Fianna Hills Country Club is on life support with only one to three months of life left in it.

That was the message Club Manager and Co-owner Jim Shields brought to concerned members and neighborhood residents Thursday evening (April 3), only two days after developer Lance Beaty of Fort Smith-based FSM Development Partners announced he was pulling out of a planned $20 million revamp of the club, which would have added about 60,000 additional square feet to the club, as well as members suites and professional medical services, among other amenities.

David Mille, the club's other co-owner, was frank with those in attendance Thursday.

"But there will come a point if we cannot turn a profit, where we are going to have to close it."

Shields explained to the packed room of more than 100 individuals that a review is underway to determine if it would be possible to assess a fee to members in order to keep the club open until the end of the year, though he said the club lost about 75 members during the last few months, dropping the already lagging club membership to only 250 members.

Following the meeting, Shields said it would be a week or two before any possible assessment or increase in membership dues are made public.

The announcement that the club would stay open, at least for the time being, is a slight deviation from a previous statement to The City Wire that the club would close should the Fort Smith Board of Directors not approve a planned zoning district, which would have specified what Beaty, or other future developers, could have done with the land on which the country club sits.

He told members and guests Thursday that at the time he made the statement, he had every intention of closing the club.

"I had every intention — Jim and I both — because of the financial drain it has been on both of us over the years. I make no bones about it. There was a lot of financial drain. And most businessmen would have pulled the plug on this three or four years ago, but I've got a special attachment to this club."

Mille discussed his memories as a young man playing music in the club and the friendships he has developed in his time before and during ownership, which lead him to want to keep the doors open, even for a little bit longer.

Shields revealed that he and Mille had two interested parties that had approached them about a sale of the club, though he said at this time no formal offers have been made. One of those interested in a purchase, he said, was a private investor who became interested in the project after Beaty's plans began to receive a lot of attention throughout the community.

The other group is member-led, though he said it was a different group then that being formed by Kevin and Lisa Clay, who helped start a petition that received over 250 signatures that asked the Board of Directors to limit uses within the PZD. While the petition was presented, the Board tabled the issue until May 6.

Shields said both potential buyers have said they would want to continue to operate the club the way it has traditionally been operated versus the ambitious plans outlined by Beaty before he dropped his bid to purchase the club.

The Clays were on hand for Thursday's meeting, though Kevin Clay declined to comment for this story.

Gary Marcotte, who spoke to a small group of members following Shields' and Mille's meeting, explained that the group he and the Clays were attempting to form would offer two types of membership packages, including one similar to the Legacy Package that Beaty attempted to market, which had a $30,000 price tag attached to it, though it could be paid over time.

According to Marcotte, his group's proposal would allow Legacy members to have a vote at club board of trustees meetings, while another membership option at a monthly rate would allow use of the club and other amenities, though no voting rights.

Asked how such a model would be profitable when the current business model is failing, Marcotte said country clubs would probably never turn a profit and instead would likely turn to other ways to break even.

"There is no profitable model in a country club, if you work to break even. It's sort of like a REIT, a real estate investment trust. You're not looking to make a profit or break even. …If you can't (break even) by your business, then you have to assess your membership. It's a member-owned club."

The assessment would essentially spread out the losses to all members, something Marcotte said "Hardscrabble (Country Club) does every year."

"I would hope to not have to assess anybody. I wouldn't want to assess anybody. Actually, it would be my preference, if we did it as a club, to (do) fundraisers throughout the course of a year. Invite the public in. They can see the club. They can do this. They can have a party. Maybe gain some interest in the club because we're active in the community. Get more members and raise funds. I don't think assessment is the only option. I know that's what Hardscrabble uses and I don't blame them. I think that's a viable way, but it's not the fun way. This is for people's enjoyment. We should do fun things."

Wal-Mart said it will hire up to 95 employees to work at is new Neighborhood Market location in Centerton which is slated to open this summer. A temporary hiring center has opened at 1120 S. Walton Blvd., Suite 124 in Bentonville.
 
The retailer is accepting applications from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday. Interested applicants may also apply online.

Store manager Donna Shultz, said the store will be hiring full- and part-time associates. The majority of new associates will begin work in May to help prepare the store for its grand opening.

“We are excited to add the first Walmart Neighborhood Market to Centerton and bring good jobs with great career opportunities to the area,” said Shultz.

Wal-Mart encourages veterans to apply through its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment. 
 

All of the 33 lawsuits filed against Target Corporation from the massive data breach will be heard in Minnesota following an order from the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

This centralization will eliminate duplicative discovery, prevent inconsistent pre-trial rulings, and conserve the resources of the parties and the judiciary, according to the transfer order.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in Minnesota will hear each of the 33 cases and any others that should arise.

More than 400 Northwest Arkansas Digital Ambassadors use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to tout some of region’s best successes. Now, they’ll have video- and photo-sharing outlet Instagram as a new tool to share information about Northwest Arkansas.

Instagram is now an option to the Digital Ambassadors program. The improvement was recommended by the Northwest Arkansas Bloggers, a group that includes some of the region’s social-media experts.

“With 150 million active users, Instagram needs to be part of the Northwest Arkansas Digital Ambassadors program, and we’re glad to have that guidance from the Northwest Arkansas Bloggers,” said Rob Smith, who manages the Northwest Arkansas Digital Ambassadors program for the Northwest Arkansas Council. “Instagram will give us an excellent opportunity to share the many faces and places of Northwest Arkansas to the digital audience.”

The Northwest Arkansas Digital Ambassadors program launched in November, and there are similar programs in places such as Tampa, Fla., and El Paso, Texas. Professional sports teams such as the Detroit Pistons and Baltimore Ravens have their own digital ambassador networks.

