ARKANSAS’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF POLITICS AND CULTURE ■ april 22, 2010
www.arktimes.com
July 12, 2007 Little Rock Restaurant Month details page 24
‘No’ to Fogleman
Why the West Memphis Three haunt supreme court campaign
By Mara Leveritt
page 10
THE PAIN FROM A KIDNEY STONE CAN BE EXTRAORDINARY. SO IS OUR ABILITY TO TREAT IT.
Anyone who has ever experienced the pain caused by a kidney stone knows just how serious it can be. So do those who treat them every day. The St. Vincent Urology Center is home to a dedicated team of experts – specialists in the latest treatments for kidney stones and related conditions.
If you or a loved one has a history of kidney stones, or if you’re considering treatment options, visit StVincentHealth.com/Urology to learn more.
StVincentHealth.com/Urology
SVH 0410 004 Urology_10x12.75.indd 1
4/20/10 4:52:46 PM
The INsIder Business first
ProPublica last week published an examination of how Republican Rep. David Vitter of Louisiana stalled an EPA assessment that would declare formaldehyde as a known carcinogen. Given the ailments Louisianans suffered from formaldehyde-contaminated FEMA trailers after Katrina, the Republican’s move is particularly vile. But ProPublica’s report revealed Vitter wasn’t alone: Three Democrats — including Rep. Mike Ross — were also working to block the EPA move. The EPA has been conducting studies on the chemical — linked to leukemia and other cancers — since 1987. The agency is trying to develop safety and pollution control regulations that address formaldehyde’s toxicity, which has been recognized by other scientific organizations. “We recognize that you may be concerned about further delay in EPA’s assessment of this chemical,” Ross wrote in an October 2009 letter to the EPA, “but we are convinced that it is vitally important that a risk assessment be thorough and accurate.” Not surprisingly, Ross’s FEC filings for 2009 show that he received more than $14,000 in contributions from companies that use or manufacture significant amounts of the chemical: $9,000 from Koch Industries, $1,500 from Monsanto, $1,000 from Exxon, $1,000 from Plum Creek Timber and $2,000 from the American Forest and Paper Association. When asked if industry contributions influenced his position on when and how the EPA regulates formaldehyde, Ross said, “The only people I answer to are those who call Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District home and that’s who I represent in our nation’s capital — not a political party or special interests. Any accusation to the contrary is misguided. I believe my record as a common sense voice for Arkansas is clear and I stand by that record.” The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality lists formaldehyde as a colorless, pungent and irritating gas and a pollutant in air permit applications.
Moving on
Loose ends concerning the move of Mike and Janet Huckabee to Florida: The former first lady once had a highprofile job with the American Red Cross. No more, we learned. Brigette Williams, a spokesperson for the Red Cross, said, “She worked for the national organization, not the local chapter, and was very involved. She resigned in May of 2009 for personal reasons. She had to prioritize her family.” After he left office and became a presidential candidate, the former governor maintained an office for a time in the Union Plaza building at 124 W. Capitol Ave. The building’s management says he moved out months ago.
Empty Porch? Come fill it up.
We’ve got lots of PORCH STUFF! • Rockers • Lawn Chairs • Patio Sets • Bird Houses • Gates & More!
Oliver’s Antiques
501.982.0064 1101 Burman Dr. • Jacksonville Take Main St. Exit, East on Main, Right on S. Hospital & First Left to Burman MAY Hours: MoNdAY-sAturdAY 10-5
SWING INTO UMP’S FOR GREAT FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS! TRAVS AT HOME APRIL 26TH-MAY 3RD
How Do You Mü
• Sandwiches • Salads • Steaks • Seafood Where Function Meets style®
324BALL
Dickey-Stephens Park Broadway at the bridge, North Little Rock
(501) 687-1331 4310 Landers rd. nLr M-F 8-5 sat. 9-5
Little Rock Wastewater has made a huge leap towards a cleaner, environmentally affable future.
Grease and oil build up is responsible for 70-80% of dry weather overflows, and we are providing aluminum cans with heat-resistant liners for the residents to dispose of their grease and oils. Free of charge. How it works After cooking, pour the grease into the can. When it’s full, close the bag and dump it in the trash can. Then replace the liner.
Easy, huh?
Never flush, rinse or wash this stuff down the drain: n Medication (pills, creams, etc.) n Most automotive fluids n Car wax n Most paint, glue, and thinner n Poison and/or insecticide n Kerosene and/or lighter fluid n Oven, floor and furniture cleaner n Primer n Fertilizer n Nail, shoe and/or metal polish n Battery acid n Fiberglass Epoxy n Photographic chemicals n Moth balls
Little Rock residents can request a free Can the Grease© starter kit by calling 501-688-1400 For more information contact Brenda Willis at 501-688-1490 or Joseph Schaffner at 501-688-1449 or email us at customerassistance@lrwu.com www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 3
Smart talk
Contents Hating their neighbors n According to a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the United States saw a 244 percent increase in the number of “Patriot Groups” in 2009. Defined by the SPLC as “militias and other organizations that see the federal government as part of a plot to impose ‘one-world government’ on liberty-loving Americans,” Arkansas is home to six such groups. In addition, there are 24 “active hate groups” in the state, including KKK, Neo-Nazi, Neo-Confederate, Racist Skinhead, Black Separatist and “general hate” organizations. For a list of each group and to find out where they’re located, go to http://tinyurl.com/ splcreport.
No DH then
CHAMPION: ACLU will honor Will Phillips.
Some kid n The Arkansas Times’ favorite little rabblerouser, elementary school student Will Phillips of West Fork, is getting another award for his ongoing stand for gay rights. On May 8, Phillips will be the recipient of the Arkansas Civil Liberties Union Foundation’s “Champion of Liberty” award during a banquet in Little Rock. Last November, the Times reported on Phillips’ peaceful protest in support of gay rights by remaining seated when his class stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. After our story ran, Phillips got loads of national and international press over the incident, including a mention on The Daily Show, calls from famous well-wishers like Sir Ian McKellen (that’s Gandalf, to all you folks from Middle Earth), an interview on CNN, and a trip to New York City in March to accept a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) award. Rita Sklar, executive director of the Arkansas ACLU, said Phillips is deserving of the honor. “He takes the words of the Pledge of Allegiance seriously, and he takes what he says seriously,” she said. “He did not feel that the promise of liberty and justice for all was a reality for gay people, racial minorities and others in this society.”
n No sport induces nostalgia the way baseball does. The Travelers’ first home game of the season started us thinking about minor-league baseball in general, and the really old days, when just about every town of any size had a professional baseball team, and the others had semipro teams. We decided to compare 2010 with 1910. This year, 160 teams — more than we expected, really — are playing in 14 minor leagues, not counting Mexican and Japanese leagues. Ah, but 100 years ago, roughly 330 teams were playing in 55 leagues. (Major-league baseball has gone the other way, of course. There were only 16 major-league teams in 1910, compared with 30 today.) But 1910 was not a good year for Little Rock baseball, we discovered. The team now known as the Arkansas Travelers, a member of the Texas League, was called the Little Rock Travelers in 1901, when it was a founding member of the old Southern Association and played against teams like the Atlanta Crackers, the Birmingham Barons, the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Memphis Turtles. For some reason, unexplained by our reference sources, Little Rock had no team in 1910 through 1914. The Travelers came back in 1915, and except for a couple of seasons — one after the Southern Association collapsed in 1961 — they’ve been taking the field ever since.
8 Bids squelched
State won’t take bids on its online services after all, though the reason why is murky. — By Doug Smith
10 Shame
High court candidate Fogleman’s role in the West Memphis 3 trial is remembered — and criticized. — By Mara Leveritt
14 Charters and choice
If only the motivated stay, how are charters schools promoting broad public education? — By Paul Hewitt
Departments
3 The Insider 4 Smart Talk 5 The Observer 6 Letters 7 Orval 8-13 News 14 Opinion 19 Arts & Entertainment 35 Dining 45 C rossword/ Tom Tomorrow 46 Lancaster
Words n There’s an awful lot of coffees in Brazil: William Lindsey is concerned about “the tendency to talk about sipping ‘some beers,’ or buying ‘some beers’. To my ears as a native Arkansan, that sounds as strange as addressing a group of folks as ‘you guys’ rather than ‘you all.’ “Along with the ‘beers’ usage, I notice more and more folks locally talking about having ‘a coffee,’ rather than ‘a cup of coffee.’ A nephew of mine, who seems at ease with whatever form of newspeak is manifesting itself in these usages, orders ‘a water’ in restaurants. Will us guys soon be having ‘a tea’?” I haven’t heard a water yet, and a coffee only rarely. My generation still orders “coffee” or “a cup of coffee,” “water” or “a glass of water.” But I remember the 4 april 22, 2010 • Arkansas Times
Doug smith doug@arktimes.com
line “You want a glass tea?” from an otherwise forgettable movie of a few years past, and it may be headed our way. Television and now the web have brought many previously unfamiliar usages to Arkansas. I’m not sure whether we’re richer or poorer for that. n “Nadal was asked about [the exchange between] Sampras and Agassi after his Monday night match. ‘Everybody told me after the match what’s happened, but during the match, you know how fast
Americans speak, and I am Spanish. I didn’t understand nothing.’ ” Do English-speakers talk faster than Spanish-speakers? It always seemed the other way around to me. I’ve never been accused of violating the conversational speed limit, and I doubt that many Arkansans have. New Yorkers, maybe so. I consulted the eminent linguist Challis Muniz. “It all sounds like just a rush of noise if you don’t understand what’s being said,” she replied. As someone who understands what’s being said, in both English and Spanish, Muniz said she hadn’t noticed any significant difference in the speed at which the languages are spoken. In both languages, some people talk faster than others, she explained.
VOLUME 36, NUMBER 33 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, 200 Heritage Center West, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72203, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR, 72203. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $78 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.
©2009 ARKANSAS TIMES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
FOR INFORMATION OR SUBSCRIPTIONS CALL 501-375-2985
The Observer is not much on
campaign rallies and all the attendant posturing and hoorahing and bunting. But we made an exception last Friday for Dwight David Honeycutt’s “Sweet Tea Party” at Juanita’s. For one, it wasn’t a campaign rally per se. Which is to say, Honeycutt wasn’t running for anything. He’d already lost the Conway School Board election, but won a good deal of notoriety for a campaign video gone awry along the way. Too, we were eager to see the type of folks who turn out for a Dwight David Honeycutt rally. Demographically, they were fairly hard to peg. On the liberal side of things, we counted one former Oscar winner, the campaign chief of a Democratic state Senate candidate and a bunch of pretty girls in nice dresses who talked to scraggly dudes who drank tallboy Pabst Blue Ribbons. There were fewer obviously representing the other side, though we did spot a Chamber of Commerce bigwig and someone wearing a college Republicans T-shirt with a picture of Ronald Reagan drinking a cocktail on the front. There were at least three pregnant ladies, too. Most all stood at attention when Dwight D. entered the room. He looked much like he did in the video. Tall. Solidly built, if not obviously “bear strong.” Bespectacled. Generally peeved-looking. And profoundly sweaty. Because he feared the spotlight? Because of the small band of vocal protesters out front, brandishing signs like “Up With Decency, Down With Honeysmutt”? Because he spent the early part of the evening doing George Dickel shots with two spandex-clad strippers? A little bit of all of the above The Observer guesses. But, though drops of perspiration rained off him and he spoke with the halting cadence of someone trying to beat back drunkenness, when he started into his speech, he managed a kind of gravitas that quiets a room — or at least the half of a room that’s not the bar.
He began down a familiar
path: tales from a hard life. One that he said had seen him nearly blinded by a pneumatic drill, circumcised at 47 and crippled by Type-2 diabetes. But one that still inspired him to wake up every morning, look in the mirror and say to himself: “Dwight David Honeycutt, the sun is in the sky, God is in his heaven,
and it’s time to get out there once again and f*ck mortality.” “Badassitude,” he called his philosophy, and reeled off a supporting resume that included fist-fighting Norman Mailer, throwing Robert Byrd’s “annoying old ass” down the Capitol steps and going on a four-day mescaline-andsex binge with Linda Ronstadt. His school board loss had brought him new understanding, he told the crowd. “I’m no politician. A politician tells you that exceptionalism is always rewarded, that morality, fairness, hard work and dedication alone will lead you to the greatest rewards our country has to offer, and that bird-doggin’ the wife of your local dry-cleaner will have no effect on your political future whatsoever.” Instead, he positioned himself to the crowd as a true public servant, whose truth-telling would never make him “acceptable enough to be elect-able.” “Go to that Blanche Lincoln/Bill Halter debate,” he said. “Neither one of them are gonna tell you the truth. That they love reefer, and XBox and sex. But they do! How could they not?! They’re awesome!
Then the speech took a
nihilistic turn down populism lane that, as much as The Observer would like to push the boundaries, ain’t gonna cut the mustard in print. We’ll just say that there was an elaborate metaphor involving Capitol rotunda-shaped condoms, more information than we cared to know about Dwight D’s nether region and a lost quote from Thomas Jefferson’s profane days. Then came the big “Network”-style finish. “I’m not runnin’ for anything, but I want you to write me in,” Honeycutt told a cheering crowd, pointing it to stickers and T-shirts adorned with the slogan at a back table. “More importantly,” he said. “Carry magic markers with you. Carry spray paint. WRITE ME IN! Whenever you see bullshit in this world WRITE ME IN! Put my name on whatever pisses you off. You see a Blanche Lincoln or John Boozman poster, stop your car and WRITE ME IN!” Then, very nearly panting, he closed with a big finish. “I am your frustration. I am your quiet suburban desperation. I am your rural rage. I’m Dwight David Honeycutt. WRITE ME IN!”
