Opinion

– Arkansas teacher salaries went up 3.2 percent last year, to an average of $54,309. That ranked Arkansas 45th in the country.

Arkansas Farmers Market Week is just around the corner, running from June 9-15. With over 100 markets across the state, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the vibrant offerings of Arkansas agriculture.

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders orders all flags to be flown at Half-Staff to mourn the lives lost in the tornadoes during the early morning of May 26. The communities of Marion, Baxter, Benton and Boone Counties suffered significant damage to homes, businesses and property.

Four election laws passed by the legislature in 2021 will continue to be enforced, thanks to an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that upholds their constitutionality. The four laws were immediately challenged after the 2021 regular session, during which the legislature enacted a long series of election integrity laws.

LITTLE ROCK – Limiting children’s access to social media is still a priority for Arkansas policy makers. Last week, the governor sent a letter to the governors of all 50 states, and to all Arkansas legislators, urging them to continue working for meaningful restrictions on children’s use of social media platforms.

LITTLE ROCK – The state Education Department has written new rules for troubled schools to enter “transformation contracts” with outside entities, such as charter school operators. The Department will accept public comments until May 15 on the eight pages of proposed rules.

The 2024 Fiscal Session of the General Assembly will commence on April 10, 2024, at noon. Following the House’s initial convening, there will be a brief recess before a Joint Session with the Senate to hear the Governor’s address.

I read with great amusement the recent letter to the editor from Phil Freise. Phil is upset with all the graft, collusion, criminality, theft, conspiracies and downright bad manners he imputes to certain city officials in Bull Shoals.

This is in response to the letter written by Bull Shoals City Councilman Dino Gianini that was published in the March 21, edition of the Mountain Echo. Anybody who knows Councilman Giannini certainly recognizes that he did not author the letter as he is not that literate.