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By Andrew DeMillo | Editor-in-Chief

Good morning, Advocate readers! The loss of rental aid from a program that had been administered in the Little Rock area has left some families facing the threat of eviction. Today we look at the impact it’s having on those renters. And an initiative aimed at addressing the state’s maternal care needs has opened in northwest Arkansas. You can find more Arkansas government and politics news on the Advocate site here.

Brittany Robinson (right) sits on the couch with her daughter Tessleigh (left) in the North Little Rock house their family of six rents on Aug. 18, 2026. The family will have to move by Sept. 10 after being evicted. The rental assistance program that kept her family housed has no one to administer it, leaving much of Robinson’s rent unpaid. The house also has livability issues including loose floorboards Robinson covers with rugs to avoid tripping on them. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Brittany Robinson (right) sits on the couch with her daughter Tessleigh (left) in the North Little Rock house their family of six rents on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

End of rental aid creates uncertainty for central Arkansas families facing eviction, homelessness

By Tess Vrbin

While the future of the rental aid programs has been in limbo, landlords and property management companies still needed and expected rent payments the programs’ tenants can’t afford to pay in full.

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Elizabeth Pitman, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Medical Services, speaks at a Maternal Life 360 program blessing and launch at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers on Aug. 31, 2026. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

Elizabeth Pitman, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Medical Services, speaks at a Maternal Life 360 program blessing and launch at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in Rogers on Aug. 31, 2026. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Northwest Arkansas hospital becomes latest site for state’s maternal health program

By Antoinette Grajeda

A program aimed at supporting high-risk pregnancies has expanded to Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, Department of Human Services officials announced Monday. 

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Vegetables and lettuces at a grocery store in Michigan. A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)

Vegetables and lettuces at a grocery store in Michigan. A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness. (Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance)

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

A summer of recalls exposes holes in the nation’s food safety net

By Stateline

A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness.

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