Happy Hour 11am - 6 pm tueS. - Sat. Don’t miSS tHe fabulouS birCH tree CommunitieS art SHow, april 29, 6-8pm at tHe Governor’S manSion.
tueS -tHurS 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. fri & Sat 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
501.375.3500 200 S. CommerCe, Ste. 150 river market DiStriCt (olDvermillion loCation)
tHe terraCe iS open! www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 5
Letters arktimes@arktimes.com
That’s why I support the Employee Free Choice Act. Regina Cain-Stewart Jacksonville
Lost Longhorn
Misses Bush
I just moved to your beautiful (and I mean this sincerely) state last fall and really love it so far. Arkansas is magnificent … peaceful, pretty, friendly, cheap, I could go on and on. Compared to Dallas it is nirvana. I am a native Texan and a graduate of The University of Texas. I have been a Longhorn since I was a zygote. I was 6 years old when the Great Shootout was played in 1969 and remember wearing my little orange sweatshirt and holding a little pennant in my hand the entire game while my poor father and uncle almost dropped dead of heart attacks in the fourth quarter. It was that legendary “right 53 veer pass” play on 4th down that secured my passion for my beloved Longhorns. Hey, I totally get the hatred Arkansas has for Texas. We are a bigger, richer, snootier state with huge cities, huge universities, and huge egos to boot. However, Texas has completely dominated the football series throughout the last 100 years or so. DOMINATED. And don’t get all panty-twisted by saying “well, what about the 2000 Cotton Bowl?” Yeah? What about it? You did whip our asses that day, but overall you really can’t brag too much regarding the series. When I asked a co-worker recently why everyone hates the Longhorns so much he nailed it and said “because y’all are just so damned GOOD.” OK, I live here, I love it, and I will most definitely like to see the Hogs do great this fall … looks like they are primed and ready. Also, I love the fact that when I tell people I am a Longhorn, I usually just get some good natured ribbing. But I really don’t think I am going to hell for loving my team? Am I? Rob Carpenter Little Rock
I have a few suggestions besides George Bush for the Arkansas Times’ editorial comic strip to have a word with… Alone. Out back. Foremost the Democratic Party for insisting on maintaining the progressive income tax. When the Democrats took over Congress in 2006 that ended any chance Bush had of enacting tax simplification which would have helped America be more competitive with superior quality in Japan and Europe and
Free choice I support the Employee Free Choice Act and I want to share my perspective with others. I am a proud union member, CWA Local 6507. I work in a call center for AT&T and live in Jacksonville. I’ve been on both sides, of a union and non-union. The company that I worked for previously did not care about their employees. As a mother I hated making the decision of whether to take my son to the doctor or keeping my job. It’s not so much about the wages; it’s about being treated with respect. At this job, they threatened to fire workers, to blackball them, to put them in lower paying jobs if you said you wanted a union. I’ve lived through that. I’m a member of a union now and working for a different company, and I would never want to go back. I want everyone to have a choice, a free choice, of whether to join a union. 6 april 22, 2010 • arkansas Times
lower wages in less developed nations. Next they need to talk to Jimmy Carter about the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act and Bill Clinton for the 1995 CRA expansion. That’s the legislation that pressured mortgage companies and banks to extend loans to people with poor credit and no down payment or proof of income. A weakening economy primarily due to foreign competition has now collapsed further because of sub-prime loans. They need to talk to media executives who by employing primarily reporters with a liberal bias have deprived Americans of an accurate source of news to make decisions about candidates and issues. And they need to have a talk with
Celebrating 10 Years Leasing helps conserve cash and attain 100% financing for equipment to grow your business. It also offers tax advantages. No wonder it is corporate America’s biggest external source of equipment finance. Whether you are a business owner that would like to lease or finance equipment, or a sales representative wanting to offer leasing or financing to your customers, EFSI offers the expertise, responsiveness and personal service you expect and deserve.
Jerry Wilson
Darlene King
themselves for promoting policies that any sophomore economics student would consider outdated and ineffective. Trillion-dollar-plus deficits will only inflate the economy, crippling the recovery, and unemployment will remain high. Only a simplified tax code can balance the budget and generate the jobs necessary for a recovery. Obama and the Democrats are turning an otherwise mild recession into the most terrible depression in our history. Thomas Pope Little Rock
Cold cases Anyone seeing John and Rev Walsh on TV recently saw that 27 years since the unsolved murder of their 6-year-old son Adam had not eased or diminished the pain and grief in their loss. The Hollywood, Fla., police have finally said that Ottis Toole was probably the murderer of Adam. The Walshes had been begging the police since 1992 to investigate Toole. The police have finally said they did not investigate, misplaced evidence and generally did not do their job. In Arkansas, we have many unsolved murders and missing persons. Their families are waiting for justice. Call the governor and attorney general to establish cold case squads to assist the local law enforcement, to look at these cases with fresh eyes and bring justice. The Walshes have finally after 27 years closed a chapter in the murderer of Adam and the families of Arkansas deserve no less. Elaine Colclasure Bauxite
Grand Canyon addition Jack Harvey, CLP
Becky Jackson
Rory Thompson
Assets that Can Be Leased or Financed Medical equipment Industrial and manufacturing equipment Office and computer equipment Telecommunications equipment Construction equipment HVAC and electrical equipment Oil field service equipment Agricultural and forestry equipment Material handling equipment Restaurant equipment And so much more!
Experienced ! Responsive ! Personal ! Flexible ! Local
Serving since 2000 Serving theArkansas Mid-South since 2000 501.375.2822 ! 800.700.1414 www.efsolutionsinc.com
Brent Badders of Conway wrote to “protest the eyesore at the Grand Canyon” constructed by the Hualapais. The week that his letter appeared I visited this new attraction, which promised a previously impossible viewpoint of the Grand Canyon through modern engineering and construction prowess. Inside the visitor center where tickets to the Sky Walk are purchased I happened to glance at the wall behind the ticket counter. There, conspicuous in its smallness, was a sign stating “No cameras or personal effects allowed on the Sky Walk” and, even more disconcerting, the further notice “NO REFUNDS.” As the point of my visit was to photograph this new wonder for myself, I muttered a few choice words of condemnation and exited. Nowhere in all the media coverage and hype regarding the tribe’s venture into providing a great new tourist attraction has there appeared any warning about the prohibition against picture taking. Probably the visitor center had a good supply of overpriced pictures for sale but I prefer to take my own. My advice would be for all to avoid this “attraction.” C. L. Butler Gray, Tenn.
gift cArds Any Amount Specials good through
www.arWineSales.com April 27, 2010 Almost 300 items on sAle All the time – click on speciAls At www.ArwinesAles.com
DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
WE DO.
1.75 Litre Bonus Buys Dewars Scotch $39.99 $34.99
Makers Mark Bourbon $48.39 $39.99
Stolichnaya Vodka $41.99 $29.99
Bacardi Dark, Select, Silver $23.99 $19.99
Wine Bonus Buys Stone Cellars by Beringer 1.5L $11.99 $8.99
White Oak Napa Valley Syrah $27.99 $19.99
Geyser Peak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $17.99 $13.99
Glazebrook Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $14.99 $11.99
Beers of the Week Newcastle Brown Ale 12-Pack Bottles $13.99 Case: $26.98
St Pauli Girl German Regular & Dark 12-Pack Bottles $10.99 Case: $20.98
North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout 4-Pk$7.99 Case: $44.94
Insurance • Employee Benefits • Risk Management
Wines of the Week Laetitia 2007 Arroyo Grande Valley Chardonnay $14.99 $11.99 Case of 12 $131.88 ($10.99)
☛
Montes 2009 Limited Selection Pinot Noir $14.99 $11.99 Case of 12 $131.88 ($10.99)
WINE SAMPLING BAR OPEN TUE - SAT 1-7• FREE!
☛
101 S. Spring St Little Rock, AR
(501) 372-5200 meadorsadamslee.com
we honor competitors’ Advertised prices. pleAse bring the Ad.
11200 W. Markham (West of Shackleford on Markham) Little Rock 501-223-3120 • 866-988-vino www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 7
The WEEK THAT was APRIL 1 4 - 2 0 , 2 0 1 0
The Arkansas Reporter
Phone: 501-375-2985 Fax: 501-375-3623 Arkansas Times Online home page: http://www.arktimes.com E-mail: arktimes@arktimes.com ■
It was a GOOD week for …
CHILDREN. A circuit judge struck down a voter-approved law that prohibited unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children. The law was aimed primarily at homosexual couples. Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said the law infringed on “the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed to all citizens of Arkansas.”
■
■
Bids squelched By Doug Smith
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY, which received a $2 million gift from Therral and Jan Story of Magnolia, SAU’s largest gift ever from individuals, and THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS, completely and pleasantly surprised by receiving a $750,000 posthumous grant from an alumna, Wylena “Billye” Hayward, who’d spent most of her life out of state and had little contract with the university since she graduated in 1940. THE PULASKI COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. It finally got a new superintendent, Charles L. Hopson, an Arkansas native who’s been a deputy superintendent in Portland, Ore. (Otherwise, however, disagreements among school board members raged on.) LITTLE ROCK. The city revealed it ended 2009 in the black, the first time that’s happened in three years. COIN COLLECTORS. The new Hot Springs quarter was released at a ceremony on Central Avenue. It’s the first in a series planned by the U.S. Mint to honor national parks and historic sites. It was a bad week for …
LAW ENFORCEMENT. The state agency that keeps drivers’ records said that only 11 convictions for texting while driving had been reported statewide since the no-texting law took effect more than six months earlier. Police officers said it’s often hard to tell whether someone is texting or not. FORMER ALLTEL EMPLOYEES. Verizon Wireless officials announced they’ve cut 600 jobs in Arkansas since buying Alltel in January 2009. ARKANSAS. Any week is a bad week when Dick Morris slimes in. He spoke at Tea Party rallies. 8 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
change of plans: No competition for this contract. n Contrary to an announcement last summer, the state contract to provide online services will not be awarded by competitive bidding this year. Instead, the state will negotiate another contract with the same private company that has held the contract — without competitive bids — since the on-line services program began in 1997. The reason for the reversal is not entirely clear. Peggy Gram, chairman of the state Information Network of Arkansas, said that when she told a reporter last year that the contract would be put up for bids, she believed that she’d been so advised by the state purchasing office,
which oversees the awarding of state contracts. Now, Gram says she was recently told by the purchasing office that it had decided the sole-source contract was good for Arkansas, and that other companies couldn’t match the services provided by Arkansas Information Consortium, the contract-holder. Jane Benton, director of state procurement, said that after studying the contract, her office decided that changing to a different company would create many problems, technical and otherwise. The problem of having dual systems for a time was one consideration, she said. “You can’t
shut one down today and bring up another one tomorrow.” The purchasing office decided it needed more information before it could put the contract up for bids, she said. She said it was still possible that the state would solicit bids on the contract at some time in the future. Asked why the INA Board approved competitive bids last year, Benton said she didn’t know, that she wasn’t involved in that decision. Gram said she’d thought the contract would be bid competitively, “because that’s what the state purchasing office had told us to do. Now they’ve changed their minds.” Some potential competitors of AIC have in the past wanted competitive bidding for the contract. AIC set up the state website and online services program for free, and the state still pays nothing. AIC makes its money by charging user fees for certain services, such as inspecting drivers’ records, and filing corporate records. The amount AIC makes from these fees is not a matter of public record. The attorney general’s office has said that disclosure of AIC’s profits would give its rivals an unfair competitive advantage. AIC has offices in Little Rock, but it’s a subsidiary of a Kansas company that has similar contracts with many state and local governments. INA is a hybrid group, made up of representatives of public and private agencies. Its job is “to improve the accessibility of Government in the form of public information or electronic transactions.” Gram, the chairman, is an employee of the secretary of state’s office.
Obama tax cuts don’t stop critics There’s still something about him they don’t like. By doug smith
n Conservative pundits and their followers were shrieking in rage on Tax Day last week, so wrought up they forgot to mention that Americans are paying less in taxes under President Obama than they paid under his conservative predecessor, George W. Bush. The Recovery Act signed by Obama last year cut federal income taxes for 98 percent of working Americans, according to Citizens for Tax Justice, an activist group. Arkansans did even better, although the state voted against Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Ninety-nine percent of working families in Arkansas benefited from at least one of the tax cuts signed into law by Obama. The average tax break was $1,016. Obama has signed no legislation to increase taxes.
Obama and a Democratic Congress gave tax breaks to people at different levels of income, with emphasis on helping those in the middle and at the bottom. Expansion of the child tax credit (CTC) and the earned income tax credit (EITC) mainly helped the poorest threefifths of taxpayers. Both are refundable tax credits, so that they often benefit people who don’t earn enough to owe federal income taxes, although they do pay other, more regressive taxes, such as state and local sales taxes. Low-income Arkansans received an average of $216 in benefits from expansion of the CTC and the EITC. The Making Work Pay Credit benefits all but the richest taxpayers. It puts cash in the hands of those with incomes of less
than $75,000. Because low- and middleincome people spend new money quicker than rich people, it’s believed the credit increases the consumer demand needed to create jobs. Working people in Arkansas received an average of $528 from the Making Work Pay Credit in 2009. Even rich people got some benefit from Obama’s tax cuts. The Alternative Minimum Tax is a kind of backup income tax meant to ensure that wealthy Americans pay some minimal level of income taxes no matter how good they are at finding loopholes. More Americans would have had to pay the AMT in 2009 if the Recovery Act hadn’t blocked that expansion. In Arkansas, 96.6 percent of the benefits of AMT relief went to the richest fifth of the state’s taxpayers.
2003 SUBARU
2008 SUBARU
$9,795
$15,995
FORESTER
LEGACY
Low Miles.
$11,795
17K Miles.
2009 HONDA
2007 SCION
$17,495
$11,975
ACCORD LX
2007 PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
TC
Only 20K Miles.
2006 SUBARU
OUTBACK 2.5I $16,495
Harvest Gold.
foglemanforsupremecourt.com
‘Not a soul in there’
F Fogleman asked juries to sentence three teens to death. Now voters will judge his career. By Mara Leveritt
10 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
ew, if any, candidates for the Arkansas Supreme Court have faced public opposition for their prosecution of accused killers. John Fogleman, who as a deputy prosecuting attorney sought the death penalty for three teen-agers, may be the first. Along with that opposition, he has plenty of support. Almost every lawyer I know who has appeared in Fogleman’s court since he was elected a circuit judge 15 years ago holds him in high regard. In 2008, the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association honored him as its Outstanding Trial Judge. But for those Arkansans who oppose him — and I am one — the ugliness of the trials that launched his judicial career cannot be forgotten. In 1993, three West Memphis children — Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Stevie Branch — were murdered. The following year, three Crittenden County teen-agers — Jessie Misskelley Jr., Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin — were put on trial for the crime. Fogleman and prosecuting attorney
Brent Davis sought the death penalty for all three. Juries convicted the teen-agers, though only Echols was sentenced to death. Baldwin and Misskelley received terms of life plus 40 years in prison. But since those trials, many Arkansans, including the parents of two of the victims, have come to believe that justice was not served — not for the accused and not for the victims. Fogleman prosecuted the teen-agers using circumstantial evidence that he knew, even then, was thin at best. In the years since those convictions, even the threads of evidence he was able to weave have frayed and fallen apart. But Fogleman has no regrets. He recently told the Times, “I completely stand by every step I took in that case,” Within weeks after winning it, the young deputy prosecutor announced his candidacy for judge in Arkansas’s Second Judicial District. He erected a billboard near where the bodies of the three 8-year-old children were found. It advertised that he could “make tough decisions in tough cases.”
