Less than one week after his hire, Arkansas Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue traveled to Arkansas to make plans for the start-up of the state’s scholarship lottery operation. Passailaigue met with officials to review possible office space, state contract rules and personnel policy.
Passailaigue’s $324,000 annual salary was approved by a legislative oversight committee and he’ll begin the job on July 1. He said in an interview this week that he will quickly execute three major contracts for game vendors and advertising to sell lottery tickets by year’s end.
UCA board picks meadors for university president
The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees voted Thursday to move forward with hiring Allen Meadors as president of the university.
Meadors, one of four finalists who interviewed for the job, will replace Lu Hardin, who resigned in August amid a furor over a secret $300,000 bonus he received.
Meadors, a native of Van Buren who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UCA, has been chancellor for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke for the past 10 years.
Final Alltel assets sell
Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire certain Alltel wireless assets from Verizon Wireless for $200 million. The purchase will affect more than 800,000 Alltel customers in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio and Idaho. Verizon Wireless is required to divest these properties as part of its $28.1 billion purchase of Alltel earlier this year.
In early May, AT&T bought a sizable majority of the divested Alltel assets for $2.35 billion. With the ATN agreement, all 105 divested properties that were a condition of the Verizon-Alltel merger are under contract and pending regulatory approval.
LM Glasfiber lays off 80
LM Glasfiber is once again reducing its work force in Central Arkansas as a result of a slowdown in the world wind energy market. The wind turbine blade maker says it will operate a 24-hour a day, five days a week schedule and eliminate 80 jobs during the next 60 days at its Little Rock port facility. LM Glasfiber will still employ 300 in Central Arkansas. It laid off about 150 workers in early January of this year.
Another Arkansas wind blade manufacturer, Polymarin, announced this week it would delay the start of its Little Rock operations. It had originally intended to open a site in Little Rock in the second quarter of 2009.
Polymer Group to close North Little Rock facility
Polymer Group, which markets materials used in medical, industrial and hygiene products, is closing its North Little Rock facility. Polymer will consolidate some manufacturing operations to its Benson, N.C., facility. About 140 Arkansas workers will lose their jobs as part of the move.
The Charlotte-based company said its decision is based on the need to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities. The company also cited reduced demand for industrial products.
65 to lose jobs in Mountain Home
Baxter Healthcare will lay off about 65 workers at its Mountain Home plant as it phases out contract work for a blood transfusion materials manufacturing group. The company indicated it would try to minimize the impact by reorganizing its work force through retirements and reassignments over a two-year phase-out period.
Marshals museum design approved
The board of the U.S. Marshals Museum approved the building design of the national museum that will be located in Fort Smith. The board is also under way with what will be a $30 million to $50 million national fundraising effort for the new tourism project.
Murphy Oil announces new discoveries
Murphy Oil Corp. has made two additional discoveries on its acreage in offshore Malaysia. One find was a significant oil field discovery and the other discovery was a natural gas block.
The El Dorado-based oil and gas firm has been ramping up exploration and production in the region for several years.
Arkansas transit projects get $16.7 million in funding
Arkansas will receive $16.7 million to meet various transportation needs across the state as part of the federal stimulus package. The state Highway and Transportation Department will receive more than $15 million to purchase 126 replacement vehicles for transit providers. These vehicles include 65 lift buses, eight intercity buses, two rubber-tired trolleys, 21 vans with lifts and 30 vans without lifts.
More than $1.5 million will be sent to Ozark Regional Transit for the purchase of five replacement buses and 12 bus stop passenger shelters.
——-
Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net.
