Arkansas Baptist College is investing $18 million in new facilities and property acquisition for its Little Rock campus. Financing for the expansion is being provided by First Security Bank with assistance from federal tax credit incentives. The money will be used for: A new general education building Expansion of the cafeteria from 77 seats to 322 seats A new 190-bed [...]

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NanoMech, a Springdale-based designer and manufacturer of nanoparticle coatings and additives, has selected a new CEO. Successful start-up entrepreneur Keith Blakely has joined the company, which has received several lucrative contracts in the last six months. Blakely has a history of successfully transforming startup companies into major technology enterprises. He spearheaded development of one of the leading [...]

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Arkansas’ statewide home sales fell 1.3% in January 2010 compared to one year ago, although two of the state’s largest counties saw double-digit declines. The Arkansas Realtors Association reports that overall sales dropped in three of the five largest markets in the state. Pulaski County home sales tumbled 12.5%, while Benton County saw an 11.3% [...]

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ARKANSAS ELECTION LINE: U.S. CONGRESS, DISTRICT 3Arkansas’ 3rd Congressional District may be the easiest and hardest race to predict in 2010. First, the easy part. The 3rd District will stay in the GOP column this year. The Arkansas Election Line rates the district as “Safe Republican.” Barring a major upset in the Republican primary, [...]

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Arkansas News Bureau columnist John Brummett writes what all of us in the press are saying privately. We grow weary of the daily tit-for-tat of press releases from campaign surrogates in the Lincoln v. Halter Democratic primary (other races, too). Brummett singles out Halter spokesman Bud Jackson and Lincoln spokesman Steve Patterson – the two [...]

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Michael Tilley with our content partner, The City Wire, follows up with a story from earlier in the week. A court-appointed company operating C. Bean Transport will close the trucking operations, but keep a warehouse operation open. Ron Fuller, a spokesman for Bell Receivers, issued this statement late Tuesday: “We continue to work diligently for [...]

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The debate regarding Cong. John Boozman’s absence from Tuesday’s GOP Senate forum has been elevated a day after the event. Today, a Democratic Party of Arkansas official suggested that Boozman’s reason for missing the debate – he was fighting the Democratic health care bill in Washington – doesn’t hold up to public scrutiny. DPA spokesman Gabe Holmstrom [...]

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Last Friday, we reported that Conway-based Home Bancshares acquired the assets and deposits of Orlando, Florida-based Old Southern Bank. Full terms of the FDIC-assisted deal were not disclosed, but local reports provide a few new details. From CFNews Channel 13, a reporter notes that Old Southern had nearly $380 million in assets and 1,700 accounts. “Centennial paid [...]

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Sen. Blanche Lincoln counters Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s Coach with her own Farmer. Today, Lincoln debuted a new TV ad that plays up the strength of her chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. The ad, which you can view here, notes that it took 184 years for an Arkansan to receive the Ag chairmanship. [...]

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Arkansas Public Service Commission Paul Suskie led his 3-member group on a fact-finding mission last week to learn more about Entergy Arkansas’ proposed separation efforts from its parent company. Currently, the planned departure is in year 5 of an 8-year process. As we reported last week, the inquiry had a Congressional inquiry atmosphere to it. [...]

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