Mayor Offers Workers Bonus Days

Amber Kruth (TheKruthTalks@gmail.com)

City of Fayetteville employees received a welcome holiday bonus that most workers would revel in.
No, it was not a cash bonus equivalent to a day’s work or a $25 gift card to Walmart. All full-time employees who have been employed for at least six months received 20 hours of paid time off to use in the year 2011. Part-time employees received a prorated amount of hours. This gesture was in response to a salary freeze in effect since July 2009.
Mayor Jordan extended this consideration on his own accord and didn’t need City Council approval because it does not affect the overall budget. In an overworked economy where employees have dutifully and diligently taken over the work of the laid-off, I think the mayor’s intentions will revive the spirits of the workers, even if they do have to cover for their fellow employee while they take the extra days off.

Bite-sized Walmart

Fitting for NWA, the home of the first ever Walmart, is the first mini-Walmart.
A typical Walmart Supercenter is 200,000 square feet. A Neighborhood Market Walmart is about 40,000. This mini-mart, called Walmart on Campus, is 3,300 square feet. Located in the new and impressive Garland Center on the University of Arkansas campus, the store will offer convenient packages of food suitable for smaller dormitory sized fridges and supply items such as light bulbs, batteries and bike locks.
The store will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. There will also be an on-site pharmacy, which I’m sure many parents will find comforting and many ailing students will be grateful for. The pharmacy’s hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. 3 p.m. Saturday.

Cookie Crunch

Cookies aren’t only something bad if you are on a diet; they may be bad for you computer too.
Often undetected by the typical computer user, cookies can track the user’s Internet travels and report the tendencies and interests to the corporate entities. This information can be used to create alluring pop-ups if you travel onto an ad-sponsored site or for other marketing purposes.
The Taylor Law Firm of Washington County has filed a number of lawsuits against monstrous technology firms such as Google, Skype and YouTube to ensure private information isn’t used without an individual’s consent. These network laws have been established generally, but there are always loopholes that technologies can slither between.
Adobe, Google and Mozilla all state they are making changes to better protect information online. Time to bring out the can opener of governmental regulations to the container of world wide worms.

▲ Amber Kruth provides a local perspective on news briefs from around Northwest Arkansas — tidbits that make you think and keep you informed.

Categories: Commentary