
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.
Forty-five states, including Arkansas have adopted Common Core career and college readiness K-12 education standards. But under the technology-enriched curriculum, cursive handwriting is optional. A St. Joseph third grade class in Fayetteville helps us to parse the implications.
Becca Martin Brown of Northwest Arkansas Media tells us about a showing of They Were Promised the Sea which is the latest presentation in the Caravanserai series.
"Becca and the Blue Capo" by Trace Bundy
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.
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.
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.
"Situation (Deadline Mix)" by Yazoo