Texarkana Gazette on the county jail reimbursement issue

The Texarkana Gazette editorializes on the the state's reimbursement to counties for housing our inmates in this morning's paper. As has been discussed this week, Governor Beebe told sheriffs that they should lobby us to come up with the $10 million or so to get all counties reimbursed for holding our inmates. Many can't be transferred to the pen because we're already busting at the seams. We're supposed to pay them $28 per prisoner, per day, but the fund has run dry. The Texarkana Gazette wants us to find a way to get the counties paid, and pronto. I agree.

The easiest course of action appears to be a portion of the General Improvement Fund that has been dedicated to other projects but which was held back due to unforeseen circumstances -- or a rainy day -- like this. There's approximately $15 million left in that pot. While there are many essential services to be funded with the shallow pool of resources the state currently has, this one is high on the priority list, and the counties should be reimbursed.

Governor's weekly radio address

Local efforts for international investments
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Arkansas has foreign offices in Tokyo and Beijing, and several other states have offices in Taipei, Hong Kong, and other cities across Asia (and other parts of the world) for purposes of economic development. Governor Beebe will travel to Cuba next week to look at ways that Arkansas could seize opportunities there in an event the trade embargo is lifted.

Governor declares state of emergency for winter storm

Governor Beebe declared a State of Emergency this morning in response to the ice and snow already in the state, and accumulations are expected to continue. The declaration carries with it up to $20,000 from the Governor's Disaster Fund for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management to supply additional support and resources if needed.

With road conditions expected to deteriorate as the day progresses, Beebe also initiated his Inclement Weather Policy, stating that only those State employees designated as essential personnel by their agencies are required to report to work today. A separate declaration will suspend some federal guidelines that regulate utility trucks. This will allow utility companies to work extra hours in responding to outages and storm damage. The Arkansas National Guard also has personnel and supplies ready to go for emergency response.

We're not getting any ice down here in Texarkana -- plenty wet, but hovering just above the freezing mark.

Noon at Pickles Gap -- UPDATE

Wills to kick off congressional bid today

Speaker Robbie Wills will officially kick off his bid for the open congressional seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Vic Snyder today. The event will take place at Pickles Gap at noon.

Side note on 1st District candidates

The New Orleans Times Picayune is reporting this morning that Congressman Joseph Cao's (R-New Orleans) communications director Princella Smith is considering a run for the 1st Congressional District here in Arkansas.

Update: It appears as though former Rep. Chris Thyer (D-Jonesboro) will not be seeking the congressional seat being vacated by Marion Berry.

Political Animals Club

It's long since been sold out, but Governor Beebe will be the featured speaker at today's Political Animals Club at the Governor's Mansion. With all that's going on in Arkansas politics, should be a good meeting.

The Lincoln Twitter feed

The Lincoln for Senate campaign caused a stir that ultimately reached national tv last night because of a broad and vague press release that stated as follows:

For planning purposes, be advised that Senator Blanche Lincoln will make an important campaign announcement tomorrow morning, Tuesday, January 26, via the campaign's Twitter feed: twitter.com/blanche4senate.

By the 8:00 pm broadcast of Countdown, Keith Olberman was comparing this news with a CNN tweet that rumored of another potential Dem retirement. Alas, the announcement was about campaign funds. Lincoln now has over $5,000,000 in the bank for her upcoming election.

Arkansas sees 2nd congressman retire in 10 days

The second of three sitting Democratic congressmen in Arkansas has announced his retirement effective at the end of this term. On January 15, 2nd District Congressman Vic Snyder announced that he would not seek reelection. This morning, 1st District Congressman Marion Berry announced that he also will forego another election for the U.S. House in 2010.

Berry was elected in 1996 when I was fresh out of college. No one couldn't appreciate his willingness to speak his mind (fast forward to 1:40), and I got to see that first hand several times. He'll be missed in my household. I did have the opportunity to work for his reelection efforts briefly in 2000. This announcement will bring out a lot of names, and we'll run through them all once this campaign for the 1st District develops.

Hiatus = over

I'm sure no one's noticed that this blog has been on autopilot for about three months while I worked overtime here at the office in order to get caught up and put back some extra resources before the upcoming double whammy: the fiscal legislative session and the upcoming primary on May 18. We're really seeing some major changes in Arkansas politics, so it's time to get back with it. Here we are burning the midnight oil at campaign headquarters on Friday night flaunting the child labor laws:

Arkansas boats assistaing in Haiti efforts

Here's a picture of a SeaArk boat built in Monticello in action in Haiti this week. A former high school classmate of mine works in quality at SeaArk and passed this picture along through his family.

