Opinion

For the past several years, there’s been a lot of talk about truth in the media. Some elected officials have taken to crying out “fake news” whenever someone points out something that they don’t agree with or that reflects negatively on them.

We’re going to take a break from politics and FOIA follies this week and talk about a couple of far more important topics — my grandsons and baseball. I made my first trip to Wrigley Field in 2018 to see my beloved Chicago Cubs play the St.

Editor’s note: This column first appeared on Sept. 7, 2021, just ahead of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2011. Sunday marked the 22nd year since the attacks. We have not forgotten.

Today I’d like to talk about a proposed federal rule dealing with construction contracts and my efforts to lead the 17 other governors who oppose this executive order. Earlier this year, President Biden signed an executive order that requires Project Labor Agreements for federal construction projects.

“We don’t have a surplus when we have hungry children.” That’s a quote from Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas director of Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families, at a roundtable discussion last week in Berryville.

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on March 16, 2021, a few short months after I moved to Berryville, at the one-year mark for the COVID-near pandemic. In it, I talk about my mother and her final days before she succumbed to complications from the novel coronavirus. Thursday, Sept. 1, would have been her 75th birthday. A month from now, it will be two years since I had to make the most difficult decision of my life. Even then, she guided me. Today, the pandemic continues and even as the number of active cases fall, the death toll continues to rise. Let’s all be mindful, cautious and considerate. Take care and be well.

Today I’d like to talk about the celebration of Labor Day and the importance of our workforce. Barbecues, pool parties and parades are a common occurrence when Americans today celebrate Labor Day, but it wasn’t always about friends and families getting together for fun.

Iripped my favorite shirt Friday night, but I did it while doing one of the things I love, so I guess we’ll call that a wash. I spent a couple hours in Green Forest on Friday evening, walking the sidelines at the Tigers’ football season opener, with camera — well, cameras — in hand, chasing that ever-elusive perfect shot.

Ijumped the gun in this space a couple of weeks ago, it seems. I only thought Eureka Springs city attorney Forrest Jacobi had come to his senses regarding the city’s attempts to overcharge me for responding to a Freedom of InformationAct request.