Arkansas Reporter

Arkansas Reporterhttp://www.arktimes.comen-US60Murky watershttp://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=89a50414-a5ed-4784-bdab-6987a8465a84A walk down Tori Lane in the Windwood Meadows subdivision in Beebe tells the tale. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMTdavid@arktimes.com (David Koon)<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\JohnT\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\05\clip_filelist.xml" reoriginalpositionmarker="RadEditorStyleKeeper1" /><o:smarttagtype name="Street" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype name="address" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:smarttagtype> <style reoriginalpositionmarker="RadEditorStyleKeeper3">  </style>  <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">A walk down </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Tori Lane</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> in the Windwood Meadows subdivision in Beebe tells the tale. Dumpsters full of ruined sheetrock and soggy carpet stand in the street. A Ford pickup sits in a driveway over a puddle of watery motor oil. A ghostly gray water stain ? three feet high in some places ? is etched across garage doors, the reminder of the flood that slowly pushed into the simple, ranch-style houses just before Halloween and again, deeper, on Christmas Eve. </span><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Stewart Kirby's house at </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">1031 Tori Lane</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> got 15 inches of water in October, and three feet in December. Something of a gadfly around town ? he got tongues wagging a few years back by starting a blog where parents could post criticism of Beebe schools ? Kirby has been locked in a battle of words with the city since the October flood, firing off FOI requests for paperwork pertaining to Windwood Meadows and circulating a petition asking that the city work to secure federal funds to buy the houses and demolish the part of the neighborhood that lies deepest in the flood zone. Things have gone far enough that Beebe Mayor Mike Robertson issued a letter in The Beebe News referring to Kirby as ?one individual who has shown an unwillingness to work toward a positive solution.? Meanwhile, many of the residents of Windwood Meadows are living elsewhere. Some face the possibility that they may have to demolish their houses even though their insurance won't pay off the remaining balance of their mortgage. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Kirby bought his house in 2003 with the understanding that it was not in a flood plain. It became apparent almost immediately that there was a problem. ?The first time it rained real hard, the water started backing up in my street,? Kirby said. Alarmed, he went out and bought flood insurance through the federal National Flood Insurance Program. Later, he paid for a flood determination firm to reclassify the flood threat to his house. The report ? based on U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development flood maps that became effective in 1977 ? found that his house was in Flood Zone A, which has a high probability of being flooded. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Kirby has copies of an April 2002 letter to then-Mayor Donald Ward about an Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission report that says the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) of 214.7 feet above mean sea level ? the lowest point at which houses can be constructed in a given area without substantial risk of flooding ? set for Windwood Meadows was too low, with the recommendation that the BFE should be raised to 220 feet. The BFE in the area was not raised to 220 feet until 2005. Kirby has also noticed a number of abnormalities in the documents relating to the construction of houses in Windwood Meadows. For example: The building permit for Kirby's own house is dated July 2000, but a separate permit to build the house in a Flood Hazard Area ? of which the City of Beebe's own Floodplain Development Application packet says ?you MUST obtain ? prior to beginning the project? ? is dated May 7, 2001. The form is signed by former Beebe Mayor Donald Ward, and is marked ?No? where the form asks ?is the proposed development site in a floodway??<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Calls to current Beebe Mayor Mike Robertson went unreturned at press time.<span>??? </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">After the Halloween and Christmas Eve floods, a determination by the local flood plain administrator put damages to Kirby's house at more than 50 percent of its value. Under FEMA regulations, any house that is insured through the NFIP that is damaged more than 50 percent must either be moved, elevated out of the flood zone, or demolished. Kirby's house, like most of the houses in his neighborhood, is built on a concrete slab, so it can't be moved or raised without considerable cost. He said his flood insurance only paid him a relatively small amount, and he still owes a balance on the mortgage.