The Fort Smith Redevelopment Authority (FCRA) on Thursday (Feb. 19) approved the sale of more than 50 acres that could within the next few years be the location of a subdivision featuring expensive homes just north of where ArcBest plans to build its new corporate headquarters.

The deal, valued at $778,400, or about $14,000 an acre, is between the FCRA and Provenance Properties. Rod Coleman, former president of ERC Properties, is the agent for Provenance, which would be an ERC Companies property. The deal is also contingent upon the FCRA providing water and sewer access and the completion of a road connecting the property to Wells Lake Road.

A deadline for closing the transaction was set for Nov. 1, 2015, which provides time for the road to be completed.

Also, the deal gives Provenance the right of first refusal for one year from the date of closing on around 50 acres adjacent to the property. Provenance would have to match the price of competing offer, said FCRA Trustee Galen Hunter.

Hunter said homes along the ridge line of the property that looks north and west toward Fort Smith could be priced around $500,000 or more, with the home prices declining through the eastern section of the property.

“This is probably some of the best residential property we have,” Hunter said of the location and the views.

Fort Smith-based ArcBest Corp. – formerly known as Arkansas Best Corp. – announced May 30 a $30 million plan that will see the construction of a new office building and data center at Chaffee Crossing and the addition of an estimated 975 corporate jobs by 2021.

The FCRA also agreed to sell 10 acres to Steve Beam (Beam Properties) for development of duplexes. The property is located on the Barling side of Fort Chaffee along Arkansas 59 and H Street. The 10 acres, if the deal goes through, would sell for $90,000.

A deal to proceed on the sale of 2.04 acres at the corner of Massard Road and Chad Colley Boulevard was also approved by the FCRA. Southland Management Group is interested in buying the property to build a convenience store.

Ivy Owen, FCRA executive director, said around 2,500 acres are still available for sale or donation on the property that was once part of Fort Chaffee. He said about 20% of the remaining property is slated for residential development, with about 25% for commercial and retail use. The remaining is industrial or mixed use.

Land donations are typically reserved for large projects. For example, the FCRA in early 2014 donated 200 acres – valued at $4 million – for development of the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. The college, estimated to cost around $31 million for the first phase of construction, anticipates accepting its first class of 150 students in the fall of 2016.

A bill that would take $2.8 billion from general revenues over 10 years and dedicate the money to highways passed the House Committee on Public Transportation on a voice vote Thursday.

House Bill 1346 by Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, would dedicate funding from the sale of new and used cars and car parts to roads. Of the money raised, 70% would go to highways, 15% to counties, and 15% to cities. The funding would increase over time so that it would grow from $35 million in year one to $548 million in year 10.

The bill is meant to address a funding shortfall over the next 10 years of more than $16 billion, according to Scott Bennett, director of the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. The transfer would occur each year only after $2.2 billion has been raised through sales tax collections.

The transfer of funds was not included in Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s budget. Larry Walther, his newly appointed Department of Finance and Administration director, testified against the bill, saying it would cannibalize current state funding. He said the Highway Department should request funding on a year-by-year basis like other state priorities. A spokesman for Hutchinson said the governor does not support the proposal as it threatens a balanced budget.

“While the Governor recognizes the need for improvements in the highway funding formula, he cannot support a bill that undermines the current balanced budget and doesn’t provide a consensus on a solution to the funding gap,” said Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis.

Douglas and Bennett touted the bill as a necessary means of funding highway needs that no longer are met by the fuel tax, which has not been raised nationally since 1993 and in Arkansas since 2009. Arkansas voters in 2011 did support a bond issue through the Interstate Rehabilitation Program (IRP) as well as a sales tax in 2012 that funds the Connecting Arkansas Program (CAP). Together, those will cover 630 miles, or less than 4 percent of the state’s roads.

Insufficient funds forced the Highway Department to cancel this year’s overlay program – historically $50 million. Overlaying roads costs $200,000 a mile, while reconstruction costs $1.5 million a mile. Bennett said the IRP and CAP programs are temporary, whereas this would provide a permanent funding source. He said the Highway Department would not be looking for an additional tax increase if it passes.

Testifying against the bill were Rich Huddleston with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Pathfinder’s Dusty Maxwell, and Bill Stovall with the Arkansas Community Colleges. Other groups were signed up to speak against the bill, but did not have a chance to address the committee due to time restrictions.
Stovall’s opposition came despite the fact that the bill would take severance tax collections away from the Highway Department so all two-year schools could reach at least 75% of targeted funding. The bill also would provide funding for career and technical education programs.

Also speaking for the bill were Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce; Don Zimmerman, director of the Arkansas Municipal League; and Frank Scott with the Arkansas Highway Commission. Zook said the bill was not perfect but described it as the “best looking horse in the glue factory” for funding highways.

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined a tourism and travel roundtable on Friday to learn about problems facing public and private officials in one of Arkansas’ largest – and growing – industries.

A group of nearly two dozen representatives met with Cotton at the Little Rock Marriott Hotel to air grievances related to federal government regulations and policies.

“The ‘F’ word is ‘Feds’,” said Joe David Rice, State Tourism Director. He explained to Cotton that federal representatives have been restrictive in helping develop hiking trails in national forests, funding fish hatcheries in north Arkansas, and investing in federal parks across the state led by the Corps of Engineers.

The end results are diminished tourism opportunities for those wanting to camp, fish, and participate in other outdoor excursions in the Natural State. Bill Barnes, owner of Mountain Harbor Resort near Hot Springs, said local federal officials “absolutely are sympathetic” but their hands are tied with decisions up the chain of command.

“Washington is dictating broad-brush policies that don’t work here,” Barnes said. “All local reactions have been taken away.”

A big issue raised by travel and hospitality officials centered on federal government per diem reimbursement rates. In central Arkansas, for example, federal government travelers can only be reimbursed about $90 a night for a hotel room, while other regions of the country have higher reimbursement rates. Those numbers have been frozen for years, according to tourism leaders.

The net result is that if a city like Little Rock is recruiting a convention to central Arkansas and hotels charge more than $90 per night, federal travelers can’t be reimbursed for the additional expenses. A city like Las Vegas or Orlando, with a higher per diem reimbursement rate, will have an advantage over Little Rock for the convention business.

Cotton said this type of federal policy is an issue he planned to look further into.

“We’re going to try to address that in the budget process to try to give more direct guidance to some of the agencies in Washington,” Cotton said.

When asked if giving guidance would involve holding up budgets to make a point, Cotton said he’d prefer the message be made early in the process.

“What we’d rather do is to be able to draft those budgets from the early stages in a way that reflects our priorities and spends taxpayer dollars or doesn’t spend taxpayers dollars the way that reflects what the industry needs are in Arkansas,” he said.

Cotton also said he wasn’t opposed to pushing for more investment in Arkansas’ federal natural resources.

“If it’s necessary to spend more money, especially in the upkeep of our federal properties – the national forests, the national parks – its a core constitutional responsibility,” he said. “We hold that land in trust here, and therefore, the rest of the country needs to help Arkansas with our federal land, just like we should be willing to help Wyoming with Yellowstone National Park because that’s federal land and it’s held in trust for all Americans and that is a core constitutional responsibility.”

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Tourism has been on the rise for more than a decade in Arkansas. Officials note it is one of the largest individual industry sectors in the state. Arkansas’ tourism sector (leisure & hospitality) employed 113,900 during December, up from 110,400 during November, and above the 106,900 during December 2013. The December number, if it stands, marks a new record for employment in the sector. Employment in the sector is up 23% in the past 10 years.

Another gauge of industry health – tourism tax collections – remain on the rise. Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax needed only 11 of the 12 months of 2014 to set a new annual record. Collections of Arkansas’ 2% tourism tax during the first 11 months of 2014 totaled $12.866 million, up 7.51% compared to the $11.967 million during the same period of 2013.

The 2% tourism tax set a record in 2013 with $12.716 million, and the 2014 numbers are on track to reach more than $13.5 million in 2014.

“What we need to do in Washington is set more policies that going to create more jobs in your industry,” Cotton told the panel.

On Wednesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson unveiled his plan to reform the state’s prison, parole and probation programs in a holistic, comprehensive effort to reduce crime, stem repeat offenders and curtail a high-growth area of the state’s budget.

The price tag for Hutchinson’s plan is $64 million with about $32 million being spent in the next two years.

Appearing on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics with Roby Brock, Gov. Hutchinson said that his plan would free up prison beds without building a completely new $100 million, 1,000 bed prison although there are more than 18,000 inmates in an overcrowded state prison system and more backed up in county jails.

“You’re right the numbers are challenging for us because we not only want to reduce the population in prison, but we also want to reduce the backlog in our county jails,” Hutchinson said. “This approach though is trying to provide the greatest flexibility.”

Hutchinson’s plan:
• Would allow the creation of regional jail facilities in partnership with counties, the transfer of some prisoners out-of-state, and expand existing prison beds strategically.

• Calls for more probation officers to help with enforcement of those on parole and probation.

• Creates a Legislative Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force to study outcomes of the state’s new efforts.

• Creates a “pay-for-success” program to finance programs for reducing recidivism rates through intervention.

• Utilizes the Medicaid program to help parolees and probationers to receive medical services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment.

• Provides more funding for specialty courts.