The Northwest Arkansas program’s email messages go out about once a week, asking the ambassadors to share content about such things as regional job growth, quality-of-life amenities, educational achievements, the local economy, and where the metropolitan statistical area stands in national rankings.

For more information on the Digital Ambassadors visit the program website.

Former Arvest exec Dennis Smiley won’t see any of the $552,000 he earned in stock options during his lengthy banking career. There are 20 banks waiting in line for payment of more than $4.5 million owed by Smiley.

Arvest Bank filed a petition Wednesday (April 3) in Benton County Circuit Court saying it hoped to deposit the $551,754.58 from Smiley’s stock interest into the court’s registry in exchange of for a complete discharge of liability.

Those funds are composed of $427,991.25 from the stock repurchase and $123,763.33 from stock option proceeds accrued up to the time of Smiley’s termination.

In the filing, Arvest said there have been multiple claims for the money from Smiley and 19 banks he owes. The bank’s filing said Arvest “cannot determine without hazard to itself which, if any of them, is legally entitled to the proceeds.”

The bank also noted in the filing that it should not be required to determine who gets paid. In doing so, the bank could subject itself to multiple liability.

Arvest also notes that Smiley was not permitted to pledge or otherwise encumber his shares of Arvest Bank Group stock that he acquired through the company’s stock plan. UCC Financing Statements filed with the Secretary of State’s office indicate Smiley pledged his Arvest Bank stock shares with 11 different banks.

Those 11 banks and nine more were listed in the Arvest court filing, each making claims to Smiley’s stock interest.

BOFK, National Association
Bank of Fayetteville
Bank of the Ozarks, Little Rock
Benefit Bank, Fort Smith
Chambers Bank, Danville
Centennial Bank, Conway
Delta Bank & Trust, Bella Vista
First Bank, Hampton
First Federal Bank, Harrison
First National Bank, Fort Smith
Integrity First Bank
First Security Bank
First State Bank, Lonoke
First State Bank of DeQueen
First State Bank of NWA, Huntsville
First State Bank, Russellville
First Western Bank, Booneville
Legacy National Bank, Springdale
Signature Bank, Fayetteville
Summit Bank, Arkadelphia

Delta Bank & Trust is the first lender to sue Smiley for nonpayment. That suit was filed March 25, in Benton County Circuit Court. Smiley is also subject to a federal fraud investigation for pledging the same collateral multiple times with numerous banks. It is unclear at this time if any other fraudulent actions occurred in connection with the loan scheme.

Several sources interviewed by The City Wire believe criminal charges will soon be filed given the scope of the allegations and prominence of the accused. There are at least two possible ways a criminal investigation involving white collar crimes of this nature can be handled.

A grand jury hearing and sealed indictment until arraignment with evidence supplied by the U.S. Attorney’s office is the traditional method. This can take several months to complete and may not be necessary if a defendant comes forward and is willing to fully cooperate by turning over all evidence of the crime, sources said.

But a more likely scenario would involve a Filing by Information. This would involve a defendant’s attorney working out a deal with U.S. Attorney’s office. In this scenario, a defendant would waive indictment and enter a negotiated plea. 

Tim Tarvin, law professor at the University of Arkansas, said in federal cases there is an incentive to come forward and cooperate because in doing so the defendant could shave points off of their sentencing formula. Tarvin has no connection to the Smiley investigation and was speaking merely about the process.

He also said anytime there are civil procedures they can be referred to the criminal investigation.

The world population is expected to explode to 14 billion people in the next 61 years, according to figures cited by Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Grant Tennille.

And while the rest of the world may balk at the prospect of how to feed a world double the size of today's population, Tennille said Arkansas is primed to do that and more, explaining that it all comes back to educating the students of today and the leaders of tomorrow.

Tennille's speech to the Fort Smith Area Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Breakfast at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith highlighted some of the many innovations that have changed the world that began in Arkansas and explained how education will lead the state even further.

Putting focus on the movement of goods, he highlighted the state's logistics industry as a primary example of what Arkansas innovation has done to change the world.

"Logistics was invented in Arkansas. Before Sam Walton and David Glass and J.B. Hunt, what we now know as logistics was just people driving things around in trucks. There is now incredible science behind how we move goods around the world. The concept of 'just in time delivery'— which if you're in business in this room, I promise you understand 'just in time.' That's the way the world runs now — that was invented in Bentonville, Arkansas."

He explained that the Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is among the top logistics programs in the nation, again emphasizing the impact Arkansas has had and will have on the world.

Tennille also pointed to advancements in agriculture, adding that research taking place at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff was leading to increased yields for farmers, garnering attention from as far away as Vietnam and leading the university to launch a doctoral program focused on agriculture.

Noting the state's seven Fortune 500 companies, while also pointing out that Arkansas has never had a population with more than 3 million people, Tennille said he felt there was something that had taken place in the state.

"There's something in the water in this state. There is something that sets the people of Arkansas apart from our counterparts around the country and around the world."

But in order to continue Arkansas' competition in an ever increasing global economy and serving the needs of the world's projected 14 billion people, Tennille said it would take more than just will power and determination. Students, he said, now must have training beyond their high school diploma in order to secure a good job and the state must continue to invest in education in order to see innovation continue in the decades to come.

He said the biggest hurdle to education has been the cost, which he said is one reason he believes Arkansas has largely trailed the entire nation in terms of residents holding at least a bachelor's degree. Tennille said with the passage of the Arkansas Scholarship lottery, more students are able to not only start a college education, but also finish what they have started.

While there has been a lot of focus put on four year degrees, the focus must go further, Tennille said, explaining that skill sets obtained through concurrent enrollment programs for high school students or vocational education programs will be vitally important, as well.

