Attorney general requests dismissal of Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit

KUAR | By Mary Hennigan / Arkansas Advocate

Attorney General Tim Griffin on Friday filed a motion asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Secretary of State John Thurston’s recent rejection of the proposed Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024.

Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), the ballot question committee supporting the proposed constitutional amendment, filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the state Supreme Court to order Thurston to count the more than 101,000 signatures the group submitted in support of the measure on July 5.

The group also asked the court to expedite the case with a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction overruling Thurston’s decision not to count the signatures.

Attorney general requests dismissal of Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit

Courtesy Photo/Facebook

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin

Farm transition planning focus of upcoming conference

By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The transition of farms from one generation to the next is vital to the success of U.S. agriculture, and an upcoming conference is designed for professionals invested in farm transition planning.

The Cultivating Connections Conference brings together professionals from across the country to discuss an important topic: the successful transition of farms from one generation to the next. The second annual conference is Aug. 5-6. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

The average age of U.S. farmers continues to increase. According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, the average producer is 58.1 years old, 0.6 years older than in the 2017 Census and 9.4 years older than the 1945 Census, the first to report an average age. Further, data from the 2022 Census also shows that over 60 percent of all producers are 55 years of age or older.

While creating a farm transition plan is an important aspect of ensuring a farm continues to the next generation, it can also be overlooked. The Cultivating Connections Conference provides a learning and discussion forum on farm transition plans.

The conference, which will be held Aug. 5-6 at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, brings together attorneys, accountants, appraisers, educators and other farm transition planners to connect and learn about strategies for successful transition plans.

“The Cultivating Connections Conference targets the professionals who enable a critical issue today: the successful transfer of agricultural operations from one generation to the next,” Peggy Hall, director of The Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program, said.

The conference is a joint effort, hosted by The OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program and co-sponsored by the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University (CALT) and the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC). Speakers include attorneys, accountants, academics and appraisers. NALC Senior Staff Attorney Elizabeth Rumley is speaking at the event during a session on replenishing rural practice.

Registration for the conference, including in-person and virtual options, is available online until Aug. 2. Conference organizers have applied for Continuing Legal Education credits for Ohio and Iowa as well as IRS Continuing Education credits.

“One of the NALC’s strongest assets is its partners, and the Cultivating Connections Conference is a great development out of that partnership,” NALC Director Harrison Pittman said. “It brings together a talented network of skilled professionals focused on a very important topic — helping families preserve their farms as well as the communities and industries that depend upon families’ success.”

Hall said the conference, which is in its second year, is an opportunity for farm transition planners to learn effective strategies for planning and network with other professionals who share the same goals. Following the inaugural conference in 2023, The OSU Agricultural and Resource Law Program, CALT and the NALC partnered to create the Association of Farm Transition Planners, a network whose mission is increasing the number of skilled professionals assisting farmers with succession and transition planning. The association connects conference participants to helpful resources throughout the year.

“This event aims to build strong relationships and foster a supportive community dedicated to preserving the legacy and sustainability of family farms for future generations,” Hall said.

U.S. News Names UAMS a Best Medical School for Primary Care, Rural Practice

By Linda Satter

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) continues to climb U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Medical Schools.

The magazine’s annual ranking of medical and osteopathic schools across the country was released today, showing that for 2024, UAMS ranked fourth nationally for primary care education, ninth for the most graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas and 11th nationally for graduates practicing in rural areas.

UAMS was the only medical or osteopathic school in Arkansas to be recognized.

“We are proud to be recognized again as a national leader in educating and training graduates who go on to practice primary care and in rural areas,” said Steven A. Webber, M.D., executive vice chancellor of UAMS and dean of the College of Medicine. “We are working hard to generate more primary care physicians for communities across our state, to ensure all Arkansans have access to high-quality primary care. The latest Best Medical Schools rankings demonstrate our progress and success in this crucial area.”

U.S. News Names UAMS a Best Medical School for Primary Care, Rural Practice

U.S. News & World Report ranked the UAMS College of Medicine fourth nationally for graduates going into primary care, ninth for the most graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas and 11th nationally for graduates practicing in rural areas.

Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners sued over 'wet signature rule'

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

Get Loud Arkansas was using snail mail to register people to vote. Sounds simple, but it proved to be tricky. Most voter forms, sent through the mail, weren't being filled out and sent back.

“We had a huge drop off at that point,” she said. “We sent them out their applications and the applications never got turned in. About 33% actually made it all the way through the process.”

That's Kristin Foster, Deputy Executive Director of Get Loud Arkansas. The group's main purpose is to get more people signed up to vote. In 2022, she went to the polls to cast a ballot, and got an idea.

Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners sued over 'wet signature rule'

Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate

State Board of Election Commissioners approved the signature decision at a meeting.

ICYMI: Womack secures numerous Third District wins in FY25 appropriations bills

Washington, DC—July 19, 2024…Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee, authored, secured, and voted to pass funding for Third District priorities within the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations bills, all of which have advanced out of the committee as of last week.

Congressman Womack said, “Arkansans sent me to Congress to deliver results that will have real impacts on their daily lives. Whether the project focuses on improving infrastructure in Northwest Arkansas, preparing Fort Smith for the FMS mission, or supporting our hardworking firefighters' efforts to keep us safe, I want to ensure the needs of our growing region are met. Securing wins to improve the quality of life for Third District Arkansans remains my priority on the House Appropriations Committee.”

Below are the FY25 Appropriations bills that contain direct wins for Arkansas’ Third District with details about each provision’s impacts.

Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

• Arkansas Highway 112 – $6 million

• This project will fund the construction of safety, operational and congestion improvements on various segments of Highway 112 from Bentonville to Fayetteville. These improvements will include major widening, raised medians, pedestrian improvements, traffic signal upgrades, and roundabouts.

• Benton County Water System Improvements – $1.75 million

• This project will upgrade the current water system to a loop system and provide newer, larger pipes that can keep up with the water demand of the growing area.

• Construction of Future Interstate 49 – $3 million

• This project will fund the construction of a segment of future Interstate 49 and provide congestion relief for the cities of Fort Smith and Van Buren.

• Farmington Bridge Repairs – $6.5 million

• This project will provide funds to replace two functionally obsolete bridges that are located on Double Springs Road in Farmington, Arkansas.

• Huntsville Water System Improvements – $3 million

• This project will provide upgrades to the Huntsville water system, including building a water tower and upgrading the sewer lines and plant.

• Mulberry Food Pantry – $500,000

• This project will provide funds to the City of Mulberry to update the Community Food Pantry to increase its capacity and comply with the American Disabilities Act.

• Northeastern Benton County Fire Station Improvements – $1.25 million

• This project will provide funds for facility construction and upgrades, including structure material, heating and air, a new water line and additional equipment, including a new fire truck.

• North Central Crawford County Water Systems Improvements – $4.4 million

• This project will provide funds for a water system extension to serve approximately 350 users in North Central Crawford County who currently do not have access to a potable water supply.

• Springdale Northern Bypass – $59 million

• This funding will help complete the U.S. Highway 412 Springdale Northern Bypass by constructing a four-lane, divided highway with fully controlled access built to interstate standards.

• Towson Avenue Improvements – $12.5 million

• This project will provide funds to improve Highway 71B/Towson Ave. in Fort Smith by enhancing pedestrian accommodations and improving drainage.

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

• Ebbing Air National Guard Academic Training Center – $70 million

• The funding would be used to construct a F-35 Academic Training Center and Liquid Oxygen Supply Storage facility for the Foreign Military Sales F-35 program’s Pilot Training Center. The facility will provide spaces for training classrooms, flight simulator spaces, conference rooms, and administrative support spaces for the F-35 FMS Pilot Training Center mission.

Defense

• Ebbing Air National Guard Base Foreign Military Sales Mission – $36.743 million

• This funding will support continued infrastructure investments required to stand up the Foreign Military Sales mission at Ebbing Air National Guard Base.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration

• Berryville Hospital MRI –$1.376 million

• This funding will go toward equipment for an MRI unit for Berryville Hospital.

• Pea Ridge Fire Station – $2.75 million

• This funding will go toward the construction of a new fire station for the City of Pea Ridge’s Fire Department, which will provide increased fire and EMS capacity.

