The Class of ’26 and the Class of ’87

I had the honor of driving a school bus full of Bryant High School seniors to graduation practice at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. Police officers escorted us through town. Families held signs and cheered their graduates as we drove down Reynolds Road. It’s a nice tradition.

While they rehearsed, I corresponded by text with a Wynne High School classmate about our next reunion – our 40th. Life goes by fast.

The Class of ’26 had a different school experience than my Class of ’87.

For one, schools today emphasize workforce preparation and technical skills in ways schools in 1987 did not. College was the highest goal when I was a student; other paths were less valued. Continue reading →

Jett: Arkansas needs a ‘stress test’

Large banks must perform “stress tests” to ensure they would be OK if the economy took a severe downturn. Should Arkansas’ state government do the same?

Former state Rep. Joe Jett, who chaired the House Revenue and Taxation Committee for eight years until he left the Legislature in 2022, believes it should. He’s particularly concerned about what would happen if the federal government reduced the billions of dollars it sends Arkansas’ way.

The former lawmaker and farmer from Success, Arkansas, now splits his time between working with the Rose Group Advisors business strategies and lobbying firm, crop dusting, and being a relief aerial firefighter fighting wildfires in the West. He’s also a grandfather to four grandsons ages 6-16. His two sons now run the farm where he and his wife still live. 

Jett said state government should perform stress tests like large banks must do under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which was a response to the preceding financial crisis. Some states have already started doing so. Continue reading →

Oliva’s accelerated mindset: More 18-year-olds with degrees

Secretary of Education Dr. Jacob Oliva wants more Arkansas high school seniors graduating with two-year associate’s degrees. Some could even leave high school as four-year college graduates.

Oliva touted an “accelerated mindset” in comments May 5 before the Arkansas School Boards Association and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.

Oliva became Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ secretary of education in January 2023 after serving in various roles in the Florida Department of Education, most recently as interim commissioner, the top job. He started his career teaching elementary students with special needs.

He told the ASBA-AAEA Joint Leadership Conference that schools should design pathways for all students to achieve.

“We’ve created this culture and this mindset that we’ve got to focus on the bottom, which I agree,” he said. “Kids in the bottom need a lot of help. They need a lot of support. They need a lot of intervention. They need scaffolds. But while we’ve been focusing on the bottom, we’ve been holding everybody back. And our systems need to be designed to support all students, meet them where they are and push them as far as we can get them to go.” Continue reading →

Entergy CEO: Arkansas could get ‘new nuclear’

Could new nuclear reactors be in Arkansas’ future?

They could if money is available, Entergy Corporation Chairman and CEO Drew Marsh said May 4.

Marsh spoke during a question-and-answer session at the Arkansas Economic Development Foundation’s 2026 Luncheon in Little Rock. With him was Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux.

Entergy Corporation is the parent corporation of Entergy Arkansas. It operates in four states, the others being Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Marsh said a 2020 company study of regional electricity use found the amount sold will triple or quadruple by 2050.

He said that need cannot be served by natural gas and solar.  Continue reading →

Litter letter campaign seeks to make Natural State more natural

Drivers on Arkansas’ roadways are passing the word “Natural?” written with five-foot-tall metal letters and wire mesh and crammed with something very unnatural – manmade litter.

The signs are part of the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s stepped-up effort to clean up the state’s roadsides. Two have been in circulation with a third recently built.

“We pick up litter in a district, fill it up, fill those letters up, and leave them there for about a month as sort of a public service announcement,” said ARDOT Director Jared Wiley.

“Kind of trying to step on toes to say, ‘Hey, this litter’s not natural. It’s making our state look bad. Please help us to curb the problem.”’ Continue reading →