Stories by Greg Harton

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

GREG HARTON: Making sure a win really is progress I've never been a wheeler-dealer on things like buying a car. When it comes time to buy, I'll think about tactics we've perhaps all heard about to broker the best deal. Don't fall in love with any ca... June 21, 2020

GREG HARTON: Do as we're told or as we're asked? Gov. Asa Hutchinson's daily covid-19 press conference on Friday delivered the eye-popping figure of 731 new positive test results in the state since the day before. It was the largest single-day growt... June 14, 2020

GREG HARTON: Riots reveal the divisions that linger The turmoil in Minneapolis and other cities is astonishing, not so much because it's unique, but because in 2020 we're right back where we've been before. Add Minneapolis to the list that includes pla... May 31, 2020

GREG HARTON: Tech tests maturity of users There was a time in which people went about their lives less digitally connected but more dialed into humanity. At 55, I'm at the age of having experienced what life was like before cell phones, "smar... May 24, 2020

GREG HARTON: Will covid-19 be 'person of the year?' A few random thoughts after another week in covid-19's alternative universe: • Do you think Dr. Anthony Fauci might be Time's Person of the Year for 2020? He's certainly a name most of us didn't... May 17, 2020

GREG HARTON: Does the Hog Call spread covid-19? If Arkansas keeps trending the way it is in terms of its number of covid-19 cases, recoveries, hospitalizations and other data points, Gov. Asa Hutchinson says we can all expect a chance to have footb... May 10, 2020

GREG HARTON: What will 'normal' look like? The "new normal" is the phrase I've grown most tired of in the midst of this virus response. Once upon a time, I liked the phrase. It reflected the semi-permanent nature of changes arising from some d... May 3, 2020

GREG HARTON: Placing bets on casinos? Not just yet If I were the coronavirus, whose goal is to be the best stalker it can be before committing assault and battery on any unprotected victim it can find, I'd hang out at a casino. Casinos are full of exc... April 26, 2020

GREG HARTON: Who's in charge? It depends In the foxhole, there are no Federalists. Wait. Maybe I've got that observation about combatants in wartime a little confused. I'm borrowing the imagery to show what's been rattling around in my head ... April 19, 2020

GREG HARTON: Whole lotta shakin' not going on these days Most of us -- the smart ones, anyway -- have severely limited our direct contact with people, from the folks we used to share offices with every workday to the extended family members we love enough t... April 12, 2020

GREG HARTON: When crisis also means opportunity Every day at my palatial editorial page headquarters -- also known as my home -- I open my email account full of anticipation of what revelations I will find in the worldwide response to covid-19. On ... April 5, 2020

GREG HARTON: Do Americans have a limit on sacrifice? Do Americans have enough patience to save lives? Does that patience run out if it comes at a high economic cost? The adequacy of the response to the aggressively spreading covid-19 is constantly on th... March 29, 2020

GREG HARTON: Avoid more than virus, Arkansans Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is Arkansas' toilet paper price monitor. Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his phalanx of public health advisers have rightly gotten the attention of most Arkansans as they work... March 22, 2020

GREG HARTON: Virus fears shut down almost everything I was driving down Township Street in Fayetteville with my youngest son Wednesday night after his basketball practice, listening to President Trump on the radio as he outlined his administration's pla... March 15, 2020

GREG HARTON: Fear harder to battle than the virus itself Is the COVID-19 the Y2K of communicable diseases? For those of us born in the last century, it's perhaps hard to believe anyone 20 years old or younger wasn't even around to stress out over the Y2K (Y... March 8, 2020