Congressman Snyder hangs it up after seven terms

I just received the news release from my former boss, Congressman Vic Snyder, announcing that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. House in 2010. His statement in full:

“2010 will be a robust election year during which great forces collide to set the direction for our country for another two years. Over the last several weeks Betsy and I have had discussions with family and friends including other members of Congress (Rep. David Price, Rep. Susan Davis, and our own Sen. Mark Pryor) regarding the appropriate balance between family and Congressional service when a family has very young children. I have concluded that these election-year forces are no match for the persuasive and powerful attraction of our three one-year old boys under the leadership of their three-year old brother, and I have decided not to run for re-election. It is the greatest professional honor of my life to represent Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I am so grateful to the people of Arkansas to have had this wonderful opportunity. That honor will now pass to someone else at the conclusion of this term.”

“This decision has not been an easy one. Two weeks ago my campaign manager came on board, but that first morning I advised him to do nothing to begin the campaign because of my doubts regarding running. The onset of the new year, the time I always begin organizing my campaigns, did nothing to remove these doubts.”

“I have put very little thought into what the work side of my life will look like at the end of this term, although it is clear from observing how much our four little boys eat that I will be working for a long, long time.”

There'll be plenty of candidates to come out here in the next few weeks following this announcement, and we'll list all the potential candidates right here.

Revised forecast to cut state budget

Because continued shortfalls in State revenues, Governor Mike Beebe has accepted a recommendation by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to cut the state budget by an additional $106 million for the current fiscal year. The governor's proposed balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2011, which will be detailed by DF&A officials on Tuesday, anticipates a return to current budget levels on July 1.

"Arkansans are being increasingly cautious with their money, and our government must reflect that in our use of tax dollars," Beebe said. "While we still foresee a recovery for our State economy, our spending must match the pace of that recovery to keep our budget balanced."

The revised forecast means a 2.4 percent budget reduction across-the-board. Other education funds will be used to protect public education and adequacy requirements. Rainy-day funds and other set-asides will be used to lessen the impact of the cuts for the Departments of Human Services, Correction and Community Corrections.

Governor declares state of emergency ahead of winter storms

Governor Beebe declared a State of Emergency Wednesday afternoon to help Arkansas officials prepare for the severe temperatures, winds, and winter precipitation expected to enter Arkansas. The declaration carries with it up to $50,000 from the Governor's Disaster Fund for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management to supply additional support and resources if needed.

Officials at ADEM have been in contact with county emergency officials since Tuesday, working to anticipate where additional needs may arise. The Arkansas National Guard is also preparing to provide additional support if necessary, including potentially using armories as overflow shelters.

New announced candidate for Bryles' seat

Max reports that Blytheville Mayor Barry Harrison (pictured) is just about officially in the Democratic primary race to succeed term-limited state Sen. Steve Bryles. He'll join retired Circuit Judge David Burnett of Osceola in the Dem primary.

Higher Ed announcement to take place at 1:30

Gov. Beebe and ADHE Director Jim Purcell will make an announcement at 1:30 today at LR Mills regarding the simplification of the college scholarship application process in Arkansas. I'll post a summary after the announcement.

Update: Here' a link to the new YOUniversal one stop shop for scholarship applications.

Cooper Tire to increase China sales to 30%

Cooper Tire's sales in China are estimated to exceed $600 million this year, up as much as 20% from 2008. Here's more from tirereview.com. The company has previously begun capacity increases and expansions at its Texarkana, Arkansas plant (and in Tupelo, Miss. along with a joint venture in Guadalajara, Mexico plus a Cooper/Kenda initiative in Kunshan, China).

State's federal delegation travels the state

Members of Arkansas's congressional delegation are traveling the state visiting with constituents and listening to questions. I attended a couple with Mike Ross yesterday. Here's his Texarkana stop, where close to 60 showed.

State offices to open two hours late

Under the State of Arkansas's Inclement Weather Policy, State operations will be delayed two hours Monday morning due to icy conditions in parts of Central Arkansas. State Agency directors may authorize additional delays for employees who live in areas that have become especially treacherous.