• Extends to police officers and Department of Community Corrections officers the authority for warrantless searches of probationers and parolees. Currently, parole and probation officers have the authority as probationers and parolees have forfeited their Fourth Amendment rights as part of their parole.

Hutchinson said he knows the warrantless search proposal and other reform ideas may be controversial.

The governor is also calling on reforms to the state Parole Board. Hutchinson wants to allow the chairman of the board to submit names of board members derelict in their duties and allow the governor to remove them and replace with new members. He’s calling for a change to mandatory release votes by the board from a majority of four members to a larger majority of five members of the seven member panel.

Hutchinson’s plan also would allow the Parole Board to deny parole to anyone eligible, regardless of the sentence, if 5 members determine the release would be “a detriment to the community into which the person would be released.”

With roughly $100 million in tax cuts already signed into law, critics have suggested that the money could have been used to deal with the $64 million public safety crisis. Hutchinson said it’s a matter of priorities.

“You’ve got to balance all of those,” the governor said. “The most important thing is that we grow our economy, create more jobs. And when you have a growing economy, you’re going to have funds for public safety, for paying teachers, for building highways. That’s been the plan all along. You’d be pretty short-sighted in my judgment if we set aside a tax cut that grows our economy in order to put it in short-term spending for some of these solutions. You’ve got to balance those out. I think we’ve done that in our budget.”

Link here to see the video interview.
http://talkbusiness.net/2015/02/gov-asa-hutchinson-discusses-criminal-ju...

An effort by Fort Smith city officials to update mobile food vendor regulations that one city official says are “antiquated” and “too restrictive” is welcomed by such vendors and a majority of downtown Fort Smith property owners who participated in a recent survey on the issue.

Wally Bailey, director of development services for Fort Smith, said during a public hearing held Monday (Feb. 23) by the Fort Smith Planning Commission that the city’s rules are more restrictive than most cities, and certainly more so than rules among a group of eight cities he and other city staffers have reviewed. The cities reviewed are Bentonville, College Station, Texas, Fayetteville, Lee’s Summit, Mo., Little Rock, and Tulsa. College Station and Lee’s Summit were reviewed because of similar population, Bailey said.

Fort Smith has 29 food vendors with permits, but not all of those are active.

About 25 attended Monday’s hearing, during which Bailey outlined key provisions to be considered for a possible ordinance change. Also, a new ordinance would primarily address rules for the “C-6” zoning district in downtown Fort Smith. Mobile food vendors – trucks and trailers – have not been allowed in downtown Fort Smith since 1993. Those key areas are:
• Regulations within various zoning districts;
• Length of permits;
• Products/foods permitted;
• Permit fees;
• Types of vehicles permitted/allowed; and
• Relocation requirements/flexibility.

The city mailed 188 surveys to property owners in the C-6 zoning district of downtown Fort Smith, and 64 were returned – a respectable 34% for polling purposes. Of those, 77% said mobile food vendors should be allowed in downtown, with 67% saying mobile food vendors should be required to keep a certain distance away from other restaurants. Also, 56% of those surveyed said they were OK with mobile food vendors operating from public spaces, such as parking lots.

As to length of permits, Bailey said there is interest by the city staff and the Planning Commission in extending the 120-day permit to 180-days.

Micah Bubbus, owner of Patrick’s Burgers, questioned why the city is limiting vendors in downtown Fort Smith.

“I don’t understand why C-6 zoning is any different than (a mobile food vendor) on Rogers Avenue near Outback,” Bubbus said.

Bubbus, who recently opened a physical location in the GreenPointe Shopping Center, also questioned the need for rules on how close mobile food vendors can operate near an existing brick-and-mortar restaurant. He said when he opened his physical location, there was no guarantee that a restaurant could not some day open in a space next to his. Operating a physical location and a mobile truck, Bubbus said he sees “both sides to the story,” and doesn’t think one type of restaurant should get preference over another.

He also challenged Planning Commission members and the city staff to consider a one-year permit for mobile truck vendors who have an agreement with a private land owner. Bubbus used his relationship with the Harp’s grocery store on 74th Street as an example.

“If I and Harp’s agree ... why am I messing with it (permitting) every four months?” Bubbus asked the panel.

Bubbus also praised city staff and the Planning Commission for reviewing the rules.

“I’m glad y’all are being proactive on this. ... I appreciate that and I think it’s great,” he said.

Tasha Taylor said she hoped C-6 is opened up because she wants to open a food truck business that provides service after hours when many restaurants are closed in downtown Fort Smith. Cheryl Norton, with GR8 Cup Coffee Plus, asked the panel to consider a transfer fee within the 120- or 180-day permitted operation. She explained that sometimes the dynamic of a location changes, and instead of acquiring another expensive permit, the vendor should be allowed to pay a much smaller “transfer fee.”

Bailey and the Planning Commission were also asked to consider a rule change for owners of a mobile food truck who operate the truck on property they own.

Bailey told The City Wire after the meeting that he and the Commission heard “some really good questions today.” The Planning Commission will conduct a study session on March 3, with a voting meeting set for March 10. Bailey said the issue will be discussed at those meetings, but does not anticipate a Planning Commission vote on a new ordinance for several more weeks. It’s his goal to have an ordinance approved by the Planning Commission and to the Fort Smith Board of Directors within 90 days.

Mall and online retailer Dillard’s capped off a healthy year with a mighty fourth quarter as the Little Rock-based company reported rising sales, profits, and gross margins.

Dillard’s also reported improving same-store sales, a key sign of health for retailers although the fourth quarter helped strengthen that number.

For the quarter ended Jan. 31, 2015, Dillard’s reported net income of $130.5 million on revenue of $2.135 billion, an improvement from a $119.1 million profit on sales and income of $2.034 billion in the previous year’s fourth quarter. Earnings per share stood at $3.17 compared to $2.71 a year ago.

For the full fiscal year, Dillard’s posted profits of $331.9 million on sales of $6.621 billion compared to a year ago when net income stood at $323.7 million on revenue of $6.531 billion. Full year per share earnings were $7.79 versus $7.10 in the previous year.

The full year per share earnings also beat the consensus estimate of $7.75. However, total revenue just missed the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion.

“We finished 2014 with our best sales performance of the year in the most important quarter,” said Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard, II. ” Our 3% sales increase was supported by a strong 103 basis point retail gross margin improvement, as customers responded well to our improved mix and service throughout the holiday season.”

The company reported that sales trends were “notably strong” in the ladies' apparel and shoes with juniors' and children's apparel also strong.  Weak sales were seen in the home and furniture category.

Those fourth quarter metrics referenced by Dillard helped push the company’s full year performance in a positive direction. Dillard’s had a 1% increase in same-store sales in 2014, while gross margin showed a 35-point improvement year-over-year.

As of January 31, 2015, Dillard’s operated 277 store locations and 20 clearance centers spanning 29 states. The company said it planned to open three new stores in 2015, including sites in Utah, Louisiana and Ohio. During fiscal 2014, the company opened a new store in Las Vegas and one in Sarasota, Fla.

Dillard’s stock closed trading Monday at $123.49 per share, up 76 cents. The company’s shares have traded between a low of $82.75 and a high of $126.83 during the past year.

The Plains and Eastern Clean Line transmission project will reportedly deliver more than 3,500 megawatts “of low-cost wind power from the Oklahoma Panhandle region to utilities and customers in Tennessee, Arkansas, and other markets in the Mid-South and Southeast,” according to the project website.

With “clean energy” transported via a 700-mile overhead direct current (DC) transmission line, the effort will “create thousands of jobs, stimulate economic development, reduce pollution and water consumption, and enhance energy security and system reliability.”
http://www.plainsandeasterncleanline.com/site/home

Clean Line Energy Partners President Michael Skelly is a former Democratic candidate for Texas’s 7th Congressional District. Prior to founding Clean Line, Skelly led the development of Horizon Wind Energy from a two-man company to a prominent role in the U.S. wind industry. Before Horizon, he developed thermal, hydroelectric, biomass and wind energy projects in Central America with Energia Global.

With Clean Line, he hopes to “create alliances that will benefit the communities impacted by our projects” and notes that the project is “working with local companies that will manufacture the transmission structures and source raw materials from within the states that our projects traverse.”

Sounds good, right?

Not if you ask the “Block P and E” Facebook group or the larger Block Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) movement or the team of volunteers who put together this exhibit for the Arkansas legislature. In fact, a growing number of citizens and Arkansas’ Senate delegation have their reservations.

In Arkansas, the 200-foot right-of-way enters in Crawford County north of Van Buren and travels below Alma and Dyer before dissecting Mulberry to follow a line with Interstate 40 through most of Franklin County. From there, the line travels through Johnson County, Pope County, northern Conway County, southern Van Buren County, souther Cleburne County, White COunty, Jackson County, Poinsett County, Cross County, and exiting Arkansas through Mississippi County north of Memphis. (Link here for an interactive map of the route through Arkansas.)

CLEAN LINE FRUSTRATIONS
One point of contention is Clean Line’s negotiated rate authority from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which detractors say will eventually be passed on to the backs of ratepayers. They’ve also been blamed for a lack of transparency in presenting financials and plan details to potentially affected landowners. There’s also the eminent domain issue, which has property owners uncomfortable — a concern recently brought to light by the Iowa Utilities Board’s (IUB) denial of a motion to consider eminent domain in a separate hearing.

