The ordinance prohibits county funds from being used to acquire, lease, install, operate, maintain, repair, replace, or license an automatic license plate reader system, or to purchase a related subscription, data storage service, data captured by or derived from such a system, or access to that data.
25 years later, I still carry with me what it was like to witness terrible history from inside the television newsroom and then watch a national tragedy become a local one.
Commercial property owners in Washington County now have a new way to finance energy-saving improvements through private lenders. After about three months of work, I was glad to see my ordinance pass the Quorum Court. The program can help pay for improvements like heating and cooling systems, insulation, roofing, lighting, and water-saving upgrades.
The Washington County Quorum Court is taking a fresh look at whether to create a pretrial services program. I’m encouraged because, after years of jail overcrowding debates and stalled efforts, this is a practical step the county may finally move forward.
At our Thursday, May 21 meeting, the Washington County Quorum Court voted 12-2 to require Stewart Family Christmas Lights and Stewart Family Fireworks to cease operations until the businesses finally get the permits required under Washington County’s planning and zoning rules. This is a long-running problem going back to at least 2018. Some people may hear this vote and think the Quorum Court is trying to be the Grinch. But the issue before us was whether a high-traffic business in a residential area can keep operating without the same permits that others are required to get.
There have been several important updates since I published my original blog post on the Northwest Arkansas Industrial Development Authority, including an IDA Town Hall in Benton County, the City of Highfill’s proposal for its own IDA, and questions over why some information was deleted from the web the day after my post was published.