"There are incredibly talented, capable, high achieving – dare I say wealthy – people who don't have a four-year bachelor’s degree. It's not the end all and be all. Now do we need more Arkansans with four-year bachelor degrees? Sure we do. We're last, or second to last, depending (on different rankings). That's unacceptable. We've got to have more. But do we need an increasingly large population of specifically skilled individuals who have helped make our industrial and manufacturing (industry) efficient and productive? Absolutely. It's not either/or, which is the choice I think a lot of folks were laboring under for a long time."

For Arkansas to meet the needs of the world, he said everyone will need education and training after high school.

"Call it what you want. Call it college. Call vocational education. Call it technical training. Call it what you want. Everybody's got to do something after they graduate from high school."

Tyson Foods competitor Hillshire Brands Co., said Friday (April 4) it plans to close its processing facility in Florence, Ala., eliminating 1,100 jobs by Dec. 30.

The announcement was made in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that details the expected $34 million related costs from this streamlining operation.

"After a comprehensive business evaluation, management determined that the facility will not allow the company to meet its efficiency or long-term profitability expectations," the company noted in the filing. "Production from the facility will be sourced from other locations within the company’s operations network."

The further-processing facility makes Hillshire's breakfast sandwiches and cooks breakfast sausage. It was formerly a Sara Lee plant.

Hillshire ranks No. 12 among meat companies, with annual sales of $3.9 billion, according to the Meat & Poultry Top 100  rankings. Tyson ranks No. 1 with $34.4 billion in sales and recently expanded its breakfast line of retail products that competes directly with Hillshire Brands.

Tyson Foods Inc. is recalling about 75,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets because they may be contaminated with "foreign matter," likely bits of plastic from a scraper inside a blending machine, federal agriculture officials said Friday (April 4).

The product was being sold at Sam’s Club since Jan. 26. The problem was discovered after the company received consumer complaints about small pieces of plastic, including one report of a minor mouth injury in someone who ate the nuggets.The product was linked to Tyson Foods’ plant in Sedalia, Mo.

Tyson said they have inspected the production facility to ensure quality standards are being met and have put in place corrective measures at all of the company's facilities to prevent anything similar from happening, according to a release.

Recalled Product
• 5-lb. bags of Tyson Fully Cooked White Meat Chicken Nuggets — 16142-928 with a best-by date of Jan. 26, 2015 or Feb. 16, 2015. The manufacturer codes 0264SDL0315 through 19 and 0474SDL0311 through 14 can also be found on the bags. 

These products were produced Jan. 26, or Feb. 16, 2014 and shipped nationwide to Sam’ Club Warehouses.

Tyson is also recalling another product shipped for institutional use in Arkansas and Indiana and at the company’s employee store in Lowell.

• 20-lb. bulk packs of Spare Time Fully Cooked Nugget-Shaped Chicken Breast Pattie Fritters w/Rib Meat — 16142-861 with identifying case codes of 0264SDL0315 through 19 and 0474SDL0311 through 14. These products were produced Jan. 26 and Feb. 16, 2014. The product bags bear the establishment number P-13556.

• 40 cases of Spare Time brand fully cooked nugget-shaped chicken breast pattie fritters w/ rib meat (Item# 16142-861) in 25-pound bulk cases. These were sold to a single institutional customer in Indiana and at the Tyson Foods company store in Lowell. The bulk cases have the same manufacturing codes and "use by" dates listed above. 

If a consumer has a bag of affected product, they should discard the product, cut the UPC and date code from the back of the bag and mail it to the following address for a full refund:

Tyson Foods – CP631
P.O. Box 2020 
Springdale, AR  72765-9989,

Consumers with questions about the recall should contact Tyson Foods Consumer Services toll free at (866) 328-3156.

“Big Data” is on the minds of retail execs who believe it’s key to helping them stay competitive, according to a recent study by1010data for which 201 retailers were interviewed across grocery, speciality, drug, discount and department store segments.

According to North Carolina-based SAS, a software and analysis company, big data is often used to “describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both structured and unstructured.” SAS says the value of large amounts of structured data is that it leads to more accurate analyses.

Some 96% of those surveyed said incorporating big data into their business operations is a must, but half of them admit doing so is a complex undertaking. The executives agreed that big data insights are most beneficial for merchandising (53%), followed closely by marketing (48%). They also said big data could be used to improve store operations, while also gaining efficiencies in supply chain and loss prevention.

"This study shows that while the retail sector is being impacted by Big Data today, there are still many more opportunities for retailers to use Big Data analytics to optimize demand forecasting, merchandising, promotions, and loyalty program management," said Sandy Steier, co-founder and CEO of 1010data. "When retailers truly embrace data discovery, they quickly move beyond intuition and guesswork and instead rely on data-driven decision."

WISH LIST
Executives were asked their biggest obstacles to getting the reporting and analytics they need to make better data-driven business decisions. About 40% expressed the need for a “single version of the truth” because different users and various departments have different ways of measuring the business.

Another 38% said they lacked the ability to analyze data to a low enough level of detail to adequately assess daily transactions by customers. One in three surveyed said they had difficulty accessing and integrating the data. 

The cost and/or complexity of implementing big data needs to come down, according to  42% of the execs surveyed. Another 30% said they need simplified Big Data solutions that are intuitive to business users. 

