Opinion

Over the last few weeks, Congress has been working on the annual legislation that helps ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools and resources they need to fulfill their crucial mission to protect and defend the United States, our allies and interests...

The average debt that a student incurs to earn a bachelor’s degree in Arkansas is almost $2,000 less than the national average. Over the course of a 30-year career, a person with a bachelor’s degree will earn an estimated $1.25 million, compared to $550,000 that a college dropout will earn over the same period...

Dear Editor, The situation that a group of property owners in Cherokee Village are currently facing is that the land across the road from their homes is CP3 commercial property according to city officials. The C-3 designation means: General Commercial District – For development of a broad range of general sales and service uses. ...

This isn’t just a big city problem. That was the message Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas’s Secretary of Health, sought to impart when recently answering a reporter’s question about the alarming rise of recent positive COVID-19 diagnoses in rural Arkansas. When the crisis began, our nation’s largest city was our hotspot. ...

Arkansas will hold its annual sales tax holiday on Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2. Clothing and footwear that cost less than $100 per item will qualify for the exemption. However, if you buy an item that costs more than $100 you must pay the state and local sales taxes on the entire amount...

I do not know, nor have I read the comments, which led to the firing of the school resource officer, and I don’t need too. The First Amendment protects even “vile and reprehensible” comments. The firing may well be actionable under 42 U.S. Code 1983 as a violation of his constitutional right to freedom of expression/speech under color of state law. ...

Dear Editor, My husband and I have always tried to be nice and helpful to people and never harm people or their stuff. We don’t know why but on Friday morning around 2 o’clock, some people had to come by and hit our mailbox and tear it up. My husband made the wooden post with a flower pot on it and it has stood there quite a while. ...

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has taken a toll on Missourians, and almost no one is immune. Even if we have not contracted the virus, we’ve all felt its effects. Businesses have shut down and employees have been sent home. Schools closed and parents found themselves responsible for their children’s education. ...

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress packed into the Pennsylvania State House and approved the text of the Declaration of Independence. When it was read aloud publicly for the first time four days later, the Liberty Bell rang out in cheer. While there was cause for celebration, the American colonists were a long way from freedom. ...

During the upcoming school year, local districts will have flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances created by the outbreak of the coronavirus, thanks to a set of waivers adopted by the state Board of Education during a special meeting. The waivers affect policies that govern the amount of time a teacher has to spend with students in classroom instruction. ...

For several years now, my office has made a concerted effort to capture and preserve the memories of Arkansas’s war veterans for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s Veteran History Project (VHP). Not only is it a great way to honor their service and commitment to our country, but it is a valuable educational tool for future generations. ...

For more than a decade, Congress has improved access to new and existing treatments for veterans at risk of suicide and increased funding for programs to support suicide prevention. Unfortunately, the number of veterans who commit suicide each day has remained roughly unchanged. It’s clear the approach we’re taking isn’t working. It’s time to implement a new strategy...

Covid-19 is still with us. Adhering to social distancing and wearing of face masks in public whether outdoors or indoors were addressed in the June 19th directive from the Arkansas Department of Health. Thus, in respect and concern for your health and that of others, please observe those recommendations. ...

My name is Sandy Zeigler. I am a member of the first senior class of Highland High School; therefore, I would like to inform those of you who don’t know the background. I am sure the number is extremely high. When it was decided to consolidate the Hardy and Ash Flat school systems, the majority of our parents, grandparents (mine included) and others were very much against it. Because Hardy and Ash Flat were very much rivals, they just knew we would try to kill each other...

The state will hire 350 more contact tracers to help control the spread of the coronavirus. After the funding is allocated to pay them, it will bring the state’s total to 900. Contact tracing is a vital part of the public health strategy to control the spread of communicable diseases. When people come down with the disease, a tracer contacts them to help them remember everyone with whom they were in close contact during the period of time when they were infectious...

A federal judge upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures used in Arkansas for carrying out the death penalty. A group of inmates on death row had challenged the protocol used for capital punishment, arguing that it violated constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment...

Public lands in Arkansas provide an abundance of opportunities for people to enjoy the great outdoors. The time-honored traditions of hunting and fishing have helped grow the state’s tourism industry into a key sector of our economy while simultaneously supporting the preservation and protection of wildlife habitat. We call the Natural State home. This moniker gives Arkansans an especially strong connection to nature and a vested interest in maintaining our outdoor resources...

In June the Senate Education Committee will hear a report on the effect that public schools have seen due to the recent widespread requests for waivers from education standards. Almost every school district in Arkansas operates with some sort of waiver granted by the state. More than 1,000 public schools, in which 97 percent of the state’s students are enrolled, operate with some sort of waiver. They are in 229 of the 235 school districts in Arkansas...

Hello to my fellow northern Arkansans! Elaine here, with my dog Elsa again. Don’t know if you remember us, but we first introduced ourselves in the May 6 issue of the Villager Journal. Well, if you’d care to lend another kind ear, we have another topic we’d like to chat with you about...testing. ...