From the IUB ruling: “The constitutional due process concerns alone are sufficient to justify denial of the motion. Even if it is assumed that those concerns could be addressed by clear notices, splitting the hearing would still improve the convenience of a few parties while detrimentally affecting the convenience of many others, particularly the affected landowners. The Board will deny the motion to consider eminent domain issues in a separate proceeding. … Clean Line’s convenience (and costs) would be benefited, but at the same time landowner interests would be detrimentally affected.”

Justin LaVan, an attorney for the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance, applauded the decision in a statement.

“Thousands of Iowa landowners appreciate the IUB’s extensive review of such motions and ruling issued today,” he said. “This ruling was significant. If the hearing was bifurcated and the Board issued the franchises and determined the route following the first hearing, RICL’s negotiating leverage over the landowners would have been prejudicially powerful.”

Carolyn Sheridan, the group’s President, agreed.

“Rock Island Clean Line easement acquisition effort has been underway for 18 months for the 375 Iowa miles of its proposed route, but RICL has less than 15% voluntary easements obtained from total parcels (1540) across the 16 impacted counties in Iowa. There is an unprecedented number (1248 and counting) of formal objections filed with the IUB against RICL proposed line," she noted in this press release.

The Missouri Public Service Commission also said it would “require additional information” from Clean Line’s Grain Belt Express Clean Line (GBE) before it could “grant or deny” its application for a certificate of convenience and necessity, stating that GBE would need to “provide a list of all properties on the selected project route in Missouri and designate for which properties easements have been acquired or are yet to be acquired to facilitate completion of the proposed Clean Line Energy project,” thus playing into accusations that Clean Line isn’t being transparent with landowners.

Missouri’s PSC also cited 12 additional items on which GBE had failed to provide adequate details of its plan, giving project coordinators until April 11, 2015, to do so.

THE ‘APPROVAL’ ACT
Adding to Clean Line’s potential issues, on Feb. 12, U.S. Sens. John Boozman, R-Ark., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill that could negatively affect Clean Line across all states, not just Arkansas. Their bill, if enacted, would give states power to reject federal electric transmission projects like Clean Line on the grounds of eminent domain concerns and federal intrusion on private land.

“When a road, pipeline or power line is built the use of eminent domain is sadly unavoidable in some cases,” Boozman said. “However, this difficult decision should not be in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. If a project is not good for Arkansas, our governor or public service commission should have the power to say ‘no.’”

“Arkansans should have a say in any decision that affects our land,” said Cotton. “The APPROVAL act will rightly empower Arkansans and preserve the Founding Fathers vision of states’ rights.”

In addition to allowing states the ability to reject the use of federal eminent domain for a project, the APPROVAL Act from Boozman and Cotton would ensure “to the extent possible,” that approved projects are placed on federal land rather than on private land. Specifically, for approved projects, DOE would be required (to the maximum extent possible) to site projects on existing rights-of-way and federal land managed by: (1) the Bureau of Land Management, (2) the U.S. Forest Service, (3) the Bureau of Reclamation, and (4) the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Act has been referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for further review.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Despite the pushback and setbacks, Clean Line’s applications for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) and Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) are still under review. In October 2011, Oklahoma approved Plains and Eastern Clean Line’s application to conduct business as a public utility.

Citizens interested or concerned with how the Plains and Eastern Clean Line might affect them can provide their comments directly to the DOE through March 19, 2015.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is available for review at this link.

Memphis native Jennifer McCullough – aka, Chef Jenn– is reeling with excitement as her signature seafood entrees have found their way into 800 Wal-Mart stores just seven months after she first pitched the products at Wal-Mart’s Open Call in July 2014.

McCullough told The City Wire that culinary creativity has long been her passion, but the long nights of being a restaurant chef got old after six years. Seeking to avoid the long nights led her to entrepreneurial ranks.

“I began selling soups and catering fresh prepared meals out of my home. As a small caterer I got the necessary permits and started selling my food locally throughout Memphis in small retailers and farmers markets through a business I branded ‘Uptown Grocery.’ I never dreamed that I could do business with Wal-Mart,” McCullough said.

‘COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED’
Last summer she said a friend emailed her a news piece about Wal-Mart holding its first Open Call in Bentonville looking for new suppliers and products made in the U.S. With no expectations, McCullough reached out to Wal-Mart about her product and within a few days she got an email with suggestions about places to stay and things to see in Bentonville. 

“It still didn’t dawn on me that I would get an appointment with a buyer, because those appointments are so hard to come by. Out of curiosity I called Wal-Mart and they told me I was chosen to present and I would be getting an appointment time, which was completely unexpected,” she said.

McCullough met with Catherine Johnson a seafood buyer at Wal-Mart and still had no expectations that the retailer would want to stock her seafood entrees, which included frozen shrimp- and crawfish-based dips as well as stuffed crab cakes. Johnson told The City Wire that the meeting lasted about 30 minutes and the merchants were impressed with the quality of the food as well as the sustainable packaging the small business was already using. 

“We wanted Wal-Mart to sell Chef Jenn products and immediately began working with Jennifer to figure out the details. She made a few trips back to Bentonville and we launched in 300 to 400 stores to start,” Johnson said.

OUTSOURCING SUPPORT
McCullough ended up outsourcing the production to a seafood manufacturing facility in Florida that already does business with Wal-Mart, which helped establish more trust in the supply chain as well as reduce the cost of production because more scale could be added.

She has no qualms about outsourcing the manufacturing phase of the business because she is in charge of sourcing and quality control of the product at each step of the process.

“It’s interesting because when I was making these items out of my kitchen I was given some food safety and other manufacturing exemptions because of my small scale. Now Chef Jenn product meets all the dietary and food safety protocol,” McCullough said.

When possible McCullough said she sources the shrimp and crawfish from the Gulf of Mexico. The product bares the U.S. Flag, an indication that it’s “American Made.” She is also a woman-owned business and member of WEBENC — Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

McCullough said outsourcing the production also gives her time to create new recipes and expand her product line which she expects in the next few years will include shelf stable items like breadings, seasonings and sauces that can be used to create seafood entrees. She’s also looking into cookware and other table items hoping to expand Chef Jenn to include more than heat-and-serve appetizers.

“Since I have become a Wal-Mart supplier I have been able to do so much more than just survive. I have been able to invest into new product development because I know food and tastes are always changing and chef’s must stay ahead of those trends,” she added.

In late January, Wal-Mart extended Chef Jenn products into 800 stores that stretch across the Southeastern region of the U.S. from Texas to the Carolinas, with the exception of Florida.

McCullough said she has between 7 and 9 items which are all frozen products sold in the specific seafood areas in the grocery sections of Wal-Mart’s larger stores. She said the products retail between $4.47 and $5.49, a price point she could no way duplicate when she was selling the frozen items locally in Memphis.

“I used to put deep freeze units in high-end nail and hair salons and sell my dips and crawfish and crab cakes out of there. (It was) one of the best methods I found for moving my product before I got into Wal-Mart,” McCullough said.

More than 80 ships sitting in the harbor and hundreds of containers stacked in empty parking areas at most of the western ports will take months to sort through now that a deal has been reached between labor and port management after months of negotiations.

The nine-month backlog and intermittent shutdowns have taken a toll on the retail, agriculture and manufacturing sectors who are each pleased to see the 5-year deal reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association. The union represents about 20,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports, and the PMA negotiates for the major port employers, including Denmark-based Maersk Line, China-based COSCO and Korean-based Hanjin Shipping.

Port officials recently warned that once a deal was reached it would take to a couple of months to dig out from the backlog. Given the depth of the congestion, they don’t see flow fully normalizing until late summer.

"It's not going to be fast," Jon Slangerup, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, told CNBC television. “We were at full strength on Saturday night, all full strength yesterday, and we're going to stay at it until this backlog is cleared."

Slangerup said that by the next retail cycle which starts in the fall, the flow of product should be normalized.

FREIGHT DEMAND
Trucker demand is expected to surge in the wake of the deal and higher rates are likely, according to Werner Enterprises’ chief operations officer Derek Leathers. He said there will be scrambling by carriers in the next few weeks to get as many trucks as possible to the western port docks. 

“They will load, move out and return for more freight as quickly as they can,” he said during a guest segment on CNBC Fast Money on Monday, (Feb. 23).

Despite the hitches from this sluggish port situation, he expects many retailers who might have diverted business away from West Coast ports to eventually go back given that it’s a 17 day route from Shanghai to the West Coast and it takes 35 days on all-water routes.

Freight demand could help smaller regional trucking operations like Van Buren-based USA Truck, which does not provide trucking services to the West Coast. However, the publicly held company operates a logistics and brokerage division – Strategic Capacity Solutions (SCS) – that USA Truck CEO John Simone has said will benefit when the port issues are resolved. Simone told The City Wire prior to the labor agreement that there would be a “huge” demand for logistics services once port operations are normalized.

SCS generated 29.7% of total revenue – $178.982 million – for the company in 2014, up from 24.6% in 2014. Simone said there is not set timeframe, but his goal for SCS is to deliver about 40% of annual revenue.