ON-SHELF AVAILABILITYBENEFIT
One common big data application sought by the majority surveyed is using the analytics to improve on-shelf-availability — an $800 billion problem for retailers worldwide. Following is how the responses were to the on-shelf question:
• 66% said it can help reduce out-of-stocks that lead to lost sales;
• 50% said it can predict future demand and inform supply chain decisions; 
• 47% said it reduces overstocks that negatively impact turns; 
• 41% said it ensures product assortments are finely tuned to demand; and
• 29% said it enables alternative fulfillment means such as ship-to-store and ship-from-store.

BENEFITS OF SHARING
Next, the executives were asked about some of the specific retail analytical applications enabled by big data technology, and how those could benefit retailers. The first area of focus was the sharing of data and analytics between retailer and supplier. 

A majority of the respondents (67%) indicated that the top benefit of data sharing was enabling suppliers to better forecast and meet consumer demand. One in two said sharing allows retailers to leverage suppliers’ category and product knowledge to improve their merchandising strategies and it also helps to strengthen partnerships with suppliers. About 40% said sharing helps retailers increase overall sales. Just 2% said they saw no benefit in sharing Big Data insights with their suppliers.

Family Dollar is adding more than 400 food items across its 8,000 stores as company execs prepare to defend their convenience turf against Wal-Mart and other grocers. The discounter also promised lower prices on 1,000 items, including brands like Ragu, Hellman’s and Kraft.

“It’s important for us to constantly evaluate our assortment, making sure that we have the products and national brands that are relevant to her and her family, always at a great everyday value,” CEO Jason Reiser said earlier this month.

The dollar store format has exploded with growth in recent years capitalizing on the consumer’s desire for more convenience — which equals time savings. This quick trip market is valued at $415 billion and comprises some 40% of the consumers’ grocery spend, according to Bill Simon, CEO of Walmart U.S. 

He said Walmart U.S. has been able to garner just 10% of this market, which is why they are aggressively rolling out more smaller format stores this year and next. These quick trip market competitors include dollar, drug and convenience stores that have grown by 16,000 units since 2005. In response to the growth, Simon said Wal-Mart is ready and able to deliver convenience with several formats including drive through depots for online orders which are filled at the closest Supercenter or Neighborhood Market.

“Quick stops to pick up a few items or get gasoline are the primary reasons that consumers visit convenience stores. Many are improving their offerings to provide healthier alternatives appealing to shifting consumer tastes, hoping to encourage more visits,” said Ali Lipson, senior retail analyst at Mintel, a Chicago-based research firm.

As product offerings improve at dollar stores, so has the perception of the discount chains, according to recent research from Mintel. Half of survey respondents who earn $150,000 or more said they are shopping in dollar stores the same amount as they did the previous year, and 10% said they are shopping in dollar stores more.

Convenience and price drive shoppers to dollar stores, but more than half of survey respondents also said the stores are pleasant to shop in, and they find brands and products sold there to be as good as those found in other retailers. Still, one in three of the high-income shoppers expressed dissatisfaction with the selection.

Family Dollar isn’t the only discounter adding grocery offerings. Dollar General has expanded the number of coolers in its stores to sell perishable products. Additionally, the company launched a more grocery-oriented Dollar General Market format to compete with conventional supermarkets. Both retailers added tobacco last year which they report has driven more store traffic and incremental sales.

Dollar Tree also mounted its own level of competition in recent months. Dollar Tree has increased the number of freezer and cooler installations to 550 additional stores, up from the chain's original plan of 475. Bob Sasser, CEO and president, said Dollar Tree has refrigerated equipment at about 63% of its store base after the recent expansion. 

“We like what [that] does in sales and traffic, and we like what it does in raising the sale of our variety merchandise also. We are also committed to our consumable business. We’re going to drive that part of the business too,” Sasser said. “Our inventories are fresh and our stores are full of exciting merchandise for the spring season."

Analysts expect the competition will continue between the various small format convenience formats given the dollars at stake. 

Wal-Mart’s recent opening of Walmart To Go, a hybrid convenience store in Bentonville, is a signal to competitors that the retail giant isn’t going to blindly stand by and concede sales to smaller stores, said Jason Long CEO of Shift Marketing Group.

The retailer said there are no other Walmart To Go stores planned, saying it is merely a concept store. Analysts think the format has plenty of potential.

“Given Wal-Mart’s highly-developed supply chain, particularly in fresh (food), it will go in with a huge advantage. This is particularly true as convenience stores evolve from selling beef jerky, cigarettes and hot dogs on metal rollers and into becoming destinations for healthy snacks and meal occasions,” Carol Spieckerman, CEO of NewMarketBuilders, said of Wal-Mart’s convenience store launch.

Wal-Mart Stores tweaked its pregnancy policy in March following a proposed shareholder resolution and separate Jan. 11 charge filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a woman who claimed she was not offered accommodations (lighter duty options) during her pregnancy. 

“Over the past several months, we looked at what other assistance we could provide to our pregnant associates. As a result, we enhanced our policy because we believed it was the right thing to do for them,” said Randy Hargrove, corporate spokesman.

Hargrove said Wal-Mart’s policy already provided managers across its network the authority to make accommodations for any pregnant employee, such as carrying a water bottle or providing a stool as needed which complied with federal law. He said the new revision now allows for additional accommodations for all pregnant workers.

“This includes, but isn’t limited to moving an associate to another job so she can continue working. For example, if a pregnant associate were an overnight stocker and was restricted from lifting, we can move her into another vacant position where the duties of the job meet her restrictions,” he said.

Hargrove said allowing the new accommodations could help some pregnant women continue working, when in the past they may have had to take an early leave of absence. 

A group known as A Better Balance said they had been asking Wal-Mart to change this policy since January 2013, when they wrote a letter arguing the retailer’s employment policy violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Wal-Mart disagreed saying its policy was “perfectly legal” and now with the revision, “goes beyond the law.”