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Just down the block from Kirby's house is the former home of Greg Horness, at </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">1035 Tori Lane</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">. A single father with two children, Horness moved into the house in January 2001; it was built with a loan from the federal Rural Development program. Constructed at an elevation of 214.7 feet above mean sea level, his house took 2.5 feet of water on Christmas Eve. Since the flood, he and his children have been forced to move to Lonoke and live with his mother, Emily Roberts. Roberts has been handling most of the paperwork associated with trying to sort things out. Her son, she said, was not aware the house was in a flood zone until he saw water creeping up the street during heavy rains the month after he moved in. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">?The city was aware that it was a flood plain,? Roberts said. ?They knew. They approved those houses. ? All the people over there were just totally innocent.? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Like Kirby, Roberts has noticed some anomalies in the paperwork associated with her son's house. For example: The building permit for the house is dated May 7, 2001, almost three months after her son moved in. Greg Horness has received some state aid to help with the cost of damages to his house, but it hasn't been enough to cover everything. The problem, Roberts points out, is that if the damaged houses aren't demolished, residents will ?patch? them, and eventually the water will be back at their doorsteps. Like Kirby, she thinks homeowners should be compensated and the area condemned. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">?It just keeps going on and on. They either rent these houses or they sell them to people, and they're unaware of the flood problem,? Roberts said. ?It's going to happen again and again.? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Milton McCullars is the local flood plain administrator. He said that while Beebe has tried to help people in Windwood Meadows, the city is ultimately not responsible. All but five of the houses in the neighborhood were built before the latest flood maps went into effect in February 2005, he said, and he noted that the five houses that have been built there since the city established the new BFE of 220 feet in the area didn't get flooded at Halloween or Christmas. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">McCullars said that the problem in Windwood Meadows might be due to a trestle on the nearby rail line that was filled in during the 1990s, blocking one way for water to escape the area. He said that recent development around town ? including three acres of parking lots constricted at ASU-Beebe, which increases flood runoff ? might also be to blame. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoBodyText"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoBodyText"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">?Having hindsight, you would try not to build in that area unless you did elevate everything over there,? McCullars said. ?But it wasn't flooding when they built the houses back in 2000 (and) 2001.? McCullars said that Stewart Kirby is ?stirring the pot? in Windwood Meadows, adding that Kirby ?worked hard? to have his house declared substantially damaged because he doesn't want to build back in the area and risk the possibility of another flood. ?I don't blame him,? McCullars said. ?But then for him to come up and say the city is going to make him demolish his house because it flooded and hold the city responsible, that's ridiculous.? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p>?</o:p></span></p> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Times-Roman; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">McCullars said the city will have extensive information about the Halloween and Christmas Eve floods on hand should anyone come into his office to inquire whether a house they're thinking of buying or renting is in the flood plain, but added: ?I'm sure the people don't want us to put up a sign saying, ?You are now entering a special flood hazard area.' We would not do that, because the property values would drop. They've already dropped.?<span>?? </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> Campaign climate.http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=1a8e5644-98ce-4bb9-b49c-c03d8ebbc310A paper published by a think tank last month warned that Sen. Blanche Lincoln?s ascendancy to the Agriculture Committee chairmanship was a bad omen for passage of climate-change legislation in 2010 due to her close ties to agricultural producers and processors seen as major contributors of greenhouse gases.Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMTlindsey@arktimes.com (Paul Barton)<p>WASHINGTON ? A paper published by a think tank last month warned that Sen. Blanche Lincoln's ascendancy to the Agriculture Committee chairmanship was a bad omen for passage of climate-change legislation in 2010 due to her close ties to agricultural producers and processors seen as major contributors of greenhouse gases.