Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, has complied a list of what he considers the most positive developments for Arkansas’ children in the years since Gov. Mike Beebe took office. Expansions of pre-K and ARKids First are among his picks.

Huddleston also names two developments he thinks were bad for kids: Passage of a constitutional amendment to create a state lottery and passage of an initiated act banning unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents.

Oklahoma’s lottery ranks eighth in the nation in the percentage of proceeds going to government use, but in terms of actual dollars going to the government it ranks 33rd among the nation’s 42 state lotteries, the Tulsa World reports.

Oklahoma lottery officials blame the disparity on a legal requirement that 35 percent of net sales go to the Oklahoma Education Lottery Fund, which they say limits what the lottery can offer in prizes.

Arkansas’ lottery has no legal minimum that must be spent on college scholarships, but officials say they expect the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program to receive about 25 percent of sales.

Gabe Holmstrom, spokesman for state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, says he is leaving the AG’s office to return to the world of campaign politics.

A former executive director of the Arkansas Democratic Party, Holmstrom said this will be his last week as McDaniel’s spokesman. He said he is not going to work for a political candidate but declined to say what his new job would be. An announcement will be made next week, he said.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Holmstrom said.

Kathy Roche, a communications specialist in the AG’s office, will take over Holmstrom’s duties temporarily.

Faulkner County Justice of the Peace Jimmy Bryant tells the Log Cabin Democrat he is considering running as a Republican for secretary of state. The incumbent, Democrat Charlie Daniels, is term-limited.

Bryant is also director of archives for the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, wants a stamp commemorating the watermelon.

“For many years, watermelons have been a staple of American life, especially in Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District where farming has helped shape our culture and way of life,” Ross said today in a letter to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee.

“For instance, in my hometown of Hope, an annual watermelon festival is held which allows families and friends to come together and enjoy locally grown watermelons while participating in a great number of events that support the local community,” Ross wrote.

Ross said he supports a petition by the National Watermelon Promotions Board and National Watermelon Association calling for a watermelon stamp.

“The watermelon growers of Arkansas represent a significant portion of the agricultural sector, one of the greatest contributors to our local economy,” Ross said in the letter. “On average, Arkansas watermelons have accounted for nearly 3,000 acres of cultivated farmland per year. This multimillion-dollar industry employs many people whose families depend on the success and preservation of the watermelon as a staple of American life.”

A watermelon stamp “would allow America to show thanks to the hard work and dedication of our local farmers for their help in providing both local and national communities with such an important crop,” Ross wrote.

The committee recommends about 25 new subjects for commemorative stamps each year. The selection process can take up to three years.

State Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, says he has loaned $200,000 to his campaign for U.S. Senate.

“I intend to raise the campaign funds for this race, but I wanted to show my fellow Arkansans that I am fully committed to being Arkansas’ next U.S. senator,” Hendren said in announcing the loan today.

Hendren is one of eight Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Blanche Lincoln next year. His announcement comes five days after former Arkansas Farm Bureau President Stanley Reed of Marianna announced his entry into the GOP field.

Political columnist and television show host David J. Sanders is hanging up his pundit’s hat and going back into politics.

Sanders, a former columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and producer and host of the AETN television show “Unconventional Wisdom,” has accepted a job as campaign manager for former Arkansas Farm Bureau President Stanley Reed, who announced today he will seek the GOP nomination to challenge Democrat Blanche Lincoln next year.

Sanders says his career in journalism will be on hold while he works for Reed’s campaign.

Sanders previously served as press secretary for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Fay Boozman in 1998.

“Twelve years later I’m doing it again, for a wonderful man with a great heart who loves his state, loves his country, someone who’s very concerned about his country. He’s ready to lead and be the next U.S. senator,” said Sanders, who also once served on former GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee’s staff.

Reed said of Sanders, “He’s a very professional man, and I’m thrilled that he felt strongly enough about my candidacy to come on board and join the team.”

Sanders broke the news in October that Reed was considering entering the U.S. Senate race.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin will be in Little Rock Saturday to deliver the keynote address at an event sponsored by Americans for Prosperity and Arkansas Tea Party groups, according to a release from Americans for Prosperity.

The event will be held at the Double Tree Hotel. Malkin will speak on “the corruption, special interest pay-offs, and Bernie Madoff-style accounting being used in the massive government health care takeover plans being debated in Congress,” according to the release.

Mike Huckabee, much in the news lately for his 2000 commutation of the prison sentence of a man later suspected of killing four police officers in Washington state, will make an appearance at the Clinton School of Public Service at 2 p.m. next Monday, the school has announced.

Huckabee will discuss and sign copies of his latest book, “A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit.”

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, chairman of the conservative organization FreedomWorks, will be the keynote speaker at the Pulaski County Tea Party’s Christmas party on Dec. 15 in Little Rock, according to the Tea Party’s Facebook page.

Armey visited Little Rock earlier this year to speak against a proposed 56-cents-per-pack cigarette tax increase to fund a trauma system and other health-related programs. The tax passed and was signed into law by Gov. Mike Beebe.