Wal-Mart settles
3 disposal cases
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has settled a 10-year case with the U.S. attorneys’ offices in the Northern and Central Districts of California. At issue was the handling and disposal of damaged containers of products such as pesticides, bleach and hair spray.
On Tuesday, Wal-Mart pleaded guilty to six counts of violating the Clean Air Act in cases filed in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The retailer also pleaded guilty Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo., to violating the federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
The three criminal cases brought by the U.S. Justice Department, and a related civil action brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, cost the company nearly $82 million.
Previous cases based on the same conduct, brought by California and Missouri, were settled in 2010 and 2012, respectively, for a total combined settlement of $110 million. The government argued that Wal-Mart put the public and environment at risk and gained an “unfair economic advantage over other companies.”
Wal-Mart spokesman Brooke Buchanan said every employee in every country now knows how to properly dispose of hazardous substances according to a color-coded bucket system at every store.
- Cyd KingFalcon Jet to give expansion details
Dassault Falcon Jet will make an investment and expansion announcement today at the Little Rock facility at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/ Adams Field.
Dassault assembles corporate jets in France, and the Little Rock division finishes them, installing seats, galleys and lavatories. Employees also add software packages and paint the interior and exterior of the jets.
Dassault also has a service facility at the airport and employs nearly 2,000 people in Little Rock, according to company spokesman Andrew Ponzoni.
Beechcraft Corp., formerly Hawker Beechcraft, has a jet completions facility at the airport, though it had only a handful of workers at last report. The Wichita, Kan.-based airplane maker shed its jets division after bankruptcy reorganization last year.
- Jack WeatherlyArkansas Best helps state index add 2.59
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 2.59 to 286.94 Tuesday.
Acxiom Corp. shares rose 1.5 percent to $21.79 in light trading. Arkansas Best Corp. shares gained 6.3 percent to $18.78 in heavy trading. P.A.M. Transportation Services shares rose 3.3 percent to close at $11.11.
Windstream Corp. shares fell 2.3 percent to close at $8.47 in light trading.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 23 on 05/29/2013