by - October 2, 2023 5:38 pm
Infrastructure is, mostly, good. Roads, utilities, runways, bridges, drainage, water systems. All that and more. Most officials of any city want smart, robust infrastructure at all levels. As do most…
by - May 4, 2023 6:17 pm
An outline of planned pay raises for more than 1,100 teachers was presented during a Fort Smith Public Schools Board meeting in late April. There was little board discussion about…
by - December 17, 2022 9:50 am
Dr. Seidensticker, a college professor, made me a cassette tape of recordings of music by composers Haydn, Stravinsky, Wagner, and others, although he said Wagner could be tough to follow…
by - June 28, 2022 1:52 pm
About three decades ago, Arkansas Tech University let me graduate. My attendance was problematic for a few ATU leaders, and, likely, I was not the only person celebrating my graduation….
by - May 9, 2022 11:05 am
A specific item is why most attend a voting or study meeting of the Fort Smith Board of Directors. A zoning change. Proposed policy opposition. Or support. A not-in-my-back-yard issue….
by - March 16, 2022 9:59 am
The television ad for an Arkansas GOP candidate for a federal office blasts, “Babies, Borders, Bullets.” The complex is oversimplified because, you know, don’t think; be enraged. Be alarmed. And…
by - February 27, 2022 3:18 pm
Self-recognizing a hubris-induced mistake and turning to humility-driven corrective collaboration often results in a better outcome. So it is with the Fort Smith Board of Directors and their collective pivot…
by - December 12, 2021 8:45 pm
Here we go again with the city of Fort Smith and its inability and/or unwillingness to conduct the public’s business in public. City directors and administrators come and go, but…
by - November 22, 2020 5:37 pm
It was a sudden and surprising move, if not a perplexing pick that remains an enigma despite an explanation from the Fort Smith Public School Board president. Deputy Superintendent Dr….
by - August 16, 2020 4:18 pm
The Fort Smith Public School Board on June 22 rejected a bid recommendation by a Texas-based company managing the district’s $120 million millage construction and instead gave the work to…
by - January 1, 2017 10:47 am
Editor’s note: This essay first appeared Dec. 28, 2008, on The City Wire, now Talk Business & Politics. It continues to be an appropriate note to begin a new year….
by - November 11, 2016 8:16 am
Editor’s note: This essay about my grandfather, Raymond Evans, was first published November 2002. Raymond Evans died Dec. 6, 2008. There is no expiration on the need to remember Veterans…
by - October 30, 2016 2:50 pm
As a former chamber of commerce employee, Issue 3 is appealing. As an Arkansan interested in good public policy, the appeal wanes. Issue 3 would amend Arkansas’ Constitution “to encourage…
by - October 20, 2015 3:02 pm
Some in the upper levels of Fort Smith city leadership have said the city has cut expenses as much as possible and the best/only way to fix budget holes is…
by - September 26, 2015 2:11 pm
Downtown Fort Smith was alive. Alive with “special energy.” A new element of culture was brought to the city. The “cool switch” was turned on for Fort Smith. Those are…
by - August 20, 2015 9:03 pm
It’s not likely I’ll soon praise the presidency of Jimmy Carter, if for no other reason than dad would disown me. He is not a fan of the Georgia peanut…
by - August 9, 2015 11:26 pm
Recent commentary suggesting citizens should avoid escalation during police interactions to avoid negative outcomes serves only to escalate avoidance of what is a broad and complex problem. Reducing violence and…
by - July 12, 2015 8:59 pm
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 - July 5, 2015 6:19 pm
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 - June 29, 2015 5:10 pm
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…