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies

• Elkins Water System Improvements – $3.75 million

• This project will provide upgrades to the current water systems and help provide ratepayer relief.

• Springdale Water System Improvements – $3 million

• This project will provide funds to expand sewer infrastructure over very difficult and challenging terrain to the eastern border of Springdale.

Read about each of the FY25 Appropriations bills here.

Crop science master’s student Fernandes places in international contest

By Robby Edwards
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Igor Fernandes, a master's degree student in crop, soil and environmental sciences in University of Arkansas’ Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, recently placed second in an international crop prediction contest conducted by the Genomes to Fields Initiative.

CROP PREDICTION — Igor Fernandes placed second in the Genomes to Fields Initiative competition. (U of A System photo)

In initiative also known as G2F collected data on more than 180,000 corn field plots, including 2,500 hybrids and 162 unique environments. Competitors developed prediction models to predict maize yield based on genetic and environmental data from trials, datasets and other publicly available information. From Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, contestants had access to training data, and they had to submit their predictions by Jan. 15.

The Genotype by Environment contest was open to teams and individuals, and Fernandes developed his model individually. He is now working with his adviser, Sam Fernandes, assistant professor of agricultural statistics and quantitative genetics, to improve his prediction model. Fernandes is with the Center for Agricultural Data Analytics and is a researcher with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. His research ties into work with the departments of crop, soil and environmental sciences and horticulture.

A team from Corteva Agriscience won the contest and a $4,000 prize with a Mean Root Mean Square Error score of 2.328863. Igor Fernandes was second among 33 entries with a score of 2.345147. For this contest and this RMSE metric, lower scores are better. Models with a lower RSME mean the predicted maize yield is more similar to the actual yield when compared to another model with a larger RMSE.

"We used trial data from 2014 to 2021 to build the prediction models and had to evaluate the predictions on unseen trials from 2022," Igor Fernandes said. "We had to make predictions for different environments and different maize hybrids. My solution consisted in creating meaningful predictor variables, the so-called feature engineering process, and building a gradient boosting machine learning model with those variables."

He said his solution included using aggregations, such as calculating the mean, standard deviation and others, from time series climate variables to summarize climate patterns for each season in each environment.

"Another useful technique used was the adoption of lagged variables, which means that we take a variable and look at its pattern in a previous window, which could be from the previous year or the previous two years, and use it as a predictor," Igor Fernandes said. 

G2F focuses on efficiently and sustainably producing a safe, dependable food supply for a growing world population, which requires the development and management of crop varieties that will perform well despite increased weather variability. A widescale plant phenotyping initiative is proposed, which will expand understanding of the interacting roles of crop genomes and crop environments (including weather and management practices) on crop performance. By improving the ability to predict crop performance in diverse environments, the initiative will enhance capabilities to develop new varieties and manage the effects of weather variability on crop productivity.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Boozman, Moran, Lankford, Blackburn, Cramer & Braun urge VA to protect VA home loans from costly energy conservation standards

WASHINGTON –– U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, joined Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Mike Braun (R-IN) to raise concerns to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough about how recently adopted Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) energy conservation policies could impact the cost of VA home loans for veterans.

On April 26, HUD and USDA announced they would be implementing the 2021 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) as the minimum energy efficiency standards for the financing of new single and multifamily homes. 

“If adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs, we are concerned that the revised standards could negatively affect the availability, affordability, and competitiveness of VA home loans for veterans,” wrote the senators. “Declining to finance any loans for new homes that do not meet these increased requirements, the agencies put accessible homeownership in jeopardy for thousands of veterans. Both rental and housing costs have risen at the fastest rates in decades, and any proposals that raise the cost of home building must be meticulously examined.”

“NAHB commends Sen. Moran for urging the VA Secretary to produce the department’s own analysis on how the 2021 IECC would affect housing affordability and the ability of veterans to obtain VA home loans,” said National Association of Home Builders Chairman Carl Harris. “Studies have shown that requiring new construction to adopt to the 2021 IECC can add as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home and that it would require up to 90 years for a home buyer to realize a payback on the added upfront cost of the home. Sen. Moran and the nation’s home builders are concerned that if VA were to adopt the 2021 IECC, it would prevent many of our nation’s veterans from purchasing a new home using a VA home loan.” 

