Arkansas’s source for news, politics & entertainment. More ArkTimes: @rockcandyblog @eatarkansas @arkansasblog
Little Rock, AR
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Someone in Gov. Sarah Sanders' office apparently instructed state employees to write “to be reimbursed” on a months-old invoice for a $19,000 lectern and specifically told them not to date the notation. Who?
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IT'S ON! Enough signatures collected to put abortion rights on Arkansas ballot!
They did it on a shoestring budget, with no organizational support from national groups. Just Arkansas women with clipboards, hustling.😎
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UPDATE: Zero Arkansas schools are backing down, all six will stay the course on AP African American Studies despite Department of Ed threat it might violate state law. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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The latest turn in #podiumgate:
An anonymous former state employee, represented by @TomMarsLaw, claims to have evidence Gov. Sarah Sanders' office unlawfully altered documents and withheld records that should have been made public under the FOIA.
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Arkansas officials require teachers to turn over AP African American Studies lessons+course materials for inspection. They're looking for evidence of critical race theory and indoctrination, banned by new state law. This is not a drill. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Any other Arkansas governor would have headed home on a plane at first light after Sunday's deadly storms, @NateBell4AR writes.
Sanders chose to linger for hours at a NASCAR event in Charlotte, putting her own ambition ahead of the job we hired her to do.
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Patty Hector was fired as Saline County's top librarian over her refusal to censor books. Now, she's running to become a county official.arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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Despite having a Little Rock apartment as an official residence, there’s little evidence to suggest that Tom Cotton is anything more than an occasional visitor to Arkansas. #arpx #arnews buff.ly/3HQymlG
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Arkansas State University goes tuition-free for Arkansas households making under $70K. buff.ly/3tdrKZv
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders pulled herself up by her own bootstraps, from her childhood home in the AR Governor's Mansion all the way up to her current home in the AR Governor's Mansion. Must be the content of her character. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Fired as head librarian after county leaders balked at her refusal to censor sex ed, LGBTQ+ characters and racial injustice in the young readers section, Patty Hector is running for Saline County Quorum Court. 😎arktimes.com/news/2023/11/14… via @arktimes
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State auditors found that Leslie Rutledge (now lieutenant governor) overpaid some two dozen staff members in her office when she was attorney general, costing taxpayers over $130K above the amount approved by the legislature over a 2-year period.
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A report by @radleybalko:
Gov. Sanders denies clemency to Charlie Vaughn, an innocent man who’s been in prison for decades.
Exonerated by both DNA evidence and another man's confession, Vaughn remains trapped on a legal technicality.
arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Retired Army Colonel announces as Democrat against French Hill
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Blue Hog Matt Campbell is joining Arkansas Times staff, so look out arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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BREAKING: Federal judge blocks Arkansas’s library censorship law from taking effect
More details coming soon.
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Congressman Rick Crawford sues the United States for a pay raise, says $174K salary not enough🎻🎻🎻.
This argument will be a hard sell back at home in Arkansas, where the median income is less than $32K. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Members of the Little Rock Nine met with high school seniors from across the city Monday to answer students' questions about public education, integration and real history. The Nine did not hold back. #arnews buff.ly/454rgBZ
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No longer a superminority? Aiming to capitalize on Gov. Sanders' high-profile #podiumgate scandal and Republican efforts to scale back access to public information, Democrats field more candidates than they have in a decade.
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Breaking: The state Board of Corrections voted 5-2 Wednesday to fire Sarah Sanders’ hand-picked prison chief, former Arizona corrections official Joe Profiri.
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Live look at the sanctuary at Sarah Sanders' inauguration prayer service at Fellowship Bible Church West, which enjoys exemption from paying taxes as long as they don't engage in politics? I'd like to file a complaint ...
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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Rex Nelson ripped the Sanders administration yesterday, calling it "paranoid" and a "tragedy."
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Patty Hector, the Saline County library director who refused to scrub the youth section shelves of books that include gay and gender-nonconforming characters and themes, was fired this morning by Republican county judge Matt Brumley.
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The proposal Gov. Sanders is pushing to block access to state records+expenses has a “retroactivity clause” to block access to previously public documents and information since Jan. 2022. That would cover Sanders' entire time in office.
