July 27-Aug. 2

It was a good week for…

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AVERTING COLLAPSE. Arkansas’s congressional delegation voted to raise the debt ceiling, averting sure financial catastrophe. Too bad the compromise that represents the bill is nothing of the sort; instead, it’s a complete capitulation to the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party and could easily spell doom for the economy.

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CASH-STRAPPED ART LOVERS. Walmart donated $20 million to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which will fund an endowment that will allow the museum to not charge admission.

It was a bad week for…

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LITTLE ROCK’S PROPOSED SALES TAX INCREASE. Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen, activist Jim Lynch and others formed the $500 Million Tax – Too Much! committee to oppose the proposal to increase the city sales tax by one cent.

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FANS OF BARBECUE, CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND FIREWORKS. Little Rock philanthropist Jennings Osborne, famous for his ostentatious Christmas light displays, hosting huge barbecues for the public and sponsoring an annual fireworks display on the Fourth of July, died following a long hospitalization related to heart ailments. He was 67.

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THE CITY OF GOULD. Gould Mayor Earnest Nash was assaulted by someone he said was in support of city council members who passed three unconstitutional ordinances he opposed. A Fox 16 interview with a bleeding Nash soon after the attack became somewhat of a viral sensation.

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JUDGE MARY ANN GUNN’S TV CAREER. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that drug court proceedings cannot be broadcast on TV. The opinion followed a Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee ruling last year that then-Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn of Fayetteville requested regarding national broadcast of her drug court. Gunn left the bench in June, but continues to work on a syndicated drug court TV show that reportedly focuses on the success of past drug court participants. The Supreme Court ruling would seem to throw Gunn’s ability to use past drug court footage in serious doubt.

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