News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Discussion with bill sponsor ‘saved’ Arkansas PBS governing board from dissolution, chairman says
Discussion with bill sponsor ‘saved’ Arkansas PBS governing board from dissolution, chairman says
by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
March 7, 2025
A proposal to eliminate the governing board that oversees educational public television programs in Arkansas is not likely to advance further in the Legislature, the board chairman said Thursday.
The Arkansas Educational Television Commission oversees Arkansas PBS programs and finances and acts independently of the Arkansas Department of Education despite operating under its umbrella. Senate Bill 184, which passed the Senate in February, would abolish the commission and transfer its powers and authorities to the education department.
At the commission’s quarterly meeting Thursday, Chairman West Doss said he came to “an understanding” with SB 184’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Jonesboro, earlier that morning.
“I’m passionate about education, I’m passionate about what this commission has done, and I will fight for it every minute of the day, so that’s what we were doing,” Doss said. “Maybe we didn’t have all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed, but we have saved the commission now. We’ve saved the work that we are doing.”
Sullivan has been a vocal critic of Arkansas PBS, particularly since its regularly scheduled 2022 audit indicated that administrators might have sidestepped state laws related to contract bidding, and a specially requested audit that concluded last year led auditors to forward the findings to a prosecuting attorney.
Arkansas PBS CEO Courtney Pledger told lawmakers in September that the agency had learned from its “mistakes and errors,” but Sullivan told the Senate the commission should have taken action in response to the audit findings.
Twenty-three Republican senators voted to approve SB 184 on Feb. 17, but the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs has yet to take up the bill for discussion.
Committee chairman Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, R-Paragould, told the Advocate Wednesday that Sullivan anticipated an amendment to the bill and had requested it not to be heard yet. Bills are considered deferred in a committee if they are not heard for three meetings in a row, and sponsors must give two days’ notice to remove a bill from the deferred list.
Discussion
Arkansas PBS could lose both federal and private funding, limiting its ability to provide public programming, if its governance is no longer independent of the state’s executive branch, Pledger and other opponents of SB 184 have said.
The dissolution of the commission would also cause “far-reaching legal and practical problems” for Arkansas PBS and the state itself, according to a Feb. 27 letter to the agency from a Washington, D.C. law firm that specializes in telecommunications law. The Advocate received the letter via the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
“If the Arkansas Secretary of Education (or any other elected official or individual appointed to serve at the pleasure of an elected official) has the power directly to control the broadcast stations, there would be little question that the Secretary was directly involved in the state’s political and administrative process,” wrote Margaret Miller of Gray Miller Persh. “He would in fact be a political officer of the state.”
Miller also said the Federal Communications Commission might require every new Arkansas education secretary in the future to go through “the whole expensive and time-consuming transfer process” of obtaining Arkansas PBS’ FCC license.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported on the letter Feb. 28.
In response to questions Thursday from commissioner Gary Newton, Doss said he directed Pledger to seek the expert legal opinion on short notice because the commission and the agency were “facing extinction.”
“If we put [Arkansas PBS] under a political entity, such as the head of the Department of Education, appointed by the governor… they are political animals, and Arkansas PBS becomes a propaganda arm for whoever is in power, whether it’s the Republicans or it’s the Democrats or it’s the Green Party or whoever, and that’s the reason we’re an independent commission,” Doss said.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Sullivan’s wife, Maria Sullivan, and Newton to the Arkansas Educational Television Commission last year.
Newton said he disapproved of Doss apparently speaking for the whole commission in his discussion with Sullivan about SB 184. He also said he was “disappointed” to learn about the letter from a news outlet instead of from Arkansas PBS leadership.
“For that subject to not be on the agenda, it feels like it’s being kept from the very commissioners whose role on this commission is at stake with the passage of SB 184,” Newton said.
Doss continued to defend his and Pledger’s request for the opinion and said his discussion with Sullivan “avoided a potential tragedy.”
