Arkansas Business

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield.(HEALTH CARE)
Alicia Clayton of Little Rock has been promoted to manager of BlueCard customer service and adjustments for Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Clayton joined Arkansas Blue Cross in 1991 as a claims . . .

Arkansas Pharmacists Association.(HEALTH CARE)
Jan Hastings of Benton was appointed president of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association at the group's 127th annual convention in Little Rock. Gary Bass of Little Rock was installed as vice president . . .

Arkansas Bar Association.(LEGAL)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charles D. Roscopf of Helena has been elected parliamentarian of the Arkansas Bar Association. F. Thomas Curry of Arkadelphia was elected secretary . . .

Crye-Leike Realtors.(REAL ESTATE)
Sandy Ebel has joined Crye-Leike Realtors in Bentonville as an executive broker. Ebel has been a real estate professional for five years and specializes in residential real estate for first-time and . . .

Stock summary.
Stock Summary 6/25/2009 Weekly YTD Arkansas Public Company Stocks Close Change Change Acxiom Corp. (ACXM) 8.92 -24.79% . . .

Order up.(Whispers)
Remember Joe Blankenship, the one-time Little Rock entrepreneur battling creditors and the IRS? Among his investments is a stake in the Gunther Toody's restaurant chain in Colorado. We're told six . . .

Corrections.(Whispers)(Correction notice)
The story "Who Pays $1 Million (Plus) for a Home?" that appeared in the June 22 edition of Arkansas Business incorrectly listed the address of the home that David Snowden bought in 2008. The correct . . .

Extra news.(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)
Here's an interesting tidbit from the recently released May Nielsen Media Research numbers that "Outtakes" discussed last week: KTHV-TV, Channel 11's, new 6:30 p.m. news did surprisingly well. The . . .

Can you hear him now?(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)
A familiar face in the communications world has joined Little Rock advertising agency Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods. Andy Moreau is now the senior vice president of corporate and public affairs. . . .

Consulting work.(Outtakes: An Inside Look Into Arkansas Media)
Moreau has been stalking the hallways of CJRW's office for about a month. He was working on a couple of projects with the agency on a consulting basis, Martin said. One of the projects was CJRW's . . .

Agencies see consolidations and closings.(Overview)
THE BIGGEST OF RESIDENTIAL real estate agencies in Arkansas got bigger in a year that marked an end of a home sales boom. Crye-Leike Realtors pushed its 2008 sales volume in the state to $900 millio . . .

Who pays $1 million (plus) for a home? In Pulaski County, 21 houses topped that mark in 2008.(Upscale Real Estate)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SCOTT GIRNER WAS THINKing about building a house in the country when he found a home for sale on Sologne Circle in 2008. "I already had the lot picked out and everything," . . .

New business.(Whispers)
Our Heber Springs bureau reports a new company is coming to town and will eventually employ 250 people. Oxane Materials Inc. of Houston is expected to renovate space in town so it can build items . . .

Debts piling up.(Whispers)
Add $6 million to Little Rock developer Roger "Steve" Clary's tab. Last week, Arkansas Business reported that the developer behind Shackleford Crossings in west Little Rock had several creditors s . . .

Alltel update.(Whispers)
As you may remember from our May 4 issue, several new businesses had emerged from the ashes of Alltel Corp. And more have appeared since then. Chris Cutler, Alltel's former director of corporate . . .

New Prostate Cancer Center.(Whispers)
Arkansas Urology has broken ground on its new Arkansas Prostate Cancer Center. The new 6,700-SF facility, which is a joint venture with AKSM/Oncology Inc., will be adjacent to Arkansas Urology's e . . .

Emeritus.(Whispers)
Jim McClelland has stepped down after 23 years as CEO of McClelland Consulting Engineers of Fayetteville and Little Rock. His new title: chairman emeritus Byron Hicks will be the first non-McClell . . .

