Bill to abolish library, Arkansas PBS oversight boards advances

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

An effort to disband the independent oversight boards for the state’s libraries and public television network advanced in an Arkansas legislative committee Thursday.

Senate Bill 184 would abolish the State Library Board and the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, transferring their power and duties to the state Education Department.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, told members of the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs committee the bill seeks to boost efficiency.

“These boards and commissions meet once a quarter. They have a set agenda, they meet for about an hour, hour-and-a-half or so, and rarely do they come up with things that are consequential,” Sullivan said, adding the entities the boards oversee are “very consequential to the State of Arkansas.”

Bill to abolish library, Arkansas PBS oversight boards advances

Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, leads a meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Higher Education subcommittee on Sept. 3, 2024 on Arkansas State University’s Jonesboro campus.

Arkansas professors discuss the impacts of affirmative action programs in college admissions

KUAR | By KUAR News

Two weeks ago, the U.S Supreme Court in a ruling that involved Harvard and the University of North Carolina ended affirmative action. In the majority opinion by the Supreme Court, an academic paper written by Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the UA Little Rock Bowen School, was quoted by Justice Clarence Thomas.

During a panel discussion on Arkansas Week, Steinbuch said his paper used data to analyze the effectiveness of race-based admissions programs at law schools.

“What the paper shows is that the success rate for example Blacks passing the bar, after graduation, I should say the failure rate is double that of whites,” he said. “It’s not because they’re Black, but because they are admitted with insufficient credentials and we’re not telling the students this when we take their money.”

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-09/arkansas-professors-discuss-the-impacts-of-affirmative-action-programs-in-college-admissions

Arkansas PBS

The U.S Supreme Court's decision to undo affirmative action will change the way schools handle their admissions. Robert Steinbuch, a law professor at the UA Little Rock Bowen School of Law, said the Supreme Court was correct in their ruling.

Arkansas PBS Adds First Of Five New Signals To Expand Coverage

By MICHAEL HIBBLEN

Arkansas PBS is now broadcasting on an additional signal near Russellville. It’s the first of five new transmitters being added this year to provide broadcast coverage to nearly the entire state.

$6.4 million from federal CARES Act funding awarded to the state and allocated by a state steering committee made the expansion possible. Courtney Pledger, executive director and CEO of Arkansas PBS, said in a press release that the funding "enables us to be a truly statewide network and better serve the many Arkansans who live in areas without broadband coverage, or who cannot afford cable, satellite or broadband – those most in need of our education programming and services."

The broadcaster, which is part of the state government, says the project will increase coverage from 76% of Arkansas to 99.5%. Additional signals are expected to be on the air by the end of the year near Mena, Harrison, Texarkana and in Forrest City.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/post/arkansas-pbs-adds-first-five-new-signals-expand-coverage

The tower on Lee Mountain near Russellville which is the first of five new signals that Arkansas PBS says will go on the air this year to provide coverage to nearly the entire state.

CREDIT ARKANSAS PBS