BRENDA BLAGG: Absent-minded
Fear of contracting covid-19 is now officially an excuse for absentee voting in Arkansas.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson underscored the point last week when he signed an executive order to that effect.
Arkans...
August 12, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Voters unmasked?
Arkansas counties got some straightforward guidance recently on how to conduct a safe election in the midst of a pandemic.
Foremost was the caution that local election officials can encourage, but no...
August 5, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Mask mandate makes sense
While a lot of folks welcomed Gov. Asa Hutchinson's turn-around decision last week to order Arkansans to wear masks in public, not all did.
The governor announced the change on Thursday, after saying...
July 22, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Daily counts rising
Covid-19 cases spiked in Arkansas over the weekend, reaching a new record on Saturday.
The one-day total hit a disconcerting 1,061 new cases in a week filled with high daily numbers.
Leading up to S...
July 15, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Making the ballot
Arkansas' general election ballot is being defined in part by covid-19.
The disease -- or, more precisely, the desire by most to avoid infection -- significantly interrupted the signature collection ...
July 8, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: A fondness for absence
Arkansas voters may be able to cast absentee ballots in the November general election after all.
It is not the kind of no-excuse, automatic vote-by-mail system available in some states. The Arkansas ...
July 1, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Trump's surprising numbers
Recent polling showed President Donald Trump with an unexpectedly poor showing in Arkansas.
Yes, Arkansas.
The president drew a 50 percent disapproval rating and ran barely ahead of Democrat Joe Bid...
June 24, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: No escape
Please hear the protests and join those who mourn the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis just over a week ago.
Try to understand why so many Americans have taken to the streets every day since, wh...
June 3, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: One last, difficult lesson
Arkansas' 2020 graduates are being well celebrated, despite the pandemic that upended their school year.
They deserve these moments, considering what awaits them. More about that later. First take not...
May 27, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Really, no excuse
No one has a crystal ball that can say definitively how much of a threat covid-19 will pose come fall.
Those of us who tend to listen to the scientists, however, have heard repeated warnings that the ...
May 20, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Still a gamble
A flawed constitutional amendment continues to slow casino gambling in Pope County, even as three other casino operations in the state are set to reopen next week.
Temporarily closed because of covid-...
May 13, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: A difficult time to ask
The year 2020 may be one of lost opportunity when it comes to a significant reform effort.
The reform has to do with the way boundaries are drawn for congressional and legislative districts in Arkansa...
May 6, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Virus infects census count
Could the timing of the coronavirus pandemic have been worse?
Probably. But there is a case to be made that 2020, which is both a critical presidential election year and time for a decennial census, i...
April 29, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Chasing the numbers
Census Day has come and gone, but the count goes on despite the coronavirus that has disrupted so much else in American life.
Participation in the U.S. Census is an obligation that comes around every ...
April 22, 2020
BRENDA BLAGG: Who's the 'decider?'
President Donald Trump, who famously refused to issue a nationwide stay-at-home order during this ongoing coronavirus outbreak, now says he will decide when orders issued by the states will end.
Arkan...
April 15, 2020