The full text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Secretary McDonough,

We write to raise significant concerns about the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently adopted revised energy standards for newly constructed homes insured or guaranteed by their respective Departments.

We are particularly concerned with the impact of the agencies’ final determination, implementing the 2021 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), on veteran homebuyers. By only financing new homes if they are built to the 2021 IECC standards, HUD and USDA describe the potential for a market where “new construction for Federal Housing Administration borrowers would decline.”  If adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), we are concerned that the revised standards could negatively affect the availability, affordability, and competitiveness of VA home loans for veterans.

Recent estimates indicate that even a one thousand dollar increase in home prices would price over one hundred thousand Americans out of the housing market.  As mortgage rates hover around seven percent, the revised standards could lead prospective homeowners to pay tens of thousands of dollars more over the course of a 30-year mortgage. Included in the Regulatory Impact Analysis, HUD and USDA rightly recognize that “lower-income households are less willing than higher-income ones to accept longer payback periods for energy-efficient investments.” Declining to finance any loans for new homes that do not meet these increased requirements, the agencies put accessible homeownership in jeopardy for thousands of veterans.

Both rental and housing costs have risen at the fastest rates in decades, and any proposals that raise the cost of home building must be meticulously examined. Additionally, it is our duty to ensure that veterans have robust access to VA-financed home loans. In turn, we respectfully call your attention to a directive included in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2025 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Committee Report on the revised energy standards and look forward to VA’s evaluation of how adoption would impact costs for veteran homebuyers, including the availability, affordability, and competitiveness of VA home loans.

Parker family donates $2 million to Arkansas Children’s Hospital

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas Children’s Hospital has received a $2 million donation from Lynn and Don Parker and their children to help fund the ACH expansion project. The Jonesboro-based family has also committed a $1 million gift to the ACH Jonesboro Clinic.

This is the family’s second $1 million gift to the clinic. They also gave $1 million in 2019.

ACH is in the midst of a $318 million expansion project at both hospitals, announced in 2023. The plan will expand bed capacity, transform inpatient and outpatient surgical approaches with the addition of an ambulatory center, redesign clinical spaces to promote multidisciplinary care and create an inviting and accessible campus experience. With the Parker family donation, companies, individuals and organizations have donated $12.1 million toward the $253.2 million expansion project at ACH.

Parker family donates $2 million to Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Arkansas Children's campus in Little Rock.

Arkansas coalition receives $99.9 million EPA grant for environmental projects

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

A coalition of groups representing Northwest Arkansas, the Fort Smith metro and central Arkansas will receive $99.999 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support climate change reduction efforts in the three areas.

According to Monday’s (July 22) EPA announcement, the grant funds will pay for technologies and programs that reduce harmful emissions, and pay for infrastructure, housing, and other “competitive economy” developments “needed for a clean energy future.”

“When estimates provided by all selected applicants are combined, the proposed projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years,” noted the EPA press release announcing the funds.

Arkansas coalition receives $99.9 million EPA grant for environmental projects

Capitol Exhibit Highlights Unique Collection from Saunders Museum

(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) – Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston would like to invite visitors to the State Capitol to view the latest historical exhibit, A Collector’s Story: Selections from the Saunders Museum.

The exhibit features the colorful life of Colonel C. Burton Saunders of Berryville, Arkansas, and his journey as a collector of artifacts. Saunders became famous as a showman, marksman, world traveler, and prolific acquirer of unique and historic items of interest.

Items on display include rare and antique firearms, Native American artifacts, and various objects Saunders picked up during his world travels.

Among the rarer relics exhibited are a cased pair of flintlock dueling pistols made by Pirmet in Paris, France, dating to the late 1700s-early 1800s; a Colt Walker 1847 revolver (less than 200 out of 1,100 made are known to still exist); and guns that are said to have been owned by notorious outlaws Jesse James, Cole Younger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Wild Bill Hickock.

A Collector’s Story: Selections from the Saunders Museum will be on display in the Capitol's first floor galleries from now through September 20th.

