Briefly noted
A coalition in Arkansas of community groups and religious bodies led by United Methodist pastor Stephen Copley celebrated their victory for working families April 10 when that state’s governor, Mike Huckabee, signed into law a $1.10-an-hour increase in the state minimum wage. The Arkansas coalition is an affiliate of the “Let Justice Roll” living-wage campaign. The measure was passed overwhelmingly by the 135-member state legislature. Arkansas is the first state in the South to raise its own minimum wage above the federal level of $5.15 an hour.