Other days

100 YEARS AGO March 7, 1923

BLYTHEVILLE — Former Gov. Frank O. Lowden announced through his local representatives today that he immediately will begin intensive development of 10,000 acres of timbered land lying almost at the gates of Blytheville. He plans to make this tract into a vast plantation. … Markets for every kind of agricultural products now are afforded Blytheville, a city of 10,000 people, which ranks as one of the best cotton markets in the South.

50 YEARS AGO March 7, 1973

■ The House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved HB 705 Tuesday to require cities and counties to pay for the care of indigent patients at the University of Arkansas Medical Center. The bill by Representative J. K. Mahony II of El Dorado would hold cities and counties accountable for medical bills of indigent residents of the respective governmental entities. The Medical Center would submit the bill to the city or county on failure to collect from the patient.

25 YEARS AGO March 7, 1998

■ Pulaski County Quorum Court members announced their choices Friday for an advisory committee that will study jail overcrowding and public safety. They include many county employees and neighborhood leaders. The decision to form the committee came after county voters defeated a quarter-cent sales tax proposal in November 1997 that would have led to expanding the 1,043-bed jail, which has had problems with overcrowding. On Jan. 27, the Quorum Court decided to create the advisory committee and give it six months to study jail overcrowding, alternative sentencing programs, public safety and crime-prevention strategies.

10 YEARS AGO March 7, 2013

■ Arkansas now has what’s been called the strictest abortion law in the country after the House voted Wednesday to overturn the governor’s veto of a bill to ban most abortions after 12 weeks of gestation. With little discussion, Senate Bill 134 became Act 301 of 2013 as the House joined the Senate in overriding Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto. … Act 301 requires a woman seeking an abortion after 12 weeks’ gestation to get an abdominal ultrasound to determine whether the fetus has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, the woman cannot end the pregnancy except in a few situations. … The Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union pledged to challenge the law in federal court quickly, saying it violates the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and subsequent cases. … The court’s Roe v. Wade decision found that states cannot ban abortion before the fetus is viable. Arkansas code had defined viability as 25 weeks into the pregnancy and banned most abortions at that point. Act 301 defines viability as when the fetus has a detectable heartbeat.