Archive for Arkansas
Recent Stories for Arkansas
Retired judges oppose ballot measure to limit adoptions
Category: Arkansas · State: Arkansas · Source: Arkansas Democrat Gazette
A Nov. 4 ballot measure that would ban unmarried, cohabiting adults from adopting or becoming foster parents would limit the ability of judges to find good homes for vulnerable children, a group of retired judges said Monday. “The choices available to neglected and abused children and to the judges who must find homes for them are already tragically limited by the children’s circumstances. Instead of imposing a blanket rule that would apply to every case, the needs of these children, and the best means of satisfying their needs, should be left to elected judges to decide case-by-case,” said a statement issued by the judges, three of them former chief justices of Arkansas. David Newbern, a retired associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, listed on the release as the contact person, said the statement speaks for itself. He declined further comment on the substance of the statement.
Alcohol measure on ballot resisted
Category: Alcohol Sales · State: Arkansas · Source: Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Two Sharp County residents have filed lawsuits in attempts to keep an alcohol issue off the county’s November ballot, including one who requested a temporary injunction Monday that would delay the referendum if a judge cannot rule on it by the Nov. 4 election. The lawsuits, filed Friday afternoon in Sharp County Circuit Court, challenge both the wording of the petition and the signatures gathered by proponents of a move to allow the sale of alcohol in the north Arkansas county. Boone and Clark counties also have alcohol measures on the ballot. No organized opposition has surfaced yet in either county. Several groups in Benton County have tried twice since 2005 to get the issue on the ballot, failing both times to gather the 36, 600 signatures — 38 percent of registered voters — needed on petitions to get a proposal on the ballot. Ruth Reynolds, a retired Cherokee Village environmentalist, said allowing alcohol sales in Sharp County would reduce vehicle emissions because people wouldn’t have to drive as far to buy spirits.
AG Nixes Proposed Ballot Measure to Restrict Private Club Permits
Category: Civil Rights · State: Arkansas · Source: Arkansas News Bureau
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on Tuesday rejected the name and ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal a 2003 law that loosened restrictions on what establishments qualify for a private club permit. McDaniel said the proposal was ambiguous and that the text of the amendment was not included in the request. "I must therefore return your submission and instruct you to submit the language of your proposed amendment together with a proposed popular name and ballot title," the attorney general said in an opinion.
Canvassers Target Voters
Category: Petition Circulating · State: Arkansas · Source: The Morning News-Arkansas
They gather where voters gather, hungry for signatures, eager to push their cause through direct democracy. They will be out in force, likely bearing clipboards, for Tuesday's election. Poll site canvassers use myriad approaches, but their goal is the same: To fill their petition with as many voter signatures as they can get. "We will be out there," said Jeannie Burlsworth, the chairwoman of Secure Arkansas, a group working to get a ballot initiative in front of voters at the November general election. The ballot measure wants to prevent people illegally in the United States from receiving public benefits.
Arkansas AG Certifies Illegal Immigration Measure
Category: Immigration · State: Arkansas · Source: Pine Bluff Commercial
The Arkansas attorney general's office cleared the way on Wednesday for supporters of a ballot measure requiring government agencies to verify all those seeking public benefits in the state are legal U.S. residents to begin gathering signatures. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel approved the language of the proposed initiated act by Secure Arkansas, allowing the group to begin collecting the 61,974 signatures necessary to put it before voters in November. Jeannie Burlsworth, a chairwoman for Secure Arkansas, has said the group plans to collect many of the signatures at polling places during the state's May 20 primary. If approved by voters, the proposal would require those older than 13 seeking public benefits from a state agency to sign an oath saying they live legally in the country. The group says those who falsely fill out an affidavit could face perjury charges. Verification would not be required for emergency medical treatment, prenatal care or public school enrollment.
Monthly Archives for Arkansas
- October 2008 (1)
- September 2008 (1)
- June 2008 (1)
- May 2008 (2)