Editorial Roundup: Recent editorials in Arkansas newspapers

Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Arkansas newspapers:

Texarkana Gazette. Aug. 6, 2019

Doubling down on hardline attitudes will never solve the problem.

Three recent mass shootings have left the nation in a state of shock.

The terrible carnage at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, a Walmart parking lot in El Paso and downtown Dayton, Ohio, has many Americans worrying about their safety in public spaces.

The shootings have also brought about the typical response from politicians on both sides of the gun control argument - the blame game.

Once again the cry is “something must be done.” But what, exactly? A lot of people seem to think they know the answer. We have plenty of gun laws already. We have plenty of guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens. And we have hopes and prayers in abundance.

Yet the shootings continue. The death toll rises. Americans want to feel safe. They want to be able to go about their business without fear. Experts will tell us these mass shootings are aberrations and that we are actually very safe. No doubt they are right.

But that doesn’t change the way so many feel.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that some stores in Texas now carry “bullet-resistant” backpacks for schoolchildren. They’ve been available online for a while but now they are in stores. We can’t fault parents who buy these backpacks. We just wish they didn’t feel the need.

We don’t have the answers. We don’t know if anyone does, especially when guns are such a hot-button issue, one as divisive as any in the country.

We would like to think our elected leaders - left, right and center on the firearms question - could come together, put aside their stubborn, hardline attitudes, and actually listen to one another. Consider options. Negotiate. Compromise. Be willing to give as well as take. Maybe something could be “done” that would actually make a difference.

Unfortunately, we know that’s nothing more than a dream. As surely as we know that mass shootings will continue.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Aug. 6, 2019.

Arkansas just re-elected Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and the state already has a new contender calling dibs on the Governor’s Mansion.

How early is too early to declare a run for office? Is 2022 too far away to declare your intentions for? Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin doesn’t seem to think so. Mr. Griffin is playing the world’s longest game of shotgun, calling the office before his superior is even halfway through his second term.

In Arkansas, 2022 could be an interesting year in politics. The days of Arkansas being a purple state are long gone as Republicans have swept all control from Democrats in the Legislature and constitutional offices. Dems have a super-minority, and it doesn’t seem likely that’ll change anytime soon. Remember when, in these latitudes, people talked of one party, one crop, and one issue? Them days are long gone.

These days, most attention and speculation turns to the Republican primaries. What’ll be interesting is what that primary will look like should both Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Sarah Huckabee Sanders get into the fray.

Mr. Griffin is in a good position to make his case for the governor’s mansion. He’s worked closely with Gov. Hutchinson over the last several years. This has allowed him to see the daily ins and outs of this position he’ll now seek.

He’ll have an advantage on Sarah Huckabee Sanders, if she runs. But his experience will have to compete with the name recognition that Sarah Huckabee Sanders earned while working on President Trump’s team.

If Mrs. Rutledge gets into the race, she’ll have a long list of legal accomplishments to campaign on, from fighting big government control to joining other attorneys general to do battle with the over-burdensome aspects of Obamacare.

Republican voters are in for an interesting campaign. And meanwhile, Dems will probably use up all their energy finding a sacrificial lamb to go up against the eventual Republican nominee. That’s Arkansas these days.

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Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Aug. 6, 2019.

In the grand scheme of the Washington County budget, $75,000 isn’t a lot of money compared to the $82 million the Quorum Court allocated to county operations for 2018.

So when the Quorum Court’s Finance and Budget sits down for business, kicking in that amount for a new audio-video system in the Quorum Court Room may seem like a drop in the fiscal bucket.

It’s a heck of a lot to most of us taxpayers, certainly, and there are other county needs that might benefit from such funding.

Justice of the Peace Lance Johnson led the charge on a new sound system, at the least. He’s acknowledged he’s at times had difficulties because he, like many people, is hearing impaired.

Meetings of the Quorum Court and other panels that meet in the Quorum Court chambers involve discussion, and lots of it. If a member of any panel can’t adequately hear the discussion, it can impact the ability to cast a vote. Imagine voting on a million-dollar decision when the sound system’s limitations kept you from hearing 10% or 20% of the conversation. It’s hard to vote with confidence.

One proposed sound system picked by county staffers would seriously improve the technical capabilities of the county to deliver sound to the hearing impaired. Vendor reps told the county people with Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids could use their smartphones to tap directly into the audio system’s sound. That’s pretty incredible. Indeed, anyone at the meeting could use a smartphone to access the sound and listen through headphones if they wanted.

That part of the proposal is needed. As Justice of the Peace Butch Pond recently noted, the county should not discriminate against those whose hearing is limited.

In our view, the Quorum Court - which isn’t locked into any vendor at this point - should direct the county staff to look into a complete audio system that meets the need to serve hearing impaired officials and members of the public. That’s the minimum they should accomplish.

But a system recently proposed went well beyond that. It would change the way the Quorum Court’s voting process works. Rather than voice votes, in which every member cast a “yes,” ’’no” or “abstain” after his or her name is called, the new system would have them voting by pushing buttons on screens. Whether the individual votes or just a final tally of the numbers shows up during the meeting would be subject to county policy.

It should be a fundamental expectation of any system that every vote cast by each member of the Quorum Court or any other public body meeting there should be shown clearly to members of the audience and to those watching online.

Right now, the public sees and hears that through the roll call and it doesn’t cost an extra dime. There are, after all, only 15 members. This isn’t the U.S. House of Representatives, which has 435 members (or 100 if you’re thinking of the Arkansas version).

If the Quorum Court supports a change involving the voting, a new system should always make it clear who voted and how they voted. None of this final tally secrecy. Let’s the chips fall in full view of the public.

Whether the Quorum Court room gets fancy nameplates or individual monitors or iPads for each justice of the peace is just increasing the cost. It seems the county should stick with solving the basic problem, which was making the system work for the hearing impaired.

Any “upgrades” will only be progress if they ensure the public can see and hear every vote so that they can know how their elected officials are representing them.