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Arkansas News
- 11/10/08 - Tyson Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim 'Raised without Antibiotics'
- 09/30/08 - Judge Rules Against Bird Waste Injunction in Okla.
- 09/22/08 - Hundreds Attend Hearing on SWEPCO Power Plant
- 09/05/08 - Wal-Mart and Tiffany Try to Greenwash the Toxic Gold-Mining Industry
- 08/28/08 - The Rise of 'The Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party'
- 08/22/08 - Grassroots Direct Action: San Francisco Voters Nov. 4 Will Tell Their Congress Reps to Defund the War
- 08/22/08 - Jim Hightower: Let's Stop Clowning Around With America's Economy
- 08/20/08 - Election Integrity - How We Lost It and How States are Getting It Back
- 08/15/08 - In Arkansas, a New GMO/Herbicide Solution to a Problem Created by an Old One
- 08/09/08 - Has Your Town Declared Peace Yet?
- 08/02/08 - Wal-Mart Warns its Workers Not to Vote for Democrats in November
- 07/18/08 - As Price of Grain Rises, Catfish Farms Dry Up
- 06/30/08 - States Taking Initiative on Environmental & Climate Crisis while Feds Do Little or Nothing
- 06/11/08 - Move Over MoveOn: Grassroots Netroots Alliance (GNA) Launches New Progressive Campaign to 'Press the Politicians'
- 06/10/08 - 15,000 Arkansas Hens Test Positive for Bird-Flu Exposure
- 06/07/08 - USDA Says Tyson Used Antibiotics on Chicken
- 05/15/08 - Center for American Progress: What Are You Paying for the War?
- 05/09/08 - High Court Rules Poultry Producers can be Defendants
- 04/25/08 - Smaller Arkansas Towns Suffer as Wal-Mart's Bentonville Hogs Road Tax Money
- 04/16/08 - Grocery Store A No-Go In Mixed Use Area
- 04/11/08 - Naturally Green, Tyson Foods Claims
- 04/08/08 - Despite Environmental Initiatives, Wal-Mart's Fuel Usage Still High
- 03/17/08 - Okla. AG Seeks Halt to Poultry Waste Disposal in Watershed
- 03/07/08 - Judge Suggests He'll Treat Litter as 'Solid Waste.'
- 02/10/08 - Study Criticizes Converting Cleared Farmland to Biofuel
- 02/05/08 - Wal-Mart Finally Attempts To Address Food Safety Concerns
- 01/29/08 - National Popular Vote- A Voter Turnout and Civil Rights Issue
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Call on Governor Beebe to Institute a Moratorium on Coal-Fired Power Plants
Please write to Governor Beebe and let him know that you are opposed to the coal-fired plant that has been proposed for Hempstead County near Texarkana. Although the Arkansas Public Service Commission approved SWEPCO's plans for a plant, Governor Beebe can still step in. Please let him know that this plant will be contributing to global warming by giving off five million tons of pollution each year, which would increase Arkansas' emissions by eight percent.
Please let Governor Beebe know that the people of Arkansas are concerned about global warming; the Arkansas legislature voted earlier in the year to create the Governor's Commission on Global Warming. Ask the governor to impose a moratorium on this new coal-fired plant until the report from that commission has been delivered.
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Updated 7/10/08
Arkansas Legislative Roundup
(From Progressive States Network)
For Arkansas, this was the year that schools started to get fixed, after $456 million of a projected $919 million budget surplus was set aside to pay for court-ordered replacement and repair of the state's public school facilities.
The other signature success of the session was tax relief for the working poor in the state, as 81,000 lower-income families were eliminated from the tax rolls through a raising of the minimum taxable income levels. Taxes on groceries were cut in half, reducing the rate from 6% down to 3%, while the Homestead Property Tax credit was raised to $350. The sales tax on utilities used by manufacturers was also cut in the hopes of making local industry more competitive.
The legislature made modest advances on clean energy, approving a commission to study global warming and develop a plan for reducing pollution, making Arkansas the last state to create such a commission. The state in HB 2334 renewed its Renewable Energy Act, expanded "net metering" laws and approved SB 237 to estabish goals and standards for alternative fuels.
The state also made it easier for residents to vote by allowing people who move across county lines to transfer their voter registration up to four days before an election, rather than 30 days as the previous rules required.
Take Action. Support Green Jobs!
The Green Jobs Act of 2007 authorized $125 million per year to create an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program as an amendment to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The Green Jobs Act (GJA) is an initial pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of industries - including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating "green pathways out of poverty."
Congress has not yet appropriated money for the Green Jobs Act. Please contact your Senator today and urge them to fund the Green Jobs Act of 2007!
Read more at Green for All's web site.
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