BEEF PRICES
One of the more vocal groups about the port congestion was the agriculture industry that relies heavily on exports of fresh items to keep revenues up for U.S. farmers. The 
The American Meat Institute estimates that the port issue cost beef and pork industries $170 million per month in lost export opportunities as produce wilted on the docks and beef stocks stacked up.

Higher valued beef cuts that might normally be shipped to South Korea were ground up and used domestically, which is helping to reduce beef prices, but the price dip is likely temporary and did not benefit the farm industry.

Richard Kinder, a butcher and meat manager at Allen’s Foods in Bella Vista, has spent nearly 40 years in the meat business and grocery business. He said wholesale beef prices have dipped a few penny’s per pound from the West Coast port disruption. Kinder expect ground beef prices to inch back up as U.S. supply comes down and exports pick up.

RETAIL INVENTORY
Retailers were some of the most impacted by the sluggish ports particularly in seasonal items that have a short window of sell opportunities. Many retailers like Wal-Mart ordered deep and early ahead of the holidays stocking more inventory for longer periods of time to ensure they had items throughout the holiday shopping season.

Greg Foran, CEO of Walmart U.S., said Feb. 19 that some routinely imported items are already in short supply and that can be seen by simply walking through larger retailer stores. He said seasonal items like patio furniture and other summer products may have not been received because of the port delays. 

Research group Kurt Salmon estimates that congestion at West Coast ports could cost retailers as much as $7 billion this year. The analysis attributes those costs to a combination of the higher price of carrying goods and missed sales due to below optimal inventory levels.

Cold, wintry weather didn’t freeze legislators from taking action on Monday. The House approved a bill that was voted down last week, while $10 million in funding for state inmates in county jails passed another hurdle in the Senate.

Meanwhile, state employees may be eligible for paid maternity leave under a bill filed Monday.

The House reversed course Monday, voting 60-21, in favor of House Bill 1242 to modify the requirements of a school district to detach territory from an existing school district. Rep. Karilyn Brown, R-Sherwood, asked the House to reconsider a 49-25 vote Feb. 17 against the bill. Brown said the bill would not have any impact on any state or federal court ruling on the issue.

“An existing school district shall not be reduced by means of detachment to an area with fewer than 2,500 students in average daily membership,” according to the bill.

A school district created by detachment could only be made up of students from one existing school district, while the bill would apply to schools between 5,000 and 20,000 students or schools with a 450-square-mile radius, the bill noted.

Opponents of the bill have argued it would open up the state to additional legal issues involving the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County school districts. The districts have been involved in legal action for many years after federal judges ruled the districts must work to integrate schools. During the Feb. 17 debate, supporters said the bill would help school districts to set boundaries while opponents said the bill would hurt racial progress. The debate continued Monday.

Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, said the bill would give school districts an opportunity to exercise local control. However, Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, said the bill would hurt districts with minority populations.

The House voted 65-19, with one present, to reconsider the issue. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The House also voted Monday to send two bills back to committee for review. The bills are House Bill 1372, sponsored by Rep. David Meeks, R-Conway; and House Bill 1376, sponsored by Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena.

Meeks’ bill involved the carrying of a concealed handgun on the property of a private school by a concealed permit holder, while Bell’s bill would seek to add more protections for unborn children involving assault cases. Both men told the House they wanted to amend the bills before bringing them back to the House.

A bill that would allow a person who uses an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to videotape someone else to be charged with voyeurism passed the House. The House voted 85-2 to approve House Bill 1349, sponsored by Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork. The bill now heads to the Senate.

SENATE
The Senate voted 34-0 to approve a series of funding bills Monday, including one that would pay for state inmates in county jails. The bill (House Bill 1316), approved by a 95-0 margin Feb. 12 in the House, would pay counties $10 million for housing state inmates in county jails.

The issue has been discussed for several months, with county judges and sheriffs asking for more funding.

The Senate also voted to approve the bills to fund the budgets for the Arkansas State University system and the University of Central Arkansas. The $237.1 million budget for ASU under Senate Bill 107 would fund operations of the Jonesboro-based university, as well as 2,251 full-time and 2,064 part-time or temporary employees from July 1, 2015 until June 30, 2016.

In Senate Bill 104, the UCA budget appropriates $394.5 million for the Conway university in the new fiscal year, including 2,251 full-time and 1,600 part-time or temporary employees.

The Senate also approved two bills to provide capital and general improvement funding for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Senators voted 34-0 to approve Senate Bill 303 and Senate Bill 353. Senate Bill 303 would appropriate up to $250,000 for grants to cities, counties and planning and development districts, while Senate Bill 353 would set aside $250,000 for capital improvement projects and $250,000 for health related facilities and hospital projects.

NEW BILLS
A state employee could receive paid maternity for up to six weeks under a bill filed Monday. Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, filed House Bill 1426, which would allow a full-time employee who has worked for the state for more than a year to receive the benefit.

The benefit would be awarded to employees who work for a state agency, as well as the “General Assembly, Bureau of Legislative Research, Division of Legislative Audit, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission, the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or a state constitutional officer.”

Under the bill, the person must also apply for the benefit in writing.

“An employee who is granted maternity leave under this section shall be paid his or her salary in an amount up to $500 each week for six consecutive weeks of maternity leave,” the bill reads. “If paid maternity leave is granted to an employee under this section, the employee shall use the paid maternity leave before the employee uses the following – unpaid maternity leave, earned sick leave, earned annual leave, earned compensatory leave, catastrophic leave and leave without pay.”

However, an employee eligible for leave may choose not to use it and may use other leave that the person is eligible for, Tucker’s bill noted.

A pair of bills involving the state’s concealed carry law were also filed Monday. Sen. Jimmy Hickey Jr., R-Texarkana, filed Senate Bill 492. The bill would allow a concealed carry permit holder to keep a handgun in a locked private vehicle in their employer’s parking lot. The bill would amend current state law on the issue.

“A private employer shall not prohibit any employee who is a licensee from possessing any legally owned handgun when the handgun is (1) lawfully possessed; (2) is locked inside a private motor vehicle in the private employer’s parking lot; (3) is locked inside a personal handgun storage container that is designed for the safe storage of a handgun; and the employee has in his or her possession the key to the personal handgun storage container as required by … law, if the personal handgun storage container requires a key,” Hickey’s bill noted.

Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, D-Warren, also filed House Bill 1432, a one-page bill that would repeal state law against a person carrying a concealed handgun into a polling place.

None of the bills have been sent to a committee as of Monday.

A bill whose net effect would prohibit local governments from establishing anti-discrimination ordinances is now Arkansas law.

SB 202, which was hotly debated in the state Legislature, went into effect without the signature of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had said he would not veto the measure despite reservations.

Conservatives led the push for the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act, which would “improve intrastate commerce by ensuring that businesses, organizations and employers doing business in the state are subject to uniform non-discrimination laws and obligations,” said Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, the original sponsor of SB 202.

Opponents argued that the bill would open up the state to possible discrimination lawsuits. Rep. Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville, a House supporter of the bill, said it would create certainty with businesses that may face different complex issues.

The debate over the issue has been discussed in the state since an ordinance that would have banned discrimination in housing, work and public accommodations involving sexual orientation or gender identity, was passed by Fayetteville City Council members last year.

The ordinance was later repealed during a special election in December.

WAL-MART, HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CRITICAL
Arkansas' constitution allows a bill to become law without a governor's signature if it sits on his desk for five days. Monday was the deadline for that threshold.

Last week, Gov. Hutchinson issued a statement letting supporters and opponents of the measure know that he would let it become law without his signature.

“Senate Bill 202 passed with significant margins in the General Assembly, and I have a high regard for the discussion in the Legislature and respect for the legislative process. As Governor, I recognize the desire to prevent burdensome regulations on businesses across the state. However, I am concerned about the loss of local control. For that reason, I am allowing the bill to become law without my signature,” Hutchinson said in a statement provided to Talk Business & Politics.

Lorenzo Lopez, spokesman for Bentonville-based Wal-Mart, told content partner The City Wire that passage of the law will not change the retail giant's non-discrimination policy, which includes protections based on sexual orientation.
 
“Every day, in our stores, we see firsthand the benefits diversity and inclusion have on our associates, customers and communities we serve. It all starts with the core basic belief of respect for the individual. And that means understanding and respecting differences and being inclusive of all people," Lopez said. 

"While SB202 will not change how we treat our associates and operate our business, we feel this legislation is counter to this core basic belief and sends the wrong message about Arkansas, as well as the diverse environment which exists in the state," Lopez added.

The Human Rights Campaign, a group supporting rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people had asked Hutchinson to veto the bill.
 
"The governor can and should veto a bill that would harm LGBT Arkansans and strip control from local governments. SB202 is bad legislation," HRC Arkansas State Director Kendra Johnson said earlier Monday. "SB202 undermines local governments from doing what is best for their respective towns."

The expectations for Wal-Mart’s e-commerce business is high coming off of 22% sales growth last year. This accomplishment was deemed “solid but not quite as strong as we wanted,” Wal-Mart Stores CEO Doug McMillon said in pre-recorded earnings call Feb. 19.

Wal-Mart invested 8 cents per share in its e-commerce operations last year, which was above the 5-cent to 7-cent forecast. The e-commerce division also benefitted by a 25% increase in gross merchandise value for the year, which is linked to higher third-party prices in its largest markets of the U.S., Brazil and China.

