Rogers City Leaders Discuss Public Drinking

Alcohol, Public Drinking,

City leaders and officials in Rogers are weighing whether or not to permit public drinking in some parts of town, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Act 812 of 2019 by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) lets cities create “entertainment districts” where alcohol can be carried and consumed publicly on streets and sidewalks.

These districts can be permanent or temporary, under Act 812.

Public drinking has been authorized in a few cities and towns around Arkansas — including El Dorado, Texarkana, Mountain Home, Springdale, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Sherwood, Little Rock, and North Little Rock — since Act 812 passed last year.

Leaders in Rogers reportedly are considering whether or not to allow public drinking in the southwest part of the city near the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion and Pinnacle Hills Promenade mall.

As we have said time and time again, public drinking is a scourge on the community.

It raises serious concerns about drunk driving and public safety.

Public drinking doesn’t attract new businesses or bolster the economy.

It hurts neighborhoods and families.

Arkansans ought to stay away from any proposal that would legalize public drinking in their communities.

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Lottery Spends 16% of Revenue on Education, 71% on Prizes

Arkansas Lottery

On Friday the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of August.

The report indicates the state-run lottery made nearly $49.7 million last month, but budgeted less than $7.9 million for scholarships — about 15.8% of the Lottery’s revenue.

However, the Arkansas Lottery spent 70.5% of its money on prizes for lottery players in August; in July, 71.6% of the Lottery’s revenue went to prizes.

As we have written many times, the Arkansas Lottery spends an inordinate amount of money on prizes, compared to most state lotteries.

The average state lottery spends about 60% of its budget on prizes and 30% on education.

The Arkansas Lottery could provide millions of dollars more in scholarship funding every year if it would rework its budget to spend less on prizes and more on students.

Below is a breakdown of lottery revenue, scholarship spending, and prizes since the state’s new fiscal year began last July.

Scholarship Spending

MonthGross Lottery RevenuePaid to Scholarships% Gross Revenue
July$49,780,369.99$8,592,573.9317.3%
August49,672,105.047,862,917.4415.8%
Total$99,452,475.03$16,455,491.3716.5%

Prize Allocation

MonthGross Lottery RevenueTotal Prizes% Going to Prizes
July$49,780,369.99$35,641,717.4871.6%
August 49,672,105.0435,023,856.8370.5%
Total$99,452,475.03$70,665,574.3171.1%

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Family Council Releases Voter’s Guide Ahead of 2020 Election

Arkansas Voter's Guide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 10, 2020

LITTLE ROCK, ARK.—On Thursday Family Council released its Voter’s Guide for the 2020 Arkansas General Election. The Arkansas Voter’s Guide has been the premier statewide candidate voter’s guide since 1990, reaching hundreds of thousands of Arkansans each election cycle.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “I am pleased to announce the 2020 Arkansas Voter’s Guide from Family Council is available. We surveyed candidates for state and federal office. We asked them to respond to multiple statements covering everything from abortion and religious liberty to guns, economics, and hate crimes legislation. This will help voters understand where candidates stand on a wide variety of issues.”

Cox said the 2020 Arkansas Voter’s Guide includes summaries of all the ballot issues that may appear on the November ballot as well. “Ballot proposals often get overlooked, but they’re very important. Candidates come up for re-election time and again, but if a ballot proposal passes, it rarely appears on the ballot again. It becomes a permanent part of the Arkansas Constitution or Arkansas law. It’s important that voters understand the proposals they are being asked to vote on. We believe the 2020 Arkansas Voter’s Guide helps them do that.”

Cox noted the 2020 Arkansas Voter’s Guide is nonpartisan and free to anyone who requests a copy of it. “We want to help Arkansans cast informed votes. The Arkansas Voter’s Guide does not favor one candidate over another. Family Council does not endorse candidates. We simply ask the candidates where they stand on issues Arkansans care about, and then we share the candidates’ responses with voters. We also have included contact information voters can use to contact candidates who chose not to complete our survey. Anyone can request copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide. All they have to do is call our office in Little Rock at (501) 375-7000, and we will send them as many guides as they need. Voters also can see candidates’ survey responses online at www.ArkansasVotersGuide.com.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock.

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