Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 19:21:53
Another term-limited legislator, days before being weaned off the Capitol teat,
suddenly decides term limits are a bad thing. What do you bet
Jim Medley voted for them way back when, along with all the other Stepford Repubs? He's the sort of self-interested legislator who was a poster child for the term limits movement. Good riddance.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 19:18:16
Former
Sen. George Hopkins, who specialized in retirement issues during his legislative days,
has been chosen new head of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Presumably his drives home to Malvern won't cause the upset that the previous director's high-flying publicly financed trips to Massachusetts, etc. caused. Hopkins beat out soon-to-be-former
Sen. Jim Argue.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 18:31:17
It's yours.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 16:42:34
Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas has issued a carefully worded statement this afternoon emphasizing that there is one -- and only one -- suspect in the slaying of KATV anchor Anne Pressly. That's Curtis Vance, held since last Wednesday on a capital murder charge.
The statement is a response to a forest fire of unfounded rumor implicating some well-known local people in the case. Who knows how or why the rumors got started. But they took off in earnest last week and reportedly have been aired on a Little Rock radio station, a Dallas TV station, a sports website and the comment strings of numerous blogs, including this one. We have addressed them previously.
A lawsuit may yet respond to some of the remarks. For now, I'll just leave you with a link to the chief's statement. He said the police anticipate no further arrests, though Vance might face additional charges as the investigation progresses. He said the department would not respond to the rumors nor comment on the case against Vance as it moves to trial. Prosecutor Larry Jegley joined Stuart in the statement.
It is safe to predict, I'm sorry to say, that the conspiracy theorists will find some perverse "proof" in this categorical denial. ("Why would they say anything if there wasn't something to it?," they'll say.) It is always thus. But an aggrieved family hopes this official word will dampen talk that has even reached ears of children. We shall see.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 16:29:42
Speaking of Under the Dome, it reports today on a $30 million incentive being offered by Mississippi to keep a Cooper Tire plant operating in that state. Mississippi will pay roughly $25,000 per employee to keep the plant open.
Cooper is likely to close one of four U.S. plants and a plant in Texarkana is among those on the line, which explains Rep. Steve Harrelson's interest. He authors Under the Dome.
Suppose Arkansas offered a comparable $35 million to keep the 1,400-employee Texarkana plant open. It's just about impossible to foresee that the state would ever get its money back. Workers in Texarkana don't pay the state income tax. The sales tax that is assessed there doesn't begin to offset that loss. Plus, Texarkana officials are complaining now that everybody shops in Texas anyway on account of a lack of a tax on groceries in Texas and want to be able to drop local sales taxes on food.
But just suppose all the workers did live in a county where they had to pay the state income tax, say an effective rate of 4 percent on a $40,000 annual wage, or $1,600 a year. (And that's a generous estimate.) It would take 15 years of income taxes from all 1,400 employees to recover a subsidy equivalent to what Mississippi is offering. But many if not most of the workers don't pay an Arkansas income tax and they do a lot of their shopping in Texas. Perhaps Texas would like to kick in to keep the plant open.
Like Harrelson, I'll be interested to see how this shakes out. Or, more precisely, to see what Cooper Tire can shake down.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 16:26:41
Rep. Steve Harrelson's Under the Dome blog had the news first that the expected appeal was filed of the air permit for a coal-fired SWEPCO power plant in Hempstead County. This forces SWEPCO to stop construction while the appeal pends.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 14:10:34
Sex, I mean. And Republicans.
Rep. Donna Hutchinson, you may remember, brought Arkansas legislation in 2007 to make a crime of so-called "upskirt" and "downblouse" photography, in which shooters take photos of publicly displayed naughty regions, including where clothed.
That legislation apparently didn't go far enough. She has filed new legislation that would make it a Class A, rather than Class B, misdemeanor offense of video voyeurism, to give such images to another or to post them on the Internet. The news photo that inadvertently catches a glimpse of underthings? Could be a problem, all you cheerleader photographers.
(Photo supplied is for First Amendment purposes of illustrating the type of violation targeted.)
