A former Arkansas Lottery security official pleads guilty to stealing and cashing several hundred-thousand dollars' worth of lottery tickets. Congressman Tom Cotton defends his position on the split farm bill by using anecdotes to support the idea that the food stamp program is laden with fraud. And, the University of Arkansas gets a $100,000 contribution.
Ozarks At Large
Ahead on this edition of weekend Ozarks, one local org is about seven days into a 20-day effort to find more big brothers for children in the area, and a daughter collaborates with her mother to write a book about what life was like in France before and during World War II.
A new-grant funded program will allow 40 low-income children to attend preschool in Bentonville free.
Fort Smith native Robyn Horn will lecture at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art this weekend. Exxon-Mobil is laying the blame for the March rupture of its Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower on manufacturing defects, though the Sierra Club of Arkansas doesn't buy into the claim. Senator John Boozman says that the solution to lowering interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans is to tie those interest rates to rates on U.S. Treasury notes. And the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program yesterday announced more than $2 million in grants to projects in 41 counties, including several in Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas River Valley.
Our KUAF Summer Jazz Concert Series may be underway, but Ozarks at Large “bird man,” Joe Neal has discovered jazz in the woods, performed by the illustrious thrush quartet! Joe Neal is coauthor of “Arkansas Birds,” published by the University of Arkansas Press. His latest book “In the Province of Birds, a Western Arkansas Memoir,” is published by Half-Acre Press. A new-grant funded program will allow 40 low-income children to attend preschool in Bentonville free.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, Steve Yates collects inspiration for his short stories almost everywhere. From his time working on highways in Arkansas to a true crime story in Springfield, Missouri his new volume of stories, Some Kinds of Love runs the gamut from straight-ahead narrative to fantasy-laced science fiction. We'll talk to the former Fayetteville resident about his latest collection. Plus concern for some small banks in Arkansas and if you've ever been to the Waffle House on Dickson Street you're familiar with the restaurant's logo of a waffle chased by a hungry pig. We'll meet the artist behind that picture. More of her work is included in an exhibit in Springdale this month.
The state's Economic Development Director joins other gay rights activists in support of same-sex marriage. Hewlett-Packard announces its plans to lay off several hundred workers at its call center in Conway. Arkansas Attorney Dustin McDaniel issues his opinion on the meaning of the wording of Act 746 of 2013. And hot and humid weather continues for the area.
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks: a groundswell of opposition has developed regarding a plan by SWEPCO for a new transmission system in a part north Arkansas. Plus Nicole Holland of Springdale tells her story of life in Paris before World War II. We'll hear from her and her daughter Brenda Hancock.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
On this edition of Ozarks, a look at what's next for the ruptured Pegasus pipeline. Plus, we pay a visit to the new Walmart to Go store in Bentonville.
The ending sports seasons, art with a new permanent home, and a new effort to collect diapers are all part the Tuesday notes.
After Sunday's tornado devastated Vilonia, Mayflower and the surrounding areas, several businesses began offering a slew of options to provide additional support to relief efforts, some traditional and others more novel.
For a list of some of the ways to help relief efforts, click here.
A half-mile wide tornado killed at least 16 last night when it rolled across the central part of the state, hitting the cities of Mayflower and Villonia especially hard. Meanwhile, the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross begins coordinating its response teams to help in the recovery efforts.
"Bizness" by tUnE-YaRdS
The Human Rights Campaign based in Washington, D.C. has announced plans to aggressively expand operations in Arkansas and two other southern states. And as Jacqueline Froelich reports, the group has committed $8.5 million dollars to make it happen. (Photo: Chad Griffin, HRC President and Arkansas native)
Plus, Wal-Mart pays large sums in legal fees. Roby Brock has more in this week’s Talk Business and Politics Update.
“In/Out” by Dan Croll
