Local Wire

story and photo by Linda Kaufenberg

The first speaker in the 2010 Fall 360 Leadership Series was Chuck Hyde, the newly promoted CEO of the Soderquist Center. Hyde has served as the organization’s chief operating officer for the past two years.

Arkansas tax revenues are up almost 6% compared to last year, with consumer spending boosting the August revenue report from the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration.

Year-to-date (July and August, first two months of fiscal year 2011) gross revenues totaled $856.9 million, up 5.7% above the same period in 2009 and up 3.1% over the forecast.

More than 40% of Fort Smith regional residents surveyed in the inaugural The Consumer Compass survey say their personal financial situation is worse than it was a year ago.

What’s more, 35.5% of those surveyed expect their personal financial condition to worsen in the next 12 months.

The good news is that the Fort Smith regional economy did not slip during the second quarter. The bad news is, it didn’t get better.

More than 300 attended the recent unveiling ceremony for the Alvin F. Vest Student Union at the Arkansas Tech University-Ozark campus.

The $1.73 million facility includes a bookstore, library, food area with coffee shop and a computer lab.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Jim Keet said Wednesday he has settled any tax issues in question, while challenging Gov. Mike Beebe to a minimum of 4 regional debates.

story by Gary Brown, president of College Sports Matchups (CSM is a content partner with The City Wire)
gary@collegesportsmatchups.com

Second quarter earnings for Arkansas banks has jumped 25% from the previous year, according to FDIC's quarterly banking profile, yet loan losses continued to mute a full upturn in the state's financial sector.

The Fort Smith and Memphis-West Memphis metro areas were the only areas among Arkansas’ eight metro areas to see a decrease in their June to July unemployment rates.

Fort Smith’s jobless rate was 7.8% in July, down from 7.9% in May and down from 8% in July 2009. The Memphis-West Memphis unemployment rate was 10.1% in July, down from 10.4% in June.

Cheaper than expected pump prices could lead to crowded Arkansas highways as recession-weary consumers seek last-minute vacations.

AAA has projected the number of Americans traveling this Labor Day holiday weekend will increase 9.9% from 2009, with approximately 34.4 million travelers taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home.