<br /> <br /> The paper, written by former Washington Post reporter Dan Morgan, was released by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, about a week before Lincoln became one of only three Democrats to co-sponsor a bill ? largely drafted by lobbyists for carbon-emitting industries ? that would gut the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to proceed on its own with carbon restrictions. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was lead sponsor.<br /> <br /> The Post reported Jan. 11 that lobbyists greatly assisted in writing the bill. Two days later, the German Marshall Fund, which describes itself as a ?non-partisan American public policy and grant-making institution,? released Morgan's paper that fingered Lincoln.<br /> <br /> Called ?The Farm Bill and Beyond,? the 62-page document warned: ?Lincoln's appointment was yet another example of Democratic real politik trumping policy interests: It may weaken the chances for climate-change legislation, but it will strengthen her fund-raising ability going into a tough 2010 re-election campaign. Lincoln will be well positioned to influence trade and climate policy, farm subsidies, and food issues such as the use of growth hormones in milk and antibiotics in animal feeds (a key interest of Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, the world's largest processor of and marketer of beef, chicken, and pork).?<br /> <br /> Lincoln was appointed chairman of the committee in September.<br /> <br /> Morgan, a freelance writer on energy and agriculture, summed up that ?Old Ag forces have been immeasurably strengthened? by Lincoln's gaining the chairmanship in the fall. He defined ?Old Ag? as the major farming organizations and commodity groups who favor the status quo in government subsidies and programs.<br /> <br /> Old Ag also sees agriculture ?as a loser in climate-change legislation,? Morgan wrote.<br /> <br /> Agricultural practices are blamed for producing at least 15 to 20 percent of greenhouse gases by United Nations panels. Meat production, highlighted by deforestation to make room for grazing, and manure that emits nitrous oxide and methane gas, have been especially blamed. But crop practices that include fertilizer applications and some cultivation techniques are also viewed as contributors.<br /> <br /> Morgan contributed an article to his former newspaper in August that coined the term ?Agracrats? to describe Democrats from intensive farming states in the South and Great Plains. They overlap significantly with the conservative Blue Dog Democrats, he said, and added their desire to protect farm programs was certain to cause flare-ups with more liberal Democrats.<br /> <br /> ?The furious farm-bloc reaction to the climate bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee ? [in June 2009] caught House Democratic leaders off guard,? Morgan wrote in the Washington Post story.<br /> <br /> An examination of Lincoln's Senate record on climate-change policy over the past decade shows some flip-flops in votes and positions on climate change. In Senate testimony and press releases she has generally backed the idea of addressing global warming, but has warned such legislation should not harm the economies of poor states such as her own.<br /> <br /> In 2003, Lincoln opposed a less ambitious bill to address climate change sponsored by Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. She expressed fears about higher utility rates, even a $5 a month increase, and other costs being a hardship for her low-income constituents.<br /> <br /> In 2007, Lincoln changed and signed on as a co-sponsor to essentially the same legislation. In testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, she explained her reversal with references to duck-hunting traditions in her family and in Arkansas. She also cited an Arkansas State University study that said global warming threatened bird migration patterns.<br /> <br /> In testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that year she said: ?If climate change were to continue on its current path it is not too far fetched to say that ducks could stop migrating to the deep South altogether as warmer temperatures in more northern regions would reduce their need to do so. As the study points out, the effect on the small communities whose economy depends on hunting season could be devastating.?<br /> <br /> And in 2008, Lincoln signed on to a letter written by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., and sent to Boxer and Majority Leader Harry Reid, that outlined factors that should be considered in drafting a cap-and-trade system for limiting greenhouse gases.<br /> <br /> One of those was to ?fully recognize agriculture and forestry's role? in contributing to the problem.<br /> In 2009, however, she made it clear that she could not support the climate change legislation that emerged from the House Energy and Commerce Committee and passed that chamber in June.<br /> <br /> ?The majority of Arkansans rightly believe efforts need to be made to reverse the detrimental effects of climate change. However, they are apprehensive, and rightly so, about what a massive policy change such as a cap-and-trade plan would mean for them at a time of tremendous economic uncertainty,? she said in a statement. <br /> <br /> ?The legislation passed by the House,? she added, ?places a disproportionate share of the economic burden on families and businesses in rural America. It is a deeply flawed bill. I will not support similar legislation in the Senate.?