Another group of Walmart associates recently filed a resolution for shareholder proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission asking for broader accommodations for all pregnant Wal-Mart workers. Hargrove said the shareholder proposal was looked at before the company made this recent revision expanding the accommodations, and is now moot because of the recent revisions.

The EEOC charge filed Jan. 11 is still active, according to Liz Watson, senior counsel of the National Women’s Law Center. Watson told The City Wire that Wal-Mart’s recent revision to its employment policy is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough because the language used is ambiguous.

“The revised policy only provides accommodation for temporary disabilities caused by pregnancy, and it’s unclear whether it applies to healthy, pregnant workers," Watson said.

 Wal-Mart reiterated that the accommodations it’s willing to make are for all pregnant employees.

Watson’s group is among those involved in the recent EEOC pattern and practice charge against Wal-Mart. She said the company has a history of denying accommodations at the store level. It is important that the corporation make this new policy clear from the top down, she said.

“As the nation’s largest employer their practices affect huge numbers of women. This issue of pregnancy discrimination has become all too common in the workplace. We see it in retail, hospitals, restaurants and the postal service,” Watson said.

Complaints of pregnancy discrimination are prevalent. The EEOC notes that it receives about 1,000 calls per year on work and family issues alone, according to Sharon Terman, senior staff attorney for the EEOC.

A report of the number of charges filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the basis of harassment and discrimination showed the state of Arkansas' numbers dropped more than 35% from 2012 to 2013, the most of any state in the nation.

The total number of Arkansas charges filed in 2012 were 2,374, while the state had only 1,524 charges filed last year, according to the report. In neighboring Oklahoma, there were 1,360 charges, down 9.2% compared to 2012. Missouri had 1,958 charges in 2013, down 6.76% compared to 2013.

Even though the numbers would make the drop appear drastic, Vice President Mary Cooper of the Central Arkansas Human Resources Association said the bigger bit of news was the drastic rise in the number of charges in 2012 compared to other years, both nationally and statewide.

"The question becomes what was wrong in 2012? It's the sex(-based discrimination) claims. Discrimination based on sex was 50% of the total 2012 claims, as opposed to other years," Cooper, an employment attorney at the Little Rock law firm of Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon and Galchus, said.

The increase represents a rise in sexual discrimination charges of 142.89% from 2011's total of 499 charges filed, versus 2012's total of 1,212. The numbers returned to historic figures last year, with only 487 sexual discrimination-based charges filed.

Figures from the EEOC show that not only did sexual discrimination account for 51.1% of charges filed in 2012, but race-based discrimination only accounted for 31% of charges during the same period.

Fast-forward to 2013, those numbers are a near identical flip, with race-based discrimination counting for 48.7% of discrimination, while sex-based discrimination only counted for 32% of complaints, again returning to historical norms. Figures show the 2013 total for sex-based discrimination was on par with dates as far back as 2009, with no year accounting for more than 30% of overall cases except for 2012's total of 51.1%.

Cooper said one of the likely explanations was a change in policy within the administration of President Barack Obama, who has directed the EEOC to focus on more claims under Title VII, which deals with transgendered and sexual orientation as a bias, versus flat out discrimination.

Jimmy Lin, vice president of product management and corporate development at The Network — a Norcross, Ga.-based company specializing in governance, risk and compliance solutions — told The City Wire that sexual orientation charges are not reported at the federally, but instead are "dependent on each state's laws."

Because of the distinction, Cooper said a bias must typically be a matter of policy, as the Obama administration has made transgendered and sexual orientation during the last few years.

"If you say a person should dress more feminine to get a promotion, while sexual orientation isn't necessarily a protected class, bias based on that started being enforced."

Cooper also noted that the administration assembled a task force to address the Equal Pay Act, though again it is hard to pin-point a precise reason for the movement in numbers. One factor she said is not being looked at but Cooper said likely made a difference in 2013's numbers is the government shutdown.

The agency was already under increased pressure due to sequestration, the federal government's automatic reduction in spending for all agencies, which President Sunshine Bartlett of the Western Arkansas Human Resources Association said would put pressure on the agency to only pursue cases it believes are winnable.

"They are back to the same budget they had in 2009 due to sequestration. So they are looking at quality of lawsuits over quantity. They are actually filing suits on a lower number of cases where they can get more money,” Bartlett said.

Regardless of what moves the government is making by either pursuing fewer cases or enforcing different policies dependent on the whims of a politician or bureaucrat, he said Arkansas' highest in the nation drop in harassment and discrimination charges was, at least in part, to the efforts of businesses to improve workplace environments.

"This shows that businesses are putting more time and thought into their employee training programs to ensure employees understand what harassment and discrimination is and what they should do if an incident occurs. Instilling strong ethics in employees from day one is crucial in establishing an ethical workplace that's free of harassment and discrimination."

As for what 2014 will look like, whether it will see a spike similar to 2012 or stay on par with 2013 and other years, Cooper said it's too early to tell. But Bartlett said observers should expect some upward movement in the numbers.

"When you look at the numbers, there are drops and then it sort of comes back up. From 2009 to 2012, each year they were seeing the highest levels ever. But in 2014, I do think it will ramp back up and surpass the 2013 level."

Peter MacKeith has been named dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, effective July 1.


MacKeith is a professor of architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. He has served on the Fay Jones School’s Professional Advisory Board for the Fay Jones School since 2011.

“We are pleased to have Peter MacKeith join the University of Arkansas,” said Sharon Gaber, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “His experience and leadership will help continue to propel the Fay Jones School to even greater heights.”