This year Wal-Mart expects to invest between 6 cents and 9 cents per share on its e-commerce initiatives with predicted sales growth in the mid-20% range.

“We’re striving to balance sales growth and profitability. We’re being thoughtful with our investments, ensuring we have the infrastructure in place to build this business for the long term. I’m excited about the possibilities that are in front of us,” said Neil Ashe, CEO of Walmart Global E-commerce.

The majority of the spending last year and the planned investments for this year relate to building out fulfillment infrastructure and further enhancements to the “Pangea” operating system. Ashe said the investments allow Wal-Mart to get closer to customers with delivery and will also help engage shoppers wherever and whenever they want.

HOLIDAY RECAP
Ashe said the fourth quarter was an important benchmark not just because it is the biggest quarter of the fiscal year, but because the retailer’s investments started to play a bigger role throughout the business. He said Walmart.com posted record sales of Cyber Monday and the following week while logging more than 1.5 billion page views between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.

Samsclub.com had strong double-digit comps on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday and in the U.K., company officials said ASDA made Click and Collect easier for customers in stores and added pick up points at petrol stations, tube stations and other locations.

In Brazil, Ashe said Walmart’s e-commerce saw its strongest sales quarter, with high double-digit sales growth in the recent quarter.

MOBILE INFRASTRUCTURE
Ashe said the investments this year will encompass the areas of global technology platform, next generation fulfillment network, talent, and integrating digital and physical.

“We launched most key elements of our site and mobile shopping experience on the new platform before holiday on walmart.com in the U.S. Despite all of our testing, with the sheer complexity of a complete platform rebuild, there is nothing like the real thing on the busiest day of the year. Pangaea hummed along all day, serving our customers at record volume,” Ashe said in the pre-recorded earnings call.

He said a record number of online orders was the first major test of the retailer’s next-generation fulfillment network. Ashe said that network included the large scale fullfillment center in Texas, which shipped twice as many orders as last year. The network also includes stores and the distribution centers. Wal-Mart has four other large-scale fulfillment centers expected to open later this year.

“While there will be some ramp up time, they will significantly expand our fulfillment capacity and efficiency in the coming years,” Ashe said of the new centers.

Mobile – smartphones, iPads and other handheld devices – is at the heart of Wal-Mart e-commerce operations as continues to an area of big investment and growth, according to the company.

“Nearly 70% of our walmart.com traffic during the holidays was from mobile devices. ... In addition to Walmart, we’ve focused on Sam’s digital and physical integration with its club pick up experience, and it paid off, as we saw nearly 30% growth in Club Pickup during holiday,” Ashe said.

He said the Pangaea platform will enable Wal-Mart to double product assortment this year with more than 10 million items.

GLOBAL E-COMMERCE
David Cheesewright, CEO of Walmart International, said integrating e-commerce into the global businesses is also big priority this year.

“This quarter we’ve made even more progress and I’m very excited about the impact we’ve made in online retail. In Japan, we automated the order picking process to fulfill Seiyu.com grocery orders more efficiently and sustainably. We’re testing new offerings, such as “grab ‘n go” lockers in Canada. In India, we’re continuing the rollout of an online offering to business-to-business members and expect to reach all members by the end of next year,” Cheesewright said in the pre-recorded earnings call.

Two of the larger e-commerce markets, China and Brazil are benefiting from the Pangaea platform.

“Yihaodian, our e-commerce business in China, benefited from investments in the supply chain and promotional events. Traffic increased more than 40% and average ticket improved as well,” Cheesewright said.

In Brazil, he said e-commerce sales growth is driven by increased sales for large appliances and wireless devices. He said low-cost smart phones helped drive sales growth of more than double the same period last year.

Springdale-based Career Academy of Hair Design is expanding into Fort Smith thanks in part to an estimated $1.35 million renovation by FSM Redevelopment Partners of property near the 40-acre site that was once a crumbling Phoenix Village Mall.

The property is located just south across Phoenix Avenue from the hospital service center operated by Community Health Systems. FSM Redevelopment bought the crumbling former mall in early 2009 and has invested about $15 million to build out office space, an exhibition center – now used for the hospital service center – and new retail space. A Sykes call center and several medical offices are also located at the renovated property. Lance Beaty, general manager of FSM, has said the 40 acres is now home to about 1,200 jobs with an estimated annual payroll of more than $30 million.

Beaty, who is also owner of Beaty Capital, said the newest work includes demolishing 16,000-square feet of an existing 26,000-square foot building for an “extensive” remodel of the remaining space. The work includes all new electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems, as well as raising the ceiling 4 feet. Work on this space, which will house the Academy, is estimated to cost $1.2 million and should be complete by June.

An adjacent space is being prepped for Cashfish Motor & Pawn, a buy here, pay here used car dealer. That work is estimated to cost $150,000, and should be complete by May. Cashfish is also based in Springdale.

Jim Butenschoen, owner of Career Academy, said the Fort Smith operation could initially employ up to 6 full-time, with expectations for 50 students in the first year. The company now employs 32 in Northwest Arkansas, with schools located in Fayetteville, Rogers, Siloam Springs and Springdale.

He bought the business in 2006 with no experience in the field. His background was corporate work, including a stint with then Little Rock-based Systematics. The academy had 45 students in 2006, and has grown to 350 in the most recent round of classes.

“I didn’t know anything about cosmetology before I bought the schools. ... Then I started looking at the numbers and thought, “My gosh, there is a lot of potential here,” Butenschoen said.

About 140 of the Northwest Arkansas students are from area high schools. He said 18 school districts in Northwest Arkansas work with Academy to provide the career training for high school students.

Tuition for the primary 11-month program is $16,000, with most financed by Pell Grants and loans. Students attend the course 7 hours a day, Tuesday through Saturday. Butenschoen said his school is one of the few to require classes on Saturday.

“Saturday is the prime money making day when they (students) get out, so they need to learn how to work on Saturday,” he said.

Academy also has an esthetics program that runs 4 months with a $7,800 tuition. A manicure and pedicure program is also a 4-month course with a $7,800 tuition.

Butenschoen said a student with a good business mind can earn $50,000 a year after three years, and possibly more if “they are really a go-getter.” He said the class includes “a lot” of focus on teaching the business side of cosmetology. Being “salon ready,” according to Butenschoen, means a student can perform the work, and understand finances.

“One of the things we really stress is that our students come out of our schools salon ready – truly ready to hit the ground running,” he said.

Because the Academy seeks real customers on which the students train, Butenschoen said being across the street from so many jobs “certainly registered with me” in deciding on the location. Hair cuts for men and women are just $7, Butenschoen said.

“The customer gets a good deal ... and the student gets an incredible amount of experience,” he said, adding that instructors always watching “to make sure they are doing a good job.”

It’s been more than a decade since Wal-Mart Stores publicly began its sustainability journey, and while there have been notable accomplishments, the greater work is yet to be done, according to Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon. Greater work is what critics of Wal-Mart’s sustainability program are calling for.

At the retailer’s 2015 Sustainability Milestone Meeting held in San Bruno, Calif., Tuesday (Feb. 24), McMillon shared a recently shot video clip of former Wal-Mart leaders revisiting the sustainability origins.

Former CEO Lee Scott said in the video that Wal-Mart first looked at ways it could save costs through its own green initiatives such as recycling and waste reductions. But it was Hurricane Katrina that drove the second phase of the company’s sustainability efforts. He said the Wal-Mart that showed up for Hurricane Katrina also needed to be the Wal-Mart people saw everyday.

BETTER STORY
“We needed a better story, the world had changed around us and we hadn’t changed,” Scott said. “Customers began to believe businesses had a social responsibility that goes way beyond providing values. ... Everything negative about being big comes to you without any effort, but how can you take the power that size and scope give you and use it to do something really good.”

McMillon said during Katrina was the first time he can remember Lee Scott saying find out what was needed and make it happen and the costs of it all could be tallied up later. From there he said Scott began to connect the dots and bring in more stakeholders which kicked off Phase II of the sustainability agenda where key benchmarks were set.

He said the company has now moved into “phase three,” in which the company will “reshape entire systems.” McMillon said a more sustainable outcome is being sought from the earliest origins of product development to the way people making the product are treated, through each step in the supply chain.

No details were given by McMillon on the new phase three. The majority of meeting time was devoted to brief panel discussions that featured suppliers and other partners. Wal-mart did announce along with the meeting its “Sustainability Leaders” shop. It’s part of the Walmart website that helps customers find and buy products from suppliers “leading in sustainability.”

BENCHMARK UPDATE
The retailer provided the following feedback on its three major benchmark initiatives during the meeting. The information was presented in a video and there was no further discussion.

• To be supplied 100% by renewable energy — About 25% of Wal-Mart’s global electricity is generated by renewable sources.
• To create zero waste — Wal-Mart’s U.S. business diverts 81.6% of its wastes
from landfills. 
• To sell products that sustain people and the environment — Wal-Mart’s work
with its suppliers through sustainable sourcing have increased capacity in the supply chain.

For example, Wal-Mart launched an affordable organic brand in Wild Oats and it worked with suppliers to reduce sugar and salt in product formulations and promoted ingredient transparency in labeling. Wal-Mart said its work with local sourcing has saved customers $3.5 billion on fresh produce.