“As far as I’m concerned, and [as far as] I think Sen. Sullivan’s concerned, it’s over right now,” said Doss, who could not be reached for further comment Thursday after the meeting.
Sullivan refused to answer questions from the Advocate about his conversation with Doss. He said the Advocate “rarely prints anything as accurately” as he would prefer.
SB 184 would also abolish the Arkansas State Library Board, which oversees public libraries and disburses state funds to them on a quarterly basis. Sullivan has been critical of the State Library Board and its relationship with the American Library Association, a nonprofit trade organization that advocates for public libraries and helps them secure grant funding.
The commission later adopted a motion by Newton directing Pledger and her staff to work with the education department to make PBS’ “rich library” of professional development videos available to homeschoolers and private school teachers as well as public and charter school educators.
Commissioners also adopted several motions from Newton directing PBS executives and staff to work with the education department to explore the potential development of broadcast quality videos highlighting high-wage Arkansas industries and job availabilities and videos based on the “science of reading” to help young learners and those struggling with literacy.
Another Newton motion directed PBS staff to develop an evaluation tool for assessing whether the network’s programming meets AETN’s mission as described in law, whether it or something comparable is available on the commercial market, “how educational is it,” and “how Arkansas is it.” Commissioners also approved it.
“The overall goal [of the flurry of motions] is to try to demonstrate relevance … and that we as a commission are doing our jobs,” Newton said.
Arkansas Advocate Editor Sonny Albarado contributed to this story.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Discussion with bill sponsor ‘saved’ Arkansas PBS governing board from dissolution, chairman says appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Hackett student arrested after shooting threat
SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.
Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.
Subscribe to 40/29 on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/PTElbK
Get more Northwest Arkansas news: http://www.4029tv.com
Like us: http://facebook.com/4029news
Follow us: http://twitter.com/4029news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4029news/
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.
by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.
Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.
But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.
The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.
President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.
“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.
“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.
“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.
“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”
Another failure
Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.
The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.
The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.
The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.
Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.
The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.
Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.
Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”
Last shutdown stretched 35 days
It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.
A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.
The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.
Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.
Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.
Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.
On to the stopgap
Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.
That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.
So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.
Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.
Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.
Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.
Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.
The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Arkansas Fall forecast: Warmer temperatures and drier conditions expected as drought persists
SUMMARY: Arkansas is expected to experience a cooler and more fall-like September, starting meteorological fall on September 1st. The last week of August was among the coolest on record, and early September will continue with below-average temperatures. A cold front later next week will bring further cooling, making the second weekend of football season comfortable. Mid-September temperatures will remain fairly mild, with highs dropping from mid-80s to mid-70s in Northwest Arkansas and from low 90s to low 80s in the River Valley by month’s end. Fall colors should appear earlier than last year, likely peaking from late October to early November.
The Climate Prediction Center released its outlook for Fall, which shows above-average temperatures continuing through November.
Subscribe to 40/29 on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/PTElbK
Get more Northwest Arkansas news: http://www.4029tv.com
Like us: http://facebook.com/4029news
Follow us: http://twitter.com/4029news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4029news/
-
Mississippi Today3 days ago
DEI, campus culture wars spark early battle between likely GOP rivals for governor in Mississippi
-
Mississippi Today7 days ago
Judge: Felony disenfranchisement a factor in ruling on Mississippi Supreme Court districts
-
News from the South - North Carolina News Feed5 days ago
Parasocial party: Why people are excited for the Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce engagement
-
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed6 days ago
K+20: Katrina alters local health care landscape, though underlying ills still the same
-
Our Mississippi Home6 days ago
The Great Backyard Recovery – Helping Birds After the Storm
-
The Center Square6 days ago
U-M Health ends transgender treatment for minors | Michigan
-
Local News5 days ago
Police say Minneapolis church shooter was filled with hatred and admired mass killers
-
Local News Video4 days ago
08/29 Ryan's “Wet End to the Week” Friday Forecast