Now, in his race for the state Supreme Court, Fogleman relies on a website. There he says that our justice system only functions “if the people have a measure of confidence that those of us involved in the system are fair and unbiased.” I agree with that. And that is the very reason I don’t want Fogleman on our high court. The tactics he used to win convictions of the men now known as the West Memphis Three have spawned widespread mistrust — not just of Fogleman, but also of Judge David Burnett who allowed them (see page 13), and of our state Supreme Court, which, so far, has supported everything that has transpired in this now infamous case. That is a harsh judgment, and I don’t like making it. But history will probably judge this episode of our state’s legal history even more harshly than I. Eventually, I believe, Fogleman and Burnett will be blamed for having brought a great shame on Arkansas. Before I go further, however, I should admit that I have been mistaken about
Fogleman in the past. In “Devil’s Knot,” my book about the West Memphis trials, I wrote that Fogleman’s father had served on the state Supreme Court, when in fact, it was his uncle. To make matters worse, I also erred in stating which of his relatives had served on the local school board. Fogleman beat me up pretty good about those mistakes a few years ago, when he spoke about the case at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law. And that was fair enough. But he used the courtroom ploy of suggesting that, if Mara Leveritt was “so lazy and irresponsible” as to have gotten those details wrong, readers could not trust anything else in her book. A couple of students asked the judge if he could point to anything more substantive in “Devil’s Knot” that was wrong. As I recall, he could not. And there is plenty in there that’s damning.
‘Investigated thoroughly’
In a campaign speech last January in Trumann, Fogleman acknowledged that, “This was a difficult case.” He added: “But it was investigated thoroughly. Many people were looked at in this case. But I will say, every piece of evidence we had pointed to those three.” To the contrary, the investigation was deeply flawed. There was significant evidence even at the time that pointed away from the three, and more has recently developed. We now know that police did not even interview Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of victim Stevie Branch, after the murders. Questioning relatives is fundamental in any investigation of murdered children because, sadly, it is well known that most die at the hands of people close to them. That hole in the investigation became more glaring last year, when new tests of evidence identified a hair in the bindings used on one of the victims — a boy not his stepson — as having come from Hobbs. Another hair was identified as having come from a friend of Hobbs,’ a man who was with him on the night of the murders. Also in the past year, after Hobbs told a newspaper reporter that he had not seen any of the children on the night they disappeared, three of his former neighbors came forward to dispute that. They said they saw him with the boys early that evening, but that police had never questioned them. Another gaping hole in Fogleman’s “thorough” investigation surrounds the muddy, bloody man who wandered into a fast-food restaurant on the night the boys disappeared. Workers at the restaurant, which was near where the bodies were found the next day, notified police, who took paper towels and scrapings of blood from the restroom where the man had tried to wash up, and a pair of sunglasses he’d left in the commode. Later, at one of the trials, when a detective was asked about the crime lab’s
these three: Echols, Baldwin, Misskelley. report on that evidence, the officer replied that it had not been sent to the crime lab. When asked why not, he said the the evidence had been “lost.”
The ‘duty to seek justice’
Some may say, “Well, Fogleman was the prosecutor. Trying to get convictions was his job.” That is a common but skewed view of the prosecutor’s role. In its Standards for Criminal Justice, the American Bar Association stresses that, “The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.” That leads one to wonder how much justice Fogleman and Davis were seeking when they decided to mount three capital murder cases on the botched and clumsy statement of 17-year-old Jessie Misskelley Jr. Misskelley was a high-school dropout who’d been in special education classes for as long as he stayed in school when, a month after the murders, police brought him to the station for questioning. They grilled him for close to eight hours. He had no parent or lawyer with him. Misskelley began by saying that he knew nothing about the murders. But at some point during the questioning, police used a tactic on him that even the state Supreme Court later said came “perilously close to psychological overbearing.” After that, Misskelley started telling police he knew some things about the murders. In disjointed answers to their questions, he said he’d seen 18-year-old Damien Echols and 16-year-old Jason Baldwin, beat, sodomize and kill the children. Misskelley also said that when one of the victims tried to escape, he himself had caught and held the child for Echols and Baldwin to finish off. Misskelley recanted those allegations the next day, but by then it was too late. Police had recorded two short segments of Misskelley’s day-long questioning, and based on those, they arrested the three teen-agers. Each was charged with three counts of capital murder. When I interviewed Fogleman a few years after the trials, he acknowledged that at the time of the arrests, “basically,
the only thing we had was Jessie’s statement.” And it wasn’t much of a statement, at that. The state Supreme Court described it as “a confusing amalgam of times and events.” Initially, for instance, Misskelley said that the attacks took place in the daytime, the victims having skipped school. But, as the police and Fogleman knew, the children were in school all day and were last seen alive at around dusk. He said that the boys were tied with “brown rope,” when, in fact, they were not tied with rope at all, but with their own shoelaces–black and white. He said they still had their clothes on when they were beaten and stabbed, but the children’s clothes were recovered and they were neither torn or bloodstained. He said the children were sodomized, but the state pathologist reported finding no evidence of that. Davis and Fogleman knew that Misskelley was wrong in these key details, but they did not question why. They did not, in the pursuit of justice, take Misskelley to the woods where the bodies were found and videotape him as they asked him to clarify his statement. Perhaps that was too risky. Such a videotape would have had to be disclosed to the defense, and might have made even more apparent Misskelley’s ignorance of the crimes. Instead, they chose to seek the death penalty for Misskelley based on what he’d said. At his trial, when the West Memphis police chief was asked why he thought Misskelley had gotten so many details wrong, the officer replied, “Jessie simply got confused.” Years later, when I put that same question to Fogleman, he himself seemed confused: “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know. They were generally consistent, but specifically, they weren’t. I don’t know.” No such uncertainty seemed to trouble him in court. While, at the law school, he would attack the credibility of everything in my whole book because of the errors he cited, at trial, with a teen-ager’s life on the line, he was willing to dismiss Misskelley’s grossly wrong statements about a crime in
which he’d supposedly participated — and ask the jury to sentence him to death. The jury would not go that far. It found Misskelley guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. When he appealed that conviction, the state Supreme Court noted that his recorded statement had been “virtually the only evidence” presented against him. And ruling that it would “defer to the jury’s determination” about Misskelley’s “numerous inconsistencies,” it affirmed his conviction. In 2003, a forensic linguist published a detailed analysis of Misskelley’s confession in a British academic journal. Dr. Martin D. Hill concluded that, “None of the key, specific, verifiable details were provided by the confessor,” and that “the police were the source of nearly all of the substantive information regarding the crime.”
‘Negative evidence’
Misskelley was tried by himself because, however awkwardly, he had confessed to police. Echols and Baldwin never did. And that presented Prosecutor Fogleman with a dilemma. If Misskelley would not appear at their trial and repeat his allegation, they could not even play the tape-recording of his statement because to do so would deny the two defendants their constitutional right to face their accuser. The prosecutors tried hard to get Misskelley, whose trial had just concluded, to appear at the second trial and say again that he’d seen Echols and Baldwin murder the children. They even offered to reduce his sentence from life to a term of years, making him eligible for parole, if he agreed. The victims’ parents were not happy about the offer. Davis explained that, without Misskelley, they faced serious doubts about being able to convict the other two. “Unfortunately,” Davis said, “we need his testimony real bad.” Fogleman, at the same meeting, put it this way: “All is not lost if he doesn’t testify. But the odds are reduced significantly. I mean, we’ve still got some evidence.” Here’s what he told the parents they Continued on page 12 www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 11
three
had: • Three fibers that even Fogleman admitted could not be linked to the accused “to the exclusion of all others.” • A woman’s claim that, on the night of the murders, she saw Echols walking near where the bodies were found; the problem with her was that she said Echols was with a girl, not Jason. • The statements of two teen-age girls who said they’d overheard Echols at a softball field bragging about having committed the murders. • The claim of a jailhouse snitch that Baldwin had told him he’d killed the boys — but Fogleman warned the parents that the snitch “might not be believed.” “Oh, yes,” Fogleman added. “And the knife in the lake.” Six months after the arrests, knowing he was heading into trials with little evidence, Fogleman had an inspiration about where he might find the murder weapon. He contacted a diver for the Arkansas State Police and, according to the diver, told him what to look for and where to look in a lake behind the trailer where Jason Baldwin lived. In short order, the diver emerged with a knife --the type of knife the state alleged was used on one of the children. Fogleman could establish no direct connection between Echols and Baldwin and the knife, nor between the knife and the murders. But he tried to make the most of it. At the start of the trial of Echols and Baldwin, he told the jury, “I want to tell you in advance, there’s going to be some ... I guess you call it ‘negative evidence.’ It doesn’t really show a connection to anybody. ... And you may wonder why we’re putting on evidence of a negative, but we’ll explain that to you later.” There was a lot of evidence presented that, like the knife, didn’t “show a connection to anybody.” But Fogleman never did explain it.
‘Involved in the occult’
The biggest problem prosecutors faced in that second trial was the lack of an apparent motive. Without Misskelley, who had described the teens’ involvement in a “satanic cult” that met in the woods on Wednesdays and built fires of “paper and wood and stuff” and “someone brings a dog, and they usually kill the dog ... and eat part of it...” — without that, the prosecutors could point to no reason why Echols and Baldwin would have viciously killed three children they did not know. The prosecutors were under no obligation to prove a motive, but they worried that jurors might reasonably doubt that Echols and Baldwin would have killed three children on a whim. They made the decision to call Victoria Hutcheson to the stand. The young mother testified that Echols had driven 12 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
courtesy West Memphis Evening Times
Continued from page 11
found: A diver with knife allegedly used on young murder victim. her and Misskelley to an “esbat,” which she described as something like a witches’ orgy. She said she’d become frightened and asked to be taken home. In 2004, Hutcheson told a reporter for this paper that “every word” of her testimony “was a lie.” At the time of the murders, she was being investigated for hot checks and credit card fraud. She said police threatened her with the loss of her son if she did not say what they wanted her to say. Even at the trial, defense attorneys undercut Hutcheson’s story with testimony that Echols did not drive, had never driven, and had no driver’s license or access to a car. But with Hutcheson, Fogleman had set the stage to suggest a motive for the murders. He began by reminding jurors of the date on which they occurred: May 5, 1993. He then asked Judge David Burnett to “consider taking judicial notice that there was a full moon on May fifth, according to an almanac.” Here began the most infamous part of the trial — the part in which Fogleman and Davis, with the complicity of Burnett, attempted to prove that Echols and Baldwin killed the children as part of an occult or satanic ritual. To do this, they brought in their big gun, Dr. Dale W. Griffis, a self-proclaimed “cult expert.” Defense attorneys quickly established that the Ph.D. Griffis claimed he had was a fraud — that he’d obtained it, without ever attending a class, from a mail-order diploma mill. They argued that Griffis was not qualified to testify as an expert. But Burnett ruled that he would accept Griffis as an expert “based upon his
knowledge, experience and training in the area of occultism or Satanism.” He allowed Griffis to testify about the aspects of the crime that he said bore “trappings of occultism.” There were three victims, Griffis explained. There was blood and water involved. Echols wore mostly black. He and Baldwin liked heavy metal music. And, as Fogleman had established, the murders took place on the night of a full moon. When Fogleman asked Griffis about how he recognized “young people involved in the occult,” Griffis responded gravely: “I have personally observed people wearing black fingernails, having their hair painted black, wearing black T-shirts, black dungarees, that type of thing. Sometimes they will tattoo themselves.” Defense lawyers got Griffis to concede that, in fact, police had found nothing at the scene related to the occult. They’d found no carved pentagrams, for example; nothing resembling an altar, no bits of candle wax, no knife or robes or anything else suggestive of a satanic ritual. By the end of the trial, it was clear that Fogleman’s case against Echols and Baldwin consisted almost entirely of the elements he’d outlined for the victims’ parents, plus Griffis’ testimony about “occultism.” In his closing remarks, Fogleman reminded the jury of what Griffis had said about “this satanic stuff.” Then he instructed the jurors to look at Echols. “You see inside that person,” he told, “and you look inside there, and there’s not a soul in there.” Parts of the trial smacked of rhetoric
from the Inquisition. Fogleman had presented little substantive evidence against Echols, and even less against Baldwin. Nevertheless, he urged the jurors to sentence both boys to death. They complied in part, sentencing Echols, the group’s purported ringleader, to death and Baldwin to life in prison.
‘I couldn’t do it’
Six years after the trials, when I was writing “Devil’s Knot,” I learned that, midway in the second trial, the prosecutors were concerned enough about the adequacy of their case that they offered a deal to Baldwin. Through an intermediary they told him that, instead of seeking the death penalty for him, they would seek a term of years, making him eligible for eventual parole. All he had to do was testify that Echols had done the killing. “I told him, ‘I couldn’t do it even if you said you’d let me go right now,’ ” Baldwin told me. “And I told him I didn’t want to hear no more about it.” He refused and remained at his trial facing possible death. Had he accepted the offer, he would be free now. At great cost to themselves, both Misskelley and Baldwin refused to help Fogleman win his case. He won anyway, but nothing about those wins brings credit to him, to his profession or to this state. In light of Fogleman’s conduct at those 1994 trials and all that’s happened since, it’s intriguing to contemplate what evidence his successors could possibly bring, if — as remains possible — a state or federal court were to order even one of the three a new trial.
