Arkansas Weekend

Arkansas festivals today:
26th Annual Portfest (Newport)
20th Annual Blues Festival (Eureka Springs)
20th Annual Chicken and Egg Festival (Prescott)
74th Annual Old Fort Days Rodeo (Fort Smith)
22nd Annual Steamboat Days (Des Arc)
21st Annual Gazebo Festival (Bearden)
30th Annual Cache River Duck Calling Contest (Brinkley)
8th Annual Discovery Fest (LR River Market)
26th Annual Ouachita Quilt Show (Mena)
Lum & Abner Festival (Mena)
Fulton Co. Fair Summer Demolition Derby (Salem)
Bulldog 100 mini stock car race (Texarkana)

Arkansas roundup:
State News:
Arkansas, U.S. end dispute over billing with $44M of surplus [ADG]
McDaniel announces settlements in consumer prot. cases [Ark. News Bureau]
ChoicePoint settles with 43 states, D.C. over data breach [AP]
Settlement offers lower rate hike for Arkansas Western ratepayers [AP]
Arkansas State trustees vote to increase most tuition [AP]
Gas prices continue to slide downward in Arkansas (Txk cheapest) [AP]
Beebe: Future school funding challenges unlikely after Lake View [AP] [ANB]
PSC staff recommends smaller hike in PB water rates [Ark. News Bureau]
Utility regulators converging on LR for 2 meetings [ADG]
Oily, trashy pits fuel push to tighten rules on shale drilling [ADG]

Local News:
County Democrats hear governor, others [Benton County Daily Record]
Halter supports lottery but not Ormond plan [Benton County Daily Record]
Board's formation depends on tax passage [Arkadelphia Daily Siftings Herald]
Residents struggle to live with mounting energy bills [Baxter Bulletin]
Feelings mixed on overpass site [Hope Star]
Shelter kits on tap for handout [Pine Bluff Commercial]
Mayor estimates long-term needs [Searcy Daily Citizen]
Pottsville School Board to spend nearly $3M for expansions [Russellville Courier]
Bella Vista already recognized as first class city [Springdale Morning News]
Delta Regional receives update on land negotiations [Forrest City Times-Herald]
Lowell seeks more land [Springdale Morning News]
Crowded roads a "conspiracy," Beebe jokes [Springdale Morning News]
Jacksonville, Sherwood have day in court [Jacksonville Patriot]
HS considering future of Civil Service Commission [Heber Springs Sun-Times]
Wal-Mart to rein in Supercenter growth [Benton County Daily Record]
Ed. campaign begins for reduction on grocery tax [NW Ark. Times]

Today's Arkansas Columns/Editorials:
John Brummett: Who says Lake View over?
Doug Thompson: Lake View aftermath
ADG: Lake View: It's over!
Txk. Gazette: Court rules Ark. is in compliance with school funding standards
Pine Bluff Commercial: School funding is constitutional
Northwest Arkansas Times: Don't think twice (no helmet law)

Constituency Services: How to reach me today:
If you need information or assistance with an individual problem or case regarding a state agency, please give me a call. If it's of local or federal concern, call me anyway -- I'll put you in touch with the right person.

I'm in the office today after 9:00 a.m. (870-772-0300). I'll be out from 2:00 to 4:00 to head over to the Bulldog 100 at the college. If it's easier for you, you can also just send me an e-mail.