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Sanders-aligned ballot committees may have violated finance rules
A pair of $100,000 transactions between Stronger Arkansas and Arkansans for Students and Educators may have run afoul of state ethics laws.
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Already at the bottom of the barrel as far as gun laws go, Arkansas lawmakers kick around plans to allow guns in school pickup lines and at political demonstrations. Jesus Christ. I mean, what can we even say at this point?
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About two-thirds of the way through Jason Isbell’s headlining set at the Momentary’s FreshGrass festival on Saturday, the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter made a plug for the expansion of abortion access in Arkansas. arktimes.com/rock-candy/2024…
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Jim Walton dropped $500K last month to fight a ballot measure that would make private schools that get vouchers (ie, public funds) to meet the same standards as public schools.
That's a lot of $$$. Though not when you're worth $78.4 billion.
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Gov. Sarah Sanders sold Arkansas LEARNS as a lifeline for poor families in failing public schools.
But only 5% of students receiving vouchers attended public school last year. The rest were either existing private school students or kindergarteners.
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Breaking News: Gov. Sarah Sanders and other state officials have selected south Franklin County as the site of a massive new state prison expected to house some 3,000 inmates, blindsiding residents.
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Breaking news: A divided Ark. Supreme Court has rejected the medical marijuana amendment, departing from years of precedent on ballot measure language.
Votes on the measure will NOT count, thanks to two special justices appointed by Gov. Sarah Sanders.
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Cornerstone Christian Academy won't take gay or transgender students. But the small Arkansas private school is getting around $419K in vouchers this year from state taxpayers.
And the state is promoting Cornerstone in a video on the @ArkansasEd website.
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Sanders won’t spill who paid for her Super Bowl trip, TPM reports.
Zero Arkansas journalists are surprised.
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A lawsuit filed Friday directly challenges the school voucher program created by Arkansas LEARNS, saying it “represents a radical and unconstitutional departure from a public school system that has endured since the establishment of the state."
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Pornhub has “completely disable[d] access to our website in Arkansas,” apparently in protest of the state's new age-verification law, which takes effect Aug. 1.
The website has banned IP addresses from Utah, Virginia and Mississippi bc of similar laws.
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For a private school family making roughly $300K annually, a LEARNS voucher will effectively cancel out their state income tax bill, @ArkDavey writes.
LEARNS can be thought of as a giant tax cut for these well-off Arkansans — or, simply, a welfare check.
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For months, rumors circulated that First Gentleman Bryan Sanders was working with the Walton-connected Runway Group to change the federal status of the Buffalo National River.
Those rumors are confirmed, but the efforts are now stalled. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Chris Jones announces plan to prioritize teacher pay if elected governor #ARnews #Aarpx buff.ly/3Pn6Ywt
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A town hall in Jasper over proposed changes to the Buffalo River drew over 1,100 last night, Jared Phillips writes. But neither the Walton-funded group behind the proposal nor first gentleman Bryan Sanders could be bothered to show up.
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Governor’s office offered lucrative parole board seat in exchange for political favor, state senator says arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Sanders signs executive order banning the term ‘pregnant people’ in state documents.
Two days ago she was fussing about Chinese seed companies.
It's almost like the gov is attacking trans and Chinese people to deflect from #podiumgate . arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Challengers Sheila Franklin and Trey Geier beat two incumbents in contentious Conway School Board elections arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Indoctrination alert! Gov. Sanders hands out Ben Carson's Christian-propaganda kids book in Helena public school. #arnews #arpx buff.ly/3YjMxEZ
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Senator Stephanie Flowers on her now-viral speech:
"I don't apologize for my expression, my passion and my emotion. … My outburst and the words I used? God will judge me and I will accept his judgment. I hope he's well pleased."
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We're still figuring out what's up with Ark. Secretary of State John Thurston's rejection of the abortion amendment. This much we know: Thurston's letter Weds strongly implied abortion advocates failed to submit a list of paid canvassers. But...they did.
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Judge puts a freeze on the governor’s signature LEARNS Act pending June 20 hearing. School privatization in Arkansas on hold for now. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will go on a sales call to the Texas border this weekend, where she’s set to join 14 other Republican governors in peddling misinformation and fear to the American public.
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Sanders’ Razorback kickoff party at the Governor’s Mansion cost $13,000, covered by public funds.