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 13:58:32
A reader forwards a link to map tracking where federal money has been distributed to banks under the
Troubled Asset Relief Program. Two banks in Arkansas --
Simmons in Pine Bluff and
Home Bancshares in Conway -- and one in Memphis show up in our region. Perhaps they'll loan you some money.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 13:16:02
I would just like to say four words to the people who continue to call and write with their theories about the LR murder of the moment:
Alice McArthur/Tommy Robinson
Gene Lyons wrote a book about it.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 11:30:35
The headline exaggerates. But still,
Arkansas tax revenue in December was up over last year and forecast. Reader notes, astutely, however, that sales tax revenues are off. That's a more reliable indicator of general activity than the monthly increase in income tax receipts, most likely.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 10:20:53
You've perhaps read about the families in Malvern that don't think the schools are white enough and have dodged state law to enroll their children in neighboring school districts. Under Arkansas law, school choice is not allowed to promote segregation. The parents have sued since Malvern has tried to begin pulling its legal students back. A federal judge yesterday said the parents' lawsuit stood little chance of success.
In a related development, the attorney general's office today released an opinon that said, because of the ongoing legal action, it couldn't offer an opinion on the constitutionality of the Arkansas school choice law in light of a federal court precedent that says race alone may not be a determinant for student assignment.
It may be just me. But I don't think the Arkansas law makes race the only determinant on school admission. The law also considers residency and other factors for those seeking transfers, including sufficiency of a home school district. Until now, the parents fleeing Malvern haven't made much of a case that their moves have been related to any objective factor other than race. It may be their sole determinant, but not the state's.
Continue Reading »
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 10:12:59
Hot Springs will continue its outdoor skating rink this Christmas season at Hill Wheatley Plaza at the south end of Bathhouse Row.
It opens at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will be open from 5 to 9 Mon.-Fri, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday except Christmas Day.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 08:56:50
David Goins at Fox 16 has been doing some bangup reporting on the Anne Pressly murder case.
A good example is a story he posted yesterday that ought to set off deeper consideration of the state Crime Lab, both as to resources and procedures.
You know by now that the case was broken by the matchup of DNA gathered in the Pressly case with DNA gathered in an April rape in Marianna. But, only when the DNA was processed by the state Crime Lab in the Marianna case -- seven months after it was submitted -- did the Marianna police come to know that their original rape suspect was not the man they were looking for. Their change of focus led them to Curtis Vance, a suspect in several burglaries, and that in turn led the Little Rock police to Marianna, where Vance voluntarily provided DNA that led to his arrest in Little Rock. (Marianna Detective Carl McCree is an unsung hero of this case.)
Had the Marianna police gotten their DNA processed faster than seven months, would it have led to an earlier arrest of Vance in that rape case? Could he have been arrested and jailed before KATV anchor Anne Pressly was fatally beaten Oct. 20 in Little Rock?
A Crime Lab official insists to Goins it would have made no difference. But he offfers no explanation to defend that point of view.
What's more, the explanation Crime Lab director Kermit Channell offered for the length of time processing the Marianna case versus a much faster turnaround on the fatal beating of Pressly, a high-profile TV anchor, was, at best, unfortunate. At worst, you don't have to think long to be outraged.
In Pressly's case the time to process DNA was a lot quicker because Channell says violent cases with no suspects get moved to the front.
“So if we have a case and we know that it’s very brutal and law enforcement doesn't know who the perpetrator is there's a risk to the community of someone at large," Channell says.
Rape is not a violent crime? People in Marianna should breathe easy during the seven-month wait because the police think they know a rapist, but must allow him to remain on the street until the DNA report comes back? There's no risk?
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 08:47:49
A financial website recently included Little Rock-based
Dillard's on a list of 10 stocks that might not make it through 2009.
Roby Brock's Talk Business explains why he thinks -- though the short-term outlook remains bleak for Dillard's and other retailers -- the company is in no danger of going under anytime soon.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 08:31:45
A Huffington Post writer notes Mike Huckabee's new formulation on California's Prop. 8. He refuses to say Californians "banned gay marriage." Though that's precisely what the language of the ballot initiative called for. No, voters affirmed his view of how the world has and should be. Says Ellis Weiner of "America's Relatively Sane Religious Nut," who's barnstorming the country to sell books and rally the religious Republican base around gay-bashing and abortion for his next presidential run in 2012:
Parody-wise, this kind of fingers-in-ears/nyah-nyah/I'm-not-listening makes its own gravy. Still, it's worth a try. Thus, when Huckabee says that a law that explicitly prohibits X does not prohibit X, but instead "affirms" anti-X, it's like saying that the Volstead Act affirmed traditional standards of sobriety, or that the proscription against murder (from the world-famous Ten Commandments) does not so much ban killing as it affirms traditional modes of being alive.
This "affirmation" scam is not only technically inaccurate (given the title of the measure), but it's logically dishonest and therefore morally debased. It is one thing to affirm that marriage "has and forever has been" between a man and a woman. No one would argue with that. And, having agreed with it, those in favor of gay marriage would add, "...although this state of affairs has and forever has been unfair and discriminatory. This is something we now propose to remedy. We want to expand the possibilities of marriage to include other members of society."
