Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

WEHCO Media’s digital chief resigns

- Tampa Bay Times Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, News-Leader David Smith The Associated Press Bloomberg News Springfiel­d The Associated Press

Article, 1A

Conan Gallaty, president of WEHCO Media’s digital division, has resigned to take a similar position with the

in Florida.

Gallaty will begin his new role in April.

During his nine years with WEHCO, the parent company of the Gallaty has been instrument­al in starting many successful digital initiative­s, including Flypaper, the company’s digital agency, said Nat Lea, president and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media.

“It has been a privilege to work for such a great company and with great people,” Gallaty said in a statement. “Moving to Florida gets me closer to family.”

WEHCO will begin immediatel­y searching for the right person to take the new initiative­s into the future, Lea said.

PANAMA CITY — Workers pried President Donald Trump’s name from signs outside his family company’s luxury hotel in Panama on Monday, as Trump’s executives were ousted from their management offices in a business dispute under orders from Panamanian officials. Trump’s security guards also left.

The end to a 12-day standoff over control of the property came early in the day when a Panamanian judicial official and police officers backed the hotel’s majority owner, Orestes Fintiklis, as he took possession of the offices. The Trump-affiliated management and security officials then left the 70-story, waterfront high-rise.

“This was purely a commercial dispute that just spun out of control,” said Fintiklis, a Miami-based privateequ­ity investor and head of the hotel owners’ associatio­n. “And today this dispute has been settled by the authoritie­s and the judges of this country.”

The Panamanian Embassy in Washington did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment. U.S. government officials referred questions to the Trump Organizati­on, which did not respond to phone messages and emails requesting comment. —

Martin Shkreli must turn over almost $7.4 million to the U.S., a judge ruled in a win for prosecutor­s who say the hedge-fund manager turned pharmaceut­ical executive cheated his investors.

He also wanted to pay other creditors, including his lawyers, before forfeiting any money — a notion rejected Monday by U.S. District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto in New York’s Brooklyn borough.

Shkreli’s assets — a Picasso, $5 million in cash in a personal trading account, a one-of-a-kind special edition album by the Wu-Tang Clan, an unreleased Lil Wayne album and shares in Vyera Pharmaceut­icals, formerly Turing Pharmaceut­icals — can be used to fulfill the forfeiture, Matsumoto said in a separate order.

She ordered Shkreli to tell the government within 10 days where the assets are and to ensure they’re not diminished, damaged or dissipated in any way.

Prosecutor­s argued last month that Shkreli cost his investors more than $20 million by inducing them to put millions of dollars into his two hedge funds, which operated essentiall­y like Ponzi schemes. They said he spent investor funds on personal expenses “to maintain the image of a successful hedge-fund manager.” —

BRANSON — A $446 million indoor-outdoor water park and resort is being proposed as a new attraction for a city in southweste­rn Missouri.

The Branson Adventures project would include a 100,000-square-foot water park and resort in Branson, including restaurant­s, a spa, alpine bike and rope courses, along with a whitewater rafting course.

Project developer David Cushman told the

that an indoor water park resort with a whitewater rafting course would be the first of its kind in the United States. He said the park could accommodat­e 200,000 people per year on site.

Cushman’s company will meet with a commission to determine whether the project could receive tax-increment financing. A so-called TIF plan would help pay for the project with tax abatements over a 23-year period, though some community members oppose the idea.

“It doesn’t seem to me that [Branson Adventures is] offering a lot of new things. Lodging and indoor water parks, I mean, we have those,” said Peter Marcellus, president of Branson’s School Board.

Branson Mayor Karen Best supports the project, saying she believes the city is balancing economic developmen­t with protecting taxpayer interests.

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