This week, the Senate focused mostly on the budget. I think everyone agrees we’re in a tight spot this year. The loss of economic activity due to COVID-19 has resulted in shortfalls in state revenue. With the deadline for state income tax filings pushed into July, we won’t know the full revenue picture until the current fiscal year has passed. ...

Arkansas is gradually opening up businesses and public activities, under careful monitoring by public health officials to avoid bringing on a second wave of the coronavirus. The governor announced that church services may resume, as long as the congregation wears masks and everyone stays at least six feet from each other...

If you’re like many people, you may not think about assessing your personal property until one of two things happens: it’s time to renew your vehicle tags, or it’s time to pay property taxes. That’s especially true right now, when the novel coronavirus has turned the world upside down. In the days of pandemic and economic uncertainty, property assessment is the last thing on anyone’s mind...

After spending weeks shutdown to help slow the spread of the virus, it’s time to restart our economy and allow people to return to work. This has been a difficult time for everyone, but especially here in southern Missouri where people just want to be allowed to work hard, make a living, and provide for their families. ...

There have been times during my legislative career when I have come to the Capitol on a Sunday night to prepare for the following week. It’s always a little eerie spending time alone in our majestic Statehouse when the halls are empty, every door is closed and the occasional footsteps reverberate off hard marble. I’m reminded of that experience a lot this week as legislators return to Jefferson City for the final weeks of the 2020 legislative session...

Laid Off…Turn 65 April 30th What Do I Do?? Toni: I need your help to enroll in Medicare because I will turn 65 on April 30. On April 10, I was laid off due to the current economic conditions. My employer benefits ended the day I was laid off. I have no idea what to do!!...

Before I was elected to office, I owned and operated Cunningham’s Fresh Foods in Marshfield. Those years running a supermarket left me with an appreciation for what it takes to care for customers, keep a store clean and offer the variety of wholesome foods and everyday essentials that consumers demand. In hindsight, those challenges were easy, especially with the great employees I was blessed with. I can hardly imagine what running a retail store is like in the age of COVID-19...

As the Chinese coronavirus has ravaged the United States, upending nations in Europe, infecting nearly every single country on the face of the earth, one thing has been noticeably absent from the global conversation: China’s role in spreading this disease. ...

While we are facing difficult and uncertain times, Arkansans should know that essential services in state government will continue. This week during the 2020 Fiscal Session, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a balanced budget for the next fiscal year prioritizing funding for education, health care, and public safety...

Laid Off…Turn 65 April 30th What Do I Do?? Toni: I need your help to enroll in Medicare because I will turn 65 on April 30. On April 10, I was laid off due to the current economic conditions. My employer benefits ended the day I was laid off. I have no idea what to do!!...

The legislature completed the 2020 fiscal session in record time, approving a balanced budget that funds state government spending of $5.68 billion. An additional $212.2 in spending is authorized in the event that economic activity rebounds from the slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Tax revenue goes up and down, depending on the health of the economy...

I was grateful when President Trump recently called me to discuss the agriculture community’s concerns related to the coronavirus crisis, particularly the need to assure the public that our food supply chain remains strong in the midst of this pandemic...

This week, the House convened for an Extraordinary Session to address the urgent funding needs in our state created by the COVID-19 crisis. For only the second time in recent history, we convened outside of the Capitol. The Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas Little Rock provided additional space for members to adhere to social distancing guidelines of at least 6 feet. All of us were screened by medical professionals before entering the facility...

The public health crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has brought economic activity in America’s large cities and small towns alike to a grinding halt. Businesses of all sizes are being forced to close during this crisis both to protect public health and because of a shrinking customer base, as consumers are urged to stay home to reduce the spread of the disease...

The legislature convened in special session to address potential revenue shortfalls, resulting from the sudden economic downturn caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Applications for unemployment insurance had averaged about 1,500 per week. After so many businesses closed to prevent any further spread of the virus, more than 18,000 applied over a two-week period...

Life as we know it has drastically changed since I wrote last month’s column. Hopefully, all are observing the prescribed health directives from the Arkansas Department of Health and the CDC in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for you and your family. ...

Will Medicare pay for the Coronavirus? Reader Alert: Beginning Tuesday March 17, all local Social Security offices nationwide were closed to in-person visits and have asked those who need assistance to call your local Social Security office or Social Security’s toll free number at 800-772-1213 for assistance by phone. There is not a specified reopen date for local Social Security offices currently...

If you are a business owner struggling to meet payroll or if you have recently become unemployed due to the response from COVID-19, we want to direct you to state resources that may help. Earlier this week the Governor announced that Arkansas will tap Community Development Block Grant funds and the state’s Quick Action Closing Fund to support small businesses and nonprofits that are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic...

To cushion the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak on working families, the state has streamlined the process of applying for unemployment insurance. The Department of Workforce Services, under orders from the governor, will waive the one-week waiting period that had been required of laid off workers before they could apply for unemployment. The waiver will accelerate the payment of claims...

We’ve all been inconvenienced by cancellations, closures and curfews because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. I understand the disappointment of basketball teams prevented from playing in the state championship game, the frustration of postponing spring break travel and the difficulty of keeping kids occupied while schools are closed. ...