At the Capitol

The Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Advisory Council will meet at 2:30 here at the Capitol to discuss scholarship rules and non-traditional priorities. Lt. Governor Bill Halter will also attend the meeting and will discuss the importance of the Council’s work with the Arkansas Lottery Commission.

This morning, the Joint Committee on Legislative Facilities heard from Arkansas Building Authority Director Anne Laidlaw, who recapped the progress of the pending move of some agencies into the old Dillard's Building at 900 W. Capitol Avenue. Legislators also heard of potential renovations to the Big Mac building on the grounds of the Capitol Complex, which currently houses the State Library on the 5th floor. The library will be among those moving into the new facility in December. A new wrinkle to the discussion of the Big Mac renovations this morning included a potential tunnel/skybridge between the Capitol and the 5th floor of the Big Mac building at a cost of up to $3.5 million. A functional tunnel apparently already exists between the two buildings but is full of conduits, wires, etc. This tunnel project has apparently been tossed around for generations and, in my own view, is unlikely to ever materialize, especially in the era of term limits. I can get by with an umbrella.