More here on Cracklin' Huckster's Traveling Salvation Show and whether insufficient attention to this message, which Huck argues -- or insufficient attention to the economy -- was to blame for the Republican Party's poor showing this year. Republicans differ. You might remember former Arkansas Republican executive director Clint Reed wrote a farewell arguing for a broader base for the GOP. The Huckster seems to want to narrow it, except when, before different demographic audiences, he doesn't Too bad for Huck that those pesky Internet tubes prevent a candidate from showing only one preferred face to potential voters. The two-faced are invariably outed.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 - 06:39:03
John Brummett takes a run at the warped soul who ran up a Confederate flag at Huntsville's, yes, Faubus Motel, after Obama was elected.
UPDATE: It shouldn't surprise you to learn that this motel reflects the owner's personality. Check out some reviews. Funny stuff, unless you were one of the unfortunate souls who stayed -- or tried to stay -- at the place.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 17:13:45
Yes, I know problems remain with the sign-in function. They affect people here, too. So far it has defeated complete solution. We are still working on it. Nobody is more frustrated than I am, I swear.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 17:03:46
That rumor about a "celebrity" involvement in the Pressly case? It's everywhere, from last Friday's Razorback game to every Internet chat group in town, apparently. One blog reader claims it was repeated on radio. That doesn't mean it's true. Police and the prosecutor have told me today, within the last few minutes -- directly, categorically and emphatically -- it's a fiction. There is one suspect in the slaying. He's in jail.
UPDATE: Early comments reflect the futility of attempting to dispel rumors. People prefer to believe salacious gossip every time. But let me try one last time: Authorities categorically reject any permuation of ALL rumors that implicate anyone but Curtis Vance -- Richard Nixon, Joe T. Robinson, Lucille Ball, the Pope, anybody you can name -- in the slaying of Anne Pressly. How does stuff like this get started without some basis? Easy. Happens all the time, either by malice or misguided humor that goes viral.
UPDATE II: Just because this rumor has been reported on at least one local radio station -- and according to a representative of the person being libeled, a Dallas TV station -- doesn't mean it should be given free rein. Since official denials of the story haven't slowed the uninformed commentary, I'm going to have to step in. No more.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 15:05:16
Channel 4 announces an anchor change.
Jancey Sheats, who's been anchoring at 5, 6 and 10, will drop the 10 p.m. slot so she can spend more time with her new twin daughters.
Melissa Simas will join
Bob Clausen as co-anchor at 10.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 14:28:58
Perhaps you've heard that the official verdict is in -- we're in a recession and have been since December 2007.
That rang a bell with a regular reader of the Democrat-Gazette opinion pages, specifically a Feb. 27, 2007 column by editorial page editor Paul Greenberg on the occasion of being asked by someone or another to provide advice.
It sounds to me like you’re looking for someone more along the lines of the New York Times’ Paul Krugman; he’s been predicting a recession for years now, and he’s bound to get it right some time. After the stock market’s Great Big Hiccup yesterday, he must be jubilant. Me, I think now’s the time to buy. The price is right.
The Dow closed at 12,216 on Feb. 27, 2007. It closed Friday at 8,829.
UPDATE: The Dow closed down almost 700 more points today.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 12:26:31
The calling of a special UA Board meeting today indicates the university will make a proposal for use of the Ray Winder Field property. The city has set a deadline today for redevelopment of the former minor league baseball park. Some baseball fans want to retain the rundown facility as a baseball field for youth sports. The best idea is from the Little Rock Zoo. It would take the land for expansion of the landlocked and popular facility for adequate grounds for an elephant breeding program. UA, believe it or not, is about to run out of room to expand UAMS, so presumably its idea is to use the property in that context.
What do I have against baseball? Nothing. But LR already struggles to maintain existing baseball facilities. The minor league park is a dump waiting to happen. It's far more of a facility than youth baseball needs. It also would lie fallow much of the year. If we are to have a zoo worthy of the name -- and the city seems committed to that over the long haul -- it needs more space. It would produce the most enjoyment for the most people, a worthy park goal.
But if none of that works out, I renew my vote for razing the field and installing a track for recreational use and the UALR track team. And certain senior walkers/discus throwers.
INSTANT SURVEY: Vote at this link on your preferred use of Ray Winder.
Go here to keep up with voting.
And here's the UAMS proposal to buy the land for parking.
