The Max Is Back, Election Recap Edition
On this week's edition, Max and I talk about the results and ramifications of Tuesday’s primary and judicial elections, the latest on the Mike Maggio federal bribery case and look ahead to next week’s...
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Dr. Tom Bruce, former UA Medical dean, dies at 86
Dr. Tom Bruce, a cardiologist and former dean of the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, pro tem dean at the start of UA's School of Public Health and an associate dean at the Clinton School of...
View ArticleAnother Republican miracle-working governor
Great piece in Washington Post on the budget crisis in Louisiana. Big tax cuts and corporate welfare will do that to a state, particularly to a state whose previous governor, Republican Bobby Jindal,...
View ArticleCharter school accountability: Non-existent in Arkansas
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this morning duly reported on a legislative audit committee report on questionable spending by a failed charter school in Little Rock, the Dreamland Academy.Here's the...
View ArticleA question for the secretary of state on faulty ballot
KAIT in Jonesboro reported the other day that some election ballots in Greene County contained a judicial election for which voters weren't eligible to cast ballots. The ballots for some voters...
View ArticleAnother set of caucuses, another open line.
Here's the open line. With Republican presidential votes in four states today there will be political news. So far, it appears Ted Cruz will win Kansas and Maine, with Donald Trump second. Marco Rubio...
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Lake Village street Confederate no more
Demetria Edwards, a Lake Village lawyer, sends photos of the formal renaming Saturday of what had been Confederate Street in Lake Village for the late Sgt. Thomas Armour Jr., a Lake Village Vietnam...
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Winners and losers in yesterday's presidential contests
At Vox, Matthew Yglesias boils down the results in yesterday's primary/caucus voting for presidential nominations: Winners: Ted Cruz, who took two of four states against Donald Trump, and...
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Gov. Hutchinson: Running Arkansas on Obamacare
Reporting today in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette illustrates again why Gov. Asa Hutchinson wants so desperately to preserve the Obamacare-funded Medicaid expansion in Arkansas. It's a key component of...
View ArticleThe Trump Effect on local elections
There has been much written about the so-called “Trump Effect” on various issues and voting blocs - though I despise the term voting bloc, as I will always prefer to see human beings as individuals,...
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Lovely day for Little Rock marathon
Thousands of runners cheered by many spectators enjoyed a cool Sunday morning for this year's Little Rock Marathon. Winners, photographed on the course by Brian Chilson were Tia Stone of Searcy with...
View ArticleGood news: A national drop in unintended pregnancies
Vox reports in depth on an encouraging trend — a sharp drop in unintended pregnancies, a shift attributed to better contraceptives. Unintended pregnancies fell 18 percent between 2008 and 2011 — the...
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Bad news: Our warming planet
The New York Times brings further anecdotal news about the warming planet: Organizers of the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska had to bring in a trainload of dirty snow to put down for the ceremonial...
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Might Nate Bell be onto something?
His picture is from the Monday morning meeting of the "Health Reform" Legislative Task Force. This is the group endeavoring to keep Obamacare dollars flowing into Arkansas while appearing to not...
View ArticleArkansas angle: A call for investigation of charter schools with Turkish ties
Education blogger Diane Ravitch writes today about a California group's call for an investigation of a group of affiliated charter schools — more than 150 — with ties to a Turkish political leader....
View ArticleDIY alert: Lowe's in the works for Little Rock
The new Little Rock Planning Commission agenda notes that a public hearing is set for a request to build a Lowe's home center at Bowman and Kanis Roads in West Little Rock. The chain currently has a...
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Updated numbers: private option will save state budget $757 million,...
The private option projects to save $757 million to the state budget between 2017 and 2021, the state's consultant, the Stephen Group, testified today to the Health Reform Legislative Task Force. The...
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Another Supreme Court justice with a record of hate speech
Talking Points Memo reports on the discovery that a woman appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Gov. Scott Walker said hateful things about gay people and others as a college newspaper columnist....
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Lt. Gov. Griffin calls for reorganization of Human Services
Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, deputized by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, issued a report today on a review of the huge Department of Human Services. He calls for a reorganization and streamlining of the agency —...
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Task force recommends continuation of the private option
The Health Reform Legislative Task force today recommended that the state implement "Arkansas Works," the governor's plan to continue the private option Medicaid expansion with conservative tweaks....
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Stephens Inc.-financed PAC goes after Conner Eldridge
With the election still eight months away, little-known Conner Eldridge, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican John Boozman, perhaps should be proud that a...
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Forget Michael Bloomberg. He won't run
In his own words, Michael Bloomberg explains why he won't use his billions to mount an independent run for president. In short: The risk is too great it could mean election of Donald Trump or Ted...
View ArticleHealth reform task force punts on managed care question
The Health Reform Legislative Task Force was split today on managed care, and made no recommendation on the thorny issue. There is broad agreement across the task force that the traditional Medicaid...
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