PARTNERS WEIGH-IN
Attending the meeting were the Sustainability Consortium and the Environmental Defense Fund. Officials with both groups said the retailer’s efforts to work with suppliers is the best way to move needle in sustainability long-term. They also noted that Wal-Mart’s ability to convene a meeting and keep the conversation relevant are huge benefits for the sustainability movement which is now part of mainstream awareness.

Suppliers like Henkel, who own Purex detergent, was singled out by McMillon for working with merchants to deliver a more concentrated product, reducing the water content and bottle size for a 30% more sustainable product.

Jason Foster, founder of Replenish, said most cleaning products are 90% water and he designed a bottle that allowed users to replace the concentrated soap and add their own water as needed. The bottom of the bottle unscrews to allow for a refill pod and this design allows them to reuse the same bottle many times. He said the product is sold on Walmart.com.

“We believe this product will eliminate a billion bottles in landfills, a billion miles traveled and far less chemicals used in plastic manufacturing. Incorporating sustainability in product design is key to making a real difference,” Foster said. 

GREENWASHING
The Institute for Local Self Reliance has been a vocal critic of Wal-Mart’s sustainability effort. The group recently asked Wal-Mart to “stop greenwashing and commit to sustainability,” in its November 2014 report on dirty energy and carbon pollution.

The report finds that Wal-Mart is one of the nation’s largest users of coal-fired electricity, and that its heavy reliance on coal pumps nearly 8 million metric tons of carbon pollution into the air each year.

According to the report, Walmart’s U.S. operations use nearly six times the amount of electricity as the entire U.S. auto industry. The operations use more than 4.2 million tons of coal each year, accounting for nearly 75% of the company’s total emissions from U.S. electricity use.

“Wal-Mart has made remarkably little progress in moving to renewable energy, while other national retailers and many small businesses are now generating a sizable share of their power from clean sources,” said Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher at ILSR and co-author of the new report. “Despite making a public commitment to sustainability nine years ago, Wal-Mart still favors dirty coal-generated electricity over solar and wind, because the company insists on using the cheapest power it can find.”

Many other retailers, including Kohl’s and Ikea, are outpacing Wal-Mart in the shift to renewable energy. Ikea has installed rooftop solar panels on 90% of its U.S. stores, including in many heavy coal-using states where Wal-Mart has no renewable energy projects, Mitchell added.

Critics like Mitchell agree that Wal-Mart does a good job motivating its suppliers to create greener packaging and better-for-you items, but if the retailer really wanted to make a difference it would seek to reduce its own giant carbon footprint.

“If you dumped coal on a football field, you’d have to pile it 35 feet high, from end-zone to end-zone just to power Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores for one week,” Mitchell noted.

Australian mining giant BHP Billiton announced today that it has been unable to find a viable suitor for its Fayetteville Shale operations, and is no longer seeking to sell the conglomerate’s unconventional natural gas in play in Arkansas.

“We have concluded the marketing of our Fayetteville acreage and have decided to retain it within our portfolio to maximize value,” BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said in the company’s half-year earnings report. “The longer-term development of the Fayetteville remains an attractive option and with the majority of our acreage held by production, we will continue to defer investment for value, consistent with our long-term outlook for gas prices.”

Despite those assurances, BHP still plans to cut the company’s U.S. shale budget substantially for the remainder of the year. In BHP’s half-year review a month ago, Mackenzie reiterated that the industrial mining giant is speeding up plans to reduce costs and invest in more profitable businesses by cuttings its previously announced U.S. shale capital budget by 50% from $4.2 billion to $2.1 billion.

In today’s (Feb. 24) earnings report, BHP said as a result of the reduction in drilling activity, the company now expects onshore U.S. drilling and development spending at $3.4 billion for 2015, 15% percent below the previous guidance of $4 billion.

“A further reduction to approximately $2.2 billion is expected in the 2016 financial year,” the company said. “We continue to monitor market conditions and will exercise the flexibility within our shale portfolio to maximize value.

Last month, BHP spokeswoman Jennifer White told Talk Business & Politics that the world’s largest mining company was still looking for a hasty exit from its unprofitable foray into the Fayetteville Shale play as natural gas prices plummeted below $3 per million British Thermal units (mmBtu). In Tuesday’s trading session, natural futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange trading at $2.89 per mmBtu.

BHP ARKANSAS RIG COUNT DOWN TO ‘ZERO’
By rig count, BHP said that it planned to cut the total number of operating drilling pads in the U.S. from 26 to 16. In the Fayetteville Shale, that current rig count is at “zero” and its operational budget currently around the $100 million level, BHP’s financial reports show. In the first half of the year, BHP drilled and completed 27 wells in the Arkansas play, down 45% percent from a year ago.

Originally, BHP Billiton Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Billiton Limited, paid $4.75 billion in cash in early 2011 to purchase nearly 487,000 net acres of leasehold and producing natural gas properties from Chesapeake Energy Corp. In late 2011, shortly after the Australia mining giant landed in Arkansas, BHP said it planned to quadruple production from its onshore U.S. shale operations, adding nearly 20 new rigs in the Fayetteville Shale region and increasing natural gas production four-fold by the end of the decade. At the time, BHP said its U.S. capital spending program would jump from $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion annually by 2020, with the lion’s share targeted toward its Arkansas development.

BHP’s leasehold position of 487,000 net acres makes it the second-largest Fayetteville Shale operator behind Southwestern Energy Corp. with an average operating stake of 58%. Those pricey assets were originally purchased from Chesapeake Energy Corp. in early 2011 with an average per well drilling and completion cost of $3.5 million.

As part of that deal, Chesapeake agreed to manage the properties for a fee until the inexperienced Australian mining giant was poised to take over the operations by itself. But none of those things ever happened.

By the end of 2012, BHP had already announced a $2.84 billion write-down of its Fayetteville Shale assets, saying a short-term over supply of natural gas resulted in a before-tax impairment charge against the carrying value of the Arkansas play.

Former BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers, who resigned in October 2013, said the Fayetteville charge reflected the company’s decision to adjust its development plans by shifting most of its dry gas drilling operations in the Fayetteville Shale south to oil-rich Haynesville Shale in Louisiana and west to the Eagle Ford and Permian shale developments in Texas.

Overall, BHP reported better-than-expected first-half earnings on Tuesday as the mining giant continue with its previously announced cost-cutting plan and efforts to refocus its worldwide mining operations. For the period ended Dec. 31, BHP reported underlying profit of $5.4 billion versus $7.8 billion a year earlier. Wall Street analysts had expected the Melbourne-based mining operator to report half-year earnings of $4.9 billion.

The veto of a bill to build a nearly 3,000 mile pipeline from Canada through the United States drew a stinging rebuke from the state’s congressional delegation Tuesday.

President Barack Obama vetoed Senate Bill 1, which would support the building of the Keystone XL pipeline. In his veto message to the Senate, Obama cited concerns over environmental issues among other reasons for the veto.

“I am returning herewith without my approval S. 1, the ‘Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act.’ Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest.”

“The Presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously,” Obama said. “But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest – including our security, safety, and environment – it has earned my veto.”

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said the bill would have benefited the economy, while other lawmakers said the decision was inexplicable.

“The Keystone pipeline would bring a reliable supply of energy into our country – providing opportunity, creating jobs and lowering the cost to ship goods, products and crops. The idea that Congress is sidestepping the normal process is out-of-touch with reality,” said Boozman, who cosponsored the bill. “This project has been studied for more than six years and has been given the green light at every obstacle. Arkansans and all Americans can see that President Obama is the real hurdle to Keystone. I will continue to support this project, and I urge the Senate to quickly vote to override this veto.”

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark, said the veto was wrong on multiple levels.

“President Obama’s veto of a bipartisan bill approving the Keystone XL Pipeline is regrettable. But what’s more concerning is his continued tendency to put his liberal allies ahead of America’s best interests. Arkansans and all Americans deserve better. The Keystone XL Pipeline would lower energy costs for all Arkansans, create and sustain jobs at Welspun Tubular, and provide our businesses with much needed certainty. I will continue to put Arkansas workers and families first and advocate for approval of this important project.”

The veto also drew opposition from Arkansas member of the U.S. House.

“In a move that defies logic, the President has chosen to appease his far left supporters and ignore the common welfare of our Nation, through North American energy independence, billions in private sector investment and good careers for our hard working families,” said U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock. “The President’s veto is indicative of a leader who is unwilling to compromise – even in situations where failure to do so is not in our long-term interests as a country. Despite the President’s unwavering stance, I remain optimistic that Congress can continue to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that we finally build the Keystone XL pipeline.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, used an analogy to describe the decision.

“Today, President Obama showed his cards – instead of being willing to work with Congress in a bipartisan fashion, he folded to extreme environmental groups, putting radical interests above those of honest Americans, their jobs, and their economy.”

Monthly Fort Smith sewer bills that could rise from an average of $20 per month to $53 a month by 2017 and a lower than expected increase in city staffing were just a few items presented Tuesday (Feb. 24) to the Fort Smith Board of Directors related to the city’s estimated $480 million settlement with the feds over Clean Water Act violations.