It's been downhill ever since.
The Hogs are 3-7, and Sanders isn't exactly racking up the W's, either. 1/2 arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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West Memphis will have 2 early voting sites after all, thanks to a ruling from the Ark. Supreme Court.
It's a big win for local voters, a loss for the local Republican election officials who tried to block access to early voting. And for AG Tim Griffin.
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The rest of the country continues to be floored by how shitty Arkansas is now. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Conservative and progressive voices join to oppose FOIA rollback arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Gov. Sarah Sanders ripped President Biden's mandate for electric vehicles about two months after trumpeting lithium production in south Arkansas.
Lithium is a key component in batteries for electric vehicles.
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A fake email went out Thursday telling canvassers to put down their clipboards because the needed signatures were all in hand. Organizers of the push to put the AR Abortion Amendment on the ballot kept working. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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A poll released this month by Emerson College Polling found Gov. Sarah Sanders' popularity sagging.
Just 40% of Arkansans approve of the governor, while 31% disapprove.
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Arkansas is the only state that won't expand pregnancy Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum. Sarah Sanders has said doing so would be "redundant." But new numbers from the state show that's just plain wrong.
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Democrat Chris Jones is looking to unseat Republican Rep. French Hill in 2026, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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Arkansas LEARNS required the state to release an annual report on its school voucher program by Sept. 30. Three weeks later, there's still no sign of it.
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A Guatemalan man the governor and her state police director pointed to as the face of immigrant lawlessness saw all criminal charges against him dropped. And dashcam footage released last week suggests the official version of events was wildly misleading.arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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“We’re still fighting the misconception that we’re anti-gun. … We have members who are hunters and members who have their concealed carry license. We just want better gun laws to keep guns away from people with dangerous histories and kids.” arktimes.com/news/arkansas-r…
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Ark. is nixing its contract with a vendor it hired to build a digital platform for its school voucher program, the Dem-Gaz reported today, and is seeking $563K in penalties and damages. Student First Technologies has run into problems in other states, too.
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Breaking news: A federal judge in Little Rock has struck down Arkansas's first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
More coming soon.
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Josh Mahony, the Fayetteville man running to unseat U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, has released a video reminding voters how terrible Cotton is. There's lots of fodder. #arpx
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Arkansans lose when we have a governor who is less interested in improving Arkansans’ lives than improving her position on the national stage. #arnews #arpx The latest from For AR People: buff.ly/3LOVVfY
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The podiumgate scandal distracts from the governor’s rah-rah announcements like spinach in teeth: None of us can pay attention to anything else until she address it.
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It's often said Little Rock would boom if we just had better schools. That's a myth, Baker Kurrus writes.
Schools are downstream of community / economic dysfunction. And Arkansas LEARNS will make problems worse, because it further fractures communities.
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Jen Standerfer, an attorney and leader in the campaign to protect Arkansas's Freedom of Information Act, was arrested and handcuffed in front of a room full of judges and attorneys today. This is a developing story, and we'll have more to come.
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Big news in a case over Arkansas LEARNS: A Trump-appointed federal judge says the state can't prohibit two Central High teachers from teaching about controversial ideas in the classroom, including critical race theory
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"Pro-life" abortion laws almost killed Arkansas mother Kayla Moore after pregnancy complications. Moore shared her story with the Arkansas Times. "I am angry," she said. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston has rejected a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to restore abortion rights, saying organizers failed to submit an affidavit regarding paid canvassers.
We're waiting on a statement from organizers.
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Appointing Jason Rapert to a board overseeing the state library is quite a move for Gov. Sarah Sanders.
The former Conway legislator recently inveighed against "the radial [sic] LGBTQ insanity attacking our children through public libraries" on Twitter.
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Hallie Shoffner, a sixth-generation farmer, is seeking to unseat Sen. Tom Cotton in her bid for U.S. Senate. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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More than 4 million salaried Americans, lots of them Arkansans, would qualify for overtime pay under a new federal rule. But AG Tim Griffin is leading a push to protect the Mr. Burnses of the world from having to pay workers what they owe.
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Israel has used white phosphorus shells in Gaza that were made in Arkansas at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, an @amnesty report suggests.
WP can cause horrific injuries. Even minor burns can be fatal. International law limits its use, especially in cities.