Loans to pay loans.(Whispers)
What is the connection between Stephen Inc.'s COO Curt Bradbury and R.J. Homer Jr., who heads C.I. Homer & Co. of Hot Springs? It appears the link is Horner's former son-in-law, Warren Overton. Th . . .

Closing time.(Whispers)
A title insurance company recently accused a Searcy company and its owner of misusing funds. Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. of Minneapolis has sued Landmark Closing Co. and its owner, M . . .

Paygo.(Editorial)
SUDDENLY, IT SEEMS, MANY are waking up to the fact that all the red ink in America will not lead to blue skies. Even President Obama, who is overseeing a massive increase in deficit spending as pa . . .

Put on that seat belt.(Editorial)
PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE Advertisements by the Arkansas State lice reminding us to buckle up. It will not only save lives--seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45 p . . .

Not rocket science.(Letter)(Letter to the editor)
I could not agree more with Jeff Hankins' Publisher's Note (June 15) about how the need for "lottery experience" in the new director's position was a bit overblown. We're not trying to put a man on . . .

[Cartoon].(Cartoon)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEW SUMMER RATES . . .

The devil we know.(Editor's Note)
MY BOSS, JEFF HANKINS, SAID in this space last week that we should all be nervous about health care reform because "the wealthiest Americans will pay for it while having little input and no assuranc . . .

UCA board chooses Meadors as president.(EDUCATION)
The University of Arkansas' board of trustees voted 5-2 to hire Allen Meadors as the school's next president. The board reached the decision after meeting in executive session, then reconvening in . . .

North Louisiana may see 1,400 jobs with car plant.(MANUFACTURING)
V-Vehicle Co. of San Diego will locate its first car assembly plant at Monroe, La., and hopes to create more than 1,400 direct jobs, that state's governor announced last week. Monroe, in north-cen . . .

Rogers developer Hillis files $32.3m bankruptcy.(REAL ESTATE)
A Rogers developer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in May and listed $32.3 million in debts. Donald W. Hillis, who has an ownership interest in Gabby Hills Enterprises Inc. of Pettigrew . . .

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has acquired "Autumn Landscape," a painting by renowned Hudson River School artist Thomas
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has acquired "Autumn Landscape," a painting by renowned Hudson River School artist Thomas Moran, as part of the Bentonville m . . .

Oaklawn wagers increase $10m after expansion.(TOURISM)
Oaklawn Park of Hot Springs saw wagering on its "games of skill" jump by nearly $10 million one month after opening a new larger gambling floor. Even with the bump, Oaklawn still trails Southland . . .

Leadership Arkansas accepting applications.(EDUCATION)
The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for Class IV of Leadership Arkansas, according to program coordinator Susie P. Marks. "Class members will be chosen to participate . . .

Bloomberg: Wal-Mart might list stock in China.(RETAIL)
Bloomberg News reports that Wal Mart Stores Inc. may be one of a dozen Western companies joining China's stock exchanges. A UBS strategist based in Hong Kong told Bloomberg that he expected the re . . .

Toter Industries expands line, teams with Lucas Oil.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)
Springdale's Toter Industries recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies at its new manufacturing facility, and Carter Bergdorf, a company spokesman, said the company had expanded on its original plan. . . .

BOZ, priority ranked high for equity return.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)
Little Rock-based Bank of the Ozarks has been ranked the second-best performing bank in the country by the ABA Banking Journal. The ABA Banking Journal's study focused on publicly traded banks and . . .

Cumulus changes lineup of radio stations in area.(NW Journal: A Look at News From Northwest Arkansas)
Cumulus Broadcasting Inc. switched its station lineup in northwest Arkansas the week of June 8. Effective June 11, classic rock-formatted KKEG-FM, 92.1 "The Keg," changed frequency to 98.3, bumpin . . .

American Taekwondo Association.(Business Briefs)
The American Taekwondo Association will draw more than 20,000 people into Little Rock this week as the ATA celebrates its 40th anniversary during its annual World Championship tournament. The world' . . .

