News in brief

State Plant Board bill clears Senate

The Senate on Thursday approved House Bill 1210 to change how members of the state Plant Board are selected.

Approved 29-1, HB1210 by Rep. David Hillman, R-Almyra, goes to the House for concurrence in Senate amendments.

Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, asked about the board's gender and racial makeup. It is all white and all male.

The measure would allow the governor to make all appointments, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Private agriculture groups represented on the board each would send at least two nominations to the governor, who would then select a nominee. The bill adds a soybean farmer and a farmer who produces wheat, corn, peanuts, sorghum or turf. It combines positions now held by horticulture and nursery industries.

The changes would increase the board's membership from 18 to 19. It would continue to have two nonvoting members representing the University of Arkansas System's Division of Agriculture.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, who has since retired, ruled in 2019 that the portion of state law allowing the trade groups to appoint nine members was unconstitutional. The case has been appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

-- Stephen Steed

Kinetic to take part in federal program

Windstream Holdings Inc. announced Thursday that Kinetic, the company's consumer broadband business, plans to participate in another federal program that promotes expansion of high-speed internet service.

The Federal Communication Commission's Emergency Broadband Benefit program is scheduled to begin within the next 60 days.

"As soon as the FCC is ready to take this program live, we are ready to implement it so any eligible customer in our 18-state footprint who needs internet service can get and stay connected," said Jeff Auman, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Kinetic.

Eligible customers will receive a bill credit of up to $50 per month to subsidize broadband service. Customers on Tribal lands will be eligible for $75 per month.

The $3.2 billion federal program is intended to help U.S. households that are struggling to pay for internet service during the pandemic.

-- Andrew Moreau

State index falls to 550.13, off 8 points

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 550.13, down 8.00.

"Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell failed to allay inflationary concerns as equities dropped again with the S&P 500 index closing below the 50-day moving average and technology shares leading the decline," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

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