited by folks we have come to know as “the vendors.” Consumer…
by - December 2, 2012 8:38 pm
Retailers must put out fires in Bangladesh factories
The fire at Bangladesh’s Tazreen garment factory might not have killed more than 100 people if the facility had had half as many fire escapes as there have been evasions…
by - December 2, 2012 4:57 pm
A Christmas lament
We’re busy people, you and me. With responsibilities and schedules constantly starring us in the face, we don’t have time to consider the implications of life, either the serious or…
by - November 29, 2012 8:23 pm
Fiscal cliff discovered long ago
While “fiscal cliff” negotiations may produce high drama for journalists and partisans as well as desperate uncertainty from Main Street to Wall Street, they are an absolute gold mine for…
by - November 25, 2012 8:56 pm
Doubling down
This continued effort by a few members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors to micromanage city operations is troublesome, puzzling and frustrating. Let’s recap. The Fort Smith Board over…
by - November 25, 2012 7:24 pm
The comfort of discomfort
Regional political, business and civic leaders in Benton and Washington counties appear to speak the same language with respect to socio-economic development. It’s silly to think they read from the…
by - November 25, 2012 2:58 pm
A professional shell game
Let me apologize up front for writing a somewhat technical article. However I’ve been watching journalists and commentators for most of 2012 reporting on the battle over tax policy between…
by - November 19, 2012 10:43 am
Secession talk
Talk of secession has returned. Is that because people enjoy acting like children, so upset about certain, recent election results that they prefer to engage in la-la land wishes possessing…