The agreement between the city of Fort Smith and the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency requires extensive investments in new infrastructure and ongoing maintenance activities to bring the city in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

The estimated $480 million includes $375 million capital costs and $104 million in additional operations and maintenance expenses. While the proposed settlement between the city and the DOJ is complex, the primary purpose of action is to increase capacity to eliminate wet weather overflows and fix defects to eliminate dry weather overflows. The agreement gives the city 12 years to invest the needed funds and do the work to bring the sewer system into compliance.

David Naumann, a project manager with Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell, opened the presentation with the bitter pill that to cover part of the settlement costs the average residential sewer bill will need to rise from $19.63 now to around $53 by 2017. Industrial and commercial bills would see a similar increase, he said.

The Burns & McDonnell report compared Fort Smith with 20 other cities based on similar population, or those facing similar federal agreements. The survey found that Fort Smith rates were the third lowest in the group. As an example, the survey showed Bentonville residential sewer rate averages at $50 per month.

Raising the rates to around $53 a month by 2017 would put Fort Smith in the middle of the 20-city pack, Naumann said. Bob Roddy, a utility consultant with Burns & McDonnell, reminded the Board that “full compliance” with the federal agreement will see the city moving from $10 million a year in capital costs to $30 million a year over the 12-year effort. That increase is driving the higher sewer rates, Roddy said.

“This is an aggressive schedule,” Roddy told the Board.

The historically low sewer rates in Fort Smith, as indicated by the Burns & McDonnell report, is why the city is facing the federal order, City Director Mike Lorenz said later in the presentation. Not having a rate structure to cover the costs of expanding and maintaining a sewer system has caught up with city residents, Lorenz said.

“That explains so much of our problems right now,” Lorenz said in discussing the city’s low rates compared to the other cities. “It’s not about what our rate is, it’s about what our rate should have been.”

On a possible good note, early estimates of having to increase city staff by 82 people was reduced to 75 in the Burns & McDonnell report. The report estimates 45 positions will be added in 2015, 22 in 2016 and 8 in 2017. Burns & McDonnell looked at survey data from 100 municipal utility departments to estimate a necessary workforce. The city’s utility department now employs 196.

Increased staffing is needed to meet the significant “capacity management operations and maintenance” (CMOM) required by the federal order. The order includes the city either engage or improve efforts at root control, reduction of fats, oils and greases (FOG) from sewer lines, add new tools to improve system maintenance and move the department from reactive work to pre-emptive work.

For example, the order requires 60 miles of the sewer system receive routine cleaning and 45 miles reviewed television inspection. However, no routine cleaning or YV inspection is now performed on the system. The federal order also requires 1,505 manhole inspections performed annually. The city now does not conduct manhole inspections.

The Burns & McDonnell report suggested the city needed more engineering and planning staff to help move the utility department from a reactive stance to a proactive department. Of the 75 new positions, Burns & McDonnell said 26 should be in management. City Director Kevin Settle, an industrial engineer, disagreed with the report saying he doubted that one-third of the new employees should be in management.

The Board is expected at its March 3 regular meeting to consider an ordinance setting a new rate structure, and a resolution calling for a public hearing. Arkansas law requires cities to propose a rate structure in one meeting and hold a public hearing in a second meeting prior to voting on rate increases.

A bill that would get rid of the state’s lottery commission drew overwhelming support Tuesday from the House, while a state Senator sponsored a bill that would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote in elections in time for their 18th birthday.

Also, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law another campaign pledge he made. Hutchinson signed HB 1183 into law – a measure that would make computer coding classes available in every Arkansas high school. Hutchinson campaigned on the proposal, which was featured in a TV ad with his granddaughter Ella Beth, who was present at the bill signing in the Governor’s conference room.

In the House, members voted 84-3, with two voting present, to approve Senate Bill 7. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, would abolish the Arkansas Lottery Commission and create a lottery office within the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. The bill would also put the lottery under the executive branch of state government, while setting up a 12-member legislative committee to conduct oversight, Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Springdale, said. Lundstrum, who cosponsored the bill in the House, said the bill was definitely needed.

“The lottery is in big trouble,” Lundstrum told House members.

Lundstrum quoted a study completed last year that showed revenues for the lottery, which fund college scholarships, has dropped from $96 million to around $72 million in recent years. Lundstrum said the program needs about $100 million a year to break even. She said taxpayers paid the remaining $20 million or so balance last year, saying the “lottery program and model is broken.”

No one spoke against the bill, which now goes to Gov. Asa Hutchinson for his signature.
Hutchinson said late Tuesday that the bill’s objectives were prudent.

“It makes practical sense to put the Lottery Commission under the operations of the state Department of Finance and Administration,” Hutchinson said in a statement to Talk Business and Politics. “It’s a responsible move and should reassure the people of Arkansas that the lottery will be efficiently run and properly benefit the state’s scholarship-eligible students.”

NO ON CELL PHONE BAN
A bill that would have prohibited the use of handheld wireless devices while driving a vehicle was voted down in committee Tuesday. The House Public Transportation Committee voted 11-7 against a bill from Rep. David Fielding, D-Magnolia, content partner KUAR reported.

Fielding filed House Bill 1373 earlier this month in the House. A person would have not been allowed to use the devices while driving on roads, but could have been able to use a cell phone during an emergency or if the driver pulled over on the side of the road. A person suspected of violating the law could have faced either fines or a suspended driver’s license if found guilty of the misdemeanor offense.

DWI/BWI BILL, PO NOTIFICATION BILL BOTH PASS
The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would combine the offenses of driving while intoxicated and boating while intoxicated. Rep. Mary “Prissy” Hickerson, R-Texarkana, told the committee the bill would streamline both offenses and provide enforcement on the boating issue.

Hickerson said her interest in the bill came after she got a call about two people killed in a boating accident, in which the person driving the boat had a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit. The bill now heads to the House.

The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved House Bill 1363. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Donnie Copeland, R-Little Rock, would notify people enrolled in the Health Care Independence Program, or the Private Option, of its termination date. The legislature voted earlier this session to end the program as of Dec. 31, 2016. Under the law, a task force has until Dec. 31, 2015 to study and make recommendations on the issue.

NEW BILLS

A rite of passage for most teenagers is to have a car by the time they are 16. There may be another rite of passage for the state’s 16-year-olds if a bill filed Tuesday becomes law. Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, filed Senate Bill 510 Tuesday morning. The bill would allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote.

“A person who has reached 16 years of age but who will not reach 18 years of age by the date of the next election may preregister to vote using any means of registration available to a person of voting age,” the bill reads.

The registration would become active once the person turns 18, Elliott’s bill noted.

“A person preregistering to vote under this subsection shall make the following self-affirmation in writing submitted with his or her registration application – ‘I do solemnly affirm that I am a citizen of the United States and that on the date of the first election at which I vote, I have attained the age of 18 years and resided in the state of Arkansas at least 30 days and in (the precinct) at least 30 days before the election. I further affirm that the present address I listed in my registration materials is my sole legal place of residence and that I claim no other place as my legal residence,” according to the bill.

The voting age in Arkansas and other states is 18 and was originally 21 when the country was founded. The 26th Amendment of the United States Constitution changed the age requirement in 1971.

A state representative also filed a bill to look at funding issues involving the state’s transportation needs. Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Rogers, filed House Bill 1436 Tuesday afternoon. The bill would amend state law by taking money collected from the state’s 5% severance tax collected on natural gas to pay for projects.

Under the bill, the first $675,000 collected from the tax would go to general revenue with the remainder going to a ‘Road and Bridge Repair, Maintenance and Grants Fund.”

“The fund shall be used for the maintenance, operation and improvement required by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department in carrying out the functions, powers and duties ….,” the bill read.

The bill has not been assigned to a committee as of Tuesday.

The Old Fort Homeless Coalition is moving forward with the design and bid process after receiving approval of $695,000 in grants from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to support the first phase of construction on the Riverview Hope Campus just south of downtown Fort Smith.

Work on the first phase of the homeless services center is estimated to cost $2.9 million. The campus will be located at 301 S. E St., in a former furniture manufacturing plant. First phase work will include a 75-bed low-barrier emergency shelter, cafeteria and commercial kitchen, showers, laundry area, classrooms, counseling rooms, barber shop, kennels, bulk storage and a worship center.

The planned Riverview Hope Campus is expected to provide access to counseling, case management, medical and mental health services, basic education/GED classes, job training and placement services. Food, shelter, a worship center, bathrooms, showers, barbershop, laundry, storage and kennels will also be available.

Services through the center are planned to assist almost 200 people a day, Monday-Friday.

A $350,000 donation from Mercy and a $100,000 donation from Fort Smith businessman Bennie Westphal was announced Jan. 8 and followed a $100,000 donation announced Dec. 10 by the Richard Griffin Family.

Mercy is also planning to operate a 6,000-square-feet low-income Medicaid clinic on the campus.

Financial support from Mercy, Westphal and the Griffins raised collections to $2.1 million, according to Debbie Everly, director of homeless programs for Fort Smith. The $2.1 million includes $603,441 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the city of Fort Smith, $500,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas; and $646,559 in private, foundation and in-kind gifts.

"These grants from the State of Arkansas are the culmination of nearly five years of effort by hundreds of citizens in our area,” Everly said in a statement issued Wednesday (Feb. 25). “Homeless service agencies, churches, private donors, and public officials are committed to providing a comprehensive services campus to address the wide array of needs of those experiencing homelessness and others needing access to various social services."