X Games meets the Marathon

The "toughest marathon east of the Rockies" lives up to its billing

I got my first taste of trail running over the weekend, and in the process, was introduced to a subculture of runners who live off this stuff. The 12th edition of the Athens-Big Fork Marathon took place on Saturday in southern Polk County. I showed up and immediately took in the difference in atmospheres. Marathon runners wear state-of-the-art matching lycra outfits and drink trendy sports drinks and gels that are distributed at stations every mile or two. Marathon courses are filled with crowds and adrenaline and bands and billboards of corporate sponsors. This was different.

The majority of these guys wore bushy wool socks and sported long hair and beards, and spent the pre-race cozied up to a woodburning stove debating gourmet coffee. The others were adrenaline junkies simply here because it's too cold to jump out of a plane this time of year.

About three minutes before 8:00, the race director herded this motley band of about 50 out to the front of the Big Fork Community Center for a picture. After a few warnings, and with little fanfare, he then muttered the words "okay...go." We started out on a state highway, and the course then veered onto a county road, then a forest road, and 2.4 miles in, the real race started. The Athens-Big Fork trail is made up of eight mountains (each way) and has few switchbacks -- the trail simply goes straight up and down the mountains. About 0.4 miles from the trailhead and partially up the first mountain, I knew I was in for a long day. I slowed to a trot to catch my breath and watched as the veterans galloped up the 2,100 foot Hurricane Knob like a herd of mountain goats.

I finally crested the first mountain and took time to snap a picture of this first vista before rushing straight down the mountain to the first river crossing: the Little Missouri River. I tried not to think about the fact that I'd have to do that seven more times -- and that was just to the turnaround.



My biggest concern before the race was how to deal with the river crossings and having wet feet -- not just for the blisters, but for the hypothermia and frostbite since it was 26 at the start. After my left foot slipped off a rock in the first river and went shin deep, I learned by trial and error. With one wet foot and one dry foot, I felt little difference, other than the fact that the wet one went numb and the dry one hurt. From there on out, I did as the others and simply tromped through the river without concern. Five mountains in, we finally arrived at the first aid station at mile 8.5 near Blaylock Creek. I scarfed down some soup and pretzels while a volunteer filled my water bottles and took down my bib number. About half the runners turned around here for the 17-mile "fun run," while the others pressed forward to the end of the trail and the 13.1 mile aid station, which was manned by Team Texarkana.

En route to the 13.1 mile turnaround, I accidentally took the scenic route with runners from Kansas City and Greenwood, and it took us about half a mile before we realized that we must've been off course. We backtracked, and by the time we reached the turnaround, I'd traveled 14 miles, but I was glad to be there. I left my jacket with Team Texarkana and choked down a few Little Debbies before taking a picture and heading back for the finish. Here I am with Texarkanians Brady Paddock, Mike Jones, and Barry Bryant.

I found myself running solitary for much of the trip back. The Athens-Big Fork trail is marked by white blazes, or stripes of faint white paint, on trees along the path. After 15 miles or so, it's easy to mistake patches of moss on the hardwoods for these blazes. This, coupled with the many offshoots from the main trail that lead elsewhere, requires runners to be alert. Running with your head down and listening to an iPod is impossible if you want to get off the trail.

There are lots of distinctions to draw between street running and trail running. For instance, at mile 22, I was running down a mountain and didn't pick my feet up high enough over a tree stob, and the next thing I know, I'm eating a face full of pebbles and mud. "You're having fun now," yelled back a runner within ear shot. It wasn't humorous at the time.

This (right) was my view at mile 24.5, and by my count, this was the last mountain to tackle before running back to the finish. I made it up as fast as I could on wobbly legs, thinking it was my last incline of the day, only to get to the bottom of the other side and looking at an identical mountain in front of me. It felt like I was in the movie Groundhog Day. Demoralized, I made it up and down the last mountain, but not before failing to learn a previous lesson and tripping over a protruding rock and eating another stone sandwich. This time, I stayed down for an eight count. I was mentally and physically whipped. Finally, after 29.4 miles, I arrived back at the Big Fork Community Center, poured myself a cup of coffee, and shared my stories and listened to a few others. Here, there are no finisher's medals or t-shirts, just a notepad where you jot down your own time before heading out. It was a great way to ring in the new year and to see parts of Arkansas that I'd likely never otherwise see.