Opportunity House sets meeting
Mayor Shirley Washington will host a community meeting at 6 p.m. May 2 at the Opportunity House, former First Ward Elementary School, 1305 E. Fifth Ave.
The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome to attend to learn more about the Opportunity House, meet the site operator, DePaul USA, and tour the facility, according to a news release. Details: mayor’s office, (870) 730-2000, ext. 7.
GOP cancels April meeting
Due to a last minute scheduling conflict at their venue, the Jefferson County Republican Committee is canceling this month’s meeting. The next meeting will be May 23 at Larry’s Pizza in White Hall. All business to be scheduled in April will be conducted at the May meeting, according to a news release.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Landlord group to meet at PB
Landlords and property managers are invited to a free lunch and learn from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23 at the meeting room of Pine Bluff Library, 600 S. Main St. The Landlords Association of Arkansas will host the event, according to a news release.
This is a chance to be on the starting end of the new Jefferson County Landlords Association. The group will begin meeting monthly featuring guest speakers and legislative updates about matters important to landlords.
“Come join the fun. Enjoy a free lunch sponsored by State Farm and Relyance Bank and learn some best practices for landlords,” according to the release.
Space is limited. Participants should call or text their RSVP to (501) 269-4699 by Friday.
DAV plans virtual career fair
DAV (Disabled American Veterans) and RecruitMilitary® will co-host the Central Region Virtual Career Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 23. The event is free to veterans, their spouses, active-duty military personnel and members of the National Guard and Reserve, according to a news release.
More than 40 employers will be on-site. The veterans can also utilize career counseling and resume assistance, network with fellow veterans and military personnel, and get support with their Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and claims assistance — all free.
To register for the Central Region Virtual Career Fair and access additional no-cost resources for veterans and their families, go to jobs.dav.org.
Film set for Angelou’s 96th birthday
Celebrate! Maya Project will continue its observance of the 96th birthday of the late poet, civil rights leader and author, Maya Angelou, with the award-winning film, “And Still I Rise: Maya Angelou,” at 6 p.m. Friday at the Ron Robinson Theater at Little Rock.
An interactive conversation with Lincoln County native Janis F. Kearney, Celebrate! Maya Project founder; Karen Bryan, incoming president, Arkansas Learning through the Arts; and the audience, follows the film screening.
“Join us as we celebrate the life and legacy of Maya Angelou with an evening filled with inspiration, culture, and community,” according to the news release.
Tickets are free and still available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-screening-and-still-i-rise-maya-angelou-tickets-856541136597?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Egg price hikes too soon to tell
As avian influenza cases rise, will consumers be paying higher prices again for eggs?
“It’s too soon to tell,” Jada Thompson, agricultural economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said in a news release.
Avian influenza was blamed for higher egg prices in 2023, which peaked at $4.82 per dozen in January, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. By September 2023, as the supply chain recovered, egg prices dipped to $2.07 per dozen. However, prices rose again, hitting $2.99 in March 2024.
In early April, Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest producer of fresh eggs, said it had to destroy more than a million laying hens and more than 337,000 pullets after highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected at its facility in Parmer County, Texas. A pullet is a hen that has not begun to lay eggs.
“I don’t think this one outbreak is enough to make us see the high fluctuations we have seen,” Thompson said.
She said there are two reasons for this, “one, we haven’t had the consistent barrage against the egg industry in the same way, which meant that one large complex like this event may cause some regional price changes but won’t compound the overall price situation.
“Two, the replenishment stocks aren’t as impacted as before,” Thompson said. “Before, we had outbreaks on egg premises and on pullet and parent stock premises, meaning the birds that would replace the ones that got sick were also in short supply. That isn’t the same shortage as before, so the impact won’t take as long to recover — hopefully.”
Egg producers have also taken actions to prevent a repeat of 2023.