Talk Business and Politics

Damien Echols filed a petition Monday (Jan. 9) with the Arkansas Supreme Court asking it to allow for new M-Vac touch DNA testing on ligatures collected in the 1993 murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis.

The odds of success are low for the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association (ACIA) to get legislation approved in the 2023 Arkansas General Assembly that would expunge records and/or alter jail sentences for those with marijuana convictions.

Representatives of industry trade groups suggested legalizing marijuana would worsen problems for workforce recruitment and safety.

A new Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll shows about one-quarter of voters are still undecided on three amendment proposals to be considered this fall.

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock., said the current inflationary climate was caused by Federal Reserve actions and federal spending, while his Democratic opponent, Dr. Quintessa Hathaway, said corporations are price gouging.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said he didn’t vote for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act because Democrats added $300 billion in spending before it reached the floor, while his opponent, Democrat Natalie James, faulted him for voting against it.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, didn’t vote to certify President Joe Biden’s election due to the fact that Arizona and Pennsylvania changed their voting procedures without legislative input, he said during an Arkansas PBS debate Thursday (Oct. 20) with his opponent State Rep. Monte Hodges, D-Blytheville.

The two candidates for Arkansas Secretary of State differ on the fairness of the 2020 Presidential election, although both agreed that Arkansas’ vote was accurate.

The three candidates for lieutenant governor offered differing visions of the office in their Arkansas PBS debate Tuesday (Oct. 18), with one of them saying it shouldn’t exist.

Issues ranging from abortion to wastewater systems were part of a 3rd Congressional District debate Monday (Oct. 17) in which U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said he would support a nationwide abortion ban if it included “certain exemptions.”