Summary of four proposals received Monday on the jump. Also, at the end, the summary of one of the baseball proposals.
Continue Reading »
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 11:21:48
... while the financial system burned to the ground.
In short, it was warned of the likely devastating impact, but still delayed a crackdown on interest-only 100 percent financed mortgages.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 11:04:35
Just now seeing DeMillo's weekend column, on the general lack of specifics and/or enthusiasm for improved ethics regulation of the Arkansas legislature.
Next subject. Make lobbyists file meaningful reports on expenditures? Embarrass legislators by putting their free wining and dining on the web? End freebies? Not gonna happen.
Again: If this petty bribery doesn't pay dividends, why do lobbyists and legislators fight so hard to preserve it? Those who don't like it are too chicken to do anything about it, for fear of alienating those who do. On runs the sewer.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 10:48:47
The president-elect introduced his security team today, including
Hillary Clinton as secretary of state;
Janet Napolitano as head of Homeland Security;
Eric Holder for attorney general;
Gen. James Jones as national security advisor;
Robert Gates to stay at Defense, and
Susan Rice to the UN.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 09:30:35
Charter schools work, the D-G declaimed editorially Sunday. If, by "work," you mean they succeed in enrolling students, why, yes, they work. If you mean they work by matching or bettering conventional public schools, well, the record is mixed, according to national studies. Some do, some don't. Sort of like regular public schools. Where they work, parental involvement seems an important factor, something not universally replicated in the schools. Charter schools can weed out the hard cases and the unmotivated by a variety of means, ranging from extended days and school weeks to parental responsibilities that many are unable or unwilling to assume, such as providing transportation, showing up for teacher meetings, etc.
Charters also create hundreds of new little school districts, each with its own superintendent and administrative structure. It's not every efficient, even in the best of cases. In the worst?
Well, perhaps we'll want to sit in on the state Board of Education Dec. 8. On the agenda is an item to consider whether to modify the charter of Dreamland Academy of Performing and Communication Arts in Little Rock, perhaps even revoke it. Reason: Dreamland "allegedly failed to satisfy generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management." There are apparently questions about the school's debt load and an expedited review of its circumstances is underway.
The school aims to serve students with great academic and behavioral needs, a tough assignment. Its problems reflect only on itself and not the entire charter school movement (though the charter people want you to view other public schools in that fashion -- if one fails, they all must be sorry). But it does demonstrate, again, that a noble idea and the word "charter" are no guarantees of success.
This link to the state Board agenda includes several pages on Dreamland at the very end.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 09:09:02
Anne Pressly's parents
confirmed in an interview today with NBCs Matt Lauer (link takes you to a page with a news account and a link to the 8-minute interview) that the former KATV anchor was sexually assaulted. Her mother also said her daughter broke her hand fighting her attacker.
Also today: The affidavit submitted by LR police for the capital murder warrant naming Curtis Vance in the slaying of KATV anchor Pressly was released today. It doesn't contain a great deal beyond what was reported last week.
The affidavit by Detective Tommy Hudson reports that Pressly was found in her bedroom by her mother Oct 20. She was suffering from "multiple blunt force injuries." Pressly was taken to St. Vincent Infirmary, where she died five days later, and the home was processed for evidence.
"DNA evidence was collected from evidence gathered at the scene and was sbumitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab."
The affidavit notes, "During the course of the investigation, it was determined that several items belonging to Ms. Pressly were taken from her residence during this attack.
"Curtis Lavelle Vance was developed as a suspect in this case. Detectives with LRPD Homicide made contact with Mr. Vance at his home in Marianna, AR. Mr. Vance denied being in Little Rock when Ms. Pressly was attacked and consented to DNA swabs. These swabs were submitted to the Arkansas State Crime Lab on [Wednesday] Nov. 26, 2008 where it was confirmed with all scientific certainty that Mr. Vance is the DNA contributor of the suspect in Ms. Pressly's murder."
Early last week, we now know that the state Crime Lab found a DNA match between evidence collected in the April rape of a Marianna teacher and Pressly's attack. Somehow, Marianna developed Vance as a suspect in its rape, though he had no prior felony record, even for burglary. Marianna notified LRPD that he was being viewed as a suspect in the case for which LR had matching evidence. That's why an LR detective questioned Vance Tuesday and requested the DNA sample.
Judge Lee Munson authorized the arrest warrant and Vance was taken into custody in Little Rock late Nov. 26. He was ordered held without bond at a brief hearing Friday at the County Jail.