The Fay Jones School includes the departments of architecture, landscape architecture and interior design. The school also has two outreach components: the University of Arkansas Community Design Center, whose work has received more than 90 design awards, and Garvan Woodland Gardens, the university’s botanical garden in Hot Springs.

“I am honored and privileged by this appointment,” MacKeith said. “I look forward to building on that (school’s) legacy and that good work, and, with the school’s community, to creating further distinction for its programs.”

MacKeith began his tenure at Washington University in 1999 as a faculty member and assistant dean of the School of Architecture. In 2001, he became the associate dean of architecture, and was later named the associate dean of the Sam Fox School in 2006. He also serves as adjunct associate curator of architecture and design at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

He received a bachelor’s degree in English and international relations from the University of Virginia and a master of architecture from Yale University. His architectural teaching has recently been recognized nationally with two Creative Achievement Awards in architectural education from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

The Supply Chain Management Research Center at the University of Arkansas will hold its spring conference on April 23. This year’s theme surrounds analytics and Big Data capabilities that is expected to have greater influences on operations throughout the supply chain in the coming few years.

Some of the topics at this year’s conference include:
• Decision science and analytics solutions;
• Using customer voice to optimized the supply chain;
• Supply chain driving more sales; and
• Mapping predictive analytics.

Featured speakers at this year’s event include:
• Dhiraj Rajaram, CEO of Mu Sigma;
• Keith Mercier, global retail leader at IBM Watson; and
• Mickey Mericle, vice president for global customer insights at Walmart.

More information about his year’s conference is available online.
 

Whole Foods Market appears to have taken one more baby step toward a Fayetteville location.

Plans submitted to the city of Fayetteville this week show what appears to be a Whole Foods Market planned for 3535 North College Avenue, which would make the Fayetteville location the second in the state of Arkansas and the first in Northwest Arkansas.

Rumors have circulated for months that the company was exploring sites in northern Fayetteville, near the intersection of U.S. 71 and Millsap Road.

The site that was submitted for development by Fairburn, Ga.-based S.J. Collins Enterprises was previously the site of a Mercedes-Benz automobile dealership. Conceptual drawings submitted to the city clearly show a more than 35,000-square-foot building with a Whole Foods Market sign above the front entrance.

Multiple attempts to reach Whole Foods Market by telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful, as were attempts to contact S.J. Collins, which has previously developed several Whole Foods Market-centered retail developments in Florida and Virginia. Whole Foods' website does not list a Fayetteville store under development, though it does show a Little Rock store under development. It is unclear if the Little Rock development is a relocation of the store at Rodney Parham Road and Interstate 430 or if it is a new store.

Sources with knowledge of the Fayetteville project who spoke to the The City Wire said it was still early in the development process and no deal had yet been signed. But plans submitted to the city of Fayetteville show what is a large scale development at the former car dealership site that would be anchored by the Whole Foods Market. Plans call for an additional three small stores and about 330 parking spaces.

A source familiar with the project said the process for taking the development from proposed to permitted could be long and tedious. First, the developer will have to appear before the city for a plat review on April 16, where individuals on the review committee could make comments and the developers would revise plans based on the comments from the city.

On May 1, the Fayetteville Planning Commission Subcommittee will meet and additional revisions could be required based on comments from commissioners at that time.

Should developers not run into any major hurdles, the final step before receiving a building permit would be approval from the full planning commission at its May 12 meeting, though the project could be delayed or forced to go through the full planning process again should the development not gain approval from the commission.

The earliest the development is likely to receive a building permit is June or July, though a source with knowledge of the development plans said, "I don't see them going through the first time. They'll probably get pushed out to the next round due to comments (from the commission)."

With the project so fluid and no contracts yet signed, it remains to be seen if or when Northwest Arkansas residents may be able to shop locally at a Whole Foods Market. Should the project go through, real estate professional David Erstine of CBRE Northwest Arkansas — who is not connected to the project — told The City Wire in early March that it would be a boost to development along U.S. 71 (College Avenue).

“We see clients who want to locate retail to the region but in the Fayetteville area they all want to be near Joyce Avenue and the mall area. College Avenue does not fit their criteria. If a national player like Whole Foods does decide to invest on College Avenue, it could open the possibilities for others,” Erstine said.

Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville, was upbeat about the news of a possible Whole Foods locating only a few miles up the street. The local food cooperative released the following statement regarding Whole Foods possible move to Fayetteville.

"We are excited to have another natural food and organic food store here in Fayetteville. The more access that people have to healthy foods in our city, the better it is for our community."

Moving beyond the dissolution of the Walmart Bharti venture in India, Wal-Mart said Tuesday (April 8) it plans to expand its footprint in that densely populated country with 50 Cash and Carry stores over the next four to five years. 

Officials with Wal-Mart India Private Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary Wal-Mart Stores Inc., are pleased with the way the cash and carry — wholesale business — has grown in India which is why it plans to expand this format. In addition, the retailer plans to launch a business-to-business e-commerce platform for members of its Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores.

The e-commerce site will provide wholesale customers a convenient online shopping opportunity. This virtual store will offer a similar assortment of products as the physical stores and include special items, according to an email from Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin Gardner.

The first new outlets among the 50 would open soon in western and southern India, including the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, an inside source told Reuters. Wal-Mart India now owns and operates 20 Best Price Modern Wholesale Stores in eight states across India. The first store opened in Amritsar in May 2009. Best Price stores are akin to Sam’s Clubs, in that they require membership to shop. These wholesale clubs cater to retailer resellers, offices and institutions, hotels, restaurants and caterers.

