Lottery Leaders Get 2% Bonus as Scholarships Decline

Arkansas Lottery

Over the holiday weekend, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the Arkansas Lottery Commission awarded the lottery director a 2% bonus ($2,832) in spite of declining revenue and lagging scholarship projections. Altogether, the Arkansas Lottery Commission distributed thousands of dollars in bonuses to various lottery employees.

There is a lot that could be said about this. Why is the Lottery Commission distributing “merit” bonuses at a time when the Lottery is failing to live up to its own budget projections?

Why was the Lottery able to find thousands of dollars for bonuses but not for scholarships? What, exactly, are the Arkansas Lottery’s priorities?

In light of this and other recent actions on the part of the Arkansas Lottery, it’s no wonder many are beginning to say it’s time for tighter oversight and accountability at the Arkansas Lottery Commission.

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For Obama Administration, 20 an Unlucky Number

Current Events

The following blog post is by Family Council staff member Luke McCoy.

For a superstitious person the number 13 is an unlucky number. For the Obama Administration, you might say an unlucky number is 20.

Twenty times: That’s how many times the Obama Administration has been overruled unanimously by our nation’s highest court since taking office, according to National Review.

This is an unusually high number of unanimously unfavorable rulings for a President. As the article points out, the Court handed down 15 unanimous rulings against George W. Bush’s administration during his 8 years as president and 23 against President Clinton’s; the Obama Administration’s 20 unanimous rulings have come not over the course of 8 years, but over the course of 5 years.

Click here to read more about the recent rulings.

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Lack of Signatures Shows a Lack of Public Support for Marijuana

Current Events, Marijuana

The following press release was received from Family Council Action Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 7, 2014

On Monday, proponents of an effort to legalize marijuana announced they did not have enough signatures to place their measure on the ballot for the upcoming November General Election.

Family Council Action Committee President Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “We are pleased to learn Arkansans have rejected the legalization of marijuana once again. Voters made a decision on that issue two years ago. The fact that the measure failed to get enough signatures to make it to the ballot tells me Arkansans are standing by that decision.”

Cox said placing a measure on the ballot by way of a petition drive is a very difficult process that requires a lot of support from across the state. “Since 1984 I have conducted five successful volunteer-based petition drives to place measures on the ballot. The key is public support. If you don’t have public support, you’re going to have a hard time getting your measure on the ballot and approved by the voters. The fact they were not able to get the signatures they needed shows Arkansans do not think marijuana ought to be legalized.”

Cox said his group will continue to monitor any future efforts to legalize marijuana in Arkansas.

Family Council Action Committee is a conservative 501(c)(4) organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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