<br /> <br /> Lincoln offered similar explanations last week as she co-sponsored Murkowski's bill. ?Heavy-handed EPA regulations will cost us jobs and put us at an even greater competitive disadvantage to China, India and others,? a statement said.<br /> <br /> The Arkansas senator was immediately praised by many agricultural groups for her support of the anti-EPA legislation.<br /> <br /> Morgan, who wrote the think tank paper, as well as many political observers, see her position as reflecting her need to continue getting campaign funds from agricultural interests for what is expected to be a tough re-election fight this year.<br /> <br /> It could be an interesting issue in her re-election bid. Pollster Earnie Oakleaf of the Little Rock firm Opinion Research Associates said in a telephone interview that his past polling shows Arkansans are more pro-environmental protection than generally thought. That was even the case when questions pitted protection of the environment against economic development.<br /> <br /> ?I was stunned,? Oakleaf said. He added that he thinks such attitudes are caused by the state's hunting and fishing traditions.<br /> <br /> There is little doubt Lincoln's re-election campaign fund-raising has depended heavily not only on agribusinesses but on energy and other resource?extraction industries that emit carbon.<br /> <br /> The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign research organization, lists agribusinesses, oil and gas companies and utilities as among her top 10 sources of support from industries. She also has received significant contributions from companies involved in ?agricultural services and products.? <br /> <br /> In all, the center says she's received $810,000 from various agriculture-related interests and $609,000 from energy and natural resource firms, a category that includes electric utilities, oil and gas, mining and forestry companies.<br /> <br /> Among all 2010 congressional candidates, Lincoln is the No. 1 recipient of contributions from agricultural and oil and gas interests.<br /> <br /> Through Sept. 30, the date of the latest Federal Election Commission filings, the incumbent Democrat had raised a total of $7.17 million for her race.</p> Turn out the lightshttp://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=f6e23afc-c91c-4609-8252-d86d8969fcb6Changeable signs under scrutiny in North LIttle Rock.Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:00:00 GMTgerard@arktimes.com (Gerard Matthews)<p>The city of North Little Rock finds itself mired in a policy-making skirmish ? taking place in cities all over the country ? over whether to allow electronic changeable copy signs. Local businesses, along with the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, say yes, arguing they should be able to use the latest technology to advertise services. Others, including some on the City Council, neighborhood activists and dark-sky advocates, say no. </p> <p>The LED (light-emitting diode) signs are extremely bright and can change messages every few seconds. Where some see a unique advertising opportunity, others see a distraction and a nuisance.</p> <p>Ward Four alderman Murry Witcher is proposing an ordinance to ban use of the signs, limiting their placement to so-called sign-overlay districts, which would be approved on a ward-by-ward basis. </p> <p>?It is extremely hard to balance [everyone's interests],? Witcher says. ?To a person on the council, our interest is to protect the residential areas and keep them from having obtrusive lights in their homes. The second most important consideration would be safety of the general driving public.?</p> <p>A moratorium on permits for electronic signs expires at the end of January. Witcher wants to extend the moratorium, but acknowledges he doesn't have the votes to do it. But that could change. </p> <p>Alderman Cary Gaines was opposed to the moratorium and an ordinance prohibiting the signs. But Gaines resigned from the eight-member council after it was announced that he was under federal investigation related to the indictment of an accused drug dealer and bookmaker in Cabot. The City Council will appoint an alderman to fill Gaines' seat. If the appointee is in favor of extending the moratorium, Witcher says, he'd have the necessary five votes to pass the ordinance.</p> <p>At its Jan. 11 meeting, the council set a public hearing on the sign issue for Jan. 25. A vote on whether to ban the signs would come at a later date. Some on the council expressed concern that sign overlay districts would be so difficult to create they'd never be approved, and said the sign ordinance should either set out explicit criteria or name certain areas from the outset.</p> <p>?The council is dragging their feet on this,? says Alderman Charlie Hight, also from Ward Four, who wants to end the moratorium and allow electronic signs. ?It's gotten into a big mess in North Little Rock and there's only a few people who even mention these signs. It's the same six people preaching the same message for over a year.?