The executive, who declined to be identified, also told Reuters the online business would be started on a wholesale basis and goods will be sold to traders on a "very small" scale. India does not allow foreign retailers to sell goods online directly to consumers

Going it alone, Wal-Mart has no choice but to focus on the wholesale segment as Indian law does not allow direct foreign ownership of grocery. That was the reason Wal-Mart first partnered with Bharti Enterprises in hopes of reaching 1.2 billion consumers Indian consumers directly. Wal-Mart pulled out of the Bharti joint venture in October last year.

Wal-Mart has said it would wait for national elections to finish in May before applying to operate retail stores in India in case the rule allowing direct investment in supermarkets is overturned by a new government. This week, the political party expected to lead India's next government said it would bar foreign supermarkets from the $500 billion retail sector, according to Reuters.

Wal-Mart’s efforts to grow its Indian business have been hindered from government laws controlling ownership, a Foreign Corrupt Practice Act probe into the retailer’s business ventures there and several changes in top management on the ground in India.

The new CEO of India, Krish Iyer, was named in December. He replaced Ramnik Narsey, who had served in the interim since June 2013, after the departure of Raj Jain, who headed up Wal-Mart’s business venture with Bharti. Jain and others were suspended by the company in 2013 during the a probe alleging bribery.

“Along with our growth, we are taking a number of important steps to strengthen compliance so that we do the right thing everyday. We are evaluating and reinforcing procedures and programs relating to all compliance areas, including licensing and permits, food safety, and responsible sourcing among others,” said Scott Price, president and CEO of Walmart Asia. 

He said the retailer will also continue its investment in supply chain infrastructure and supplier development to better serve members and customers.

The Whirlpool site in Fort Smith that has been the center of a pollution cleanup has now had deed restrictions put in place, limiting certain future activities at the site for not only Whirlpool, but any individual or company that may purchase the site.

Word of the deed restriction was confirmed Tuesday morning (April 8) by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality about an hour and a half before Whirlpool officials were scheduled to update the Fort Smith Board of Directors on efforts to cleanup a spill of potentially cancer-causing trichloroethylene (TCE) that occurred at its now-shuttered Fort Smith factory during the 1980s.

Katherine Benenati, public outreach and assistance division chief at ADEQ, said by e-mail that the deed restrictions only affect the 152 acre site owned by Whirlpool and does not include the residential neighborhood north of the facility that sits atop the TCE plume.

The deed restriction, filed Monday (April 7) with the Sebastian County Clerk's office, is two restrictions that prevent the use of groundwater at the site, as well as "excavation of soil, concrete or asphalt" without the permission of ADEQ. The restrictions also state that the owner of the property will be responsible for inspection and repair of the concrete or asphalt cover which will be installed at a later time as part of the remediation plan approved by ADEQ for the Whirlpool site.

Speaking to The City Wire prior to his presentation to the Board, Whirlpool's Corporate Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs Jeff Noel said the deed restrictions were a measure to protect the public from any chemicals that may remain below the surface, even after the company completes its remediation plan, which includes the use of chemical oxidation to neutralize the TCE.

"What's really good about a deed restriction is it's required in the law. So if you have a purchaser of the property, the deed requires you to do certain things. And I think the most important one is to maintain a covering, or a cap, in the area where there is contamination so that you have a control over the kind of moisture in the groundwater that can go through rain, etc. ... A deed restriction is just one more layer of assurance that if Whirlpool doesn't own the property, that we'll see to it that whoever purchases it from us will abide by those same agreements."

In the past, other moves to impose deed restrictions on properties have been met with resistance. In early 2013, Whirlpool attempted to get the Board to pass an ordinance that would have prohibited the drilling of groundwater wells in the neighborhood that sits on the TCE plume north of its plant. The move was met with much opposition and was eventually voted down by the Board.

Deputy City Administrator Jeff Dingman said the groundwater well restriction could always come back before the Board for a vote, though no action has been initiated by anyone on the Board or at Whirlpool, he said.

During the presentation to the Board, Civil Engineer Mike Ellis of ENVIRON — Whirlpool's contracted environmental consulting firm — said 30 injection sites have been placed above the TCE plume in south Fort Smith, adding that the first set of injections was completed on March 25. A subsequent injection is likely to happen in May or June, he said, adding that ENVIRON was monitoring the plume and the developing results of the injections on a weekly basis, which he said could change to a bi-weekly basis at a later time, depending on conditions and any success with the injections.

Noel told the Board he felt good about the progress being made at the site, as well as negotiations with homeowners in the neighborhood regarding possible settlements as a result of the TCE contamination. He said any details of the negotiations would not be discussed publicly, though, due to the residents retaining counsel and lawsuits having been filed against the company.

During the discussion of settlements, Mayor Sandy Sanders requested that Whirlpool take action similar to Timex, itself in the middle of a TCE pollution cleanup near Clinton National Airport in Little Rock. The company has offered to purchase up to 40 properties in its TCE zone and previously entered into a $2.5 million settlement with the airport after the nine acres Timex occupied were deemed unusable, according to a report by the Arkansas Times.

In response to Sanders' suggestion, Noel said Whirlpool was attempting to treat residents fairly.

"Because of the path that some of the residents have chosen to follow by using attorneys, I'm not in position where I can go to the media and explain for them the type of discussions that are being held with the residents. All I can tell you is we have said from the beginning that we look forward to finding a path of successful resolution with the residents and I won't give you the details of what Timex is offering, but I think there are different reactions. Our commitment is to treat the residents fairly. We're doing that and we've communicated with them and there's been a lot of things discussed with both the attorneys and with the residents."

Attorney Ross Noland of Little Rock-based McMath Woods, who represents about two dozen clients who have filed suit against Whirlpool, said Tuesday he was not at liberty to discuss negotiations with the company or whether any settlement offers have been extended.

