Another day done gone. Above is a photo from the secretary of state’s Facebook page of the crowd that gathered at the Arkansas Capitol today to commemorate the march in Washington 50 years ago. With that, before turning things over to you, some final notes:
* SENATE ELECTION DATES SET: Gov. Mike Beebe today set dates for primary and general special elections for the District 21 Senate seat left vacant by Paul Bookout’s resignation. The primary will be Oct. 8, with a runoff if necessary on Nov. 12. The election will be Jan. 14. Filing for party primaries begins Tuesday, Sept. 3 and ends at noon Friday, Sept. 6. Independents and write-ins also must give notice of candidacy by noon Sept. 6.
* DOG RACING HAS GONE TO THE DOGS: A group that opposes greyhound racing reports that greyhound racing revenue nationwide continues its precipitious decline, down 67 percent since 2011. And state revenue nationwide is down 80 percent in that time, to a total of only $14 million NATIONWIDE. Greyhound revenue at the Southland track in West Memphis is similarly down to a negligible amount. BUT … casino gambling at the track now rakes in tens of millions and annual state tax revenue of about $20 million. Under the quirky law that gives Southland and Oaklawn duopoly casino status, they can have casinos only because they also have parimutuel wagering, Southland on dogs and Oaklawn on horses. So Grey2K’s hope that dog racing will come to an end isn’t likely to happen in Arkansas until the track has legal assurance of its continued casino operation.