Gilbert Baker

Meanwhile, the Arkansas Times has announced two new hires, including veteran reporter Debra Hale-Shelton. read more >

Arkansas reported 42 new COVID-19 deaths Monday and its biggest one-day spike in coronavirus hospitalizations since the pandemic began. read more >

The Arkansas Supreme Court said jury trials could resume at the beginning of May, meaning a stack of criminal cases finally have their chance to see resolution. read more >

Former State Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway will "most definitely" be going to trial, his lawyer says, but he will be tried by a jury rather than by a federal judge alone. read more >

Arkansas has had its share of notable corruption cases over the years, including when the governor who succeeded Bill Clinton was convicted in a Whitewater-related probe and when a state treasurer was caught accepting bribes stashed in pie boxes. read more >

A former Arkansas lawmaker has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to bribe an ex-judge who admitted to lowering a jury's award in a negligence lawsuit in exchange for campaign contributions. read more >

Former State Sen. Gilbert Baker has been indicted on federal corruption charges in case that has already sent a former Faulkner County circuit judge to prison. read more >

The reporting that uncovered Maggio’s corruption and the reporting that continues to reveal the tentacles of improper influence have been a great service to the state. read more >

Former Judge Mike Maggio tried to withdraw his guilty plea only after he failed a lie-detector test and then disclosed "substantial" new details of the bribery than he had previously revealed, prosecutors said Friday. read more >

Michael Lamoureux, the former state senator who is now Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s chief of staff, has some explaining to do. read more >

The former president of the Arkansas Senate broke his silence Thursday about receiving $120,000 in consulting fees from a group largely funded by lobbyists and their clients while he led the Senate. read more >

While leading the Arkansas Senate, former Sen. Michael Lamoureux received $120,000 in consulting fees from a political nonprofit that was largely funded by some of the state's top lobbying firms and their clients. read more >

Morton, who has been in the nursing home industry for more than 40 years and has 27 nursing homes in Arkansas, said education has always been a passion. read more >

Even though Michael Morton has been hit by shrapnel from former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio’s bribery scandal, the Fort Smith nursing home magnate is pushing forward with plans to expand his empire. read more >

Nursing home magnate Michael Morton has long been considered a go-to guy for those looking to raise political campaign money in Arkansas. read more >

Michael A. Maggio, the former Faulkner County Circuit Judge, waived indictment Friday and pleaded guilty to a federal charge of accepting a bribe in exchange for reducing a nursing home negligence verdict. Maggio admitted that he was "improperly influenced" to reduce a $5.2 million verdict against a business after receiving campaign donations from the business' owner. read more >

In at least three cases, politically well-connected Faulkner County couples were able to keep their divorce filings from public release. The divorce files of disgraced former Circuit Judge Mike Maggio, former state Sen. Gilbert Baker and Conway Deputy City Attorney Chuck Clawson were sealed in such a way that the very existence of the petitions were kept secret from public for reasons that no one seemed willing to explain. read more >

Current law requires Arkansas lawmakers to wait just one year before they seek to take advantage of any clout amassed by hiring on to jobs as lobbyists that pay much more money than most of them have ever before seen. read more >

Former state legislator Gilbert Baker resigned Wednesday, effective immediately, from his position at the University of Central Arkansas. The university released a one-line statement announcing Baker's resignation. read more >

Outgoing State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, has been hired at the University of Central Arkansas. He'll be executive assistant to university President Tom Courtway and draw a $132,000 salary. read more >