Brooks judgeship hits Senate delay

The Senate Judiciary Committee indefinitely postponed the meeting in which it was expected to take action on the nomination of Timothy Brooks of Fayetteville as U.S. district judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

Brooks, 49, earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He also briefly attended what is now Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Since 1987, he has worked for Taylor Law Partners. Originally hired as a law clerk while he was still in college, Brooks eventually was made a partner.

President Barack Obama nominated Brooks in June. The American Bar Association rated Brooks as “highly qualified” for the post.

Fallen firefighter

to be recognized

Today, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Emmitsburg, Md., will recognize Capt. Donald Jones of the Jacksonville Fire Department. Jones died on March 20, 2012, at age 56 after being struck at the scene of an accident.

Jones joined the department in 1980. For his last 15 years on the job, he was a captain at the department’s Station 4 at 4008 S. First St .,just 2 miles north of where he was killed.

His name will be added to a memorial wall along with the names of 72 other firefighters who died in 2012 and eight firefighters who died in previous years.

The event will be hosted by Elizabeth Ann Seton Daughters of Charity and Mount St. Mary’s University because the National Emergency Training Center, where the memorial is housed, is closed because of the federal government shutdown.

Boozman conducts

2nd Capitol tour

Most tours of the U.S. Capitol have stopped because of the shutdown. The guides, congressional staffs and interns who usually lead them have been furloughed.

But lawmakers are helping fill the void.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. John Boozman led a tour for Dr. Randy and Phyllis Bridges of Fort Smith, Carol Van Scyoc and Walt Robinson of Fayetteville and Hans and Jack Bocksnick of South Carolina. Boozman’s staff said it was the second tour the Republican from Rogers has led since most of government shut down Tuesday morning.Shutdown thwarts

Political Animals

The shutdown also forced the Political Animals Club of Little Rock to cancel a Monday breakfast featuring U.S.Rep. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle. Cotton, who is running against Sen. Mark Pryor in 2014, plans to stay in Washington and attend to congressional business. The speech will be rescheduled, organizers said.

The club’s next meeting features former Philadelphia Inquirer editor Gene Foreman, who worked at newspapers in Pine Bluff and Little Rock before heading east. It will be at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 16, at the Governor’s Mansion.

Womack named

Retail Champion

The Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association awarded U.S. Rep. Steve Womack its Retail Champion Award for working to require Internet retailers to collect and remit a sales tax.

The association presents the award to an elected official for his work for Arkansas brick-and-mortar retail businesses.

House panel hears Riceland executive

Riceland Foods Vice President Bill Reed testified about exporting Arkansas rice by using freight transportation before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday.

Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact us at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected]

Front Section, Pages 9 on 10/06/2013