It was a good week for…
ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS. The football Hogs beat No. 11 Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl. The win marked the Razorbacks’ 11th victory, which tied a school record and pushed the team into a number five final ranking in both the AP and USA Today Coach’s Poll.
DOYLE WEBB. The state Republican Party chairman was appointed interim city attorney of Bryant by Bryant Mayor Jill Dabbs. He’ll be paid roughly $5,400 a month for a term Dabbs said will last two to three months and not be required to keep regular office hours.
THE END OF AN ERA. North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays announced he would not seek re-election after almost 24 years in office. Hays will leave behind a legacy that includes a submarine, a tugboat, a ballpark, an arena and a riverfront trail.
TRANSPARENCY. Rep. Jane English of North Little Rock, a Republican who’s seeking a state Senate seat next year, said she plans to introduce legislation to strengthen current political campaign expenditure law, hopefully closing the current loophole that allows issue campaign committees to shield spending from disclosure.
It was a bad week for…
BRYANT MAYOR JILL DABBS. Bryant Alderman Adrian Henley has initiated a petition drive to recall Dabbs. Her offenses are too lengthy for this space, but include illegal pay raises, ousting a number of city employees and hiring Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb (above) as interim city attorney.
THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS DROP-IN DAY TREATMENT CENTER. Despite publishing notice in the daily newspaper and appearing on the Coalition of Little Rock Neighborhoods’ messageboard, the VA’s plan to relocate its treatment center from 2nd and Ringo streets to 10th and Main, in the former Cook Jeep building, came as a surprise to Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, who called the move “idiotic,” saying that such a center shouldn’t be put across the street from a liquor store, that it would duplicate services of a promised homeless day center on Confederate Boulevard and harm the Main Street business district’s renewal. Dr. Tina McClain, the psychiatrist who heads mental health services for veterans in Central Arkansas, said the Main Street location was ideal for the VA and was the product of a lengthy search. The center is an outpatient clinic that, among other services, provides for homeless veterans.