Stories by Brenda Blagg

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: GOP's new political map for state's future faces likely challenge The congressional redistricting plan the Legislature sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week will surely be challenged in court. It should be, although the courts haven't been as reliable as in the pas... October 13, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Are Republicans willing to damage nation's economy in a purely political showdown? There's just no excuse for the Congress not to raise the national debt limit. Raising the limit is about the government having the money to pay bills it has already incurred, mostly by the Trump admi... October 6, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Lawmakers eye a divided Arkansas, by design State lawmakers return to Little Rock today to draw new congressional district lines. They have quite a task ahead of them, given the lopsided population shift within Arkansas since the 2010 U.S. Cen... September 29, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Olympic gymnasts relive horrors of doctor's abuse They're young women now, amazingly accomplished gymnasts. Not just Olympians, but Olympic champions. Yet behind their uncommon strength of character and absolute determination at last week's Senate h... September 22, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Hutchinson, others resist Biden's push using vaccine mandates President Joe Biden's latest initiatives against covid-19, including more vaccination mandates, were certain to trigger pushback. As many as 100 million Americans are potentially affected, a lot of w... September 15, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: After 20 years, terrorism threat still requires diligence The upcoming 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America is as unsettling as ever. Or worse. The events of that day forever changed the country, claiming nearly 3,000 lives a... September 8, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Nation's crises stacking up here and abroad Is there no end to crises in this country? Dominating the news is the American withdrawal from its 20-year war in Afghanistan. Most Americans agree, according to polling, with an end to war. The pro... August 25, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: The numbers roll in Now that the raw Census data has been delivered to Arkansas, among other states, what do we know about ourselves? The population of Arkansas has grown overall, but it is a lopsided growth that elevat... August 18, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: The mask battle goes on A court did what the Arkansas Legislature wouldn't last week, temporarily lifting a state ban on government-mandated masks. The cities of Little Rock and Fayetteville have already reimposed local mas... August 11, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Will legislators help? Arkansas lawmakers have gathered again in Little Rock in the midst of controversy. They're there because they passed legislation earlier this year that lets them review Gov. Asa Hutchinson's use of e... August 4, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Anatomy of a mob A huge test of congressional credibility began this week with the convening of the select committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection. The panel was established within the committee structure of the House o... July 28, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Tax credit payments will help Arkansas children, families The good news is that 93 percent of Arkansas children should benefit from an expanded federal tax credit for 2021. That's better than nine out of 10 of this state's children whose families will get a... July 21, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: On repeat That old saw about knowledge being power has never been truer than in its application to the coronavirus. While most Arkansans are going about their business as if the virus is under control, others ... July 14, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Plans for the future? Gov. Asa Hutchinson is sounding more and more like a candidate for president. He's certainly keeping his options open as he steps up efforts to define himself as a Republican Party alternative in 202... July 7, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA BLAGG: Not so normal yet So, are you among those who have tuned out the coronavirus? You want the pandemic to be over, so you choose to believe it is. You've long chucked the mask, if you ever wore one. These days, you hard... June 30, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: An impressive long shot The cast of characters for Arkansas' 2022 gubernatorial election just got a little more interesting. Enter Chris Jones, a physicist and a minister who last week announced his candidacy for the Democr... June 23, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: The benefits of stature Betty Dickey got the job. The Arkansas Board of Apportionment has named the former Supreme Court justice as its redistricting coordinator. Her hire had been suggested late last month by Gov. Asa Hut... June 16, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Hiring people back The last of the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment insurance benefits the federal government has been underwriting in Arkansas is due out later this month. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced earlier th... June 9, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Legislation litigation Predictably, controversial legislation passed by Arkansas lawmakers this year is already fueling a spate of new federal litigation. Separate lawsuits were filed within days of each other in U.S. Dist... June 2, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Redistricting tensions The Arkansas Board of Apportionment is getting off to a rocky start on its decennial task of redistricting the state Legislature. The real work cannot begin because U.S. Census data has not yet been ... May 26, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A warning sign? As Congress argues over President Joe Biden's $2.3 trillion spending plan, Arkansas and Tennessee are paying the price of not tending to failing infrastructure needs that are a part of the package. F... May 19, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A shot that pays off The headlines aren't nearly so frightening these days, as this state, like the rest of the United States, feels its way toward a post-pandemic "normal." It's not that the deadly pandemic is over. The... May 12, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG — Between the lines With the recent release of U.S. Census population data, the scramble to redistrict the state is on. About all this first set of figures tells us is how Arkansas compares with other states in terms of... May 5, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Concentrating power Really? These are the most pressing constitutional issues in Arkansas today? The state's legislators voted last week to refer to voters proposed constitutional amendments to: -- Require a 60 percent... April 28, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A story of survival Maggie Montoya's story is one of survival, of escape from the crosshairs of a shooter who took 10 lives at a Colorado grocery store last month. It is a story the professional runner is sharing, hopin... April 21, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Building bridges? The White House on Monday offered up a list of infrastructure needs in Arkansas. This state wasn't the only one that got one, of course. The White House had similar lists for all 50 states, the Distr... April 14, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Is this a hate crime bill? Arkansas may be on track to enact a law that neither acknowledges it is aimed at perpetrators of hate crimes nor lists the classes at which such crimes are usually targeted. The proposed legislation,... April 7, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: The maligned mask Arkansas' statewide mask mandate expires today, although the public health emergency Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared some months ago continues -- as does the coronavirus that triggered it. While the sta... March 31, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A legislative pause The Arkansas Legislature is nowhere near going home from its increasingly controversial session. Its members have done plenty already to mark Arkansas as an overly conservative state, given the laws ... March 24, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Dimming the sunshine Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act escaped amendment last week. That's the good news. House Bill 1280 by Rep. Delia Haak, R-Gentry, would have allowed governing bodies to consider economic develop... March 17, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Blocked again Wonder what's holding up the confirmation of Merrick Garland as U.S. attorney general? Ask Arkansas' junior U.S. senator, Tom Cotton. The Republican from Little Rock is blocking, or more precisely, ... March 10, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A deadly year Arkansas' first covid-19 case was verified just days short of a year ago. Where are we now? That question is harder to answer than it might appear. Certainly, the state and nation have made consider... March 3, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Uncharted waters Jim Hendren is convincing when he says he is focused on building an organization for the "politically homeless." A race for governor may or may not follow. He first wants to restore the political cen... February 24, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Trump escapes Acquitted. Again. Those two words rang across the land last weekend as the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his historic second impeachment trial. The nation's only twice-impea... February 17, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Changing horses The political sands in Arkansas shifted again this week. Tim Griffin, now the state's lieutenant governor and a longtime wannabe governor, suddenly decided he'd run for attorney general instead of tr... February 10, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Loyalty to Trump or nation? Repeated exposure to images of that riotous mob smashing its way into the U.S. Capitol has done nothing but strengthen the case against those who incited and carried out the attack. Countless cameras... February 3, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Another hat in the ring Arkansas' 2022 gubernatorial race this week drew another candidate and a whole lot more attention. With it came a foreshadowing of what Arkansas is in for between now and the election that will pick ... January 27, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: A critical transition Inaugurations ought to be hopeful times. Joe Biden's inauguration today as the nation's 46th president is -- and isn't. It is a time of celebration for many reasons, including the fact that the form... January 20, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: The danger lingers As frightening as events were, some good has come from last week's domestic terror in the nation's capital. Unless President Donald Trump resigns first, he is certain to be impeached, again, by the U... January 13, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Not Congress' job U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton's refusal to sign onto an ill-advised plan to challenge the Electoral College vote drew instant ire from President Donald Trump. Arkansas' junior senator sorely disappointed the ... January 6, 2021

