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The Arkansas Project was launched in 2008 as a source for incisive commentary and reporting on Arkansas government, politics, media and more. In 2011, The Arkansas Project became an affiliate of the Advance Arkansas Institute. The Arkansas Project supplied daily commentary until 2019, but is now largely inactive.
David Kinkade was the chief writer and the editor of The Arkansas Project until 2011. After the site became affiliated with the Advance Arkansas Institute, Dan Greenberg was editor of The Arkansas Project until it became inactive in 2019. During that eight-year period, the writers for the site included Nic Horton, Marc Kilmer, and Caleb Taylor.
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Nic Horton
Aug 31, 20122 min read
The Concerns of the Deaf Are Finally Heard
Friday news dump by state government! I haven’t been able to find this story anywhere else, so I am taking a huge career risk here by...
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Nic Horton
Aug 27, 20123 min read
Career Education Department Remains Blind to the Needs of the Deaf
Bill Walker’s work performance grade in sign language, appropriately. Another government screwup in the Department of Career Education:...
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David Kinkade
Mar 23, 20122 min read
Taste of Freedom: Let’s All Raise A Glass To Liberalizing Liquor Laws!
A dedicated Arkansas Project reader sends along a link to this nifty map from those limey toffs at the BBC offering “a snapshot of wet...
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David Kinkade
Feb 29, 20124 min read
Auditors: State Unemployment Overpayments Only $44 Million!
A long-awaited audit of the state unemployment insurance (UI) program was the focus of a legislative hearing Tuesday, and since that’s...
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Daniel Greenberg
Feb 22, 20122 min read
Burris on Arkansas Budget Battle: ‘They Don’t Like What We’re Doing Because ItR
Rep. John Burris and Gov. Mike Beebe Rep. John Burris, the Republican minority leader in the Arkansas House of Representatives, spoke to...
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David Kinkade
Feb 21, 20122 min read
Governor, Agencies Say Trivial Budget Cuts Would Be Devastating, Which Was Entirely Predictable!
Artist's rendering of Arkansas budget debate. Capital sparring, gents! (Clipart by BestVector) You guys, this Arkansas budget debate!...
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Daniel Greenberg
Feb 17, 20122 min read
Arkansas Government and the $19 Billion Question
Kathy Webb and John Burris According to the Arkansas News Bureau, House Budget Committee Chairman Kathy Webb, a Democrat, is...
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David Kinkade
Feb 13, 20122 min read
More Budget Scrutiny for State Agencies? Why, Yes, Let’s Have Some of That!
Erroneous headline alert! Erroneous headline alert! A story over at the Arkansas News Bureau reports that “After Forestry Commission...
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David Kinkade
Jan 5, 20122 min read
Forest Fracas: Just What DOES It Take To Lose Your Job In the Beebe Administration?
Arkansas Forestry Commission chief John Shannon is feeling the heat now that his agency is some $4 million in the hole—and Gov. Mike...
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David Kinkade
Nov 21, 20113 min read
Looking Back On the Horror of Arkansas Economic Stimulus Spending!
Holiday week! Thanksgiving! Family obligations! That series of oddly decontextualized exclamations means you should have low expectations...
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David Kinkade
Nov 18, 20116 min read
More Stimulus Snafus: Arkansas Green Jobs Training Program a Bust! (Updated!)
We’ve been conducting an ongoing exploration of how economic stimulus funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...
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David Kinkade
Nov 16, 20113 min read
Terrible State Licensing Law Hammers Contractors!
I gotta tell you, the thing about state government is, you can’t let your guard down for a second, or they’ll go doing something else...
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David Kinkade
Nov 15, 20114 min read
Now They Tell Us: Stimulus Energy Programs’ Performance ‘Less Than Optimal’! (Upda
Yesterday we looked in on how Arkansas has fared in spending economic stimulus funds awarded under the 2009 American Reinvestment and...
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David Kinkade
Nov 14, 20112 min read
Behold The Despair Of Arkansas Economic Stimulus Spending!
Here it is a Monday in November and you’re just sitting there thinking, “Gee, I wonder how Arkansas is doing on spending its share of...
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David Kinkade
Oct 28, 20111 min read
Ranking: Arkansas Number 7 For Government Job Growth, 2007-2011
G. Scott Thomas, a number-crunching Poindexter at The Business Journals, has been digging into the Bureau of Labor Statistics data sets...
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David Kinkade
Oct 17, 20113 min read
Study: Now Let’s Reform Disastrous Unemployment Insurance Program To Make It Somewhat Less Dis
Ugh, the Arkansas unemployment insurance (UI) system, what a mess, am I right, people? What, oh, what could ever be done to fix such a...
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David Kinkade
Oct 12, 20111 min read
Just Look At This List of the Highest Paid Arkansas State Employees
Courtesy of the good folks at Arkansas Business, peruse this list of the most highly paid state employees in Arkansas (PDF). See? I TOLD...
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David Kinkade
Oct 6, 20112 min read
Don’t Forget That The Arkansas Unemployment Insurance Nightmare Is Still A Thing!
The nightmare that is the state unemployment insurance program has slipped from the front pages, so let’s check in to remind ourselves...
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David Kinkade
Sep 23, 20111 min read
Sales Tax Study: We’re Number Seven! We’re Number Seven!
Click for closer look at Tax Foundation map A new study from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranks states for combined state and local...
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David Kinkade
Sep 22, 20112 min read
Arkansas Workforce Services: “It’s OK, We Only Squandered $23.8 Million!”
A worthy addition today to the “Just How Much Damn Money ARE They Wasting?” genre from Alison Sider of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:...
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David Kinkade
Sep 20, 20113 min read
Fun With Numbers: Let’s Estimate Double-Dipper Artee Williams’ Pension!
The Quarter-Million Dollar Man: Ark. Workforce Services Director Artee Williams hits the jackpot. This story about the Arkansas Dept. of...
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David Kinkade
Sep 16, 20111 min read
Who Will Crack Case of the $161 Million in Missing State Unemployment Funds?
A lot of interest from our post yesterday about the federal government’s report that Arkansas had made more than $161 million in improper...
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David Kinkade
Sep 15, 20112 min read
Feds: Arkansas Pays $161 Million in ‘Improper’ Unemployment Benefits (Updated!)
Click image for more. From the department of waste, fraud and abuse: New data from the U.S. Department of Labor tells the sad tale of how...
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David Kinkade
Sep 13, 20112 min read
West Virginia Transparency Site Offers Glimpse of Arkansas’ Future
A rare bright spot in this year’s Arkansas legislative session was the passage of the Arkansas Financial Transparency Act (Act 303),...
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