Breath of Life to provide coats
Breath of Life Church, 1313 Pine St., will host the Sandra Jones Coat Drive in the church’s fellowship hall from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday. Coats will be given out for all ages until they are gone.
The effort was named for the late Sandra Jones, a member of the Breath of Life Church, Breath of Life Willing Workers, co-founder of the Unified Christian Alliance Scholarship Foundation, and a giver to the community, according to a news release.
“While driving through town, she would see children walking or waiting on buses without coats and decided to start an annual clothing and coat drive at Breath of Life Church under (pastor) Kerry Price Sr. Sandra began this in the early 1990s and continued until her death.” according to the release.
Jones’ family and church honor her by continuing her work. Since she died in 2007, her family, through the Unified Christian Alliance Scholarship Foundation, has given a $500 scholarship yearly to University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff students.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
NCC collects items for elderly residents
New Community Church, 321 N. Birch St., is collecting items to donate to nursing home residents. Interested participants may drop off items at the church on Sunday.
The youth Christmas program will be held Sunday after the 11 a.m. worship service. There will also be an Ugly Sweater Contest and winners will win prizes.
These events are sponsored by the NCC Youth Ministry directed by the Rev. and Mrs. Roderic Goodwin. New Community’s apostle/pastor is Patrick Lockett.
Foreign ownership restrictions on hold
A federal judge in Arkansas has halted enforcement of the state’s foreign ownership restrictions for plaintiffs owning a crypto-mining business.
Jones Eagle LLC, which operates near DeWitt, and mines digital assets like cryptocurrency, came under investigation by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and Arkansas Attorney General following the state enacting Act 636 and 174 during the 2023 legislative session. Both acts involve restriction of foreign ownership of U.S. land, and Act 174 specifically prohibits foreign-owned entities from acquiring or holding any interest in a digital mining business in the state.
Qimin “Jimmy” Chen, who was born in China and is a naturalized American citizen, exercises control over Jones Eagle as sole owner of Eagle Asset Holding Inc.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a press release in December 2023 stating that Jones Eagle was under investigation for potentially violating state foreign ownership restrictions, as the entity “may have significant ties to China.”
Jones Eagle filed a lawsuit against the state of Arkansas in November 2024, claiming the investigation was unconstitutional and requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
Judge Kristine Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas issued a temporary restraining order for 14 days on Nov. 25, and on Dec. 9 issued a preliminary injunction. The decision renders Acts 636 and 174 unenforceable against Jones Eagle until further notice from the court.
The preliminary injunction order is sealed — which means it is not accessible to the public — to protect Jones Eagle’s confidential business details. However, the Notice of Preliminary Injunction Order can be viewed online.
“In recent years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in national interest and activity regarding the topic of foreign ownership of U.S. land, and particularly agricultural land,” said Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center. “It’s an extremely active issue at both state and federal levels, although there are currently no federal laws restricting foreign persons, entities, or governments from acquiring or holding private U.S. agricultural land.”
Almost half of all U.S. states have some kind of law limiting foreign ownership. In 2023, Arkansas became the first state to enforce a foreign ownership law when it ordered a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, another Chinese-owned company, to divest itself of farmland in Arkansas.
“The injunction is limited to Jones Eagle and does not apply to others who may be subject to Acts 636 and 174,” Pittman said. “Arkansas can continue to enforce foreign ownership restrictions under these acts.”
A redacted version of the preliminary injunction is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
More details regarding the case are available on the NALC website at https://nationalaglawcenter.org/federal-judge-halts-enforcement-of-arkansas-foreign-ownership-restrictions/.