Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate
ReporterTess Vrbin is a reporter for the nonprofit news organization Arkansas Advocate. She previously worked for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette where she reported on low-income housing and tenants' rights, and won awards for her coverage of 2021 flooding and tornado damage in rural Arkansas. She previously covered local government for The Commercial Dispatch in Mississippi and state government for the Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri. A Midwesterner by birth, she graduated from the University of Missouri's journalism school in 2019.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers. The Advocate retains full editorial independence.
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Lawmakers are expected to release the results of Arkansas Legislative Audit’s investigation into the controversial purchase of a $19,000 lectern last year by Sanders’ office. -
Management companies sometimes deflect responsibility for the needs of older tenants with health problems, housing experts say. -
Some older LGBTQ+ people hide their identities or anticipate doing so to receive care they’ll need as they age. -
Dolly Henley won the Republican nomination for a Southwest Arkansas House district in Tuesday’s runoff election after coming in second in last month’s three-candidate primary. -
Former commissioners ousted last year unsuccessfully sued to get their seats back -
Tax cuts, school vouchers and the state Freedom of Information Act are all hot-button issues for several Arkansas Republicans vying for seats in the state Legislature. -
A government transparency group sent a fourth draft of proposed changes to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act on Thursday. -
A Central Arkansas judge dismissed Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s complaint against the state prison board Monday after a hearing in which the judge chided Griffin’s staff attorneys for wasting taxpayers’ money with the six-week lawsuit. -
AG Griffin rejected the second draft Monday; “litigation is imminent” in hopes of putting the proposal on the ballot in November, attorney and co-drafter says. -
A ballot question committee plans to submit a third draft addressing AG Tim Griffin’s sole concern.