For more information on the Saunders Museum, visit https://berryvillear.gov/about-berryville/saunders-museum.

Display Is Open Now Through September 20th

Attorney General Griffin applauds emergency stay halting President Biden's unlawful student debt cancellation plan

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals granting an emergency stay in the matter of Missouri v. Biden, again halting the Biden administration’s evolving attempt to cancel student debt:

“This is the latest blow to President Biden’s unlawful plans to cancel student loans without congressional approval. Our coalition won at the lower court last month, and we have continued to win in the Eighth Circuit. The President is disregarding the separation of powers in the Constitution and the fundamentals so clearly articulated in Schoolhouse Rock. I am grateful the courts continue to prevent President Biden from doing an end-run around Congress.”

Griffin is the co-lead in the lawsuit with Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. They are joined in the suit by the attorneys general of Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma.

To read the order, click here.

Consumer Alert: Beware fraudulent callers claiming to be law enforcement officers

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement warning Arkansans about a common scam in which callers claim to be a law enforcement officer and demand payment to resolve an alleged criminal matter:

AG Tim Griffin

“I have received reports of an uptick in fraudulent phone calls to Arkansans involving scammers representing themselves as law enforcement officers. These unscrupulous individuals, whether live or in a pre-recorded message, employ common tactics: They claim that the person they have called has committed a criminal offense and pressure them into paying money under threat of being arrested. Or they offer a recently arrested individual the opportunity to enroll in a fake rehabilitation program.

“Any attempt to defraud consumers is disgusting, but preying on the trust Arkansans have in the law enforcement community is especially heinous. I encourage anyone who receives this type of call not to fall for the scam, hang up on the scammer, and report them to my office for investigation.”

Griffin advises consumers to follow these tips to help protect themselves against such fraudulent calls:

• Law enforcement agencies and their employees do not call asking people to send money for fees or fines using a wire transfer, a prepaid debit card or gift card.

• Bitcoin is never a legitimate form of payment.

• Don’t assume the caller is who you think it is, even if the Caller ID indicates it is Arkansas State Police or your local police department. Verify the caller’s validity by independently calling the listed number for the agency they represent and asking for that individual.

• If asked to meet, only go to the designated police station, and only agree to meet INSIDE the station.

• Do not give any personal information—Social Security number, bank information, driver’s license number, etc.—over the phone.

Scammers blast illegal robocalls to consumers using identical or nearly identical messaging and calling patterns. They use caller ID spoofing to mislead and defraud victims, use pre-recorded messages without prior consent of call recipients, and target phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry violating federal and state consumer protection laws.

Griffin invites consumers to go beyond merely reporting that a call is unwanted and provide information that can assist in identifying the entity that is perpetrating the fraudulent and ongoing calling activity, including the following: date, time of the call(s), calling number(s), and message or description of the call(s). A form to report this information is available on our website.

For more information or to file a Consumer Complaint, please contact the Office of Attorney General at (501) 682-2007 or oag@arkansasag.gov, or visit the website www.ArkansasAG.gov.

Governor Sanders, Sen. Cotton speak to RNC on Tuesday

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

On a night dedicated to law and order and toughness on crime, Republican convention-goers heard from a plethora of 2020 and 2024 Presidential candidates and two high-profile Arkansas politicians mentioned as future candidates for higher office.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former U.S. Housing Secretary Ben Carson, and Vivek Ramaswamy all took the stage to unite behind the Republican Presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

Carson was one of the few speakers to reference Trump’s recent convictions in New York on a case under appeal involving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Carson also noted the dismissal of a Florida special counsel case involving Trump’s handling of classified documents.

Governor Sanders, Sen. Cotton speak to RNC on Tuesday

Governor Sanders signs an executive order to provide additional relief in regards to tax filing and payment deadlines in response to the May 24th storms in Arkansas

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS: 

E.O. 24-11: EXECUTIVE ORDER TO AMEND E.O. 24-09 AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RELIEF IN REGARD TO TAX FILING AND PAYMENT DEADLINES IN RESPONSE TO SEVERE STORMS ON OR ABOUT MAY 24, 2024. 

