Hot Springs center prints 100,000th passport

This is interesting to me due to the sheer number of requests for help I've received recently on getting passports in hand prior to trips. Due to a surge in requests now that passports are required for flight travel into Mexico and the Caribbean, the normal 8-10 weeks required to get one has turned into 14-16 weeks in some cases. Thankfully, Jeff Weaver and Patricia Herring (with Congressman Ross) have ways of getting some attention to applications that are stale to the point where a departure may be jeopardized. We can all appreciate the thorough examination required in the process for our safety, but if you're awaiting a passport, and it's been more than 12 weeks, call me -- especially if you're leaving soon. Here's the AP story on the Hot Springs passport printing center.

Elsewhere, John Brummett writes on Governor Beebe's LifeQuest appearance Wednesday. Also from the Arkansas News Bureau, a new VA clinic will open in Pine Bluff, and tuition and budgets have been approved for the 16 UofA campuses.

There's a nice write-up in the Benton County Daily Record about former Rep. Shirley Borhauer (R-Bella Vista) this morning.