It was a good week for…
ATTORNEY GENERAL DUSTIN MCDANIEL. He came out in support of same-sex marriage, but said his office would continue to fight to preserve the state’s ban in court. Some other attorneys general around the country have declined to defend laws they believe to be unconstitutional. McDaniel has told the Times that he feels bound by the constitutional provisions governing his office to defend even laws that he might find objectionable.
ARKANSAS VOTERS. Circuit Judge Tim Fox, who recently struck down the 2013 Voter ID law because it unconstitutionally adds additional requirements to be eligible to vote, again found the law unconstitutional in a separate case, but stayed his decision, citing the beginning of early voting. He said he didn’t want to create turmoil at the polls.
TONY WOOD. Gov. Mike Beebe tapped Wood, the deputy director of the state Education Department, to succeed Tom Kimbrell as director. Kimbrell will become superintendent for the Bryant school district after June 30. Politics could determine how long Wood keeps the job, a fact he acknowledged.
KEVIN DELANEY. The Museum of Discovery director of visitor experience performed delightful science experiments as a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
It was a bad week for…
ARKANSAS. The death toll from the tornadoes that struck the state April 27 rose to 16 after an infant died shortly after birth to a woman injured in the Faulkner County tornado.
MIKE ROSS. A new poll, by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, had Asa Hutchinson, the presumptive Republican candidate for governor, up 46 percent to 38 percent over Ross, his likely Democratic opponent.