Wikimedia Image

WHEREAS: On or about May 24, 2024, and continuing, severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes began in Arkansas, causing danger, hardship, and suffering which now warrants this executive action; 

WHEREAS: On May 26, 2024, by Executive Order 24-07, a regional emergency was declared in the state as a result of the severe weather outbreak, pursuant to the Emergency Services Act, codified at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101, et. seq; 

WHEREAS: Ark. Code Ann. § 26-18-505 authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration to grant a reasonable extension of time to file any return required under any state tax law upon written request for good cause shown. Good cause includes when any taxpayer is affected by a disaster emergency declared by the Governor; 

WHEREAS: Ark. Code Ann. § 12-75-114(e)(1) authorizes the Governor to suspend any regulatory statutes if compliance with those statutes would delay action in coping with the declared emergency; 

WHEREAS: On May 30, 2024, by Executive Order 24-09, relief was extended to affected citizens in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties by extending certain tax payment deadlines; and 

WHEREAS: There is good cause for additional relief to be extended to Arkansans residing in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties as a result of the ongoing emergency. 

NOW THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, acting under the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Arkansas and pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-75-101, et seq., issue this Executive Order pursuant to the regional emergency as declared in Executive Order 24-07, and order the following: 

1. The Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration is hereby ordered to extend the 2023 income tax filing date and income tax payment date and 2023 pass-through entity tax filing date and pass-through entity tax payment date for returns that are due between May 24, 2024, and October 31, 2024, to November 1, 2024, for those citizens and businesses residing in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties. This extension includes 2023 returns of Individuals, Subchapter S Corporations, Subchapter C Corporations, Pass-Through Entities, Fiduciaries and Estates, Partnerships, and Composite returns; 

2. Individuals and entities in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties will have until November 1, 2024, to file income tax and pass-through entity returns and pay income and pass through entity taxes that were originally due between May 24, 2024, and October 31, 2024; 

3. This relief includes return and extension payments due between May 24, 2024, and October 31, 2024; 

4. The Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration is hereby ordered to extend the deadline under Ark. Code Ann. § 26-51-913(a)(2) to make a quarterly estimated income tax payment from between May 24, 2024, and October 31, 2024, for those citizens and businesses located in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties to November 1, 2024; 

5. The provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 26-18-505(a)(1) requiring a written request for an extension to file an individual income tax return are hereby waived through November 1, 2024, for citizens who reside or whose businesses are located in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties; 

6. The provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 26-18-505(a)(3) limiting an extension for filing an individual income tax return to no more than 180 days is hereby waived through November 1, 2024, for citizens who reside or whose businesses are located in Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp counties; and 

7. The provisions of Ark. Code Ann. § 26-18-505(a)(4) requiring the promulgation of rules to waive the requirement for a written request for an extension are hereby waived through November 1, 2024. 

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed on this 15th day of July, in the year of our Lord 2024.

Brazilian pulp manufacturer acquires Pine Bluff paper mill for $110 million

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Pine Bluff, Arkansas paper mill and Waynesville, North Carolina extrusion facility to global paper and pulp producer Suzano S.A.

The $110 million cash transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Suzano has agreed to offer employment to several hundred current employees at Pine Bluff and Waynesville.

The Pine Bluff mill produces liquid packaging board and cupstock used to make fresh beverage cartons, paper cups and other fiber-based food and beverage packaging. Waynesville provides incremental extrusion capacity for the board produced at Pine Bluff.

Brazilian pulp manufacturer acquires Pine Bluff paper mill for $110 million

Marshals Museum first year attendance around 65,000; new board member named

by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net)

With an attendance of around 65,000, the U.S. Marshals Museum has had a good inaugural year, according to Ben Johnson, museum president and CEO. He said attendance for the first year is “really great in the post-COVID world.”

Initial studies suggested the museum could average around 100,000 to 150,000 visitors annually.

“We didn’t really know what to expect. We hoped for higher numbers, but we’ve been very active. The traffic really has been awesome,” Johnson said, adding that he expects year No. 2 to be even better with a growing number of programs.

