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<title>Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe : Columns</title>
<description>News Releases from the office of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe</description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/files/columns.xml</link>
<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>2012 Information Network of Arkansas</copyright>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:05:56 -0600</lastBuildDate>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:05:56 -0600</pubDate>
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<webMaster>josh@ark.org</webMaster>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: The 2012 Fiscal Session]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This month, the Arkansas General Assembly is coming back to the Capitol for only the second fiscal legislative session our state has ever seen.  In the 2008 election, Arkansans voted to enact fiscal sessions, limiting them to the sole purpose of adopting the state budget for the next fiscal year.  The first such session in 2010 held to that tenet, and I hope and expect that this month’s session ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3267</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Earthquakes, Past and Future]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This year marks the 200th anniversary of the infamous “New Madrid Earthquakes,” earthquakes that tore through the central United States in 1811 and 1812.  A sequence of four of the largest North American earthquakes ever recorded destroyed the Mississippi River Valley town of New Madrid, Missouri. The intense shaking was felt along the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast, and even up into Canada...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3263</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: A Successful Promise]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Five years ago, the City of El Dorado made national news with an exceptional new scholarship program called the El Dorado Promise. Generously funded by the locally based Murphy Oil Corporation, the program covers the full cost of college for students who receive their entire K-12 education from the school district. Partial scholarships are available to students who graduate from El Dorado High Sch...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3243</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Recognizing Unsung Heroes]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Whenever we face disaster or crisis in Arkansas, we hear stories of the outstanding, and sometimes heroic, deeds of everyday Arkansans. Our citizens never hesitate to stand up for each other and do extraordinary things, taking actions that often go unrecognized despite their admirable display of courage and selflessness. We know that the people of this State give freely of themselves for others in...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3239</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Arkansas Ranks Fifth in K-12 Education]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Arkansas’s efforts to provide students with a first-class education received positive affirmation this week from the country’s leading education journal, Education Week. The journal’s annual “Quality Counts” report grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the policies and performance of their schools. This year, Arkansas’s public-education system was named the fifth-best in...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3234</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Another Fuel Option]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[We have all been frustrated watching gasoline and diesel prices constantly fluctuate in recent years.  In Arkansas, we continue our efforts to develop and promote alternative fuels.  This past August, the Arkansas Energy Office created a $1.2 million, federally-funded program to increase the number of vehicles in Arkansas that run on compressed natural gas, also known as CNG.  CNG is made by compr...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3231</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Arkansas in 2012]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[In Arkansas, 2011 was a year of record flooding and searing heat, a busy and deadly tornado season and a slow recovery from national economic woes.  However, our agricultural industry has rebounded after those floods, we continue to rebuild and recover from the storms, and Arkansas remains one of only four states to make it through the past two fiscal years without a general-revenue shortfall.

...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3228</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Protecting Arkansas Insurance Consumers]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Health care, long one of the basic tenets of our society, has become a politically polarizing issue during the past few years.  The rapidly rising costs of care are making it more difficult for Americans to obtain the health services they need.  In Arkansas, we are taking action ourselves to control these expensive health-care costs.  We are working with insurance companies, health-care providers,...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3222</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Helping Our Veterans At Home]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This week, the United States formally ended its military mission in Iraq.  Since 2003, more than one-million Americans have served our nation there. Nearly 4,500 of our servicemen and women died there, and 32,000 American troops were injured.  Many more remain in harm’s way, serving in Afghanistan or on other deployments around the globe.

The good news is that thousands of our troops will be ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3219</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Opportunities for Small Business Jobs]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[I have always believed that entrepreneurship and education play a vital role in the economic success of our State. Our history of business success is built on stories of the personal initiative of Arkansans whose ideas led to the creation of companies like Walmart, Tyson, Stephens, Murphy Oil, JB Hunt, and many others.

Today, small businesses are still the lifeblood of the state’s economy, em...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3203</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: A Renewable Future]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Less than two years ago, Arkansas used nearly $2 million in federal stimulus money to spur private investment in renewable-energy projects. Through a program, dubbed the Renewable Technology Rebate Fund, the Arkansas Energy Office provided tax incentives for the installation of solar- and wind-energy projects. The State received national attention for its successful efforts in partnering with priv...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3198</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Fighting Hunger in All Seasons]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[With the holidays once again upon us, the spirit of giving will bless many of our fellow Arkansans in need. Food drives, toy donations and clothing-collection efforts all contribute to making the season a better one for those who are less fortunate. But their needs are not strictly seasonal, and their plight doesn’t end with beginning of a new year.

More than seventeen percent of all Arkansan...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3195</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Thankful for Arkansas]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[As Arkansans, we have more to be grateful for this Thanksgiving than many of us may realize. We hear constant news of economic turmoil across America and in Europe, and we see the partisan gridlock that has brought Congress to a standstill.  While we are affected by these forces here in the Natural State, we have stepped forward to chart our own course for the better.

The strides we’ve made n...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3193</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Prepared and Alert]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Recent events have reminded us that, in Arkansas, we must be prepared for any type of disaster to strike at any time of the year.  Thanks to technology, we often have the opportunity to take shelter, but planning ahead is also important.

This past week, we had tornado warnings in parts of the State, a reminder that severe storms strike Arkansas in all months of the year and not just in the spri...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3190</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Giving Chances to Foster Children]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to meet a group of adoptive parents at the Capitol as part of National Adoption Awareness Month. The stories they shared were moving.