Judging Burnett Was he a judge, a retiree, a candidate or all three? could not talk about the case until it was over, and he agreed,” but that Arnold continued to talk about the case. Warford said Arnold was particularly upset that prosecutors had not introduced Jessie Misskelley’s confession as evidence against Echols and Baldwin. (As explained in the main article, they were constitutionally barred from doing so.) “Eventually,” Warford wrote, “Kent said this prosecutor has not done his job and that if the prosecution didn’t come up with something powerful the next day, there was probably going to be an acquittal. At one point, I distinctly remember him saying, ‘If anyone is going to convince this jury to convict, it is going to burnett: Facing questions. n Since 1994, when he officiated at the trials of Jessie Misskelley Jr., Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, Judge David Burnett has had several opportunities to make further rulings in their cases. Some of the petitions he heard concerned new DNA test results, others focused on the inmates’ arguments that they had inadequate counsel at their trials. Burnett, of Osceola, denied them all. He handed down some of his rulings even after retiring from the bench. Now, as Burnett campaigns for a seat in the Arkansas Senate, from District 15, he too faces tough questions about his conduct in that long, strung-out case. One exhibit submitted to Burnett last year may prove particularly potent. That is an affidavit by Little Rock attorney Lloyd Warford in which Warford states that Kent Arnold, the jury foreman at the Echols-Baldwin trials, disobeyed Burnett’s order not to discuss the case outside of court. Warford also claims that the foreman told him that he persuaded the jury to consider information that the prosecutors were not allowed to introduce. Burnett sealed Warford’s affidavit and took no action on it. It remained sealed until recently, when I was allowed to view it at the Arkansas Supreme Court. In the affidavit, Warford said he had been hired by Kent Arnold to represent Arnold’s brother, who stood accused of raping his 4-year-old daughter. At about the same time, Kent Arnold was called as a potential juror for the trial of Echols and Baldwin. Warford wrote that he doubted Arnold would be selected as a juror because Arnold had a relative facing prosecution, he clearly “knew way too much about the case,” and “he seemed to have made up
his mind the defendants were guilty.” According to Warford, Arnold once told him, “All you had to do to know that Echols was a devil worshiper was to look in his eyes and you knew he was evil.” Warford said he was stunned, therefore, to hear that Arnold had been selected as a juror and later, foreman of the jury. When he expressed his surprise, he said, Arnold “laughed ... and made a joke about the stupid lawyers and judges not asking specific questions.” Warford said he told Arnold that “we
have to be me.’ ” During the trial, a police officer did, in fact, allude to “the statement of Jessie Misskelley.” Defense lawyers immediately moved for a mistrial, but Burnett denied the motion. The judge cautioned the jurors to disregard the police officer’s statement. “Kent told me if the confession had not been mentioned in court, then he might not have been able to convince the swing jurors to convict,” Warford said in his affidavit. “He said several times that he could
not believe how many jurors had not been aware of Misskelley’s confession until it was mentioned in court.” Echols’ final state appeal is now before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Among its exhibits are notes and other records jurors made during their deliberations. All contain reference to Jessie Misskelley’s inadmissable confession. Burnett also dismissed as unimportant results of new laboratory tests on evidence from the crime scene that found no DNA from any of the defendants. He was unimpressed by evidence that a hair from the stepfather of one of the victims was found in the bindings on one of the other boys. And he was not troubled by the testimony of prominent forensic pathologists who concluded that marks attributed to a knife attack, which prosecutors claimed was part of a satanic ritual, were actually inflicted after death, by turtles and other animals in the stream where the bodies were found. If the high court refuses to grant Echols a new trial, because he was sentenced to death, he will be allowed to appeal to a U.S. district court. Warford’s affidavit and the jurors’ notes showing that they improperly considered Misskelley’s confession will rank high among the issues presented. Ordinarily, if the state Supreme Court denied their final appeals, Baldwin and Misskelley would not be eligible to press their case in federal court. But Judge Burnett may have given them a rare opportunity to do so. That is because Burnett ruled on their appeals after he had retired from the bench (which is accepted) and after he’d announced his intention to run for the state legislature, the propriety of which is questionable. Attorneys for Baldwin and Misskelley complained to the Supreme Court that Burnett’s actions constituted an improper mixing of roles, but the high court did not intervene to stop him. And more appeals lie ahead. As a result, whether Burnett wins election to the state Senate or not, his conduct as a judge will be scrutinized for years to come. Indeed, that scrutiny has already begun. In a December 2009 article in the Arkansas Law Review, David S. Miller examined Burnett’s denial of Echols’ appeal for a new trial, under a statute passed by the legislature in 2001. That law provided a way for persons convicted of a crime to bring before a court new evidence produced by testing methods that were not available at the time of his trial. Mitchell wrote that Burnett’s interpretation of the statute “eviscerated its purpose” and thereby “failed to meet the Arkansas Legislature’s goal of accounting for the ability of new technology to accomplish the mission of criminal law — to punish the guilty and exonerate the innocent.” www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 13
e y e on a r k ansas
Editorial n The national pundits seem to believe that Mike Huckabee’s move to Florida is more about presidential politics than tax avoidance, but they may be unaware of Huckabee’s aversion to parting with his own money, his fondness for getting things for free. Florida haberdashers and sporting-goods stores will soon be learning about that. Arkansans can easily believe that hanging on to more of the big bucks Fox News pays him is sufficient to lure Huckabee to a state with much sunshine and no income tax. But it’s possible that he’s multi-tasking, solicitous of both his billfold and his political opportunities, and in that case, we worry. For him. He didn’t ask the Times — we seem to have drifted apart — but if he had, we’d have advised against this move, and not just because Arkansas is a better place to live. Our insects are of a manageable size, and so too is our Republican party. Huckabee is always at his worst when he gets around big bunches of farright Republicans, too weak to resist their evil importunities. Such people are rife in Florida, and the state is crucial to the party’s hopes for winning the presidency. In Arkansas, Huckabee as governor worked with a Democratic legislature to produce a reasonably moderate and productive administration. He’s been apologizing ever since. Seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Huckabee has courted the Religious Right passionately, and with some success. Militant televangelists have warmed up to their fellow preacher, shedding their suspicion that he might be somewhat lacking in bias. He’s taken up gay-bashing, bloodily and enthusiastically. He’s renounced the progressive principle that taxation should be based on ability to pay, and now supports a national sales tax that would be good for the rich and near-fatal for the poor. He’s raised the volume on his condemnation of abortion rights. In short, he’s been in steep moral decline, a worse man now than when Arkansas first elected him. He was never Nobel Prize material, to be sure, but he wasn’t a Dick Cheney or Ann Coulter either. He hangs with them now. A recent presidential poll showed Huckabee leading his chief rival, Mitt Romney, in Florida. But what good is the presidency if you lose your own soul? Huckabee won’t find salvation in Florida. Nor Florida in him, for that matter. The athletic Mrs. Huckabee, on the other hand, looks like a good fit for Florida. Maybe she and Mike could work something out on living arrangements. Wrestling alligators, swimming in synchrony, playing a spirited game of beach volleyball, Janet would give a good account of herself. And the worst she could lose would be a limb or two.
201 East Markham Street, 200 Heritage Center West, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203 Home page: http://www.arktimes.com • E-mail: arktimes@arktimes.com Publisher Alan Leveritt editor
editorial assistant
special projects
Max Brantley
John Tarpley
Michelle Miller, Manager
MANAGING Editor
photographer Brian Chilson
senior account executive
Leslie Newell Peacock
contributing Editor
advertising art director Mike Spain
account executives
Mara Leveritt
associate editors
Assistant art director Patrick Jones
David Koon Bob Lancaster Gerard Matthews Doug Smith
graphic designers
lifestyle editor
production manager
Lindsey Millar
editorial art director Erica Schaffer
Kai Caddy Rafael Méndez Sheryl Kee
director of advertising Phyllis A. Britton
Tiffany Holland
Devon Dennis Erik Heller Katherine Smith Angie Wilson
Real Estate Sales Executive
Automotive Advertising Manager Heather Baker
Advertising coordinators Roland R. Gladden Mikaltodd Wilson
IT director
Robert Curfman
circulation director Anitra Hickman
Tiffany Holland
controller
Real Estate Advertising Assistant
billing/collections
Classified Sales Executive
office manager
Kelly Lyles
Challis Muniz
Weldon Wilson Linda Phillips
Angie Fambrough
production manager Ira Hocut (1954-2009)
FOR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE CALL: (501) 375-2985
14 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
brian chilson
Out of Huck
REMEMBERING: Angela Turner Everett and Sophonda Turner of Monticello read the name of their brother, Larry L. Turner, at a memorial Monday for the victims of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. Larry Turner worked on the third floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Building, destroyed April 19, 1995, by a bomb detonated by Timothy McVeigh. The memorial was at the Clinton Library.
Charter schools: Who chooses? n In the popular 1989 movie “Lean on Me,” about a Paterson, N.J., ghetto high school, Principal Joe Clark has all the troublemakers and under-performing students gather on the stage and he then kicks them all out of the school. With only the most serious students remaining, he restores his high school to its once proud position. The movie, based on a real life situation, reflects pure fiction. Or does it? Is it possible to exclude the undesirable students and just skim off the best students to make elite, selective and even racially segregated schools? Can In Arkansas we, under current law, develop one school system we call for the “haves” and another privately opersystem for the “have nots?” ated charter If you think this isn’t possible, just look care- schools “open fully at the charter school enrollment movement and its more schools.” In extreme sibling, voucher reality, are schools. In Arkansas we call these schools privately operated charter truly open schools “open enrollment schools.” In reality, are enrollment? these schools truly open enrollment? Does every child have an equal opportunity to enroll? The first ingredient is that the child must have a parent who truly cares and monitors his or her education. It is far less likely that children from an impoverished single-parent home will have a parent who is aware
Paul Hewitt guest writer
of the enrollment hoops they must jump through to enter a charter school. How about the child whose parents are drug addicted or don’t have the capability to enroll them in the charter school? From the very beginning, a charter school limits its enrollment to only the children of parents who are actively involved in their child’s education. Any teacher can tell you that these are the children who will also be the most successful in a regular school setting. This produces a very subtle form of discrimination. In some cases the discrimination may not be so subtle. Arizona has been in the forefront of the charter school movement and is a state with a wide range of ethnic diversity. Gene V. Glass, regents’ professor at Arizona State University, is a critic of how charters have been implemented in his state and describes several instances of charters in neighborhoods dominated by Hispanic families yet with high percentages of white students and few Hispanic students. One example he cited was Fees Middle School in southern Tempe, Ariz., which enrolled 50 percent minority pupils while two blocks away the Tempe Prep Charter Academy enrolled only 17 percent minorities. He also found that of 1,012 charter schools, nearly half exhibited evidence of substantial ethnic separation Given the racial sensitivity of Arkansas, this situation couldn’t happen Continued on page 16
Untangling health care n Governor Beebe does not seem to be the kind who loses sleep over a policy dispute, even one as prickly as the new federal health law, but he acted a little spooked over Congress’ passage of the landmark bill. He was bothered by the new costs imposed on the state government to expand Medicaid, even though it would occur long after he leaves office, which will presumably happen on Jan. 13, 2015. Republican lawmakers, none of whom had a clue about what the bill did, screamed that bankrupting the state was among the perfidies of the new health law. Beebe was not so excitable, but the cost of the Medicaid expansion worried him. None of them needs to be overwrought at all. They ought to be mad at Congress and the president not for enacting the health law but for delaying its key provisions for four years. Some 300,000 Arkansas people need the law right now, and so does Arkansas and, yes, the state government. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, will not only be a relief for hundreds of thousands of people who find health care unaffordable now but it will be an economic bonanza for the state. Beebe ought to be begging to be thrown into that briar patch without delay. The health law will make low-income adults — those earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line — eligible for Medicaid, the federal-state matching program that now pays for nursing-home
Ernest Dumas care for the aged, medical care for children and pregnant women, and services for the disabled. Other states extend it to poor adults as well but Arkansas only barely. Arkansas can cover those earning up to 18 percent of the poverty line. No other state or the District of Columbia is so miserly. The state Department of Human Services estimates that the law could insure nearly 250,000 Arkansawyers when the Medicaid phase of it is implemented in 2014. The federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs until 2017. The department estimates that their medical expenses will average around $200 a month, which sounds a little high, but if that is true it means that Washington would pump about $600 million a year into the struggling Arkansas health system and the moribund economy. That is in addition to the hundreds of millions the government would send to the state in the form of subsidies and tax incentives for businesses and individuals above the 133 percent of poverty level to buy private insurance. Arkansas, by the way, also fares better under the subsidized private insurance program than almost any state in the country because we have a higher proportion of families of modest
When majority is wrong n Scoffing conservatives call this “making law, instead of interpreting law.” To be precise, they scoff when a ruling goes against them. Activist courts making law aren’t so bad if they’re making law you like. Conservatives need to take all that up with Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court. But he’s long gone now. In 1803, he ruled in Marbury v. Madison that a law of Congress was invalid on account of its violating a principle of the U.S. Constitution, even if the principle was one he extrapolated and was not expressly professed. This established what we call “judicial review.” That’s the ability and authority of our courts to say, whoa, there, you people and your legislators have done something that’s not legal under this supreme constitutional document as we read it. So we’re going write down on paper that you can’t do that. We’re going to assert that the real law is a prevailing principle we infer from our constitution. We’re going to assert that the way we infer and define that principle is the final and ruling law of the land, valid over what you’ve put in your little statute.
John brummett jbrummett@arkansasnews.com
And you’re going to abide by what we write because we’re a civilized nation of laws. For the most part we have behaved in that civilized fashion. Once when we didn’t, then-President Eisenhower sent federal troops. Judicial review has taken us to places the people and their politicians weren’t ready or willing to go. Without judicial review, much of this country might still be an apartheid culture. There was this French writer, de Tocqueville, who came to America in the 19th century to write about the new world’s great democratic experiment. He concluded that one of our problems would be this: By having majority rule, we could become subject to the oppressive “tyranny of the majority.” Man can be wrong, de Tocqueville wrote. So, too, he said, can man be wrong when he’s joined with a majority of other men.
incomes who cannot buy insurance because it is unaffordable. Somebody is going to have to pay for all this government assistance, of course, but it won’t be Arkansawyers. Arkansas has fewer people who will pay the higher taxes: those who make more than $250,000 a year who will pay Medicare payroll taxes, tanning parlors and people with luxury health insurance bargained by the big trade unions. Could Arkansas stand another billion or so dollars a year of economic stimulus? Ask your local hospital. Hospital administrators pleaded with Arkansas’s congressional delegation to ignore the shrill protests of the uninformed and support the act. Half the delegation did. If the law works as it is supposed to do, it will virtually eliminate the unreimbursed care at Arkansas’s shrinking community hospitals. In 2007, the last year for which numbers are available, the hospitals charged off nearly $1 billion for uncompensated care for people who were not insured and could not pay. The hospitals accounted for another $7 billion as simply uncollectible because insurance companies, Medicare or another third-party payer paid them less than they were billed. Phil Matthews, president of the Arkansas Hospital Association, said the number of uninsured Arkansawyers and the amount of unreimbursed care had been rising steadily at a pace that more and more hospitals could not withstand. “We were supportive of the Senate health care bill for a lot of reasons,” he said. “Many of those things like protecting people with
pre-existing conditions seemed like just the right things to do, but hospitals are going to be a lot better off going down the road after the new law is implemented.” Oh, yes, why would the governor and some lawmakers be peeved over the Medicaid expansion? Eventually, states will have to start picking up a share of that $600 million in Medicaid payments to poor adults: 5 percent in 2017, 6 percent in 2018, 7 percent in 2019 and 10 percent from 2020 onward, or about $60 million a year given Human Services’ estimates. But state officials have to calculate the offsetting budget aid of tens of millions of dollars in medical care at the University of Arkansas Medical Center that no longer will have to be written off and replaced by tax dollars. The feds will pay the bills. The Senate health bill, which became law first, held Arkansas’s share to 5 percent forever but the reconciliation bill, was renegotiated because other states were protesting the sweet deal that niggardly states like Arkansas were getting. The formula was changed to treat all states the same. Sen. Mark Pryor voted against the reconciliation bill for that reason, but he acknowledges that the law produced by both bills is still an allaround sweet deal for Arkansas. You can figure how Beebe was spooked. He was worried about the current Medicaid program that he and Mike Huckabee helped formulate, which faces a shortfall in a couple of years after President Obama presumably stops the $700 million special aid for Arkansas’s Medicaid program. Will this president ever stop lending a hand to this unappreciative state?
