Latest Arkansas Headlines
All the headlines from our Arkansas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arkansas Senate OKs Restricting Crash Report Access
Feb 23 2009 // A proposal to temporarily restrict access to traffic-accident reports that’s working its way through Arkansas’ Legislature has raised concerns from at least one opponent that it could open the state up to a...
55 Wells Around Northeast Oklahoma Town to Be Tested for E. Coli
Feb 19 2009 // The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality said it is testing 55 private water wells within a five-mile radius of the northeastern Oklahoma town of Locust Grove to ensure the safety of drinking water in the area. The...
Arkansas Lawmakers Back Seat Belt, Teen Driver, Credit Report Laws
Feb 18 2009 // New restrictions on teen drivers and legislation allowing police to pull over motorists for not wearing their seat belts advanced in the Arkansas Legislature. Meanwhile, senators gave final approval to a bill that requires...
6 More Arkansas Counties Eligible for Federal Help
Feb 18 2009 // More than a third of Arkansas’ 75 counties have been declared eligible for federal public assistance after last month’s ice storm. The Public Assistance Program reimburses local governments, state agencies and...
Arkansas Court: New Hospital Liability Law Is Retroactive
Feb 17 2009 // Charitable hospitals with self-insurance plans can be sued for incidents that occurred before their pooled liability funds were established, the Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled. The decision comes as a blow to...
Arkansas House Approves Bill Allowing Guns in Churches
Feb 13 2009 // The Arkansas House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing concealed handguns in churches, despite hearing arguments that lawmakers should put their faith in God, not guns. The bill, which passed on a 57-42 vote...
Declarations
Feb 8 2009 // The Job Engine “Small businesses are the job engine of this state. This increased exemption encourages the spirit of entrepreneurship and will help create new and better paying jobs for Texans.” —Texas State...
Arkansas Lawmaker Again Pushing Mandatory Seat Belt Law
Feb 2 2009 // The lead sponsor of legislation that would allow officers in Arkansas to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts says he’ll also call on police agencies to collect data on the race of motorists they stop for the...
Arkansas Bill Gives Governor Power to Fire Insurance Chief
Jan 30 2009 // The Arkansas Senate has approved legislation that would give the governor the power to fire the state’s insurance commissioner at will. The bill would require the state insurance commissioner to serve at the pleasure...
Salmonella Outbreak Exposes Gaps in Peanut Product Inspection Process
Jan 30 2009 // Food regulators didn’t consider salmonella a threat to most peanut products before they traced an outbreak to a peanut butter plant in Georgia two years ago. Officials in the nation’s top peanut-producing state...
Arkansas Bills Restricting Drivers’ Cell Phone Use Advance
Jan 28 2009 // An Arkansas House of Representatives committee has advanced a pair of bills restricting cell phone use by drivers. The House Public Transportation Committee endorsed a bill by Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, that would ban...
Small Earthquakes Reported in Northeast Arkansas
Jan 28 2009 // A series of small earthquakes occurred Jan. 26 in northeast Arkansas. The U.S. Geological Survey said three quakes of magnitudes ranging from 2 to 2.8 occurred between 1 a.m. and 5:09 a.m. a few miles east of Walnut Ridge...
They’re Baaaaack!
Jan 25 2009 // The lawmakers are back, at least in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Louisiana has to wait until April for the pleasure. For now, though, bars and restaurants in Little Rock, Oklahoma City and Austin will rejoice in the...
People
Jan 25 2009 // Risk management and insurance services provider IMA of Texas Inc. announced additions to its Health Care, Employee Benefits and Surety departments. Michael J. Jacoby has been hired as vice president and national director...
Scientist: Fault Puts East Arkansas at Earthquake Risk
Jan 23 2009 // A previously unknown fault in eastern Arkansas could trigger a magnitude 7 earthquake in the cotton fields of the upper South with an epicenter near a natural gas pipeline, a scientist said. Haydar Al-Shukri, the director...
Bell Appointed Chairman of Arkansas Workers’ Comp Commission
Jan 16 2009 // Gov. Mike Beebe has appointed A. Watson Bell of Searcy to chair the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. Bell replaces Olan W. Reeves, who was appointed to the commission by former Gov. Mike Huckabee in...
Bradford Begins Tenure as Arkansas Insurance Commissioner
Jan 15 2009 // Jay Bradford has been officially appointed Arkansas Insurance Commissioner effective Jan.15, 2009. Commissioner Bradford previously served for two years as the director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services within...
Arkansas Mill to Pay $350K in Discrimination Probe
Jan 7 2009 // An Arkansas rice mill has agreed to pay $350,000 after the federal government found the company discriminated against hundreds of women and non-Hispanic job applicants, the U.S. Labor Department announced. Producers Rice...
Bell to Chair Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission
Jan 5 2009 // Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe will appoint Watson Bell of Searcy to chair the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission, replacing Olan “Butch” Reeves of Bryant. Reeves will remain chairman of the WCC...
Arkansas Agent Sought for Alleged Investment Scam
Jan 5 2009 // An Arkansas insurance agent accused of bilking retiree investors out of tens of thousands of dollars and converting the money to his own use is being sought by the Arkansas Securities Department. Terry Mitchell of...
