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Tourism up and coming Sunday, Jan 1, 2006 By Roby Brock Arkansas' tourism figures have seen a double-digit increase over the past year and experts say 2006 will be even better. The Clinton Presidential Library has drawn 550,000 visitors since its opening in late 2004. Next year, more than 80 million documents from the library's archives will be open to the public. The new year promises more national conventions in downtown Little Rock. The first phase of Heifer International's $25 million world headquarters and global village will open in March. And come April, Magic Springs amusement park in Hot Springs will unveil a new roller coaster ride, the X-Coaster, which will include the highest upside-down loop in the world. Freaky Friday Wal-Mart Stores recorded its biggest shopping day of the year on the Friday before Christmas, not Saturday, as it had expected. Wal-Mart said more people took Friday off from work and headed to stores to pick up last-minute gifts. Demand for gift cards was particularly strong and will probably shift some Christmas revenues into January from December. Wal-Mart will not release its December sales until next week, but has said it is on track to meet its forecast of 2 to 4 percent. Most major retailers will release December sales results on Jan. 5. Free lunch appeal Wal-Mart plans to appeal a $172 million judgment awarded to thousands of employees who claimed they were illegally denied lunch breaks. A California jury last week found the world's largest retailer violated a 2001 state law that requires employers to give 30-minute, unpaid lunch breaks to employees who work at least six hours. Tyson lawsuit disappears A lawsuit involving Tyson Foods and Ladonna Bornhoft, who claimed she was sexually harassed and unjustly fired, has been dropped. Attorneys for the two sides have apparently agreed to dismiss the case, although no one is talking. Bornhoft, of Fayetteville, filed the lawsuit against Tyson in July. A federal jury was scheduled to hear the lawsuit Aug. 7. Bornhoft sought unspecified damages, including back pay and reinstatement to her job. A document filed Dec. 27 in U.S. District Court at Fayetteville says only that the lawsuit is dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. The document does not mention a settlement. Murphy case gearing up Attorneys involved with litigation over Murphy Oil's spill at its Meraux, La., refinery are gearing up for a Jan. 12 federal hearing in New Orleans that will determine whether the cases qualify for class-action status. Judge Eldon Fallon has scheduled a two-day hearing on a series of lawsuits that assert Murphy was negligent in causing a massive oil spill in St. Bernard Parish in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Murphy Oil has said the spill, which came from a storage tank that was rocked by flooding, was the result of an "act of God." Much of the hearing is likely to focus on determining how many homes were harmed by the spill. So far 64 named plaintiffs have stepped forward to join the suit against Murphy. The plaintiffs' attorneys said in a September filing that the spill may have harmed more than 160,000 properties. AG rejects minimum wage initiative Attorney General Mike Beebe has rejected the ballot title of a proposed constitutional amendment to raise the state's minimum wage. Give Arkansans a Rai$e Now is a coalition of community activists, labor organizers and religious leaders who are pushing to raise the minimum wage to $6.15 per hour. Beebe cited several ambiguities in the proposed measure, including questions as to the Legislature's role in interpreting the amendment. Other stumbling blocks center on the process for legal remedies and the definition of an "employee." Supporters of the measure say they will alter the proposal and re-submit it for consideration. Real estate stats The Arkansas Realtors Association reports that Pulaski County was the top county in the state for home sales and values in November. Four hundred fifty-four homes were sold in Pulaski County during the month, a 7 percent increase over last year. Total valuations neared $80 million, a 9.5 percent improvement over November 2004. Garland County and Saline County were big gainers for the month, showing double-digit increases in units sold and valuations in a year-to-year comparison. Benton County and Washington County home sales both declined compared to the activity of one year ago. Average home prices increased in all of the major counties except Sebastian County, which saw a 1.5 percent decline. Conway going high-tech The city of Conway is converting a 180-acre site to a technology park to attract high-paying, tech-related jobs. City officials say they are working to bring in employers who will provide jobs for the city's young and well-educated population. The first business to commit to the park, Arkansas One Call, is to move in within a few months. Infrastructure at the park is being paid for through a new economic development fund recently passed by the Conway City Council. The fund will have $500,000 per year to offer in business incentives. Fidelity buys risk insurer Fidelity National Financial, which bought Alltel Information Services in 2003 for about $1 billion, will acquire Sedgwick CMS Holdings Inc. for $635 million. The move further cements Fidelity as the nation's largest title insurer and it will extend Fidelity's operations in outsourced claims administration. Sedgwick CMS, which specializes in administrative services for workers' compensation claims, has expected 2005 revenue of nearly $400 million. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close on Jan. 31. Fidelity is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., and has a significant campus in west Little Rock. ------- Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net. |
