Ozarks At Large
Tonya Lewis Lee helped bring Christopher Paul Curtis' novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham to Tv this month. Tonight the film is being shown, for free, at Bentonville High School and today we talked with Ms. lee about the project that premiered earlier this month on the Hallmark Channel.
Late last week, the federal Department of Health and Human Services accepted Arkansas's plan for Medicaid expansion. The city of Bentonville will give away compost and wood mulch this week. A couple of roads close or otherwise reroute in the River Valley starting today. And gas prices dropped slightly in Arkansas over the past week.
With this morning's montage, we say several goodbyes; to Summer, to a famed Yankees pitcher, and to one of our longest-tenured colleagues at KUAF. Here are our 10 pop culture references we used to say goodbye.
- "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music
- Lou Gehrig's farewell speech
- "Goodbye my Lover" by James Blunt
- ET says his goodbye
- The famous words from Gone With The Wind
- "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles
- The Friends leave the apartment for the final time
- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John
- Jim Carey tells his fare goodbye at the beginning of Dumb and Dumber
- Leaving Casablanca for the final time
- Johnny Carson bids his final farewell to the audience during his final time hosting The Tonight Show
The Arkansas Center For The Book this week made its selection for the 2013 If All Arkansas Read The Same Book Program. Kyle Kellams spoke with Vivienne Schiffer, the author of the novel Camp Nine, this year's selection.
State officials continue to seek a solution to the teacher insurance crisis in Arkansas. New numbers are out regarding Arkansas students' achievements on Advanced Placement tests. And, the Connecting Arkansas Internet Conference is being held in Little Rock this week.
You can go to a workshop at NWACC to learn about the state's Freedom of Information Act, or you can participate in one of many lake and other outdoor cleanups in the next few days.



Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, May 9, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, Michael Tilley talks about a new owner for some long-abandoned real estate in Fort Smith, and the official announcement of a Whole Foods in Fayetteville. Plus, Cletus Got Shot gets ready to perform at a few festivals in the next month.
State revenue numbers for April show a higher than forecast amount collected during the month. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks about her hopes for the next presidential election. And, the head of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals steps down to take a new job in Nevada.
"Spiderman" by Ugress
Michael Tilley from The City Wire talks about a rise in construction in Northwest Arkansas and possible plans for the Garrison Ave. bridge in Fort Smith
The nonprofit Equestrian Bridges will host its inaugural Mini Derby fundraiser tomorrow afternoon.
The Idle Class, a magazine about the arts in Arkansas, started as a Tumblr in 2011. Founding editor Kody Ford then launched it into a website and most recently as a print glossy distributed free throughout the state. The second print issue debuts tonight at The Stolen Glass in Fayetteville. Kody and Andrew McClain, managing editor, stopped by the studio recently to discuss both the challenges and rewards of running a magazine for the arts in Arkansas.
"Sunshine Superman" by Donovan
Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers gives us a list of entertainment options with the caveat that weather may preempt some of these events.