Stories by Greg Harton

OPINION | GREG HARTON: Arkansans are giving covid-19 another chance to attack Thirty years ago, director James Cameron and lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger thrilled movie-going audiences with the second installment of a hit franchise with "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Since th... August 1, 2021

OPINION | GREG HARTON: An empty tank fuels 56 years of public service Perhaps it's inevitable headlines, in Arkansas or any other state, are mostly occupied by movers and shakers like governors and senators. And sometimes by loudmouth lawmakers or other public officials... July 18, 2021

OPINION | GREG HARTON: Familiarity can breed humanity For me, YouTube is the Internet equivalent of quicksand. The video site's users upload hundreds of hours of new content ever hour. Even if you focus only on videos matching your own interests, the co... July 11, 2021

OPINION | GREG HARTON: Swimsuit with flag? No thanks My sons and I were headed to Lake Ouachita, near Hot Springs, for some boating, swimming and tent camping. Summer trips to the Brady Mountain campground were a staple of my childhood. Returning there ... July 4, 2021

GREG HARTON: Covid shots the solution for Arkansas It was tempting to skip watching the College World Series entirely this year after Arkansas' premature departure from the field in the Fayetteville super regional. I've never been to Omaha. Like a lo... June 27, 2021

Greg Harton: Let's get ready to 'Ramble,' city suggests When the city of Fayetteville announced the other day its cultural arts corridor under development downtown will be branded as "The Ramble," I wasn't sure whether to be proud or offended. Then I real... June 20, 2021

GREG HARTON: Student loans look attractive, but can become heavy, lasting burden Student debt in the United States totals more than $1.6 trillion. That's an eye-popping number that's ballooned in recent years, to the point that student loans are now one of the largest forms of co... June 13, 2021

GREG HARTON: A day trip of historic proportions Our alarm clock went off way too early on July 13, 2018. On a long-dreamed-of family trip to Europe, we'd already packed in as much sightseeing as we could, but July 13 promised to be the longest day.... June 6, 2021

GREG HARTON: Are scratch-offs a sure cure for covid-19 The government wants you to do it. It's spending millions of dollars trying to entice you. Just about everywhere you turn, there are radio, TV and newspaper ads trying to eliminate your hesitancy by h... May 30, 2021

GREG HARTON: Why would a reporter ask such a thing? As I watched Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee answer questions from reporters, I thought back to lessons every reporter has to learn. One of those lessons is that, from time t... May 23, 2021

GREG HARTON: Government leaders have moral duty on public schools Last Thursday afternoon, I watched my son and his fellow students in the class of 2021 walk across the stage at Bud Walton Arena. The investment he and his teachers put into 12-plus years of formal ed... May 16, 2021

Role changes not so easy for mom, dad Mother's Day feels a little bit different this year. I saw my mom in person last weekend for the first time since last summer. The weekly Zoom video conferences were a godsend, but there's nothing in... May 9, 2021

LISTEN: Know the News - Arkansas General Assembly adjourned The Arkansas Legislature has completed its work for the year. We'll take a few minutes to talk about how what they did will affect you, your neighborhood and your community. May 7, 2021

GREG HARTON: "Not a racist nation" true, as far as it goes Last week, Tim Scott, the only Black Republican U.S. senator, provided his party's response to President Joe Biden's address to a joint session of Congress. It was a dramatic moment as Scott declared... May 2, 2021

GREG HARTON: Maintaining remote meeting access values public participation Whether you're a conservative who believes the reach of government ought to be limited or a liberal who views government as the most direct mechanism for good, it seems some common ground might be the... April 25, 2021

GREG HARTON: The sources of pride in Arkansas A few years ago, Time Magazine reported gardening as the most popular hobby in the United States. Behind it at No. 2 was genealogy, the in-depth exploration of family lineages and histories. We human... April 18, 2021

GREG HARTON: They're not coming for your guns Let's say Jack Daniel's makes some whiskey, as I've heard they've done from time to time, and I drink some of it exactly as it's designed to be consumed. It's a legal product on which state and federa... April 11, 2021

GREG HARTON: Can Chauvin trial handle the weight? Working from home has given me a bit more of an opportunity to listen in on the Minneapolis, Minn., trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck last May as Floy... April 4, 2021

GREG HARTON: California bail change may spread It's certainly not a lock that legal reforms in California will make their way eastward, spreading to the rest of the country. The Golden State is known as a state where new legal ground is plowed an... March 28, 2021

GREG HARTON: Arkansas has one too many stars in its flag The Arkansas Legislature is in session, so that means there must be a discussion of the state's official flag and what it means. State Rep. David Whitaker of Fayetteville has picked up the baton of t... March 21, 2021

GREG HARTON: History may suffer from 'avalanche' History can disappear. It happens all the time. The most attention-getting cases involve the dilapidation and eventual demolition of those old structures that provided the backdrop for everyday life ... March 14, 2021

GREG HARTON: News films show state's historic past I'd have much rather headed down to the Fayetteville square last Wednesday evening for the program at the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History. But, you know, covid-19.... March 6, 2021

GREG HARTON: Extended warranties in election? Nothing against the sellers of extended warranties, but I wouldn't want to be one. You know what I'm talking about: Most retailers -- particularly of electronic devices -- create and promote "product... February 28, 2021

GREG HARTON: Hendren sets his sights on middle ground Without entering Arkansas' gubernatorial race, Jim Hendren just made the 2022 contest to replace his uncle a lot more interesting. Hendren's uncle, it's been reported once or twice, is Gov. Asa Hutch... February 21, 2021

