A potential national designation for the White River has created concern among some Arkansas residents.
Ozarks At Large
Roby Brock, from Talk Business Arkansas, talks to two legislators about Planned Parenthood and health exchanges.A group protesting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline in Oklahoma, including members from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California, chain themselves to equipment at a construction site on the pipeline to prevent construction from moving forward. Officials in Central Arkansas lament a lack of access to documents related to the Mayflower Oil spill, leading to what they view as a lack of oversight. Rogers aldermen look to spend just more than $1 million on a trails project. And state officials draft a waiver that would allow the state to use federal Medicaid dollars for the state's so-called "private option" Medicaid expansion plan.
Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point's season runs through July 19 and will feature Madama Butterfly, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Elixir of Love.For more about other drama events happening in the area, visit the following links:
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, details on Mercy Northwest's Senior Behavioral Health Program. Plus, the creation of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in high schools, and a conversation with writer Michael Heffernan. Also, the latest installment of Arkansongs and more.
Nine out of ten gay youth report verbal, sexual, or physical harassment at school. But now gay high school students are taking a stand by organizing, with their straight allies, Gay-Straight Alliances. Nearly 40 GSA clubs have been sanctioned by school districts across Arkansas but not without some resistance. We talk with students, as well as state, and national advocates.Roby Brock from Talk Business Arkansas discusses a farm bill not passing the House of Representatives and more in his weekly recap of political and business news from around the state.
Northwest Arkansas is the second most popular destination in the U.S. for retirees to locate, and Mercy Northwest in Rogers recently dedicated its 7th floor as the "Mercy Senior Behavioral Health Program" in an attempt to provide specialized in-patient care for the older population.The state's Department of Corrections has announced it will make changes to the state's parole system following calls by Governor Beebe and others to strengthen the supervision and control of parolees in the state. While new unemployment numbers show a decline in the state's business sector, other areas have experienced growth. Opposition is mounting against the White River's designation as a National Blueway. And non-profit organizations looking to Rogers to host baseball tournaments will soon have to pay more to play.
Ahead on Weekend Ozarks, an update on bringing the play "B-Side: Myself" to stage, and a look at how one local farm is training veterans to become farmers themselves. Plus, we talk bitcoins with our tech ambassador, and we celebrate the beginning of summer.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, December 6, 2013
Ahead on this snow day edition of Ozarks at Large, our weekly conversation with Michael Tilley of The City Wire; plus the violent explusion of an African American settlement in southeastern Crawford County comes to light, ninety years after the fact.
The Ozarks Genealogical Society's annual conference is scheduled for Sept. 13-14 in Springfield, Missouri, and the featured speaker is D. Joshua Taylor (http://www.djoshuataylor.com).
The first event outside of Eureka Springs for the Creative Energy Project will bring yarn, and plenty of it, to Bentonville.
Link: For more about Yarnology or the Creative Energy Project, www.creativeenergyproject.com
Officials with hunger relief organizations in Arkansas express concern over recent efforts to remove SNAP funding from the federal Farm Bill. Central Arkansas leaders request information from ExxonMobil regarding a stretch of pipeline in the Lake Maumelle Watershed. The Arkansas House and Senate Education Committees discuss the new Common Core curriculum, set to take effect when schools start in about a month. And the Fayetteville Public Library board of directors moves forward with an offer to purchase the former City Hospital property.
"Cut Me Loose" by T Model Ford
In the first of our series on the deployment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in Arkansas, Cynthia Crone, the state’s insurance department deputy commissioner, explains the fundamentals, including getting an early look at Arkansas’s insurance exchange, now referred to as marketplace.
Early next month the organization called the Military Order of the Purple Heart of the U.S.A. Inc. will hold its annual convention in Rogers. We talked to John Bircher, National Spokesman for the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Link: To learn more about the Military Order of the Purple Heart, visit www.purpleheart.org
