It was a good week for …
The STATE BUDGET. Earlier predictions about a huge Medicaid shortfall this budget year were incorrect. Plus, state revenue seemed to have turned slightly positive in June.
WACKY LEGAL THEORIES. Defenders of the Weiner School District, merged on account of insufficient size, sued in federal court to stop the merger. They claimed merger of the rural district could imperil the country’s food supply and national security.
MIKE HUCKABEE. Fox is going to test moving his weekly Fox News talk show from cable to syndication on regular channels. If he’s lucky, it will be all the more reason for the former governor to shield his income in income-tax-free Florida.
The ARKANSAS ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES. It confirmed our scoop last week that it would no longer employ Tim Wooldridge as a $150,000-a-year lobbyist. It was a waste of money, for one thing. For another, it set a bad example for universities that profess not to discriminate to employ someone who supports legalized employment discrimination against gay people.
It was a bad week for …
CHRISTIAN CHARITY. An anti-immigration group submitted sufficient signatures for its punitive constitutional amendment to be considered for the ballot. Signatures still must be checked for fraud. The putative Christian group, the Family Council, helped with the last-minute push for signatures on the measure, which provides that no state aid and comfort may be given to anyone in Arkansas without the proper documents. Some Golden Rule.
The CITY OF LITTLE ROCK. Its leaders seem determined to put off rebuilding the adult community center on Twelfth Street so it can use insurance money to patch the budget. What building will we burn next?
The UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS. Documents uncovered by lawyers for the Little Rock School District show UA researchers have been working in concert with the Walton Foundation and Democrat-Gazette publisher Walter Hussman — both charter school advocates — to develop arguments against the school district’s opposition to unlimited charter schools in Pulaski County. They don’t call it Walton U. for nothing.