It was a good week for …

SPRING. Tulips. Daffodils. Dogwoods. Can the azaleas be far behind?

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HOME-GROWN NATIONAL SCANDAL. The sacking of Bud Cummins to make room for a Karl Rove political ally, Tim Griffin, in the U.S. attorney’s office in Little Rock has grown into a national scandal, driven initially by Sen. Mark Pryor’s resistance to the White House power play in the Cummins case.

The LITTLE ROCK CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. A special panel said it has found no “smoking gun” in its review of the bureau’s business practices. The panel chastised press coverage.

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It was a bad week for …

The FIRST AMENDMENT. The state Judicial Discipline Commission seems intent on punishing Appeals Court Judge Wendell Griffen for his remarks on public issues, even though none of his comments concern matters relevant to cases he’s hearing. The Commission scheduled a hearing that could, at its worst, lead to a recommendation that Griffen be removed from the bench.

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GOV. MIKE BEEBE. He continued to lend support to a bill to ban gay adoption and foster parenting by saying he supported the ban on gay foster parents and otherwise declining to discuss his feelings about adoption or natural parenting by gay people.

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HOG COACH STAN HEATH. We’ll correct ourselves next week if events prove us wrong, but the UA basketball team’s desultory outing against USC in the opening round of the NCAA tournament likely was Heath’s last with the Razorbacks.

BUDGET ESTIMATES. The new Arkansas Travelers ballpark in North Little Rock is now a whopping 20 percent, or $5.6 million, over budget.

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DOGS AND CATS. The Arkansas Farm Bureau appears to be successful again at defeating efforts to strengthen penalties for cruelty to pets.

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