
Ozarks At Large

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe was in Texarkana yesterday, where he refused to reveal his future political plans, but offered his opinion on the recent partial shutdown of the federal government. Fayetteville's Owl Creek School next year will become the third school in the district to move to a continuous learning calendar. And the NCAA releases the most recent data on graduation success rates for student athletes.


A Fayetteville company earned a big award from the Department of Energy worth $500,000.
Tinkerbell and all the rest are part of Trike Theater's latest production.

Cynthia Levinson's book, We've Got a Job examines an amazing event during the fight for civil rights. In 1963 thousands of children marched through the segregated city of Birmingham, Alabama.
The Arkansas Poll revealed Arkansans are more pessimistic than they have been in the past. You can read the full results of the poll here.
The Community Clinic of NWA yesterday announced it has received a notable recognition for its implementation of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care. And, Fort Smith and Springdale get good jobs news.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, January 10, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks…the 2013 Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card has numbers, plenty of numbers, relating to 17 public school districts in Washington and Benton Counties. We'll talk to Gary Ritter, the director of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas about the report. And the three-person band The Room Outside plays inside the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio. We'll also talk to Michael Tilley from The City Wire about the week’s news and Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers about the upcoming weekend’s entertainment opportunities.
One Arkansas senator is pressing election officials to resolve issues with the state's voter ID law. Other legislators are pushing to prevent the state lottery commission from implementing video gambling games throughout the state. The FASTER Arkansas committee continues its push for changes in state law to allow public schools to connect to an existing, state-funded fiber optic network. And one Eureka Springs alderman is trying to move forward a decades-long debate on what to do about parking in that city's downtown area.
More than twenty Northwest Arkansas specialty shops sell electronic cigarettes, both disposable and rechargeable. The popular devices deliver a smooth warm nicotine-laced white vapor in variety strengths and flavors. We visit the Velvet Vapor in Rogers and also talk to an Arkansas Department of Health tobacco specialist about pending regulations and potential risks associated with “vaping.”
Our history doctor, Bill Smith, explains the relationship between politics and money is an American tradition.
Becca Martin Brown, from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers, directs us to performance art and fireworks this weekend.
Jonathan Story sits down at the Mary Baker Rumsey Steinway.