</p> <p>One of those people is Park Hill neighborhood association president Cary Tyson. Tyson says aesthetics are a main concern for those in surrounding neighborhoods, but safety is an issue too.</p> <p>?I don't think there's any doubt that these signs impose an increased danger as opposed to a standard sign,? Tyson says. ?They're made to draw your attention and keep it for an undetermined amount of time. That's what all the lights and bright colors are designed to do. Imagine driving down JFK Boulevard and there are 10 signs on one side of the street. If they change every five seconds, and each one changed at a different moment, you'd be seeing a different message almost every second.?</p> <p>There's also the question of light pollution. Jim Fisher, president of the Arkansas chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association, says bright lights can affect people's sleeping patterns and harm everyone's view of the night sky.</p> <p>?We want to make sure there's not so much lighting that it becomes intrusive,? he says. ?The main concern is light trespass. We're not just interested in protecting astronomy and astronomers, we're really interested in the total environmental picture and that includes whether people can sleep or not.?</p> <p>The council interviewed 10 candidates Jan. 7 during a special meeting and will likely choose someone to fill the vacancy at its regular meeting Jan. 25.? </p> <p>?I'm certainly in support of good and appropriate signage,? Tyson says. ?I just don't think it needs to be the kind that shines into someone's bedroom at 2 o'clock in the morning. I'm not opposing signs per se, but I'm opposing something that I think would be deleterious to our neighborhoods' quality of place.?</p> Ross gets ?energized?http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=e8d9f592-29b9-48a5-9886-f1b3de71484a Rep. Mike Ross received close to $80,000 in contributions from energy, mining and related interests close to the time of his vote earlier this year against sensitive climate-change legislation.Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:00:00 GMTlindsey@arktimes.com (Paul Barton)<p>WASHINGTON ? Rep. Mike Ross received close to $80,000 in contributions from energy, mining and related interests close to the time of his vote earlier this year against sensitive climate-change legislation, Federal Election Commission records show.</p> <p>Legislation sponsored by Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Edward Markey of Massachusetts attempts to address global warming by taxing carbon emissions. It would put progressively tighter limits on greenhouse gas emissions with a 17% cut from 2005 levels by 2020, and 80% by 2050.</p> <p>A similar bill is now being considered in the Senate.</p> <p>A wide range of industries that emit carbon, especially utilities, are desperately fighting the legislation, warning it would greatly increase electricity and other energy prices and cost American jobs.</p> <p>Ross was one of only 44 Democrats to oppose the legislation, which passed the House 219-212 on June 26.</p> <p>?Fund-raisers sponsored by energy companies netted him $61,000 in June alone, money coming mainly from political action committees related to oil, coal, nuclear, refining and mining companies and lobbying groups. He received an additional $2,900 that month from individual contributors related to such interests. And in May he got $13,000 from PACs opposed to the climate legislation.</p> <p>?In all, he received contributions from 39 different companies and lobbying groups involved in those issues.</p> <p>Ross's Washington office deferred questions on the appropriateness of the contributions to his campaign office, but the latter did not respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>But Gabriela Schneider, spokesman for the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington watchdog group said: ?We can see who is getting his ear. We can see who is lining his pockets with campaign contributions.?</p> <p>? Ross's contributions in June: Action Committee for Rural Electrification, $3,000; American Electric Power Co., $2,000; American Gas Association, $1,000; Anadarko Petroleum, $1,000;? Arch Coal Inc., $1,000;? British Petroleum, $1,000; Chesapeake Energy, $2,500; Chevron, $1,000; CMS Energy Corp., $1,000; Coal PAC, $2,500.</p> <p>Constellation Energy Group, $1,000; Dominion Power, $1,000; DTE Energy, $1,000; Duke Energy, $1,000; El Paso Corp., $1,000; Entergy, $1,000; Exelon Corp., $1,000.</p> <p>?Foundation Coal Corp., $2,000; IPAA Wildcatters, $1,000; Koch Industries, $5,000.</p> <p>Lyondell Chemical, $1,000; Marathon Oil, $1,000; National Mining Association, $1,500.</p> <p>Murphy Oil, $3,000; Northeast Utilities, $1,000; NRG Energy, $1,000; Nuclear Energy Institute, $2,000; Peabody Energy Corp., $3,500; Edison Electric Institute, $2,500; Progress Energy, $1,000; Southern Company, $1,000; Southwestern Energy, $5,000.</p> <p>Teco Energy, $1,000; Valero Energy, $2,500; Xcel Energy, $1,000.</p> <p>?Contributions received in May: Alliance Coal, $1,000; American Electric Power, $2,000; Chevron, $1,000; Koch Industries, $2,000; Occidental Petroleum, $2,500; Power PAC, $2,000; Tesoro Petroleum, $1,500; United Mine Workers, $1,000.