As for what will happen to the property once remediation is completed, Noel said Whirlpool is in talks with two companies about purchasing the property, adding that "sophisticated" real estate professionals would not balk at purchasing the property, even with the deed restrictions in place. Instead, he said many potential investors would see the benefit of the site and would be eager to make use of the site's amenities and the local workforce.

Noel also referred to the often rocky relationship between Whirlpool and the city of Fort Smith, adding that the company's actions early last year in attempting to pass the groundwater well restriction were not productive and added that movement to speed up remediation efforts were because the company listened to Fort Smith leaders and residents.

"I think it's important to remind myself that it was just about a year ago when I was here and I don't believe it was a very productive meeting because of us. And I think because of your direction and your insistence that we continue to communicate, I think a lot of progress has been made and we are committed to maintaining that level of communications with you, but I will say it started with your leadership and I think it's your act of stewardship and making sure we do the right thing that is a really, in my mind, one of the reasons progress has been made."

Arvest Bank has chosen Fort Smith banker Craig Rivaldo to head up its Benton County market operations. Jason Kincy, spokesman for the bank made the announcement in an email release this afternoon (April 8), just shy of one month after Dennis Smiley’s resignation on March 13.

Rivaldo will take over as CEO of Arvest Bank Benton County effective May 1. A replacement for the Fort Smith market will be made later, as a search for the right candidate is still underway, the bank said.

“Craig Rivaldo is an excellent banker and an outstanding individual who embodies the qualities that we seek as a company. His career with Arvest spans more than 27 years and, in that time, he has proven himself to be an effective leader, a trusted decision-maker, and someone who cares deeply about the communities he serves. We are fortunate to have Craig and his family as a part of Arvest in Benton County,” said Scott Grisby, a regional executive and interim president in Benton County.

Rivaldo began his career with Arvest as a trainee with McIlroy Bank in Fayetteville (now Arvest Bank, Fayetteville) in 1987. In 1999 he was one of the original associates who started Arvest’s Fort Smith operations from the ground-up. In July 2010 he was named president and CEO in Fort Smith – one of Arvest’s top-performing banks over the past few years – when John Womack was promoted to lead Arvest operations in central Arkansas. Rivaldo began his banking career in 1982 and has worked in many areas of the bank including as a credit analyst, loan operations, commercial lending and sales manager.

“I am very excited and humbled to be given the opportunity to join an incredibly strong team in Benton County. It is truly an honor to join the bank where this company was founded and to have the chance to serve these great communities and customers.” Rivaldo commented.

Arvest Bank of Benton County is the largest of Arvest’s 16 locally-managed banks and has 28 locations in 13 communities and more than 400 employees.

Rivaldo is a graduate of Northside High School in Fort Smith, Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University and the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Mary Jo have one son, Connor.

Ozark Regional Transit (ORT) announces plans to expand services by June 1. The public transportation company said recent budget increases by many of the municipalities it serves in Northwest Arkansas made funds available for added routes.

In 2014, ORT has added two new routes—one in Springdale and one in Rogers—as well as multiple revisions to existing routes designed to reach previously-underserved areas. By changing some of the previous routes, ORT said it has been able to shorten passenger travel time.

A new express route is expected to begin June 1 that will connect Farmington, Greenland, Lincoln, Prairie Grove and West Fork to the rest of the bus system. This in conjunction with the new route in Springdale, which now serves the City of Johnson, adds no less than six municipalities into the ORT network.

Given all the changes under way in the ORT routes, two software programs have been made available on the company website that will help to educate and explain the route revisions.

The company said it has hired 9 drivers, 2 mechanics and 2 office administrators this year for this business expansion.

ORT also operates rural “on-demand” services in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington Counties and can organize carpooling programs for interested parties.

A team of NorthWest Arkansas Community College students was named a finalist in the opening round of team competition in the Enactus U.S. National Exposition in Cincinnati on April 1.

The NWACC team was one of only five community college teams to advance from the opening round of competition to the quarterfinals. Enactus is an international nonprofit organization that brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.


The Enactus team members include:
James Miskimen,
Dustin Slaughter,
Matt Dean,
Brad Clifford,
Sandi Reichenbach, and
Dulce Aguirre.

Casey Hammond, Becky Hudson and Matt Voss are the Enactus team advisers, who also are designated Sam M. Walton Fellows.

“I am so proud of our NWACC Enactus team,” said Dr. Christine Davis, dean of business and computer information at the College. “They represented us well at the national competition. I believe the projects that this team initiated this year will sow the seeds of future entrepreneurship in action in Northwest Arkansas and the world.”
 
The local team discussed ongoing and new projects that include providing business training and microloan funding for entrepreneurs in Guatemala, working with the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County to instill the entrepreneurial spirit in the organization’s teen leadership group, assisting the Christian Women’s Job Corps with promotion, social media and marketing initiatives, and beginning work with the Bella Vista Recycling Center. The recycling a project of AARP that provides more than $200,000 in community grants with the money generated through the sales of recyclables.

“The experience at Enactus Nationals 2014 has been life-changing,” said Sandi Reichenbach, a first-time participant. “I'm so proud of our team. We have amazing advisers, and our team has already started brainstorming new entrepreneurship projects and recruiting ideas for next year.”

She said the overwhelming impact Enactus has made on the world and our communities is almost unfathomable.
 
A Business Advisory Board, made up of business and corporate leaders from throughout the region, provides support, advising and mentoring to the students involved in Enactus. The team’s work is funded through donations, fundraising activities and an annual golf tournament. This year’s Enactus golf tournament, a four-person scramble, is scheduled for April 25 at Stonebridge Meadows in Fayetteville. More information is available online.