One couple, Darryl and Charise Easter of Union County, were foster parents to three girls.  Frequent court reviews and appearances became a regular part of their lives.  After the Easters adopted their youngest daughter at...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3184</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: The Highway Bond Election]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[On Tuesday, November 8, a special election will be held for an important job-creation project that will decide the future of Arkansas’s interstates.  If approved by voters, the 2011 Interstate Rehabilitation Program will authorize our Highway Commission to re-issue $575 million in bonds.  These bonds will allow us to continue the work of modernizing our interstates.  The re-construction work wil...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3179</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: New Hope in Helena]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[The past two weeks have been unusually busy ones in the Arkansas community of Helena-West Helena.  There has been an unusual mix of news stories about its music, criminal justice and economic development that has had people across the state talking about Phillips County.  For many in the Delta, this is all positive news, putting them on a path to new beginnings.

First came the expected news of ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3176</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Flu Season Arrives in Arkansas]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This past week, the Arkansas Department of Health confirmed this fall’s first case of seasonal influenza. Because the flu is a highly contagious respiratory disease, it won’t be long before we begin to see more cases.  It is important that you protect yourself early and help stop the advance of the virus.  You can do this by getting an annual flu vaccine.  Believe me, I am not a fan of needles...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3173</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Safe Disposal of Prescription Drugs]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Later this month, law-enforcement agencies across Arkansas will participate in our third Drug Take Back Initiative, working to reduce drug abuse, avoid accidental poisonings and improve water quality.  Unused or expired medications will be collected statewide on October 29 as part of a national effort to remove unwanted or leftover prescription drugs from people’s homes.

The initiative offer...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3114</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Streamlining Government]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Recently, the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) launched Access Arkansas, an online method of applying for state services.  Arkansans can now apply online for several DHS programs, including ARKids First, the Medicaid Savings Program, TEA Cash Assistance and SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program.

This past week, I attended the grand opening of the Access Arkansas Processing C...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3109</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Better, Faster Trauma  Care]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Two and a half years ago, Arkansas dedicated new revenue to create a much-needed Trauma System to save lives in our State.  Before we changed the law, Arkansas was one of only three states without a trauma system and the only state in the nation without a designated trauma center.  That has changed, and I am pleased to report that as we continue the work of establishing the system, we are already ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3105</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Remembering Maria Haley]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This week, we were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Maria Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

When I was elected governor in the fall of 2006, Maria was one of the first people I asked to join my new administration.  I was unsure whether she’d be willing to leave a prestigious and lucrative job in Washington, D.C., and come home to lead our ec...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3103</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Continued AP Achievement]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Improving student achievement in our schools is an integral part of our effort to strengthen and expand Arkansas’s economy.  Today’s high-performing students will become tomorrow’s highly skilled employees, helping Arkansas attract investment from cutting-edge businesses and industries, whether close to home or from abroad.

Advanced Placement courses, which allow high-school students to t...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3096</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: A Vote for Better Roads]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[While this is not a traditional election year, Arkansas voters will still be asked to make an important decision at the polls this November.  I have set a special election for November 8th asking Arkansans to approve new bonds to pay for improvements to Arkansas’s interstate highways.  Voting yes for this bond program will not increase any taxes, but will allow us to continue making roads better...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3046</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Working Toward Transformation]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[For six months now, we’ve been working to improve Arkansas’s health-care payment system.  The current fee-for-service model is unsustainable, and we are facing shortfalls in our Medicaid budget that could soon lead us to slash services for thousands of Arkansans, unless we take action to reform the system.  After six months of discussion with federal officials, doctors, insurance companies and...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3042</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: STEM Works]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[By 2020, three-fourths of the jobs available in Arkansas will require advanced skills in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. Job seekers who lack training in these “STEM” disciplines will be forced to compete for a dwindling pool of low-wage jobs. If today’s students are going to meet the needs of tomorrow’s industries, we must increase their performance in these critical subj...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3038</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Floods, Drought and Fires]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[In Arkansas, we have become accustomed to dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters, but this year has produced an unusually potent combination of severe-weather devastation month after month.  The mixture of floods, drought and fires has been especially tough on our agricultural sector.  We’re still a few months away from knowing the full impact these intense weather patterns have had on ...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3031</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Complete College Arkansas]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[This past week, Arkansas received a one-million-dollar grant to raise the state’s college graduation rates.  Complete College America, or CCA, selected Arkansas to receive this grant that will help us fuel innovative policy reforms aimed at significantly increasing college completion in our State. While Arkansas has shown strong improvement in early-childhood and K-12 education over the past sev...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3026</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Comfort After Disaster]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[While Arkansas was coping with severe storms and flooding this May, one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history struck our neighbors to the north. The EF-5 tornado that razed a 6-mile swath of Joplin, Missouri, killed more than 150 people, injured hundreds more and left thousands homeless. In the aftermath of such a tragedy, there is not only physical devastation, but also psychological and...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3022</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
</item>			<item>
<title><![CDATA[Governor Beebe's weekly column and radio address: Global Economic Opportunity]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Expanding our state’s economy requires us to seek new markets for products made and sold by Arkansas companies. We can strengthen our businesses at home by exporting Arkansas goods and services to countries with rapidly growing economies.  With this in mind, I delivered the keynote address at the first Arkansas-China Business and Economic Summit, recently held at the University of Central Arkans...<br />]]></description>
<link>http://governor.arkansas.gov/newsroom/index.php?do:newsDetail=1&amp;news_id=3017</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
<category>Columns</category>
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