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Attorney Jen Standerfer got perp-walked out of a Bar Association convention after police say she broke a no-soliciting rule by carrying petitions.
Is political speech really soliciting? Were handcuffs necessary? Some thorny questions here. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Rock on, Patty Hector! Arkansas librarian fired for standing against the book banners is honored with a Lemony Snicket award (and a $10,000 prize)! arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Who would Jesus dox?
The Family Council published the names and home cities of signature collectors for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment - Arkansas Times arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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Remember when a Little Rock judge said new state legislative maps looked iffy, but too bad because voters don't have standing to sue under the Voting Rights Act? The U.S. Supreme Court has other ideas, which bodes well for AR Black voters. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Democrat Caitlin Draper announces congressional run against Womack
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LEARNS vouchers are being used by private school families who could afford tuition already, transferring public dollars to already deep pockets.
$7K off a $15K tuition is still $8K too much for most of us. It's a sweet perk for rich people, though. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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New State Library Board member Jason Rapert kicked off his inaugural meeting today with a motion to defund CALS and other libraries pushing back against a new state censorship law.
Rapert couldn't get a second, and the motion died without a vote.
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Has anyone seen it? Show us the lectern! buff.ly/3Lu8exW
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After the governor's attempt to gut the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act earlier this year, a motley coalition of government transparency advocates is trying to enshrine the FOIA in the state constitution. They hope to submit a ballot proposal today.
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The NYT reports Tom Cotton is among Donald Trump's top picks for VP.
Really? Cotton has all the charisma of an unassembled cardboard box, @ArkDavey writes. But he's also a disciplined politician with an unquenchable thirst for power.
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Arkansas Department of Education brags that its censorship of Black history and take from the poor to give to the rich voucher plans won the state a #4 ranking with the Heritage Foundation.
This is very bad news actually. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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Gov. Sarah Sanders has appointed Don Curdie as a special justice in the marijuana case at the Supreme Court.
On social media, Curdie has sympathized with Confederal Gen. Robert E. Lee and said George Floyd should have “just shut up.”
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Gov. Sarah Sanders’ role in Trump’s sex scandal coverup and AG Tim Griffin's new attack on abortion care. Republicans, so full of contradictions! arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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BREAKING NEWS: LEARNS school privatization bill not yet in effect actually, per Judge Herbert Wright. "Defendants are enjoined from implementing or enforcing any aspect of the Arkansas LEARNS Act, Act 237 of 2023, until such date that it becomes law."
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Students, parents and a Central High teacher are suing Gov. Sarah Sanders over the state's targeting of an AP African American Studies course last year via the Arkansas LEARNS Act's prohibition against supposed "indoctrination."
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Arkansas has the lowest voter registration rate in the country, at 62%. But the state changed its rules to make it *harder* for people to register, saying Arkansans can't use a computer to fill out the form. In 2024.
A new lawsuit challenges that rule.
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders responds to audit report with sick animation and even sicker beats.
Haters, including here at the Arkansas Times, can’t come back from a diss track like this. It’s just too cold. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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The 2023 Arkansas Poll is the third recent survey that’s shown mounting dissatisfaction with Sarah Sanders. She has the highest disapproval rating of any governor since the annual poll began in 1999.
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As Arkansas prepares for Year Two of LEARNS vouchers, it's putting out a bid for a new vendor to handle the payment system for voucher families.
That's right: Not only do we send our public money to private schools, we pay a 3rd-party company to do so.
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Influx of progressive voters could help put out the Arkansas dumpster fire arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2… via @arktimes
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With a $712 million surplus, you'd think Ark. might put some cash towards all sorts of services: child care, community colleges, home health, etc.
Instead, Sanders has held the budget almost flat (except for vouchers) and is pushing more tax cuts.
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Emails from multiple agencies reveal deliberate efforts to hide the purchase of land for the construction of a prison in Franklin County from the public for as long as possible. arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2…
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Little Rock Police Department officers threatened volunteers with arrest as they attempted to gather signatures Thursday on public property at an event held by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. buff.ly/3V2oDO4
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A 3rd party vendor stands to collect millions of dollars in processing fees from Arkansas's school voucher program.
Five companies have submitted bids, we found. But the state refuses to release the bids themselves or any other information.
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