BRENDA BLAGG: Who'll be the grinch? President Donald Trump may have briefly come to his senses. He finally signed the critical $900 billion pandemic relief package rather than add insult to injury for millions of struggling Americans. ... December 30, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Policing the reforms Police reform will be among the thorny issues that confront the Arkansas Legislature when it convenes next month. A framework for proposed changes in state law and in policy were revealed last week a... December 23, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Waiting for work The Arkansas Legislature will once again open its regular session with serious questions regarding the state's Medicaid program. Lawmakers will convene in Little Rock on Jan. 11 for the 2021 regular ... December 9, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: More from the disruptor President Donald Trump apparently intends to disrupt his successor’s presidency from the git-go. The Daily Beast reported late last week that Trump could announce another bid for the presidency in 20... December 2, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Biden their time Arkansas' all-Republican congressional delegation can still surprise. At least, some of its members can. The delegation -- U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton and U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford, French... November 18, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Righting a wrong For those of us who saw Donald Trump as unfit for the office of president four years ago, it has been an interminable wait for the chance to unseat the Republican incumbent. Record-setting voting lev... October 28, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Term limits, again Term limits for Arkansas legislators will once again be on statewide ballots for the Nov. 3 general election. That has happened repeatedly in the last three decades. Arkansas voters have actually app... October 14, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: The road to permanence The advertising pitch is simple: Vote for roads. Vote for Issue 1. The issue is not so simple. And it's under consideration at a time when the lives of Arkansans are sorely complicated by this curse... October 7, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Notorious TBA A wisp of a woman but a giant in American law passed from this life last week, at once evoking a vast outpouring of appreciation for her life's work and triggering political tumult over the vacancy sh... September 23, 2020

BRENDA BLAGG: Rough road ahead? This was going to be the year, Arkansas highway proponents thought, when the state would secure another permanent tax to support state and local infrastructure projects. Then covid-19 happened. The... September 9, 2020