The Center for Business & Economic Research in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the North
The Center for Business & Economic Research in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the Northwest Arkansas Chambers of Commerce will hold its Quarterly Business An . . .

Garvan Woodland Gardens, the University of Arkansas' 210-acre botanical garden at Hot Springs, unveiled the 1.5-acre Evans Child
Garvan Woodland Gardens, the University of Arkansas' 210-acre botanical garden at Hot Springs, unveiled the 1.5-acre Evans Children's Adventure Garden last week. A $600,000 gift from university offi . . .

University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.(Business Briefs)
The College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is launching a new business outreach configuration July 1 that will house all community-related entrepreneurial, small business, f . . .

QualChoice of Little Rock held its first QualChoice Classic on June 1 at Chenal Country Club.(Business Briefs)
QualChoice of Little Rock held its first QualChoice Classic on June 1 at Chenal Country Club, and the 31 teams that competed raised $25,000 for Camp Aldersgate. The four-man scramble will be held Ju . . .

Food & Drug Administration.(Business Briefs)
Arkansas will get $1.7 million in funding and equipment as part of enhancements being made to the nation's food safety system by the Food & Drug Administration. The state will receive about $700,000 . . .

Homewood Suites by Hilton recently opened two extended-stay hotels in Arkansas.(Business Briefs)
Homewood Suites by Hilton recently opened two extended-stay hotels in Arkansas. The four-story, 88-suite hotel at 7300 Phoenix Ave. in Fort Smith is owned and managed by Marion Driscoll Hotel Group. . . .

Arkansas has received a "Silver Shovel" award for its economic development announcements in 2008 by Area Development magazine.(B
Arkansas has received a "Silver Shovel" award for its economic development announcements in 2008 by Area Development magazine. In addition, the magazine named the location of Hewlett Packard in Conw . . .

Trade Adjustment Assistance.(Business Briefs)
Arkansas will be getting $18.7 million under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Fiscal 2009 Supplemental Distribution & Administrative Allotments. The TAA program helps workers who have lost their jobs . . .

Tyson Foods Inc. has been sentenced in federal District Court in Arkansas to pay $500,000, the maximum fine, for willfully viola
Tyson Foods Inc. has been sentenced in federal District Court in Arkansas to pay $500,000, the maximum fine, for willfully violating worker safety regulations that led to the death of Jason Kelley i . . .

Arkansas State University faculty researchers have been awarded a National Science Foundation grant for $899,988 over a period o
Arkansas State University faculty researchers have been awarded a National Science Foundation grant for $899,988 over a period of five years for the program "Creating Science, Technology, Engineerin . . .

Futurity First Insurance Group has opened a new branch office in Maumelle at 9714 Maumelle Blvd., behind Fuller & Son Hardware.(
Futurity First Insurance Group has opened a new branch office in Maumelle at 9714 Maumelle Blvd., behind Fuller & Son Hardware. John Hamilton is the branch manager. Futurity First focuses on the fin . . .

Hobby turns into high-tech, high-revenue business.(Upscale Real Estate)
IN COLLEGE, RYAN HERINGER of Jonesboro fed his electronics habit by installing electronics systems for his friends. More than seven years after graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayett . . .

Partnership of two companies more than business.(Upscale Real Estate)
THE JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN Chuck Hamilton Construction Inc. and MLH Designs Inc. is not the only joint aspect between the owners of the two Little Rock companies. They also share personal checking ac . . .

Condo sales surpass $41 million at downtown LR's 300 Third.(Upscale Real Estate)
300 THIRD TOOK ITS PLACE IN a progression of ever-larger, mixed-used condominium developments unveiled in downtown Little Rock by Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker. The 17-story project featured the fir . . .

Largest residential real estate agencies.(Upscale Real Estate)
Largest Residential Real Estate Agencies Ranked by 2008 sales volume No. of Licensed . . .