It was a good week for…

FUNDRAISING. The Pulaski Tech Board of Trustees decided to move forward with a special election on a Pulaski County property tax millage this summer. It would be the first source of local funding for the school, which has experienced enormous growth to around 11,900 students.

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THE GREEN PARTY. Secretary of State Mark Martin said the party gathered sufficient signatures to qualify for a party slot on the Arkansas election ballot this year.

EXPLOITING A LOOPHOLE. The Arkansas Department of Human Services proposed a new rule to clarify that state money may not be used to provide religious instruction in pre-schools that receive public tax money. Nonetheless, Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork, whose taxpayer-funded daycare’s regular religious instruction led to the new rules, has already identified a loophole. He said he’d be happy to tell his teachers to provide religious instruction before or after the seven-hour school day required for state funding.

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It was a bad week for…

TIM GRIFFIN. Otherwise quick to trumpet his support of veterans, the U.S. congressman urged VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to suspend the VA’s plans to relocate a drop-in center to Main Street.

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POLITICS IN THE 3RD DISTRICT. Jake Burris, campaign manager for 3rd District congressional candidate Ken Aden, a Democrat, returned to his Russellville home to find the family cat killed and painted with the word “liberal.”

SELLING OXYCODONE. U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer announced the indictment of 23 people with multiple charges. These new charges are in addition to those filed against 28 people in the investigation last year. Joseph P. “JP” Williams of Little Rock and Johnnie “Little Johnnie” Campbell and Keithen Pettus, both of North Little Rock, were among those named in the indictment. They were the three men in a car fired on Dec. 27 by a Park Plaza security officer (Little Rock Patrolman Christopher Johannes) when it backed up toward him at high speed when he went to question occupants about remarks people in the car had allegedly made to a passing female teen-ager.

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