Enrollment data for Arkansas' new health insurance exchange is released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A committee tasked with reviewing public notification procedures for confined animal feeding operations permits soon will have its first meeting. Fort Smith officials approve a list of funding requests for non-government public agencies. And the Women's Razorback Basketball team wins big in its second game of the season.
Ozarks At Large
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Republican gubernatorial hopeful Asa Hutchinson yesterday announced his plans to cut taxes for middle-income Arkansans, though some disagree about the potential budget impact the plan would have for the state. Fayetteville voters yesterday approved extending the current HMR tax to help fund development of a regional park and to help fund expansion of the Walton Arts Center, which still has quite a bit of fundraising left to do. Bentonville breaks ground on its community center, and two Springdale parks will soon have new bleachers for baseball and softball fields.
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The Community Creative Center wants you to try your hand at creativity.
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The city of Bentonville recently got a grant from the Endeavor Foundation for sidewalk construction in an area with sparse pedestrian infrastructure. Heifer International assesses damage to ongoing projects in the Philippines following the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. This year has seen record corn yields for Arkansas farmers, but that's not necessarily all good news. Today is voting day in Fayetteville to extend a current hotel-motel-restaurant tax. And the UA Soccer team advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, those amphibious harbingers of spring--frogs and toads--are being counted all over Arkansas. We'll find out how the frog watch works, and if the number of frogs in the state is diminishing. And, the AMP is being prepared for its first show. The seats aren't in yet, but work is going on almost around-the-clock to meet a June 1 completion date.
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