GREG HARTON: Lawmakers should review limitations on trial phases If I were a member of the Arkansas Legislature, I might have Isaiah Torres on my mind. That is, if I could find the time. After all, last week the state Senate had to devote its limited time to debat... February 14, 2021

GREG HARTON: What to do with kooky lawmakers? It's been said that it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt of it. The quote, which has been wrongly attributed so many times it's hard to tell who actua... February 7, 2021

GREG HARTON: History by any name intriguing The entry of Sarah Huckabee Sanders into the Arkansas governor's race last week gave me flashbacks of Arkansas political history as far back as 1978. That was about four years before Sanders, former ... January 31, 2021

GREG HARTON: Can nation find its way to the center? People like me probably drive hardcore Democrats and Republicans crazy. Maybe even the devoted Libertarians. When you have strong leanings toward either side of the political spectrum -- conservative... January 24, 2021

GREG HARTON: A self-exam worth taking in wake of the insurrection Self-examination is hard for everyone. Sometimes events transpire, though, that make it difficult not to question one's own perspective, motives or actions. Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian, developed a... January 17, 2021

GREG HARTON: School, city leaders have a reunion Have you ever been to a reunion of your senior class from high school? Reunions always remind me why I built friendships with some fellow students or even teachers, but they've also over the years pr... January 10, 2021

Has president earned our admiration? Last week, I wondered what it means to admire someone. Early last week, news arrived the Razorback legend Loyd Phillips had died at 75 from complications related to a stroke. He was part of the 1964 ... January 3, 2021

GREG HARTON: Christmas with covid is disruptive The weekly video "meetings" with my parents and brothers started months ago. My not-always-technical family figured out the online video conferencing service Zoom as a substitute for the in-person vi... December 20, 2020

GREG HARTON: Clark knew how to be a leader I can't say I knew former Washington County Justice of the Peace Candy Clark well personally. Clark served county residents through the Quorum Court from 2009 through 2014. She also contributed a gre... December 13, 2020

GREG HARTON: Individual behaviors matter most Over the course of the last two days of the work week, Benton and Washington counties contributed more than 1,000 positive covid-19 test results to the astonishing numbers the entire state posted. On... December 6, 2020

GREG HARTON: Will a shot get us back to freedom? Apparent successes in the search for a covid-19 vaccine has people in Northwest Arkansas and across our country dreaming of carefree days, when visiting favorite establishments on Fayetteville's Dicks... November 29, 2020

GREG HARTON: A good time to celebrate, separately My folks are living their retirement years down in Sherwood, a town of about 32,000 people that blends pretty seamlessly into the Little Rock/North Little Rock metropolitan area. The only thing I kne... November 22, 2020

GREG HARTON: Response to Trump must be "prove it" Donald Trump's allegations of rampant corruption and cheating in the election systems around the nation has the look and feel of a youngster who flips over a game board when he realizes he's going to ... November 8, 2020

GREG HARTON: How, and how not, to judge As I listened and watched the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, it seemed to me that there was a lot to find objectionable. About the ... November 1, 2020

GREG HARTON: The president deserves our prayers I don't care how much one disagrees or dislikes the sitting president of the United States, hearing that he's contracted a disease that's proven harmful or even deadly to people his age is unnerving a... October 4, 2020

GREG HARTON: Covering news not really easy It was a mostly peaceful parade until the convoy of cars passed the Texas Schoolbook Depository. The massive dirigible had a mostly pleasant journey across the Atlantic before it descended for landin... September 27, 2020

GREG HARTON: Trust great in government, but scrutiny is necessary As Ronald Reagan suggested, "trust but verify" is a vital approach in governmental relations. For every situation in which people are bilked, trust precedes deception. One of my first big federal in... September 20, 2020

GREG HARTON: Who's going to tend the fire? Whether you're a young Boy Scout or a contestant on "Survivor," sooner or later you're going to have to learn how to make a fire. You've got to figure out any chance for fire relies on the availabili... September 6, 2020

GREG HARTON: A busy night for president, his challenger On one hand, it's tempting to ignore the ramblings of the man who spoke Thursday night as Democrats wrapped up their national convention, attempting to draw the attention of Americans at a critical mo... August 23, 2020

GREG HARTON: Absentee or not, voting a necessity I haven't yet decided whether I'm going to apply to receive an absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election. According to the Arkansas Secretary of State's office, requesting the ballot by mail or electro... August 16, 2020

GREG HARTON: Are law officers or political leaders the issue? If you've spent most of your life viewing law enforcement officers as people who come to the rescue, a call to "defund police" sounds like an invitation to lawlessness and giving the "bad guys" contro... August 9, 2020

GREG HARTON: Is city ready to turn back on officers? Most of the time, when 71 percent of voters approve $37 million for a construction project, the city leaders who asked for that approval have the good sense not to backtrack on the project. This week... August 2, 2020

GREG HARTON: Barbara knew how to write a good letter I heard the news last from a fellow editor the day before her obituary appeared. Barbara Foreman died at 88. Longtime readers of our letters to the editor submissions may recognize her name. From he... July 19, 2020

GREG HARTON: Court guards religion as central to U.S. freedoms Growing up, I had heard about Al Capone, the high-profile, Chicago-based crime boss who violently capitalized on bootlegging during Prohibition. When I became a reporter in Hot Springs, I became awar... July 12, 2020

Easier voting a step closer in Arkansas Secretaries of state in Arkansas mostly function without a lot of public attention, unless and until the officeholder sets his or her sights on higher — or at least lateral — office. The most memorab... July 5, 2020

GREG HARTON: Got fever? Get tested, then wait Last week, my family had a long wait to determine whether covid-19 had invaded our household. Well, it seemed like a long wait. Waiting with the dark cloud of what seems a modern-day plague looming i... June 28, 2020