As it happens, the courts with their judicial review have balanced that tyranny. Lately it’s been courts that have advanced the legal rights of gay people, just as courts led the way in advancing the rights of black people. So it came to be last Friday that Pulaski Circuit Judge Chris Piazza issued a twopage ruling. It said the voters of the state had violated their own state constitution last year when they voted by 57 percent to approve a citizen-initiated act to ban adoptions or foster parenting by people living together outside marriage in sexual relationships. This act was cooked up by Christian conservatives who felt a need to sideswipe shacked-up heterosexuals to better fortify the constitutionality of their real purpose, which was to keep gays and lesbians from ever getting hold of any children. My practical problem with the initiated act — beyond basic disagreement — was that there isn’t any way, save a hyperactive and large force of bedroom police, to know whether two people living together are having sex. You see, formal cohabitation wasn’t the issue in the act. The issue was the sex being had by the cohabitants. And, frankly, the sex we have in our homes with our living partners is hardly anybody else’s business. That’s how Piazza saw it. But, of
course, he had to establish a constitutional principle, or, in this case, a constitutional principle based on a previous court’s establishment of a constitutional principle. So he cited a case from 2002 in which the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down our state sodomy law, which made homosexual conduct illegal, by saying our state constitution effectively bestowed a right of privacy. Therefore, Piazza ruled, this initiated act violated that right of privacy by denying a privilege based on conduct that our courts had previously determined to be legally private. This will all now likely go up to the Arkansas Supreme Court, which will surely cite its own precedent and affirm Piazza’s citing of that precedent. Then the state will be able to address the needs of children by examining prospective adoptive and foster parents on a case-by-case basis taking into account standards grounded in the best interests of the children, but not requiring any bedroom cameras or sex gestapo. John Brummett is a columnist and reporter for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. You can read additional Brummett columns in The Times of North Little Rock. www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 15
schools
Continued from page 14
students nationally and locates in the most impoverished inner-city areas. Their program typically requires all students to attend school from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. each day, attend every other Saturday, and three weeks in the summer. Can all children, especially the most at-risk, hold to this type of demand? Apparently not. Jeffrey Henig of Teachers College at Columbia University reported, for example, that the KIPP Bridge College
here — or, could it? It is interesting to look at data from the Arkansas Department of Education on the LISA Academy Charter School, located near the northeast corner of the juncture of Interstates 430 and 630 in Little Rock. The LISA Academy Charter School in 2008-09 had a student body that was 45 percent white, 32 percent black, 19 percent Asian and 4 percent Hispanic. The four Little Rock public schools located closest to the LISA Academy have white enrollments of 18 percent, 22 percent, 10 percent and 9 percent, and black student populations of 55 percent, 66 percent, 81 percent and 84 percent. The high school KIPP ACADEMY: Only the motivated stay. serving this area has only 8 percent white students and Preparatory school in Oakland, Calif., 79 percent who are black. In contrast to had 87 students who enrolled in the the LISA Academy’s 19 percent Asian 5th grade. Of these, 32 moved out of students, the entire Little Rock School the area and 30 parents removed their District has only 2 percent Asian students. children from the school. This “student When it comes to poverty measures the loss” phenomenon is not unusual for LISA Academy reports approximately KIPP schools. 22 percent of its students eligible for The KIPP Delta College Preparatory free and reduced price lunches, while the Academy in Helena-West Helena reports, neighboring schools report 61 percent, according to state Education Department 75 percent, 83 percent and 82 percent figures, a “student loss” rate in the eighth and the local high school reports a rate and ninth grade that is between three and of 65 percent. Could variations this great four times that of the Helena-West Helena be a result of random chance? Or, are School District. The “student loss” occurthere subtle factors at work that result in ring at KIPP would be a scandal if it charter schools not reflecting the commutook place at a regular public school, but nity where they are located? charter schools seem to remain under the The response of charter advocates radar when it comes to serious scrutiny. could be to point out that some charters This process leaves the KIPP schools are located in all black communities and with only the most dedicated students therefore couldn’t possibly discriminate. and parents, while the rest go back to Let’s go back to Joe Clark, because he public schools. definitely discriminated. He eliminated The lesson to be learned is that policy all but the most compliant and studious makers must be very watchful of what by kicking out the poorest and most is occurring as a result of school choice. at-risk students. Any teacher can tell you Do we as a society want to see our school that all white students are not the same, system divided into two distinct social all black students are not the same and all classes based on race, economics, family Hispanic students are not the same. If any structure, or other factors that create one inner-city principal could cast off chilsystem for the “best kids” and another dren like Joe Clark did, there would be system for all “the others?” Although an instant change in the school’s climate charter proponents tout school choice, in and performance. In reality this type of reality it may not be the student’s right to due process violation is not possible in choose a school, but a school’s right to a public school. But, a charter school choose the students. has the ability to set up a system to keep better students. Paul M. Hewitt, Ed.D., is assistant Some of the most highly-touted professor of educational leadership at the charter schools are in the Knowledge is University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He’s Power Program (KIPP) school system. also a retired California school superinThis system serves about 20,000 tendent. 16 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
Lively, Casual, Fun, Reasonably Priced and Drop-Dead Delicious!
Get decked!
3700 Cantrell Rd. next door to Loca Luna
666-8482
RedDoorrestaurant.net
Modern Southern Cuisine
Modern Southern Cuisine 3700 Cantrell Rd. next door to Loca Luna
666-8482 RedDoorrestaurant.com
664-6133 1517 Rebsamen PaRk Rd
hAve fun. See reSultS! Northside WomeN’s Boot Camp is the QuiCkest, easiest Way to Jump-start your FitNess program. A specialized program of fitness instruction, nutritional counseling provided by Certified Class Instructor/Personal Trainer Kaytee Wright. LoCATIons: Lakewood NLR, 5:15am M,W,F • Jacksonville, 6:00pm M,T,TH
New MeNs BootcaMp-caLL Now! • New woMeNs cLass at 10:15aM, BriNg your chiLd, 2 aNd up. eveNiNg cLasses startiNg May 3rd, MoN., tue.,aNd thur., 6pM-7pM
caLL Kaytee wright 501-607-3100
Northside
For more information and the
A c h i e v e . B e l i e v e . S u c c e e d . women’s Boot camp calendar,
FitNess
visit www.northsidefitness.net
Swim Suit SeASon iS cloSer thAn you think! it iS not to lAte to get in ShAPe! www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 17
y d n a c k c o R
0 0 5
M P 9 7 / MAY 6
y b er d d o o pi n e w
ON I L I V A P T E K RIVER MANRT R Y F O R M E
____________ ____________ __ __ __ __ __ ________ _ Name_________ ____________ ____________ __ __ l_ ai Em __ 0 ______ Rock Candy 50 Phone_________ nsas Times •
: Arka via credit card. rm and fee to 2985, to register 537 ll ca Or Send entry fo • 3 , AR 7220 and • Little Rock $8 before April 15 P.O. Box 34010 d. The entry fee is ire qu r all re fo is ge 29 ar ch ril n on before Ap $5 admissio Advance registrati ce, there will be a ra nder e (u th try of y en da ’s e n, best kid to April 29. Th speed, paint, desig r fo for $10 from April 16 d s de er ar nt aw Ce e be 726 and th ors. Prizes will Boy Scout Troop fit y. ne non-racing spectat nd be Ca to ck go Ro ds , nment blog ow. All procee as Times entertai ns 14) and best of sh ka Ar e th on fo es. Get more in Youth and Famili
www.arktimes.com
arts entertainment
This week in
Claypool to Village
Q&Aing with The See
Page 21
Page 26
and
to do list
20
calendar
22
Movies
30
Dining
35
ing Nixon, and Brad Heberlee, playing Frost, watched the original interview. But both actors feel like that once rehearsal begins it is time to stop doing research and move into interpretation. On Broadway and for the movie, the part of Nixon was played by Frank Langella, who received accolades for his performance, which centered on his mimicking the physical appearance of the heavy-jowled president. Langsdale is not going that route. “My challenge is that I am not doing an impersonation,” says Langsdale. “But I want to find the essence of the man.” The cast agrees that part of the lesson of “Frost/Nixon” is the way that TV has impacted politics and the way it’s simplified otherwise complex issues. In many ways, the fight at the heart of the play is about gaining control of the medium. Even so, ‘FROST/NIXON’: Frost’s detailed and exhaustive Brad Heberlee (David Frost) interview seems miles away from and Keith Langsdale today’s blunt political shoutfests (Richard Nixon) star. that dominate cable news. Speaking of politics, at Thursday’s preview performance, the Times’ editor Max Brantley and associate editor Gerard Matthews By Werner Trieschmann will join “Frost/Nixon” director Gilbert McCauley and Rep araiming to vigorously defend his disgraced presidency. tistic director Bob Hupp in a panel discussion on the The two main characters are surrounded by figures that intersection of politics and journalism and other issues fall clearly on the side of one or the other. Morgan turns surrounding the play. Their discussion begins at 7:15 the confrontation into an examination of the relationp.m., with the preview slated to begin at 8 p.m. ship that develops between two men who couldn’t be more different. The challenge for the Rep’s cast of 10, directed by “Frost/Nixon” Gilbert McCauley, is to interpret material that’s well Arkansas Repertory Theatre known by some and completely unknown to others. April 23-May 9, $20-$40 7 p.m. Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; “It did happen a long time ago,” says McCauley. “But 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday it had such an effect on American political consciousness 378-0405, therep.org that, in some ways, it’s still present. Nixon and everything around him reverberates. How we look at politics Arkansas Times-sponsored “Theatrical Prizefight” today was shaped by Watergate. To see that, all you have panel discussion and preview showing, 7:15 p.m. to know is that we still put ‘gate’ after every scandal.” Thursday, April 22, $20-$40 In preparation for their roles, Keith Langsdale, play-
Face off The Rep stages ‘Frost/Nixon.’ n Peter Morgan’s “Frost/Nixon” arrives at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre a good 36 years after the resignation of President Richard Nixon, the pardon of Nixon by successor Gerald Ford and the subsequent high profile interview of Nixon by TV personality David Frost. The play also arrives after Ron Howard’s movie version of Morgan’s play was splashed on big screens across the country during the Christmas season. For “Frost/Nixon,” Morgan, a British writer who has made something of a specialty of modern political intrigues (the film “The Queen” was his look at the impact of the death of Princess Diana on the royal family), illuminates the high stakes for both Frost and Nixon during the 12 days of interviews that were eventually edited down to four 90 minute broadcasts. Frost has his reputation and financial life on the line and Nixon is
www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 19
■ to-dolist
arts and crafts and science areas, Heifer farm animals and the Arkansas Game and Fish tank. Then there’s the ice cream to make that green pill go down: Music all day by the Sarah Hughes Band, the Amy Garland Band, Gib Ponder and the Questions, Josh Green, Shamrock Strings and The Mockingbird Hillbilly Band; a climbing wall and lots of giveaways. LM
By John Tarpley
TH U RS D AY 4 / 2 3
DISNEY ON ICE
7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $12.75.
n Arkansas, I gotta tell you, if there’s one thing about impending parenthood that scares me, it’s the promise of forced attendance at this annual giant-headed costumed carnival on ice. But they say kids change you. Maybe mine will help me wrap my mind around Donald Duck jumping past pants and shoes to skates and a zoot-suited Mickey Mouse sporting a Mardi Gras mask while skate-dancing. But I’m not holding my breath. At this year’s edition, “Let’s Celebrate!,” Donald and Mickey are joined by a host of classic characters — Minnie, Cinderella, Alice and the Mad Hatter. Plus, more modernday ones like Ariel, Tiana, Buzz Lightyear and Lilo & Stitch. There are seven performances through Sunday: 10:30 a.m. (school show not open to the public) and 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for all performances after opening night range from $15.75 to $45.75. Groups of 15 get a discount. LM.
FRID AY 4 / 2 3
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
8 p.m., Revolution. $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
n If the Volcanic Ash Monster deems it worthy and lets these Scotsmen out of
BALLET ARKANSAS PRESENTS ‘4BYFOUR’
7 p.m., Wildwood Park for the Arts. $15-$25.
MICKEY AND MINNIE DO MARDI GRAS: At Disney on Ice at Verizon. his snares, Little Rock will get what’s expected to be one of the best shows of the season from Frightened Rabbit. The five-piece has released three unanimously acclaimed albums full of urgent and sweaty but unabashedly emotional guitar rock; theirs is a tense, melodic, masculine take on Morrissey’s nervous, disillusioned and blatant sexual frustration that may just make you long for a little
of the ol’ gut twisting heartache yourself. Sure, the overly sincere torch song posturing might make you grimace now and then and lead singer Scott Hutchison’s voice tends to stray dangerously close to Counting Crows territory, but the band’s tracks are far from your concave-chested little brother’s whine-alongs. These guys flex muscle with their punching, dynamic sound, readymade to render your arms full of the maximum amount of goosebumps in the least amount of time. Tender voiced Australians The Middle East and Little Rock’s The See (check out their Q&A in this issue) provide opening support. JT.
SAT URDAY 4 /2 4
ARKANSAS EARTH DAY 10 a.m., North Shore Riverwalk, North Little Rock. Free.
THEY’LL BE HERE IF THE ASH CLEARS: Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit plays Rev. 20 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
n Time to gather together, fans of greenswathed edu-tainment. Arkansas Earth Day returns for the seventh year with the theme “Gateway to Green,” which represents, according to co-director Katherine Quinn, “an open invitation for people to come and learn about what’s going on in the environmental scene in Central Arkansas and learn how each one of us can green-up our consumer choices.” To that end, there’ll be around 80 booths, manned by green-geared non-profits and retailers; a spot, near the gate, for you to drop off old computers and cell phones to be recycled, and a large kids area, with
n This weekend, Ballet Arkansas presents their spring concert, “4byFour.” It’s four ballets, including “Pressing On,” by nationally celebrated guest choreographer Kiesha Lalama-White, which makes its world premiere. And there are three pieces by Ballet Arkansas’ artistic director, Arleen Sugano: “Kisetsu (The Seasons),” which opened to the highest of praises upon its premiere in 2007; “Love Stories,” which comes with accompaniment by Clark Erickson, who composed the music; and “La Citsym,” danced to Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony,” with accompaniment by the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra. That’s a good bit of ballet. Ballet Arkansas reprises the show on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Wildwood. JT.
