Pulaski county leaders vote to fix budget shortfall in heated meeting - Arkansas Times The Pulaski County Quorum Court unanimously voted to dip into emergency reserves to make up a budget shortfall that threatened paychecks for county employees.

The sudden revelation that Pulaski Co.'s budget has melted down - after $52M in overspending - is a prime example of what can happen when we no longer have robust local news coverage keeping a watchful eye on local government.
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews
buff.ly/qK7wiOt

Join us for our County Convention on April 24! Don't miss this chance to hear from our full slate of candidates, from Pope County Justice of the Peace to US Senate. @arkdems.org #arpx @hallieshoffner.bsky.social @jamesrussell3rd.bsky.social @kellygrappe.bsky.social

Pulaski county leaders vote to fix budget shortfall in heated meeting - Arkansas Times The Pulaski County Quorum Court unanimously voted to dip into emergency reserves to make up a budget shortfall that threatened paychecks for county employees.

Wendell Griffen, who defeated Pulaski Co. Judge Barry Hyde in March primary, offers scathing criticism of budget fiasco at emergency meeting, as Hyde leaves the room: "Spending more money than you have planned is not an emergency, that’s a management problem."
#Arkansas #arnews #arpx
buff.ly/qK7wiOt

Pulaski county leaders vote to fix budget shortfall in heated meeting - Arkansas Times The Pulaski County Quorum Court unanimously voted to dip into emergency reserves to make up a budget shortfall that threatened paychecks for county employees.

Pulaski Co. judge, treasurer bicker, point fingers at each other over budget woes that forced county to dip into reserve funds to meet payroll. Judge Barry Hyde announces hiring freeze, pause on projects.
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews

Arkansas rice farmers expect 24% drop in acres planted this year | Arkansas Democrat Gazette The acres of long-grain rice planted by Arkansas farmers this year are expected to drop by 24%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's prospective plantings report.

Well, this seems ... not good, in the nation's top rice-producing state ...
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews #arleg

Oh Saline County! Great. Guess they aren’t done with the library crusade yet. #arpx

Spent the morning with the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade ahead of their deployment. Click below to listen to an audio story about their sendoff ceremony. 🔈

Little Rock friends, you can also listen by tuning into @lrpublicradio.bsky.social tonight/tomorrow morning. 📻

#arpx

Special Pulaski County meeting called over budget shortfall that threatens payroll - Arkansas Times The Pulaski County Quorum Court will host a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday after county officials discovered budget numbers have fallen so low that they might not be able to cover this week’s payrol...

FISCAL FIASCO: Pulaski Co. treasurer warns judge that county can't meet payroll next week unless it taps into reserve funds; county general fund $9.3M in red; budget overspent by $52M in last 3 years; emergency meeting Mon. night.
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews
arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...

F ConwayCorp VOLUNTARY WATER CURTAILMENT Conway Corp is asking customers to voluntarily curtail water usage due to ongoing dry conditions following an unusually dry winter and spring. The lack of rainfall has led to declining water levels at Brewer Lake, the community's primary water source. With water supply not being replenished at typical seasonal levels, Conway Corp is encouraging all residential and commercial customers to reduce non-essential water use to help preserve available resources.

Avoid washing vehicles Refrain from watering lawns Limit outdoor water use Fix leaks & dripping faucets Run dishwasher & washing machines only with full loads

Water situation in Conway getting real.
But, by all means, build those data centers.
What could go wrong?
#arnews #arpx

People tell me not to take politics so seriously, but policy literally shapes my life. In Arkansas, political decisions are causing women to die before and after childbirth, and maternal care centers are closing. Tell me why I shouldn’t take that seriously. #arpx

#arpx

Jason Rapert is big mad about the separation of church and state - Arkansas Times Jesus died so he wouldn't have to listen to Jason Rapert's constant steam of ignorance.

Federal judge putting the kibosh on Arkansas' 10 Commandments monument -- welcome development that's long overdue. Jason Rapert fulminating about it for 8 minutes & 43 seconds like he's an expert on constitutional law -- priceless!
#arpx #arleg #arnews
arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...

Cole Jester & Tim Griffin's gratuitous hunt for mythical noncitizen voters in Arkansas turns up 2 out of 1.8 million: "An investigator is statistically more likely to be struck by lightning in their lifetime than to uncover a verified case of illegal noncitizen voting."
#arpx #arnews
buff.ly/pn0IykC

Lawmakers should answer for huge spending boost on vouchers, no real boost for public schools - Arkansas Times New spending on private school vouchers represents the majority of Arkansas's proposed budget increase. What about the 94% of students who attend public schools?