Marshals Museum first year attendance around 65,000; new board member named

La Ñina boosts the Panama Canal; Houthi threat drives up shipping costs through the Suez

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — While La Ñina is helping ease the traffic knots at the Panama Canal, repeated attacks by Houthis — some fatal — have driven shippers to find alternatives to the Suez Canal, said Ryan Loy, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

More than a quarter of the soybeans grown in the U.S. are exported through the Panama Canal, says Ryan Loy, extension economist. (U of A System Division of Agricultre photo)

The Panama Canal is a key route for global trade, including for Arkansas commodities such as soybeans and corn. In March, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that traffic through the Panama Canal had dropped 49 percent since 2021 and 42 percent in the Suez Canal during the same period.

“About 26 percent of U.S. soybeans and 17 percent of U.S. corn is transported via the Panama Canal,” Loy said. “And this is important to us, especially in Arkansas, because a lot of our grain goes down the Mississippi River to the Port of New Orleans.”

Arkansas’s export soybeans and corn go through the Panama Canal to get to Asia, Loy noted.

Long-term drought across Central America was strangling the Panama Canal. While the passage connects two oceans, the water used to raise and lower ships between the coasts comes from Gatun Lake, a fresh water body. Each ship transit requires 52 million gallons of water. The lake fell to its lowest levels in five years last June, hitting 79.5 feet.

“It was a very dire situation,” Loy said. The alternative to the canal would mean sailing around Cape Horn at the bottom of South America, costly in fuel and fraught with dangerous weather.

Lower lake levels meant shallower water in the locks. The Panama Canal Authority ended up restricting the number of ships making transits. Ships that could make the trip had to carry less cargo to prevent their hulls from hitting bottom.

However, the return of La Ñina has meant replenishing rain for the lake and the canal authority has not only increased the number of ships allowed through, but also allowed heavier ships that sit more deeply in the water.

As of July 11, the canal authority was “increasing the number to 33 ships a day. Then on July 22, they’re going to allow 34 ships a day and on Aug. 5, they will open up one more spot for the Neopanamax ships.”

“Neopanamax” refers to the largest ships than can pass through the canal’s newest locks, which opened in 2016. These vessels can be up to 1,202 feet long, 168 feet wide and have a draft of 50 feet. Draft is the distance between the ship’s waterline and its lowest point.

“This is very close to what they used to do —  38 ships a day — so we’re getting close to normal,” Loy said.  “Just for comparison, in November 2023, they were at 24 ships a day, so you can see how much we’ve kind of improved since then.”

Should drought return the canal to its restricted state and if China’s soybean crop is poor, “that leaves Brazil an opportunity,” he said.

Brazil is a key rival to the U.S. for soybean trade and doesn’t rely on the Panama Canal.

“Brazil can come in and say, we don’t need the Panama Canal. We can transport our grain via rail and trucks to the Pacific. They have a lot of it and it’s much cheaper,” Loy said. “So those are the kind of implications of what could happen if the drought comes back.”

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a critical route, carrying an estimated 12-15 percent of global trade.

The Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite acquired these images of the Suez Canal’s mid-section, showing the canal after expansion was completed in 2016. (Image courtesy NASA).

Since starting in November 2023, Houthi attacks in the Suez Canal have become fiercer, resulting in the deaths of four crewmembers from attacks on two ships, the MV True Confidence and the Tutor.

MarineTraffic.com, which tracks global shipping, reported a 79.6 percent reduction in dry bulk carriers — whose shipments include grain — passing through the Suez, just 24 ships in June, compared to 118 in June 2023. The amount of cargo passing through the canal in May was 44.9 million tons, down from 142.9 million tons in May 2023.

The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said many shippers were opting to avoid the canal and the Houthis, including British Petroleum, Evergreen, CMA CGM, Hapag Loyd and Maersk.

Maersk resumed its use of the canal in June, since taking the the Cape of Good Hope route around the tip of South Africa added an estimated $1 million in fuel costs and one to two weeks in additional transit time, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. Rounding the cape is still perilous, with one ship running aground and another losing cargo, according to Bloomberg.

The Suez Canal’s decreased traffic meant the port authority’s yearly revenues were nearly halved, from $648 million last year to $337 million, Loy said.

“The areas surrounding this are also impacted, too, because people's jobs, people's livelihoods depend on traffic through the Suez Canal,” he said, and “that’s tough for that region.”