</p> <p>? Individual contributions from such interests included Brian L. Wolff of the Edison Electric Institute, $2,400, and James E. Ford, American Petroleum Institute, $500, both in June.</p> <p>Ross received even more contributions from opponents to climate change in July and August, including $4,000 more from the Southern Company, $1,000 from Spectraa Energy, $1,000 from the Action Committee for Rural Electrification, $1,000 from Entergy, $2,000 from Murphy Oil and $2,500 from the National Petrochemical Refiners.</p> <p>In contrast, Ross also received one contribution from a ?green? interest, $1,000 from the American Wind Energy Association in May.</p> Turn out the lightshttp://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=6a28451c-89cc-4e33-bfd9-f9966dd0a8f5The city of North Little Rock finds itself mired in a policy-making skirmish ? taking place in cities all over the country ? over whether to allow electronic changeable copy signs.Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMTgerard@arktimes.com (Gerard Matthews)<p>The city of North Little Rock finds itself mired in a policy-making skirmish ? taking place in cities all over the country ? over whether to allow electronic changeable copy signs. Local businesses, along with the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, say yes, arguing they should be able to use the latest technology to advertise services. Others, including some on the City Council, neighborhood activists and dark-sky advocates, say no. </p> <p>The LED (light-emitting diode) signs are extremely bright and can change messages every few seconds. Where some see a unique advertising opportunity, others see a distraction and a nuisance.</p> <p>Ward Four alderman Murry Witcher is proposing an ordinance to ban use of the signs, limiting their placement to so-called sign-overlay districts, which would be approved on a ward-by-ward basis. </p> <p>?It is extremely hard to balance [everyone's interests],? Witcher says. ?To a person on the council, our interest is to protect the residential areas and keep them from having obtrusive lights in their homes. The second most important consideration would be safety of the general driving public.?</p> <p>A moratorium on permits for electronic signs expires at the end of January. Witcher wants to extend the moratorium, but acknowledges he doesn't have the votes to do it. But that could change. </p> <p>Alderman Cary Gaines was opposed to the moratorium and an ordinance prohibiting the signs. But Gaines resigned from the eight-member council after it was announced that he was under federal investigation related to the indictment of an accused drug dealer and bookmaker in Cabot. The City Council will appoint an alderman to fill Gaines' seat. If the appointee is in favor of extending the moratorium, Witcher says, he'd have the necessary five votes to pass the ordinance.</p> <p>At its Jan. 11 meeting, the council set a public hearing on the sign issue for Jan. 25. A vote on whether to ban the signs would come at a later date. Some on the council expressed concern that sign overlay districts would be so difficult to create they'd never be approved, and said the sign ordinance should either set out explicit criteria or name certain areas from the outset.</p> <p>?The council is dragging their feet on this,? says Alderman Charlie Hight, also from Ward Four, who wants to end the moratorium and allow electronic signs. ?It's gotten into a big mess in North Little Rock and there's only a few people who even mention these signs. It's the same six people preaching the same message for over a year.?</p> <p>One of those people is Park Hill neighborhood association president Cary Tyson. Tyson says aesthetics are a main concern for those in surrounding neighborhoods, but safety is an issue too.</p> <p>?I don't think there's any doubt that these signs impose an increased danger as opposed to a standard sign,? Tyson says. ?They're made to draw your attention and keep it for an undetermined amount of time. That's what all the lights and bright colors are designed to do. Imagine driving down JFK Boulevard and there are 10 signs on one side of the street. If they change every five seconds, and each one changed at a different moment, you'd be seeing a different message almost every second.?</p> <p>There's also the question of light pollution. Jim Fisher, president of the Arkansas chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association, says bright lights can affect people's sleeping patterns and harm everyone's view of the night sky.</p> <p>?We want to make sure there's not so much lighting that it becomes intrusive,? he says. ?The main concern is light trespass. We're not just interested in protecting astronomy and astronomers, we're really interested in the total environmental picture and that includes whether people can sleep or not.?</p> <p>The council interviewed 10 candidates Jan. 7 during a special meeting and will likely choose someone to fill the vacancy at its regular meeting Jan. 25.? </p> <p>?I'm certainly in support of good and appropriate signage,? Tyson says. ?I just don't think it needs to be the kind that shines into someone's bedroom at 2 o'clock in the morning. I'm not opposing signs per se, but I'm opposing something that I think would be deleterious to our neighborhoods' quality of place.?</p>