A spokesman for Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin says that the office should be able to use outside counsel that questions the office's compliance with the state's Freedom of Information Act. Benton County officials continue to assess damage done by recent floods, with the cost of said damage estimated at $5 million and rising. The same rains that caused damage in Benton County has given a rare opportunity to floaters of the Buffalo River. And while yesterday's elections resulted in a runoff next month in Springdale, voters in Paris and Huntsville approved more taxes in their own cities.
Ozarks At Large

Governor Mike Beebe says that while four sites are currently under consideration for a new state veterans' home, that potential still exists for other options should they arise. And, the Seville Hotel in Harrison is back on the market, some seek denied school transfer requests to be overturned in Little rock, an awareness campaign aims to decrease drivers illegally passing school buses and Mark Darr sets off another waterfall of political candidacies with his announcement that he will run for Congressman Tom Cotton's seat in Washington next year.


After listening to speculation about Tom Cotton's political future for months, he finally, formally announced his intention to run for a Senate seat. This week's montage focuses on other cottons:
- Zooey Deschanel's Cotton commercial
- Michael Jordan's Hanes Lay Flat T-shirt commercial
- Golden Corral cotton candy commercial
- "Cotton Candy Land" by Elvis Presley
- :Peter Cottontail" by Gene Autry
- A clip from Francis Ford Coppola's movie The Cotton Club
- "Cotton Mouth Man" by James Cotton (featuring Joe Bonamassa)
- "Cotton Fields" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- "Pickin' Time" by Johnny Cash
- "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex
William Lyle, the current executive chef at Ella's Restaurant has been hired as the new executive chef at Eleven.

Artists find inspiration in all kinds of places, including the produce section of the world's largest retailer.
From millage elections to sales tax votes and even a run for U.S. Senate, we've covered a lot of political ground in the past seven days.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, April 11, 2014
Ahead on Ozarks, Roby Brock discusses the latest poll results on Arkansas elections, and we explore a new educational standard that aims to bring about a revolution in science education.
Mike Ross and Bill Halter talk Medicaid at the Delta Grassroots Conference, as does Governor Mike Beebe, but Beebe also vaunts work by the state's Department of Higher Education in getting more students into college. And Hillcrest Towers in Fayetteville will be getting a facelift after receiving a sizable federal grant.
"West End Avenue Blues" by Ralph Sutton
The University of Arkansas’ Community Design Center last week received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The center aims to use the money to sculpt the future of downtown Fayetteville.
Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas has updates on new earnings reports, state revenues, and more.
"Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show
Becca Martin Brown from NWA Newspapers reminds us that auditions at Rogers Little Theater and at the Arts Center of the Ozarks are happening this week.
As children, we learn you can know the age of a tree if you count the rings inside its trunk. What we might not learn is that those tree rings contain the history of each of those years.