CRAWS FOR A CAUSE
7 p.m., Dickey-Stephens Park. $30 adv., $35 d.o.e.
n The organizers call this “Arkansas’ Largest Crawfish Boil.” I think they’re underestimating the extent of this annual Bacchanalian. It’s a celebration of excess, with unlimited crawfish and lakes of beer. (They went through 86 kegs last year.) And, as all good Southerners know, both crawfish and beer are made to be ravenously devoured, preferably on weekend summer nights. If all that excess bothers your conscience, tell yourself you’re gorging for good reason: Organizers are aiming to raise $70,000 to go towards two top-of-the-line incubator beds for Baptist Health’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. If you think you have the stomach (and the thumbs) for charity, go for it. Also, take it from someone who’s seen good friends succumb too early: Never, ever underestimate the volatility of keg beer and hillbilly lobster. Fayetteville’s ’80s-flavored Boom Kinetic and North Little Rock’s melodic Brian Nahlen Band provide music. JT.
WOO AT THE ZOO 6 p.m., Little Rock Zoo. $35.
n Sure, we all know about the birds and the bees, but maybe it’s time to learn
about the bonobo monkeys and the bandicoots. Here’s a good one: banana slugs have 8-inch penises. Wait, they also have eight-inch bodies and, during copulation, may find themselves inescapably lodged in their partner. Wait, if that happens, one partner will escape by chewing the other one’s penis clean off. Porcupines share a disgusting mating ritual with R. Kelly as well (rhymes with “embolden towers”). Animals are messed up and Little Rock Zoo is ready to celebrate it! For this year’s “Woo at the Zoo,” they’re offering an after-hours tour of the zoo with a special keeper chat about the mating behaviors of the animals they keep; appetizers from, yes, Hooters; unlimited beverages, auctions and music by cover band The Core. Go for the wings, stay for the wangs. JT.
■ inbrief
THURSDAY 4/22
n The Little Rock Wind Symphony presents “Connections and Collaborations,” an evening of horns and organs, at Second Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m. $10, $8 seniors, $5 students. Nineties garage pop duo Local H comes to Sticky Fingerz as part of their “Six Angry Records” tour; Phoenix piano poppers Kinch and intense Little Rock soundscapers Underclaire open, 8:30 p.m., $10. Fayetteville’s AMP Summer Series kicks off with The Man, Levon Helm, who’s joined by The Cate Brothers, at the Arkansas Music Pavillion, 7 p.m., $75. Finally, fellow film theory geeks unite: the Andre Bazin of the Internet generation, Girish Shambu, comes to Hendrix’s Reves Recital Hall to discuss “Words on the Screen: Film Blogging, Cinephilia and Internet Culture,” 7:30 p.m., free.
LES CLAYPOOL
8 p.m., The Village. $20 adv., $25 d.o.s.
n That bass god Les Claypool’s latest solo album, “Of Fungi and Foe,” draws largely from songs originally written for the soundtrack to a film called “Pig Hunt” (about the legend of a 3,000-pound wild boar named Hogzilla) and those from a Wii game called “Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars” (about radioactive mushroom men come to life) should surprise no one familiar with Claypool’s resume. The California native jammed with Kirk Hammett in high school (they were classmates) in the ’70s, formed the trio Primus in the ’80s and scored an unlikely hit album on a major label in the ’90s. In the aughts and naughties, Primus cut the theme song for “South Park” and Claypool found time for all sorts of side projects with stoner-y
FRIDAY 4/23 BASS HEAD: Claypool comes to the Village. names — Sausage, Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel, Oysterhead — as well as guest spots on albums by everyone from Buckethead to Tom Waits. Through it all, Claypool’s spoken-sung lyrics always run the gamut from goofy to demented, while his bass lines split the difference between Geddy Lee’s nerdy virtuosity and Larry Graham’s pioneering slap attack. Kansas’ Split Lip Rayfield punk-up bluegrass in the opening slot. LM.
BUZZ-Y: Local Natives come to Sticky Fingerz.
MONDAY 4 /2 6
LOCAL NATIVES
9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $10 adv., $12 d.o.s.
n Airy vocals with infallible harmonies, California guitar, drums that sound like a pick-up basketball game one second and a Krautrock take on New Orleans second line the next: It’s Animal Collective without the pretension. Or maybe Grizzly Bear with grass stains. Or Vampire Weekend’s cousins that passed up Columbia University for state school. Comparisons aside, Local Natives walk tightwires between the imposing structures of their buzz band cohorts. Preppy Afro-poppers with a penchant for CSN&Y melodies, these guys simultaneously sound like everyone out there and no one else around. While their newAmericana sound has garnered buckets of comparisons to Fleet Foxes, the attitude is completely different; Local Natives celebrate their youthfulness and vitality and sound completely content to live in the 21st century while the Foxes stab at wisdom and legitimacy and end up sounding like a lonely mob of anthropomorphic butter churns. Having released only one album — which was promptly devoured and loved by most hungry, expectant music lovers — they’re undeniably new jacks, albeit hugely promising ones. Brooklyn’s Suckers open. JT.
n Union scores an awesome, very last minute show with Austin’s Woven Bones, the power-garage sounds of Magic Hassle and the premiere of Mandy McBryde’s new band, featuring local guitarist Ryan Britton and monster drummer Matt Quin, 10 p.m., donations. Times Musicians Showcase finalists Elise Davis Band hits the Town Pump stage, 10 p.m., $5. Country singer/songwriter/ star Steve Azar brings his brand of Southern music to Wildwood, 7:30 p.m., $35. Downtown Music hosts a night of metal with the touring act, Noble Rust, alongside locals The Witch’s Tit, doom sluggers Pallbearer and Southern stoner blues/ metal from Memphis’ The Unbeheld, 8 p.m., $6.
SATURDAY 4/24
n Hendrix alum and permanent favorite of Little Rock’s singer/songwriter loving masses Dana Falconberry visits the White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. Saxophone-wielding jam band Freeverse provides the choogle for your late-night boogaloo at Midtown Billiards, 12:30 p.m., $5-$8. Josh the Devil & the Sinners join new kids on the block Nos Rebos, who work in an alt-country/pop-punk potpourri, at Union, 10 p.m., free. Conway’s This Holy House, which works in countrytinged visits Town Pump alongside local sunshine pop group Whale Fire, 9 p.m., $5. Fayetteville gets a great bluegrass show at Baum Walker Hall in the Walton Arts Center with The Steep Canyon Rangers and the banjoslapping wild and crazy guy himself, Steve Martin, 8 p.m., $51-$101. www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 21
www.arktimes.com
afterdark
calendar
All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please e-mail the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.
EVENTS
22 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
LECTURES
Girish Shambu. Film theory blogger delivers a lecture entitled “Words on the Screen: Film Blogging, Cinephilia, and Internet Film Culture.” 7:30 p.m., free. Reves Recital Hall, Hendrix College, Conway. 501-450-4597, hendrix.edu. Greg Squires. George Washington University professor speaks about the role of financial lending in lecture “Too Big to Bail and Too Big to Jail: Predatory Lending from the Bible to the Bible Belt and Beyond.” 9 a.m., free. Sturgis Hall, Clinton School of Public Service. 683-5239, publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu.
MUSIC
MUSIC
Disney on Ice: “Let’s Celebrate!” Disney’s bestloved characters on skates. 2 p.m., $15.75-$45.75.
COMEDY
Caroline Picard. 8 p.m., $6. The Loony Bin, I-430 and Rodney Parham. 228-5555, loonybincomedy.com.
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
THURSDAY, APRIL 22 An Evening with Robert Earl Keen. Fundraiser for Monty Davenport’s Land Commissioner campaign. 8 p.m., $100. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. DJ Mikey Mike. 8 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace.com/bogiescounterpoint. Ice Nine Kills, The Subtle Way, Hollywood Homicide. 8 p.m., $7. Vino’s, 923 W. Seventh. 375-8466, vinosbrewpub.com. Integrity. 8 p.m., $7. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 661-4176, afterthoughtbar.com. Jim Dickerson. 7 p.m. Sonny Williams’, 500 President Clinton Ave. 324-2999, www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke with Big John Miller. 8 p.m., Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501315-1717. Levon Helm, The Cate Brothers. 7 p.m., $75. Arkansas Music Pavillion, 4201 Shiloh Drive, Fayetteville. 479-442-2776, arkansasmusicpavilion. com. Like Trains and Taxis, Hot Cognition, Jack Bruno. 9 p.m. ACAC, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road. 244-2979, myspace.com/acacarkansas. All ages. Little Rock Jazz Quartet. 8 p.m. Ferneau, 2601 Kavanaugh. 603-3992, ferneaurestaurant.com. Little Rock Wind Symphony and Friends Present “Connections and Collaborations.” 7:30 p.m., $5-$10. Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive. lrwindsymphony.org. Local H, Kinch, Underclaire. 8:30 p.m., $10. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, www.stickyfingerz.com. Mark Jungers. 9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern, 2500 W. Seventh. 375-8400, myspace.com/whitewatertavern. MC Frontalot, The OneUps. 9 p.m. Maxine’s, 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909, maxinespub.com. River City Men’s Chorus presents “Broadway Chorus.” 7 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St. 377-1080, rivercitymenschorus.com. The Ted Ludwig Trio. 5 p.m., free. Capital Bar & Grill, 111 W. Markham. 370-7013, www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thirsty Thursday. 8 p.m., $10 early admission. On the Rocks, 107 E. Markham St. 374-7425, clubontherocks.com. Tragikly White (headliner), Fjord Mustang (happy hour). 9:30 p.m., 6 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 3755351, cajunswharf.com.
Verizon Arena. 975-9000, ticketmaster.com. Faulkner County Democratic Women fundraiser fish fry. 5 p.m., $20 suggested donation. 5th Avenue Park, Conway. fcdw.org. Candidate Political Forum. Featuring U.S. Senate and House candidates. Young Black Professionals of Arkansas event moderated by TV anchor Pamela Smith. 6:30 p.m., free. University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, 2300 S. University Ave. 960-1704, ybpa.net.
FLUFF DADDY: Comedy Central-sponsored comedian Gabriel Iglesias, famous for coining the phrase on his T-shirt and for his range of impressions, comes to Robinson Center Music Hall at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 24. Tickets, on sale via the Celebrity Attractions ticket office and Ticketmaster, are $36.
Aquaserge, Casper and the Cookies. 9 p.m. Maxine’s, 700 Central Ave, Hot Springs. 501-3210909, maxinespub.com. Benjamin’s Army, Adam Hambrick. 10 p.m., $7. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas. com. Big John Miller Band. 9 p.m., $5. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com. Bonnie & Mandy. 5:30 p.m., free. Town Pump, 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. 663-9802. Chris Henry. 9 p.m. Flying Saucer, 323 Clinton Ave. 372-7468, beerknurd.com. Dennis Farmer. 9 p.m., free. Capi’s, 11525 Cantrell Road. 225-9600, capisrestaurant.com. DJ Debbi T. 10 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace.com/bogiescounterpoint. Elise Davis Band. 10 p.m., $5. Town Pump, 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. 663-9802. Eric Sommer. 12:30 a.m., $5-$8. Midtown Billiards, 1316 Main St. 372-9990, midtownar.com. Frightened Rabbit, The Middle East, The See. 8 p.m., $10. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, www.rumbarevolution.com. Jeff Coleman. 7 p.m. Sonny Williams’, 500 President Clinton Ave. 324-2999, www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Noble Rust, Witch’s Tit, Pallbearer, The Unbeheld. 8 p.m., $6. Downtown Music, 211 W. Capitol. 376-1819, downtownshows.homestead.com. Pail. 9 p.m., $5. West End, 215 N. Shackelford. 224-7665, www.westendsmokehouse.com. PG-13 (headliner), Lyle Dudley (happy hour). 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com. Port Arthur. 8 p.m., $5. Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Pretty Lights. 9 p.m., $20. George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-5276618, georgesmajesticlounge.com. Steve Azar. 7:30 p.m., $35. Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road. 821-7275, wildwoodpark.org. Ted Ludwig Trio. 9 p.m. Capital Bar & Grill, 111 W. Markham. 370-7013, capitalhotel.com/CBG Ten Cent Hat. 9 p.m., $5. Cornerstone Pub, 314 Main St., NLR. 374-1782, cstonepub.com. The Sarah Hughes Band. 9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern, 2500 W. Seventh. 375-8400, myspace. com/whitewatertavern.
EVENTS
Disney on Ice: “Let’s Celebrate!” See April 22. FuRR Spring Sale. The annual yard sale to benefit the Little Rock chapter of FuRR (Feline Rescue and Rehome). Corner of Cedar & Kavanaugh. 6610956, saveacat@teamfurr.org. Lincoln/Halter Debate. The Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate meet for their first public debate. 7 p.m. University Theatre, UALR campus. ualr.edu.
UPcomIng evenTS
Live Music
Concert tickets through Ticketmaster by phone at 975-7575 or online at www.ticketmaster.com unless otherwise noted. APRIL 29: Tony Joe White. 9 p.m., $10. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. MAY 1: Hunt! Little Rock. A city-wide team scavenger hunt with a $500 grand prize. 10 a.m., $22 person. Riverfront Park Belvedere. 314-565-9441, cityhunts.com. MAY 4: Deer Tick. 9 p.m., $10. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, stickyfingerz.com. MAY 10: Neil Hamburger. 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, stickyfingerz.com. MAY 14-29: “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Desperate real estate salesmen hustle worthless Florida real estate; tension and greed ensue. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., $14. The Weekend Theater, 7th and Chester. 374-3761, weekendtheater.org. MAY 22: The Most Serene Republic. 9 p.m. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 3727707, stickyfingerz.com. MAY 28-30: Riverfest 2010. Arkansas’s biggest music, arts and food festival. Riverfront Park, River Market District and North Shore Riverwalk. 255-3378, www.riverfestarkansas.com. JUNE 2-6: 4th Annual Little Rock Film Festival. Documentary and wide-release films at several venues, including Riverdale 10, Clinton School and the Chamber of Commerce. 960-0864, www.littlerockfilmfestival.org.
