Arkansas

Mar 6, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe today announced his intent to grant 12 pardons. An additional 13 clemency requests were denied and 27 had no action taken upon them. These include requests from both inmates and non-inmates.

The 12 applicants intended for pardons have completed all jail time, fulfilled all parole-and-probationary requirements and paid all fines related to their sentences. There is a 30-day waiting period to receive public feedback on the pardons before final action is taken.

Governor Beebe intends to grant pardons to the following people:

LaJuana Allen Brimley (Little Rock): Theft of Property    » read more »

February 10, 2009 -- NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- In support of a major nationwide United States Food & Drug Administration alert related to some peanut products suspected of causing salmonella food poisoning, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) continue to take precautionary and proactive measures.

As a precautionary step, state and federal officials suggest that residents, who received disaster-relief meals other than military meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), inspect the contents and throw away any item containing peanut products such as peanut butter or peanut butter crackers. To date, there have been no reported cases of illness among anyone who has received disaster-relief meals.    » read more »

Feb 4, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe today declared Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Cross, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Logan, Madison, Marion, Mississippi, Newton, Poinsett, Pope, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren and Washington Counties state disaster areas due to damage caused by last week's ice storm.

Beebe has also submitted a request to President Obama for a federal major disaster declaration for 25 of these counties where FEMA assessments have already taken place. Additional counties will be added to the federal request as those assessments continue.    » read more »

Declaration would bring federal assistance for estimated $77 million in ice-storm damage

Feb 3, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe this afternoon asked President Obama to declare a major disaster in 25 Arkansas counties hit hard by last week's ice storm. The counties include Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Conway, Craighead, Cross, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Mississippi, Newton, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren and Washington.

The declaration would bring federal assistance to cover 75 percent of the estimated $77 million in damages to public infrastructure in the affected counties, including utility systems, roads and bridges, water-control facilities and debris removal.    » read more »

January 29th, 2009 -- Last night, President Obama declared federal emergencies caused by winter storms in two states, answering requests for aid from Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.

President Barack Obama signs an Emergency Declaration for the State of Arkansas Wednesday evening, Jan. 28, 2008 in the Oval Of: (White House photo by Pete Souza)

ARKANSAS

The President declared an emergency exists in the State of Arkansas and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local response efforts in the area struck by a severe winter storm beginning on January 26, 2009, and continuing.    » read more »

January 29, 2009 -- Following is a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that can be made available as needed and warranted under President Obama's emergency declaration issued for Arkansas.

"Emergency" is any occasion or instance in which the president determines that federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts to save lives and protect property and public health and safety or to avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.

Assistance for the State and Affected Local Governments Can Include as Required:

* FEMA will direct other federal agencies and provide 75 percent federal funding for emergency measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health, limited to this direct federal assistance.    » read more »

State Inclement Weather Policy to remain in effect Wednesday

Jan 27, 2009 --
LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has declared a state of emergency to speed the response of state agencies to the ice storm continuing to have an impact on Arkansas. The declaration allows state agencies to more easily coordinate with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

Beebe has also signed an emergency proclamation to assist in the movement of utility trucks to areas affected by the storm.    » read more »

Aug 7, 2008 -- LITTLE ROCK, AR — Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels today certified a petition submitted by independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader allowing him and his vice presidential running mate, Matt Gonzalez, to appear on the Arkansas ballot in the November 4, 2008 general election.

The Secretary of State’s office verified 1,234 signatures. 1,000 valid signatures from registered Arkansas voters are required of political groups and independent candidates wishing to appear on the state’s general election ballot for the offices of US President and Vice President.    » read more »

‘Fighting Goliath’ Shows How Citizens Can Stop Coal Plants From Threatening Arkansas

August, 2008 -- Arkansas residents will get a chance this week to see how they can stand up to proposed coal-fired power plants with special screenings in Fayetteville, Little Rock and Hope of the documentary "Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars."

Public Citizen and other groups are organizing the screenings of the film produced by Robert Redford, which follows a group of Texas activists who took on a big power company’s plan to build 11 coal-fired generators in their state. The activists, who included members of Public Citizen’s Texas office, succeeded in defeating several of the plants.    » read more »

FORT CHAFFEE, Ark. (06/16/2008) - A severe thunderstorm swept through the Fort Chaffee and Fort Smith, Ark. area Sunday night forcing the evacuation of approximately 500 Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers from a remote training area. The Soldiers were moved into permanent barracks on Fort Chaffee due to wind damage to several tents the Soldiers were using for training at a Forward Operating Base.

Storm-damaged National Guard housing: Fort Chaffee, Ark. – Visible storm damage to temporary military housing at a remote training site after a series of severe storms passed through Sunday evening. Several Soldiers were injured; no injuries were serious.    » read more »

Jun 13, 2008 -- Too many Arkansas families today are struggling under the weight of increasingly higher gas prices. With $4.04 now the national average price per gallon, and experts predicting a year ahead of continued misery at the pump, the burden on our people and our communities is growing heavier.

We have watched as high gas prices forced families to postpone summer vacations, as gas prices made people think twice about driving for that weekend trip they'd planned, but recently, gas prices have taken an even greater toll.    » read more »

Federal Disaster Assistance Coming

May 28, 2008 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe today signed the latest disaster-relief agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make federal individual-assistance funds available to storm victims in Arkansas and Phillips Counties. On the night of May 10, an EF3 tornado struck Stuttgart in Arkansas County and straight-line winds did significant damage in Phillips County. In addition to individual assistance for storm victims, Arkansas County is also qualified for public assistance to help cover the costs of rebuilding infrastructure in and around Stuttgart.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- The President (George W. Bush) today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Arkansas and ordered Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes beginning on May 2, 2008, and continuing.

The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Benton, Cleburne, Conway, Crittenden, Grant, Lonoke, Mississippi, Pulaski, Saline, and Van Buren.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, May 19, 2008 -- Six facilities from Arkansas and Texas will be recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for exemplary environmental programs that reduce pollution at the 2008 National Environmental Partnership Summit in Baltimore on May 21.

The facilities are part of EPA's National Environmental Performance Track, and they include the following: Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions of Garland, Texas; Eaton Hydraulics Operation of Searcy, Arkansas; Firestone Building Products of Corsicana, Texas; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company of Fort Worth, Texas; Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas; and Standard Aero, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas.    » read more »

ARLINGTON, Va. (05/12/2008) - National Guard members in four states were called out by their governors to assist civil authorities May 12 after tornados crossed the Southwest May 10 and flooding on the Delaware coast left communities in need of emergency assistance.

Arkansas Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Lucas Jennings discusses tornado response missions in Arkansas: Arkansas National Guard photo

Since May 7, the National Weather Service has confirmed at least 42 tornados in the southern Plains and the southeastern and middle Atlantic regions of the nation with the strongest tornado recorded May 10 as an F-4. It developed from a super cell storm that tracked through three states.    » read more »