TOP STORY >> Base could help after hurricane

By JOHN HOFHEIMERLeader staff writerEven as international relief flights continue to bring food, supplies and equipment to Little Rock Air Force Base every day, a dozen crews and C-130s of the 314th Airlift Wing are standing by to support operations necessitated by Hurricane Rita, according to Lt. Jon Quinlan, the base public information chief.Quinlan said the planes could participate in […]

TOP STORY >> Second wave of refugees

By SARA GREENE AND JOAN MCCOYLeader staff writersResidents fleeing the Gulf Coast in advance of Hurricane Rita started making their way to central Arkansas Friday afternoon, filling up hotel and motel rooms and giving local volunteers another opportunity to provide assistance.At midday Friday, hotel rooms in Jacksonville, Cabot, Beebe and Lonoke were home to several evacuees.“I have no idea how […]

EDITORIAL >> Be sure to read the fine print

Could government ever be so idyllic as Gov. Huckabee described it this week when he announced a special election Dec. 13 to reauthorize $825 million of debt for higher education and highways?“It’s not asking taxpayers to make any more investments; it’s not asking them to cough up any more money,” Huckabee said at a news conference at the Governor’s Mansion. […]