Thursday, april 22 MaRk JuNgeRs (MaRtiNDaLe, texas) Friday, april 23 tHe saRaH HugHes BaND (FayetteviLLe, aRkaNsas) saTurday, april 24 DaNa FaLcoNBeRRy (austiN, texas) FuLL BaND sHow! BoNNie MoNtgoMeRy Friday, april 30 gRaHaM wiLkiNsoN & tHe uNDeRgRouND towNsHip (austiN, texas) JoNatHaN wiLkiNs & tHe RepaRatioNs saTurday, May 1 DaviD kiMBRougH JR. (HoLLy spRiNgs, Mississippi) MockiNgBiRD stacey Mackey
myspace.com/whitewatertavern Little Rock’s Down-Home Neighborhood Bar
7th & Thayer • Little Rock • (501) 375-8400
4.24 - LES CLAYPOOL 4.29 - MAYDAY PARADE 5.6 - CHIODOS 5.27 - BENJY DAVIS PROJECT 6.10 - CLUTCH
Smart Discipline Workshop. Dr. Larry Koenig will present a 2-hour parenting workshop. 6 p.m., $20 parent, $30 couple. Museum of Discovery, 500 President Clinton Ave. littlerockfamily.com. Young Author Series with Jordan Sonnenblick. Harding University hosts the juvenile literature author for two days of workshops and lectures. $125 for one event, $100 each for two events, $75 each for four. Harding University, Searcy. 501-2795107, harding.edu.
FILM
“Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality.”6 p.m., free. Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler St. 501-327-7482.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24 MUSIC
Barrett Baber. 9 p.m. Flying Saucer, 323 Clinton Ave. 372-7468, beerknurd.com. Big John Miller. 10 p.m., $5. Fox and Hound, 2800 Lakewood Village Drive, NLR. 753-8300. Cold Mold, Daniel Francis Doyle. 8 p.m. The Exchange, 100 Exchange St., Hot Springs. myspace.com/theexchangevenue. Dana Falconberry. 9 p.m. White Water Tavern, 2500 W. Seventh. 375-8400, myspace.com/whitewatertavern. DJ Shaintrain. 10 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace.com/bogiescounterpoint. Four on the Floor. 9:30 p.m., $5. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, www.stickyfingerz.com. Freeverse. 12:30 a.m., $5-$8. Midtown Billiards, 1316 Main St. 372-9990, midtownar.com. Holly Cole, Giant Bear. 9 p.m. Maxine’s, 700 Central Ave, Hot Springs. 501-321-0909, maxinespub.com. Jeff Coleman. 7 p.m. Sonny Williams’, 500 President Clinton Ave. 324-2999, www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Josh the Devil & the Sinners, Nos Rebos. 10 p.m., free. Union, 3421 Old Cantrell Road. 661-8311. Les Claypool, Split Lip Rayfield. 8 p.m., $22 adv., $25 d.o.s. The Village, 3915 S. University. 570-0300, thevillagelive.com. Lord T & Eloise. 9 p.m., $10. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, www.rumbarevolution.com. Ludicra, Iron Tongue, Mondo Drag, Trail of Sin, Collapsing Nation. 8 p.m., $7. Downtown Music, 211 W. Capitol. 376-1819, downtownshows.homestead.com. Mean Green Music Machine (headliner), Greg Madden (happy hour). 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell
3915 S. UNIVERSITY AVE 501.570.0300 myspace.com/thevillagelive www.thevillagelive.com
FANS’ CHOICE: Nineties garage pop duo Local H comes to Sticky Fingerz on Thursday, April 22, on their “Six Angry Records” tour, where, at the beginning of the night one audience member will select one of the band’s album titles out of a hat, and then the group will play what’s selected in full. Kinch and Underclaire open, 8:30 p.m., $10. Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com. Michael Shane (disco), g-force (lobby). 9 p.m., $10. Discovery, 1021 Jessie Road. 6644784, latenightdisco.com. PG-13. 9 p.m., $5. West End, 215 N. Shackelford. 224-7665, www.westendsmokehouse.com. Rock & Roll Showcase with Dr. Rex Bell. 9 p.m., $7. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 6634176, afterthoughtbar.com. Scarlet Night, BKI, Wrought, Even Heroes. 9 p.m. George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-527-6618, georgesmajesticlounge.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. 9 p.m. Capital Bar & Grill, 111 W. Markham. 370-7013, capitalhotel.com/CBG The Crumbs. 12:30 a.m., $5-$8. Midtown Billiards, 1316 Main St. 372-9990, midtownar.com. The See, Darril ‘Harp’ Edwards. 9 p.m., $5. Cornerstone Pub, 314 Main St., NLR. 374-1782, cstonepub.com. The Steep Canyon Rangers with Steve Martin. 8 p.m., $51-$101. Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. 479-443-5600, waltonartscenter.org. Wanda Watson Band. 8 p.m., $5. Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-3151717. Wes Hayden. 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 d.o.s. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. Whale Fire, This Holy House. 9 p.m., $5. Town Pump, 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. 663-9802. Yearling, Select Start, Almost Hollywood, The Alexei, Restless Ribbon. 8 p.m., $10. Vino’s, 923 W. Seventh. 375-8466, vinosbrewpub.com.
EVENTS
“10+10” Art Sale Opening. 6 p.m. ACAC, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road. 244-2979, myspace. com/acacarkansas. “Go Green.” Museum educators and guests give
demonstrations, hands-on activities and other presentations on how to care for the planet. 9 a.m., $7-$8. Museum of Discovery, 500 President Clinton Ave. 396-7050, amod.org. Aldersgate After Dark. A fund-raiser for Aldersgate featuring auctions, drinks, dinner and dancing. 7 p.m., $75. River Market Pavilion. 225-1444, campaldersgate.net. Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk. One- to 3-mile walks to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. 9 a.m., free. Big Dam Bridge. 265-0027, rockwalk.org. American Diabetes Tour de Cure. 20-100 mile bike rides to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. 6:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m., $15-$25. Murray Park. 221-7444, diabetes.org/tour. Arkansas Earth Day Festival. Live music, food, and activities and exhibits. 10 a.m., free. North Shore Riverwalk. 247-2953, arkansasearthday.org. Baptist Health’s “Head North to Health.” 9 a.m, free. McCain Mall, 3929 McCain Blvd., NLR. simon.com. Breakfast with Chimpanzees. Breakfast and a chat with the chimpanzee keeper about the animals. 8 a.m., $13-$22. Little Rock Zoo. 666-2406, littlerockzoo.com. Craws for a Cause. Baptist Health NICU’s Annual Crawfish Boil. 7 p.m., $30 adv., $35 door. Dickey-Stephens Park, 400 W. Broadway Street, NLR. 664-1555. www.crawsforacause.com. Disney on Ice: “Let’s Celebrate!” See April 22. FuRR Spring Sale. See April 23. Great American Cleanup. A citywide cleanup to promote litter pickup, recycling, beautification and community improvement in. 765-3530, klrb.org. Great American Cleanup: Stifft Station/
Continued on page 27
ARKANSAS’ BEST LIVE MUSIC FRI 4/23
LUCIOUS SPILLER BAND @930SF
SAT 4/24
@ SF FOUR ON THE FLOOR 10PM
FRI FRIGHTENED RABBIT @ REV 4/23 THE MIDDLE EAST / THE SEE 8PM
SUN 4/25 THU 4/29
JAMAICA ME CRAZY REGGAE NIGHT w RAS LEVI
BASSNECTAR
@ REV 830
@ REV 9PM
LOCAL H KINCH
UNDERCLAIRE
THU APRIL 22 STICKY FINGERZ
LORD T & ELOISE
w/ GROOVEMENT
SAT APRIL 24 REV ROOM
LOCAL NATIVES w/ SUCKERS
MON APRIL 26 STICKY FINGERZ
501-372-7707 / STICKY FINGERZ.COM 501-823-0090 / RUMBAREVOLUTION.COM
www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 23
Savor City the
30 Dates 60 Plates Lunch $15 2 courses
April 2010 Little Rock Restaurant Month
ends april 30
TIER ONE
Y
our favorite chefs have put together special, prix fixe lunch and dinner menus for the month of April that are priced below what you would ordinarily pay for each course separately. Go to
www.experiencelittlerockdining.com for more information.
Dinner $35 3 courses
1620 Restaurant (DINNER ONLY) www.1620restaurant.com 1620 Market Street • (501) 221-1620
Ferneau (DINNER ONLY) www.ferneaurestaurant.com 2601 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 603-9208
Arthur’s Prime Steakhouse (DINNER ONLY) 27 Rahling Circle • (501) 821-1838
Lulav www.lulaveatery.com 220 West 6th Street • (501) 374-5100
Cafe Bossa Nova www.cafebossanova.com 2701 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 614-6682 Camp David Restaurant www.campdavidrest.com 600 Interstate 30 • (501) 975-2267
Sushi Cafe www.sushicaferocks.com 5823 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 663-9888 So Restaurant-Bar 3610 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 663-1464
Capi’s www.capisrestaurant.com 11525 Cantrell Road • (501) 225-9600
Trio’s Restaurant & Catering www.triosrestaurant.com 8201 Cantrell Road • (501) 221-3330
Capriccio Grill www.peabodylittlerock.com 3 Statehouse Plaza • (501) 399-8000
Vesuvio Bistro (DINNER ONLY) 1501 Merrill Drive • (501) 225-0500
Cheers In the Heights www.cheersith.com 2010 North Van Buren Street • (501) 663-5937
Vieux Carre www.vieuxcarrecafe.com 2721 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 663-1196
Ciao Baci (DINNER ONLY) www.ciaobaci.org 605 Beechwood Street • (501) 603-0238
Lunch $12 2 courses
TIER TWO
Dinner $25 3 courses
acadia www.acadiahillcrest.com 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. • (501) 603-9630
The Butcher Shop Steakhouse (DINNER ONLY) www.thebutchershop.com 10825 Hermitage Road • (501) 312-2748
Best Impressions (LUNCH ONLY) www.bestimpressionsrestaurant.com 501 East 9th Street • (501) 907-5946
Cajun’s Wharf (DINNER ONLY) www.cajunswharf.com 2400 Cantrell Road • (501) 375-5351
Big Whiskey’s www.bigwhiskeys.com 225 East Markham Street • (501) 324-2449
Capers www.capersrestaurant.com 14502 Cantrell Road • (501) 868-7600
Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Co. www.boscosbeer.com 500 President Clinton Avenue • (501) 907-1881
Capital Bar and Grill www.capitalhotel.com 111 West Markham Street • (501) 374-7474
Bruno’s Little Italy (DINNER ONLY) www.brunoslittleitaly.com 315 North Bowman Road • (501) 224-4700
Casa Manana www.casamananamexicanfood.com 6820 Cantrell Road • (501) 280-9888 18321 Cantrell Road • (501) 868-8822
www.experiencelittlerockdining.com Menu Items differ with each restaurant. Tax and gratuity not included
y
m
Lunch $12 2 courses
TIER TWO CONTINUED
Dinner $25 3 courses
Copper Grill & Grocery www.coppergrillandgrocery.com 300 East 3rd Street • (501) 375-3333
Krazy Mike’s SHRIMP ’N’ Wings www.krazy-mikes.com 200 North Bowman Road • (501) 907-6453
Copeland’s www.copelandsofneworleans.com 2602 South Shackleford Road • (501) 312-1616
Lilly’s Dimsum Then Some www.lillysdimsum.com 11121 North Rodney Parham Road • (501) 716-2700
Loca Rock Luna Restaurant Dizzy’s Special prixGypsy fixe Bistro menus at reduced prices at these Little restaurants. www.localuna.com 200 Commerce Street • (501) 375-3500 3519 Old Cantrell Road • (501) 663-4666 The Faded Rose Maddie’s Place www.thefadedrose.com www.maddiesplacelr.com 1619 Rebsamen Park Road • (501) 663-9734 1615 Rebsamen Park Road • (501) 660-4040 400 N. Bowman Road • (501) 224-3377 FORTY TWO (LUNCH ONLY) AT WILLIAM J. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
www.dineatfortytwo.com 1200 President Clinton Avenue • (501) 537-0042 Graffiti’s Italian Restaurant (DINNER ONLY) 7811 Cantrell Road • (501) 224-9079 The house 722 N. Palm Street • (501) 663-4500 Juanita’s Cafe & Bar www.juanitas.com 1300 Main Street • (501) 372-1228
Masala Grill+Teahouse 9108 N. Rodney Parham Rd. • (501) 414-0643 The Pantry www.littlerockpantry.com 11401 North Rodney Parham Road • (501) 353-1875 Red Door www.reddoorrestaurant.net 3519 Old Cantrell Road • (501) 666-8482 Salut! 1501 North University Avenue • (501) 660-4200 Terrace On the Green 2200 North Rodney Parham Road • (501) 217-9393
One of the most vibrant Lunch $7 Dinner $15 restaurant scenes 2 courses TIER THREE 3 courses of any small city Markham Street Grill & Pub Alley Oops 11900 Kanis Road • (501) 221-9400 www.markhamst.com in America! 11321 West Markham Street • (501) 224-2010
Black Angus 10907 North Rodney Parham Road • (501) 228-7800 Cheeburger Cheeburger www.cheeburger.com 11525 Cantrell Road • (501) 490-2433 Corky’s Ribs & Barbecue www.corkys4bbq.com 12005 Westhaven Drive • (501) 954-RIBS (7427) Damgoode Pies www.damgoodepies.com 2701 Kavanaugh Boulevard • (501) 664-2239 THE Flight Deck Restaurant (LUNCH ONLY) www.central.aero 1501 Bond Avenue • (501) 975-9315 gusano’s www.gusanospizza.com 313 President Clinton Avenue • (501) 374-1441 IRIANA’S 201 E. Markham St. • (501) 374-3656 Koto Restaurant 17200 Chenal Parkway • (501) 821-7200
Pizza Cafe 1517 Rebsamen Park Road • (501) 664-6133 Purple Cow www.purplecowlr.com 8026 Cantrell Road • (501) 221-3555 11602 Chenal Parkway • (501) 224-4433 Rumba Mexi Cuban Kitchen www.rumbarevolution.com 300 President Clinton Avenue • (501) 823-0090 Tropical Smoothie Cafe & Deli www.tropicalsmoothie.com 11900 Kanis Road • (501) 221-6773 12911 Cantrell Road • (501) 224-1113 the villa italian restaurant www.thevillaitalian.net 12111 W. Markham, 310 Rock Creek Square • (501) 219-2244 Underground Pub www.theundergroundpub.com 500 President Clinton Avenue • (501) 707-2537 Zack’s Place www.zacks-place.com 1400 S. University • (501) 664-6444
www.experiencelittlerockdining.com Menu Items differ with each restaurant. Tax and gratuity not included
EThaN MoorE
■ Q&A: The See
hear the see: On past and future music.