PS for the conspiracy theorists: LR Lt. Terry Hastings repeats to me this morning that Vance is the only suspect in this case.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: 1) What prompted Marianna police to identify Vance, who had no previous record, as a suspect in their rape case, and thus the LR case? 2) Is Vance now being considered in other unsolved sexual assaults and, if so, how many? 3) Why did the LRPD withhold information about a sexual assault in the Pressly case (though it was widely rumored and mentioned here days ago)?
As to Question 3, Lt. Hastings said: "We're not commentingon any of that. We're not inertested in making the news stories for everone. We're interested in convicting this guy of murder, that's why we're not confirming any details." Some women I've spoken with believe there's a public safety issue in this and the public would be better served by knowing a rapist was on the loose. "If we thought there was an issue there of public safety we would have released informtion relating to that," Hastings said. But he added, "I'd say that's not a valid argument."
UPDATE RE QUESTION 1: A careful reader directs me to a Memphis news account in which Marianna police say Vance had become a burglary suspect because he'd been spotted loitering around homes that had been burglarized. When police asked about burglary suspects, Marianna police mentioned Vance.
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 09:01:47
Jan Cottingham of Arkansas Business has a long interview with Little Rock securities exec
Rush Harding, the rising chairman of the University of Central Arkansas Board about how it got in its current financial pickle and future prospects. Harding is upbeat, as ever. But he acknowledges some of the missteps that UCA is paying for now -- particularly imprudent property investments and accounts receivable (unpaid student bills.)
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 06:10:04
It's sure enough hard times when the newspapers crank up the periodic round of stories about belt-tightening -- coupon shoppers, using the library instead of buying books, repairing appliances and cars instead of buying new ones. Soon, you'll have the busy pawn shop story. And perhaps the one about people selling their cemetery plots to raise cash.
But really. Do people really pay to repair toasters anymore (mentioned in lead of story linked above)?
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 05:57:11
John Brummett thinks Barack Obama would do well, politically at least, not to have the early days of his administration defined by a vote on union card check legislation (a measure whose impact is so wildly overblown by management that it hardly bears mentioning.) My opinion" stymying the working people who worked so hard for a Democratic administration won't earn Obama any lasting credit with management forces.
RELATED: Management also would like Obama to keep his hands off the new Bush rule making it harder to regulate toxic substances to which workers are exposed.
Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 17:08:33
I'm back, you might have guessed, but not for long. Clothes to wash, etc.
So over to you.
But a few last words about Dallas: Do yourself a favor. Visit Avila's Mexican restaurant on Maple Ave., about a mile north of McKinney. It's a family place, run by Ricardo Avila with his mother presiding over the kitchen. If they didn't invent, they perfected, the brisket taco. But the hallmark dish is chile rellenos, stuffed with either beef, chicken or cheese, depending on the day. It's not the battered and fried version, but an almost healthy, but perfect rendition of a fat poblano stuffed with subtly seasoned filling. It's topped with cheese and a red sauce. With sides of beans, rice and a sprightly salad of lettuce, tomato, peppers, cilantro and onion it's a fine meal and I think it cost under $10.
I feel particularly warm to Mr. Avila because I left my credit card at his restaurant. It's closed on Sunday, but I ran him down by phone at his mother's house and he drove out to reunite me with my plastic. He was unbelievably gracious about it. His restaurant is one of two best Mexican picks in D magazine, though it's a small, homey place with limited parking. Hs care shows. He was written up in this Sunday's Dallas Morning News, along with a number of other famous local food people, for maintaining a slender figure amidst a world of plenty.
Somebody asked about "Slumdog Millionaire." Great story. Great acting by actors of three different ages for the lead characters. Stunning depictions of India. In retrospect, I think maybe there are some touchstones that help you understanda bit of the cross-cultural currents that roil the subcontinent. It's the story of a child from the slums, an orphan and a gleaner at the huge dump, who finds himself in a good run on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" It's more than that, of course. See it when it gets here. Don't wait for Netflix.
Finally, why don't more places in LR do Sunday brunch? We dropped in the Bread Winner, a bakery and cafe on McKinney this morning and the place was full by 9:30 a.m. Egg dishes, potato-based casseroles, fat cinnamon rolls, french toast, huge omelettes, fresh-squeezed orange juice, steady-pouring European roast coffee, platters of fresh fruit. Modest prices in a comfortable, casual setting. We picked it for no particular reason other than it was open and near our hotel. But there were many others to choose from. I love the mix of breakfast food and regular dishes mid-morning. It just seems like a treat, especially on Sunday. (Don't tell me church gets in the way. Several folks in this crowd had church clothes on, for worship after breakfast.)