Houthis are only attacking ships affiliated with the U.S., Israel and their allies, affecting insurance premiums for the carriers.

“The total premium for U.S.-based cargo is 1.7 percent of total freight on board,” Loy said. “Because they’re not attacking Chinese ships, the Chinese premium is just 0.2 percent of the value of total freight on board.”

Where does this leave consumers?

“I'm surprised that we haven't seen much increase in items at the grocery store, even vehicles, or whatever it may be, anything besides grain, that are separate from our inflation issues,” Loy said. “The expected big ripple effect is having a little bit less of an impact than most people thought.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagra.m.at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Cotton, Colleagues to Garland: Terminate DOJ Official Who Committed Perjury

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) led nine of his Senate Judiciary Committee colleagues today in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to terminate Kristen Clarke, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. The senators detailed how Ms. Clarke committed perjury during the nomination process for her current role by lying to Congress.

Wikimedia Image

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) co-signed the letter.

In part, the senators wrote:

“During her nomination to her current role, Ms. Clarke was asked if she had ‘ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person.’ Ms. Clarke was unequivocal, responding under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, ‘No.’ That was a lie. Ms. Clarke has now admitted that she was arrested in 2006 for attacking and injuring someone with a knife. It has also recently come to light that, shortly before the full Senate voted on her nomination, Ms. Clarke and her publicist contacted the man she attacked in an attempt to cover up her false testimony.”

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

July 12, 2024

The Honorable Merrick Garland
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Garland,

I write regarding an act of perjury committed by Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. I call for Ms. Clarke’s immediate termination and removal from office.

During her nomination to her current role, Ms. Clarke was asked if she had “ever been arrested for or accused of committing a violent crime against any person.” Ms. Clarke was unequivocal, responding under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee, “No.” That was a lie. Ms. Clarke has now admitted that she was arrested in 2006 for attacking and injuring someone with a knife. It has also recently come to light that, shortly before the full Senate voted on her nomination, Ms. Clarke and her publicist contacted the man she attacked in an attempt to cover up her false testimony.

Lying to Congress under oath is a felony.

The last time you were before the Senate Judiciary Committee, you said, “The integrity of our legal system is premised on adherence to the rule of law. In order to have confidence in our Department and in our democracy, the American people must be able to trust that we will adhere to the rule of law in everything that we do.” Ms. Clarke does not meet this standard and must be immediately terminated.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

UAMS Designated a 2024-2025 Best Hospital; Rated High-Performing in Nine Areas

By Linda Satter

U.S. News & World Report has named the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a 2024-2025 Best Hospital.

In the magazine’s annual Best Hospitals edition, released today, UAMS was named Best Hospital in the Little Rock metropolitan area, in a tie with Baptist Health Medical Center.

UAMS also received “high performing” designations for the following nine treatments or procedures:

• Colon cancer surgery

• Heart failure

• Hip fracture

• Hip replacement

• Knee replacement

• Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma

• Lung cancer surgery

• Pneumonia

• Stroke

UAMS Designated a 2024-2025 Best Hospital; Rated High-Performing in Nine Areas

Pro-choice group sues Arkansas Secretary of State

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A pro-choice group is suing Secretary of State John Thurston over a recent decision to toss out signatures gathered in support of loosening the state's strict abortion laws. They plan to take the case to the state supreme court. Arkansans For Limited Government put forward an amendment that, if approved by voters, would have legalized abortion in Arkansas up to the 18th week of pregnancy. The group collected over 101 thousand signatures, exceeding the baseline of 90 thousand. 14 thousand were collected by paid canvassers.

Secretary of State John Thurston threw out the signatures over a technicality several days later, saying the group broke Arkansas’ strict laws about paid canvassers when submitting paperwork.

Thurston said he was missing two documents. In a letter sent to the group on July 10th, he said he was missing a list of paid canvassers names and evidence they had read the handbook. He later said the group had turned in the paperwork too early.

Pro-choice group sues Arkansas Secretary of State

Courts.Arkansas.Gov/Courts.Arkansas.Gov

Supporters of an effort to legalize abortion in Arkansas filled suit in the state supreme court.