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The e-mail has suddenly disgorged. I now have eight hours of built-up traffic.

Among the mail: A lawyer sends along this agreement between Metropolitan National Bank and the Comptroller of the Currency concerning the Little Rock bank's lending practices.

It would appear the bank has some problem commercial loans, according to Arkansas Business' account of the news. But the bank says it is sound and profitable.

Because new federal accounting rules are requiring public employers to record future retirement benefits as balance sheet liabilities -- even though they are not guaranteed -- at current costs, many agencies are reviewing their benefits.

The UCA Board of Trustees will be asked tomorrow to trim some of the college's benefits to reduce the bookkeeping liabilities, which can influence the interest rate on bond issues.

Here's the proposal. Some changes on health benefits -- dropping payment of Medicare supplemental coverage and reducing the monthly contribution for people who retire after Jan. 1, 2009. Also: The end of paid life insurance and no more free parking decals and athletic passes for retirees.

I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of this. And I suspect some day the state will have to re-examine the generous health benefits it provides for retired public employees.

FCC today issued a construction permit for KATV to construct a new transmission tower -- of 1,150 feet -- on Shinall Mountain. Construction will begin immediately. KATV hopes to be on the air with a digital signal before the national cut-over date for all-digital service of Feb. 17.

It's been a little more than five months since the Channel 7 tower at Redfield fell. The signal has been going out by cable and satellite, but limited over-the-air signals.

AT&T has poleaxed our phone and e-mail today. So if you've tried to call, or written and gotten no response, please know that we have been in a state of suspended animation since about 8:30 a.m. this morning.

Service has been ineffective.

I knew I shouldn't have sat on this.

Others are now reporting what a Conway insider told me Friday. A major economic development announcement is scheduled for the Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA Thursday morning. According to various anonymous sources, Beebe will announce 1,200 jobs for Conway from tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

Arkansas Business identifies an office park as the site of the facility and says the jobs will be good ones, not call-center type. Beebe will open the corporate welfare kitty, naturally. The news is welcome given uncertainty about the future at Alltel and Acxiom.

Side note: With Beebe in charge, and expected to have his administration take credit for the deal, I wouldn't look for Sen. Gilbert Baker of Conway to be given a prominent role in the ceremony. Beebe is working in behalf of Baker's opponent, Joe White of Conway.

A burglary was discovered late Friday night at Arkansas Republican Party headquarters at 1201 W. 6th Street. Upon responding to the office's burglar alarm at 2:30 a.m., police found the door open and the headquarters empty. State GOP Communications Director Elizabeth Aymond said that the thieves took two laptop computers. She did not know whether the theft was politically motivated.

It is still unclear who the perpetrators were or how they accessed the building. They entered the front door without any apparent use of force and fled before they were discovered. Lieutenant Terry Hastings of the Little Rock Police Department said an investigation is ongoing.

^{(Click on drawing for enlarged image.)}

This is the new plan for Strode Development's proposed Park Avenue center, which will be considered by the Little Rock Planning Commision this week.

The rectangle at the lower left is a Target. At lower right, along University Avenue, is a residential element with a pool.

On the jump: Comments from someone who has been following the process closely.

Kate Althoff, a tireless advocate for protecting the safety of the Lake Maumelle water supply, notes that today is the deadline for public comments on a proposal before the state Pollution Control and Ecology Commission that would provide protection in the watershed from sewage discharges. The Commission, not known as a vigorous advocate for a pristine environment, seems reluctant to impose the rule. If you start protecting Lake Maumelle, after all, who knows where it might end? You might have to protect other water in the state from pollution, too.

She explains on the jump.

Your turn. If you want to see my supper and a small tribute to my dad, motor over to Eat Arkansas.

Maybe this is a place to seek tributes to dads. I'm not going to give you a sappy story. But I never thought I'd find anybody I'd rather spend time with than my dad -- at least until Ellen came along. My memories center on long rides all over creation, with him at the wheel while I snoozed, to watch Lake Charles High, McNeese and LSU football. And there's this: When you were with Brittain Waddell Brantley, you could NOT pick up the check. He was a soft touch. I'd take that as a tombstone epitaph.