Senator John McCain was in Little Rock late last week, and he called President Obama's reaction to tension in Syria a failure of American leadership. Speaker of the Arkansas House Davy Carter wanted more time to explain the federally backed Medicaid expansion to constituents, so the vote was postponed until today. And Governor Mike Beebe speaks in favor of changes that are coming for some child welfare programs in the state.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on weekend Ozarks, the loss of both cursive and letter writing, the past and potential future of the Fayetteville Public Library, and a salute to April showers and all things rain related.Here are our ten clips from our montage dedicated to April Showers. Well, dedicated to rain at least…
- B.J. Thomas sings "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
- Hugh Grant and Andie Macdowell admit their mutual love at the end of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
- Prince sings "Purple Rain."
- Bill Cosby with an early TV rendition of his famous Noah routine.
- Mahalia Jackson with the gospel great "Didn’t It Rain".
- Gene Kelly about to launch into the best three minutes ever recorded in a movie musical.
- Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst exchange a rainy kiss as Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson.
- Tom Hanks (as Forrest Gump) describes the many kinds of rain.
- Sam Neil tries to save kids from a hungry T. Rex in Jurassic Park.
- Audrey Hepburn finds the cat…and George Peppard…at the end of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The Mancini notes should have given this away.
Apologies to: The Weather Girls, Andy’s escape in Shawshank Redemption, the bubbling skeletons in Poltergeist, the Eurythmics, John Wayne in the Quiet Man and all those movies with Notebook in the title. Maybe next time.
In case you need a spot to duck into in between April showers, local and regional art galleries and exhibition spaces will have plenty for you to soak up throughout the month, including exhibits at the Arts Center of the Ozarks, the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, the John Brown University art gallery, and elsewhere.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: new legislation regarding land-owner rights in the Fayetteville Shale play, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel discusses the aftermath of the Mayflower oil spill and the value of inter-genenerational gardening. We’ll hear from a grandfather and grandson growing food together in the Arkansas River Valley. 
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, the nearly lost art of letter writing. Plus the nearly-lost school subject of cursive writing. We will take pen in hand to explore both subjects later.The proposed expansion of Arkansas' Medicaid system cleared a preliminary hurdle in the House yesterday, though final approval is still pending. And families who live near the Pegasus Pipeline rupture in Mayflower will be allowed to return to their homes this weekend.
Ahead on Ozarks: legislation passed this year in Little Rock regarding water standards has raised concern, some young runners are getting ready for this weekend’s Hogeye Marathon events and we meet some Energy Corps workers.
The Arkansas legislature has passed a new law regulating mineral levels on certain small streams in the state. And as Jacqueline Froelich reports, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is not pleased. Ahead on Ozarks, researching a meteorite that exploded over Nevada and California last year. Plus, Roby Brock speaks with a state economist about the state of Arkansas' economy, and new classes aim to spread the wealth of knowledge that Downtown Bentonville has to offer.Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville may be a secret for now, but it won't be for long. We'll explain why, and we find out how distance education will have a larger footprint in the University of Arkansas School of Law next fall.
The U.S. Interior Department has unveiled a national strategy to combat a plague threatening cave bat populations across the United States, including in Arkansas. The plan’s release coincided with a major conference held in Little Rock, May 17th. Jacqueline Froelich reports.
“Afai Bowon” by King Sunny Ade
Tonight there will be a meeting at Fayetteville City Hall to discuss an effort to create a local food directory.
Those interested in the NWA Local Food Guide can email localfoodguidenwa@gmail.com.
Here are some examples of current food guides from around the country:
www.buyappalachian.org
www.lanefood.org/locally-grown.php
www.localtable.net/farm_guide/index.php
www.buylocalshenvalley.org
Becca reports from New Orleans on things to do in NOLA and Northwest Arkansas.
“Tipitina” by Professor Longhair
Wayne Bell, author of Culture Club for www.fayettevilleflyer.com previews the upcoming Tony Awards.
To hear more from this conversation, click here.
“Overture” by The King and I Orchestra
While in town to perform at the Gulley Park Summer Concert Series, Austin-based musician Patricia Vonne stopped by the studio for a chat and castanet lessons.