Wanna see what vouchers do to the education system? Take a look at what Arkansas public schools are dealing with. Free article, no pay wall but please support the Arkansas Times. #arpx

arktimes.com/arkansas-blo...

Monticello is on the list of closures. #arpx

Arkansas Senate leader vows never to cap LEARNS Act student accounts, says state values all kids’ education equally | Arkansas Democrat Gazette Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, won't ever agree to capping the state's Educational Freedom Account program that helps parents pay for their children's education to attend…

THE SKY'S THE LIMIT! Arkansas Senate Republican leader Bart Hester says he won't support any limits on Gov. Sanders voucher subsidies for private and homeschool students, which are already sucking down more than $300M a year in taxpayer money.
#arleg #arpx #arnews

Shirin Saeidi vows appeal after being fired by University of Arkansas over social media posts on Israel, Iran | Arkansas Democrat Gazette University of Arkansas System President Jay B. Silveria has dismissed Shirin Saeidi, a tenured associate professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, despite a UA faculty committee's unanimo...

SEE YOU IN COURT: Tenured U of Arkansas professor fired for social media posts despite recommendation of faculty committee vows to fight termination: "I also hope that academic freedom and freedom of speech will be restored at the university."
#arpx #arnews
www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ap...

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Arkansas must remove a Ten Commandments monument from state Capitol grounds, but put her order on hold so officials can appeal the decision.

The judge blocked the law requiring the privately-funded monument’s installation, ruling it unconstitutional. #arpx #arleg

Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ and warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees | CNN The vast data centers that power artificial intelligence are so energy hungry that they’re heating up their surroundings, according to new research. It’s an alarming finding given the number of data c...

Yet another reason why we the people of Arkansas need to raise holy hell about our leaders' efforts use tax subsidies to turn our state into a mecca for data centers ...
#arpx #arnews #arleg
www.cnn.com/2026/03/30/c...

#ARpx #Arkansas

If you want election integrity and respect for VOTERS, support @kellygrappe.bsky.social for AR Secretary of State! #arpx @arkdems.org

#arpx. Follow-up - the Board of Corrections, newly loaded with green appointees, voted today to cede their authority over to their lord and master, the honorable Sarah Huckabee Sanders

#arpx

Not to mention one of Sanders' little taxidermied pocket pets. What a meatpuppet. #arpx

Yeah #arkansas this is great news!

#arleg #arpx

Federal appeals court upholds block on law requiring live signature for voter registration | Arkansas Democrat Gazette An injunction blocking a rule requiring live, ink signatures on voter registration forms may stay in place, a federal appeals court said Tuesday, saying there's no evidence that a "wet signature" is m...

In a victory for democracy, federal appeals court refuses to revive Arkansas' ban on allowing electronic signatures on voter registrations, which hampered efforts to register new voters in state with woeful level of voter participation.
#arpx #arleg #arnews
www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ma...

Google’s $1B Port of Little Rock data center buildings to cover 1.43 million square feet | Arkansas Democrat Gazette Google's $1 billion data center project at the Port of Little Rock will consist of five industrial buildings totaling 1.43 million square feet, two office buildings and an electrical substation, accor...

1st details emerge about Google's gargantuan new data center at Little Rock port: 7 buildings covering 1.43M square feet of space; nearly 17 acres of wetlands will be destroyed.
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews
www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/ma...

University of Arkansas to fire professor dismissed over criticism of Israel - Arkansas Times UA System President Jay Silveria is moving forward with terminating Shirin Saeidi, former director of UA Fayetteville’s Middle East studies center, ignoring the unanimous recommendation of a faculty…

U of Arkansas president decides to fire professor who led Middle East studies center over her social media posts, disregarding unanimous decision by faculty committee. Admits he made decision because of threats by right-wing politicians to strip funding.
#arpx #arnews #Arkansas

Gov. Sanders seizes on drunk driving fatalities to push anti-immigrant propaganda - Arkansas Times The Arkansas governor leans in on nakedly racist and easily debunked propaganda that couches undocumented immigrants as uniquely dangerous criminals from whom natural-born citizens are never safe.

Gov. Sanders uses tragic death of couple in drunk-driving accident to launch anti-immigrant screed, blame Democrats' resistance to funding ICE.
#Arkansas #arpx #arnews

Corrections Board caves to attorney general and governor in ongoing litigation - Arkansas Times Flush with new Sanders appointees, the board voted Monday to accept two settlement offers that the two dissenting board members said will turn the board into an advisory panel instead of an…

Arkansas Board of Corrections agrees to humiliating capitulation to Gov. Sanders' power grab at agency; her new appointees push through settlement with AG Tim Griffin dropping opposition to her unconstitutional usurpation of their authority, admitting FOIA violations.
#arpx #arleg
buff.ly/JSfIy9G