Phase two is valued at $700,000 and includes 12 single-occupancy rooms for those who are transitioning away from the homeless campus. Phase three is a $330,000 project to provide 25 beds for the chronically homeless with mental illness.

There have been many executive changes at Wal-Mart Stores in recent months, including a new management team at the retailer’s mammoth U.S. division. And while some say all has seemed quiet on the retailer’s push to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. since the departure of former Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon, Wal-Mart disagrees.

“Our new CEO Greg Foran is equally committed to the U.S. Manufacturing initiative because it is a good business decision. Of course there are business advantages that come with a shorter supply chain particularly in responding to seasonal trends. But it’s also at the core of Everyday Low Price and is a cost-cutting strategy that is a crucial part of our business. It’s smart and we are quite pleased with the progress made in two years’ time,” said Cindi Marsiglio, vice president of U.S Manufacturing at Wal-Mart.

Marsiglio told The City Wire that there are more projects in the pipeline today than ever before, from concept to commitment and everything in between. While she would provide an estimated number of projects, in October 2014 she said there 150 projects in various stages.

In 2013, Wal-Mart announced it would buy an additional $50 billion in American products over the next decade. Wal-Mart estimates cumulatively over the next decade the investment will total $250 billion. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that this $250 billion investment will create one million jobs, including the jobs in manufacturing and related services. Simon was seen as the champion within Wal-Mart for the manufacturing push.

With respect to Wal-Mart’s 10-year commitment to purchase goods made in the U.S., Marsiglio said the spending is on par with the two-year target with the estimated prorated portion. The funds are being allocated based on three areas: new items sourced from current U.S. suppliers; new suppliers bringing new or improved items; and those suppliers looking to bring some of their manufacturing onshore, which is by far the toughest piece of the puzzle and the most time-consuming.

“We don’t have a specific target spending among these three areas. We are seeing a lot more production in the U.S. for items added to the our inventory as we are buying more from those we already do business with. Some existing manufacturers are expanding their plants as they take on new customers and more business and others are adding shifts. We are still seeing stable interest among those who want to onshore production and plan to build new facilities which is exciting and most difficult to complete,” Marsiglio said.

Two-thirds of products Wal-Mart already sells are made in the United States, but Marsgilio said many of those are food items given the retailer’s huge grocery presence.

“We want to increase that percentage with this $250 billion commitment and our buyers are very engaged in the process. Again, that’s because our customers want to buy local when they can, and it’s also many times cost effective for us,” she said.

RESHORINGNUMBERS
A report from global consulting company A.T. Kearney suggests that reshoring is not yet making a difference. Its 2014 “Reshoring Index” was down 20 basis points compared to 2013, indicating that “offshoring to foreign manufacturing markets outpaces reshoring.”

“While the so-called reshoring trend has helped improve the mood of U.S. manufacturing since the Recession, the reality is that the import value of manufactured goods into the U.S. from 14 low-cost Asian countries has grown at an average of 8 percent per year in the last five years,” Pramod Gupta, A.T. Kearney principal and study co-author, said in a press release. “The 2014 Reshoring Index is not only an indicator of U.S. manufacturing capital flows, but also how the U.S. stacks up in terms of attractiveness as a source of manufactured products versus countries like China, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.”

The index also noted: “While there has been an overall lift in U.S. manufacturing for five straight years since 2009, imports of offshored manufactured goods into the U.S. have increased at a faster rate than any return of manufacturing operations to our soil and, for the 14 top offshoring locations combined, amounted to $630 billion in 2013.

U.S. manufacturing employment as of January was an estimated 12.33 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number was better than the 12.102 million in January 2015, but 13.5% below employment levels of 10 years ago. The January manufacturing employment is more than 36% below the January peak of 19.388 million in 1979. U.S. manufacturing employment reached a high point of 19.553 million in June 1979.

BUYER PERSPECTIVE
Catherine Johnson, seafood buyer at Wal-Mart for the past 5 years, said her team is seeking out locally sourced seafood items. She said they travel the country to seafood shows each year to find locally sourced fish and seafood because it allows for more a transparent chain of custody and traceability.

“Next month we are traveling to Boston for a seafood show and we recently completed a trip to the Pacific Northwest to Pike’s Market. We source shrimp and what we can from the Louisiana Gulf,” Johnson said.

One of the deals she recently worked on was with Big Easy, a Louisiana company that will supply cooked product from the Gulf. She said this new line helped add capacity to Big Easy’s production and they’ve hired 35 workers in the process. 

Johnson said another new line called Wild Alaska is going regional in June in the Pacific Northwest region. The deal came about because of ongoing work between Wal-Mart and Alaskan suppliers.

While Johnson said Wal-Mart continues to source its seafood globally, buyers are also looking at private label products with some of the Alaskan suppliers like Trident out of Seattle that is a fourth generation fishing business. 

“Seafood can be intimidating. I call it the Starbucks factor, because consumers might not know how to order it. There is also the wonder of where it comes from. Consumers still want their Mahi Mahi from Peru because that kind-of romances the product,” Johnson said.

HOMEFRONT
In the last quarter, the retailer planned for a banner holiday, opened 178 new stores, including its 500th Neighborhood Market. Somewhat lost in the limelight was roughly a half dozen suppliers who got order commitments through Wal-Mart’s U.S. manufacturing initiative.

There were winners and losers. HanesBrands announced it would add 120 jobs in Clarksville, Ark. (Johnson County) as part of a $1.4 million investment in the building and equipment that brings manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. HanesBrands said it is moving hosiery production from Honduras to the Clarksville plant. When the 120 jobs are realized, the company will employ 570 in the county seat of Johnson County. The 120 new jobs will average approximately $39,000 per year in wages and benefits, a $4.7 million economic infusion into the local economy each year, according to information provided by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

“As companies continue to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., we are committed to making Arkansas a leader in job creation and manufacturing,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in the statement. “Thanks to HanesBrands for its decision to make this significant expansion in Arkansas. The fact the company chose to expand this specific facility demonstrates the quality of our workforce in Clarksville.”

Mel Redman of Redman Industries also a veteran supplier to Wal-Mart, had planned to build his ride-on toys in Rogers, gradually shifting production from his Hong Kong manufacturer Sales Chief. A legal battle ensued and Wal-Mart pulled the $70 million product commitment from Redman who no longer sells the ride-on products. Redman is suing Sales Chief for $40 million in losses from this busted deal.

Other local manufacturers who have said their business is growing because of overall efforts to return manufacturing jobs to the U.S. include Creative Things in Lowell, PolyTech Plastics in Prairie Grove and MarshallTown Company in Fayetteville.

Jack Murders, vice president of operations at Marshalltown, said the company has continued to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. for many of products that were originally made abroad.

“We started doing that long before the current fad of ‘reshoring’ came into vogue and we’ll be doing it long after the fad fades. We don’t seek out attention for reshoring, but we are primarily a U.S.-based manufacturer and we make our decisions based upon cost-effectively making premium products,” Murders said.

The company has determined that U.S. based manufacturing is increasingly cost effective. That said, it continues to source some of its raw materials and finished goods from abroad where it makes sense to do so.

ONBOARD ELSEWHERE

As previously noted, there were several new manufacturing announcements lost in the holiday hustle of the recent quarter. Most of the announcements did not disclose specific job additions nor investment expenditures associated with the new Wal-Mart product commitments.

“We continue to see the fruits of this initiative come through and we will have more announcements following our next Open Call slated for July 7 in Bentonville,” said Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling.

True Science Holdings announced plans to add 200 jobs to its facility in Springville, Utah, in expanding a new pet treat line of products under the brands Delightibles, Betsy Farms and VetIQ. True Science purchased and renovated a 200,000 square foot manufacturing space in Springville for this new business.

“Working with True Science, Wal-Mart is able to bring customers quality pet products while also helping create American jobs,” said Michelle Gloeckler, senior vice president of U.S. Manufacturing at Wal-Mart. “An increase in U.S.-made products for our customers helps manufacturers create more jobs here in America.”

In Knoxville, Tenn., Dalen Products signed a deal to create a new line of U.S.-made  lawn and garden plastic owls. The new business has enabled Dalen to provide more year-round jobs at its facility. 

Pacifier maker NUK USA announced plans to bring some of its manufacturing to a facility in Reedburg, Wisc., from Europe. Nuk said it assembled baby products in the U.S. since 1949. With the Wal-Mart commitment, the company said it was able to expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint to give customers the option of  “Made in the U.S.” pacifiers.

In Salisbury, Mass., Andover Healthcare announced plans to expand with a 52,000-square-foot manufacturing center in nearby Portsmouth, N.H., where it will make cohesive bandages for Wal-Mart. Founded in 1976, Andover Healthcare has grown from just a few employees to more than 225 employees and it expects to hire more when the factory is at full capacity, the release states. No other financial terms were announced.

North Carolina continues to see new jobs added because of the Wal-Mart commitment. From Element Televisions to Kent Bicycles, which are now being assembled there, to the recent $16 million investment by Richeleiu Legwear. The Canadian-based sock maker plans to move production on its Peds Ladies and Medi-Peds product lines back to the U.S., creating 200 new jobs in Hildebran, N.C., by 2018.