by john tarpley
n It’s just about inarguable: The See are the kings of Little Rock’s current landscape of bands. In the town’s musical yearbook, in a time when local music is experiencing a renaissance, they’re holding down the Who’s Who “Most Likely to Succeed” in a sea of other wildly talented acts. Sunday night, the four guys came over to the porch of an infamous former house venue for bourbon and “Treme,” and we ended up chatting until 2:30 a.m. about our love for Ho-Hum’s Lenny Bryan, Velvet Kente’s joshua, combining sauces No. 5 and No. 3 at Whole Hog, spirit animals, and baseball’s National League-Central division. So, y’know, just another night with those guys. Here are some highlights: n Let’s start with an easy one: what are you guys listening to as of late? Eric Moris: Built to Spill. Dylan Yelenich: Spiritualized: “Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Now Floating in Outer Space.” Joe Yoder: Sports radio. 103.7. Tim from Stuttgart. All day. Oh, and my favorite song ever, “Frogs” by The Flaming Lips. Tyler Nance: I hate that song. But I’m on Archers of Loaf. Love them. And this new band, Warpaint. DY: Oh! My favorite song ever is Flaming Lips! “Five Stop Mother Superior Rain!” JY: Then, uh, my favorite song is, I dunno, some ’90s R&B thing about getting a boner while you’re dancing. EM: “Rag Doll” by Frankie Valli. DY: Then my favorite song is “Rag Doll” by Aerosmith.
n Okay: What’s been your worst show? JY: Christ. There was this art space show in St. Louis we did. This guy that did booking quit and this other guy was grandfathered in. He didn’t dig music, but he really dug young boys. Creepy. Anyway, he told us, straight up, “I didn’t really promote this show,” so the only people there were us, The Thing That Always Explodes, and the guys he fooled around with. TN: Oh! And he made us terrible, awful spaghetti. Worst show, friggin’ … worst spaghetti. He hated our music, too. Jesus. n How are you guys going to tackle your next release? EM: Here’s what I’m thinking: we’re a strong live band, no doubt. So I figure we should embrace that, right? Capture it on record. I want to take all the songs, figure out a tracklisting and spend, like, a whole week setting up the audio side in the studio. Then we bang out the whole album in one take. n One take? EM: Yep. One take. If we mess up, we start over again. And, you know what? That’s extra practice! I mean, it’s gonna be hard. No breaks between songs and all that, but we’ve gotta take that live energy to the studio or it’ll be, I dunno, a let down? n Tell me about your songwriting process.
JY: Um, I want the songs to be participatory. I took a class called “History of American Music” and it really struck me that the best way to use voices is to use other voices as well. Like that last scene in “Treme” just now was unbelievable. Two guys and their tambourines, killing it. Anyway, I hear melody first. There’s tons of stuff going on in my head and I really do care what I’m saying, but then it’s all about filling space with syllables and writing in melody more so than words. EM: Songs are meant to expound on mood, not convey emotion: That’s a task for essays. JY: Or, on a smaller level, poetry. You write a poem, you’re doing it in the moment; you have to write a reason to write it … like, I don’t have 13 things going on in my life to write about … thank God. So I’m digging for content because I don’t want to be fake. A lot of times it’s the first thing to pop in my head with syllables that work with my tongue. n How did Eric end up joining? EM: Y’know, I saw them live, was around them a lot. Ran into Tyler at a bar and was immediately like “I want to jam with you.” TN: And I was like “Yes. We’ve gotta do this.” And Joe was kinda — JY: — sorry. Didn’t want to change the whole dynamic. EM: Then Dylan got on the boat and, after a while, the three guys agreed. Anyway, I was on a road trip up to Illinois for a wedding and down to Alabama to visit my parents, all the while moving from one house to another in town. On my way back from my folks’, Dylan called, said “Get back, let’s jam.” So I get back and immediately, he helped me move, literally, all day long. Put my bed together, humped boxes of shit across town … longest, most exhausting day. DY: We practiced all night for seven nights straight, right? And Eric came in, seamlessly. JY: Yeah. I was totally wrong for dragging my feet. EM: Man, the first show I was freaking harder than I ever have. My glasses were falling off, I was shaky but — screw it, I’ll say it — I was golden! Didn’t miss a thing! DY: Totally organic. n Describe The See in one word. EM: Loud. JY: Band-Aid. DY: Loud. TN: Cocks.
calendar
Continued from page 21 Capitol View. The Capitol View/Stifft Station Neighborhood Association celebrates Earth Day by beautifying the neighborhood. 8 a.m. White Water Tavern, 2700 W. Seventh. anne.milligan@ gmail.com. Minority Health Fair. Information about minority health issues. 10 a.m., free. St. Vincent Health Clinic-East, Nathaniel Hill Community Complex, 2500 E. 6th St. 661-0562. National Astronomy Day. Members of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society lead telescope and afternoon solar viewings. 2 p.m., free. Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Visitor Center. 868-5806, arkansasstateparks.com/pinnaclemountain. Woo at the Zoo. A walking tour highlighting lemur mating rituals. 6 p.m., $35. Little Rock Zoo. 661-7212, littlerockzoo.com. Young Author Series with Jordan Sonnenblick. See April 23.
COMEDY
Caroline Picard. 7 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m. $12. Loony Bin, I-430 and Rodney Parham. 228-5555, loonybincomedy.com. Gabriel Iglesias. 8 p.m., $25-$50. Robinson Center Music Hall. 376-4781, ticketmaster.com.
SPORTS
Teeter/Teen Challenge 5th Annual Golf Tournament. 9 a.m. Diamondhead Golf Course, 245 Independence Drive, Hot Springs. 501-6242446, tinamenzies@cablelynx.com.
SUNDAY, APRIL 25 MUSIC
“Jamaica Me Crazy.” Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, www.rumbarevolution.com. Karaoke with DJ Mikey Mike. 8 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace. com/bogiescounterpoint. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig. 11 a.m. Vieux Carre, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com.
EVENTS
Disney on Ice: “Let’s Celebrate!” See April 22. 6th Annual Mount Holly Cemetery Picnic. 5 p.m., $75. Mount Holly Cemetery, 1200 Broadway. 375-5197.
MONDAY, APRIL 26 MUSIC
Chris Denny. 10 p.m., $3. Town Pump, 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. 663-9802. Local Natives, Suckers. 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 d.o.s. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 3727707, www.stickyfingerz.com. Monday Night Jam Session. 8 p.m., $5. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com. Richie Johnson. 5:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com. Smile Empty Soul, Soil, Black Sunshine. 9 p.m., $10. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. Traditional Irish Music Session. 7 p.m., free. Khalil’s Pub & Grill, 110 S. Shackleford. 224-0244, khalilspub.com.
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa Drillers. 7:10 p.m., $6-$12. Dickey-Stephens Park. travs.com.
TUESDAY, APRIL 27 MUSIC
Brian & Nick. 5:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com.
HALF-PRICE ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
PARTICIPATING WENDY’S, BIG RED STORES & FAMILY MARKETS!
Check out riverfestarkansas.com for more info on Arkansas’ premier arts and music festival! 26 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
Central High Jazz Ensemble with Ted Ludwig. 7:30 p.m., $10, $5 students. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 2200 Kavanaugh. 447-1478. DJ Mikey Mike. 8 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace.com/bogiescounterpoint. J-One Productions Open Mic. 9 p.m. Prost, 322 President Clinton. j-oneproductionsinc.com. Latin Nights. 7 p.m., $5, $7 under 21. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, www. rumbarevolution.com. Lucious Spiller. 6 p.m. Copeland’s, 2602 S. Shackelford Road. 312-1616, copelandsofneworleans.com. Paul Sammons, Shane Tutmarc. 9 p.m., free. Maxine’s, 700 Central Ave, Hot Springs. 501-3210909, maxinespub.com. Sevendust, Nonpoint, Day of Fire, Hail the Villain. 9 p.m., $20. George’s Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-527-6618, georgesmajesticlounge.com. Singer-Songwriter Night. 9 p.m., $3. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. 9 p.m. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com.
escounterpoint. D-Mite, D-Dirt-E. 9 p.m., $5. Cornerstone Pub, 314 Main St., NLR. 374-1782, cstonepub.com. J-One Productions’ “In Too Deep” Party. 9 p.m. Deep Lounge, 322 President Clinton. joneproductionsinc.com. Karaoke with Big John Miller. 8 p.m., Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501315-1717. Kat & Chuck. 8 p.m., $5. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com. Mayday Parade, Sparks the Rescue, Hot Chelle Rae, Polyphonic Breakdown. 7 p.m., $13 adv., $15 d.o.s. The Village, 3915 S. University. 570-0300, thevillagelive.com. Montgomery Trucking, 3 Penny Acre. Fundraiser for the ROOT Cafe. 9:15 p.m. Arkansas Flag and Banner, 800 W. 9th St. 944-8500, therootcafe@yahoo.com. All ages. Paul Sammons. 10 p.m. Union, 3421 Old Cantrell Road. 661-8311. The Ted Ludwig Trio. 9 p.m. Capital Bar & Grill, 111 W. Markham. 370-7013, capitalhotel.com/CBG. Tony Joe White, John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives. 9 p.m., $10. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas.com. Trademark (headliner), Fjord Mustang (happy hour). 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com.
EVENTS
36th Annual Farmers’ Market Grand Opening. 7 a.m., free. River Market Pavilions. 375-2552, rivermarket.info. Science Cafe. Fisheries and aquaculture. 7 p.m., free. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com.
EVENTS
Rajun’ Cajun Bash. Fund-raiser for CARTI. Allyou-can-eat Cajun food, drinks and live music. 6 p.m., $30 adv., $35 d.o.e. River Market Pavillion. 296-3429, carti.com.
LECTURES
Kevin and Hannah Salwen. Authors of “The Power of Half” talk about their experience selling their house, buying another at half off and donating their proceeds to charity. Sturgis Hall, Clinton School of Public Service. 683-5239, publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu.
COMEDY
Paul Hooper. 8 p.m. $7. Loony Bin, I-430 and Rodney Parham. 228-5555, loonybincomedy.com.
POETRY
inVerse Open Mic Poetry Night. 6 p.m., $5. ACAC, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road. 244-2979, myspace.com/acacarkansas.
SPORTS
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa Drillers. 7:10 p.m., $6-$12. Dickey-Stephens Park. travs.com.
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa Drillers. 7:10 p.m., $6-$12. Dickey-Stephens Park. travs.com.
THIS WEEK IN THEATER
MUSIC
Celtic Woman. 7:30 p.m., $40-$300. Robinson Center Music Hall. aetnfoundation.org/boxoffice. Coverband. 5:30 p.m. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road. 375-5351, cajunswharf.com. Dave Williams & Co. 8 p.m., $5. Afterthought, 2721 Kavanaugh. 663-4176, afterthoughtbar.com. Karaoke with DJ Debbi T. 10 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace. com/bogiescounterpoint. Lucious Spiller. 9:30 p.m., $5. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, www.stickyfingerz. com. Rally for One, Swiss Family Knives. 9 p.m., $7. Juanita’s, 1300 S. Main St. 374-3271, juanitas. com. The Curse Follows, An Airbag Saved My Life. 8:00 p.m., $5. Soundstage, 1008 Oak St., Conway. soundstageshows.com. The Ted Ludwig Trio. 5 p.m., free. Capital Bar & Grill, 111 W. Markham. 370-7013, www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.
“Christmas Belles.” A church Christmas program spins out of control in this Southern farce about fighting sisters, family secrets and a surly Santa, through May 23. Dinner: 6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 5:30 p.m. Sun. Lunch: 11 a.m. Sun. and special Wed. matinees. Curtain: 7:45 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 12:40 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sun. $30-$32. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 562-3131, murrysdinnerplayhouse.com. “Frost/Nixon.” Tensions rise to a fever pitch when disgraced Richard Nixon agrees to an all-inclusive interview with British journalist David Frost. 7 p.m. Wed.; 8 p.m. Thu.-Sat.; 2 p.m., 7 p.m. Sun., Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St. $20$40. 378-0405, therep.org. Moscow Festival Ballet presents “Sleeping Beauty.” A full-length, three-act ballet with the music of Tchaikovsky. 7:30 p.m. April 26, Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, Conway. $23-$30, UCA students free. uca.edu. COMEDY “Runt of the Litter.” An autobiographical onePaul Hooper. 8 p.m. $7. Loony Bin, I-430 and man show by former Houston Oiler Bo Eason Rodney Parham. 228-5555, loonybincomedy. recalls the sibling rivalry with his larger, more succom. cessful football star brother. 8 p.m. April 23, Starr Theatre, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville. $29. 479SPORTS 435-5600, waltonartscenter.org. Arkansas Travelers vs. Tulsa Drillers. 7:10 “Summertree.” A young man, soon to die in the p.m., $6-$12. Dickey-Stephens Park. travs.com. Vietnam War, goes through a series of stream-of-consciousness visions from both past and future. 7:30 April Ambrose p.m. April 23-24, The Weekend Theater, Seventh & Chester. $14. 374-3761, www.weekendtheater.org. MUSIC
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
Bassnectar. 9 p.m., $17 adv., $22 d.o.s. Revolution, 300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090, www. rumbarevolution.com. Battery: Masters of Metallica. 9 p.m., $10. Sticky Fingerz, 107 Commerce St. 372-7707, April Ambrose www.stickyfingerz.com. Ben Coulter. 8 p.m., $5. Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717. Crows and Thieves, Your Family on Fire, The Monastics. 8 p.m. Vino’s, 923 W. Seventh. 375-8466, vinosbrewpub.com. April Ambrose DJ Mikey Mike. 8 p.m. Counterpoint, 3605 MacArthur, NLR. 771-5515, myspace.com/bogi-
D E S I G N B Y:
Razor Chemical, Inc
April Ambrose PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
Razor Che April Am
April Ambrose PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
PDF Created
D E S I G N B Y:
Razor Chemical, Inc April Ambrose
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Razor Chemical, Inc April Ambrose
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.do
Applications for the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Pulaski County (SPSF) college scholarships Razor April Chemical, Ambrose Inc will be accepted through June 15. To qualify, single mothers or fathers must be full-time students, enrolled in a partnering school with a maintained 2.5 April Ambrose GPA and be in financial need. The program offers $850 per semester with each recipient eligible to D E S I G N B Y: recieve $2,550 anually. Applications and further inRazor Chemical, formation are available by calling the SPSF office Inc
D E S I G N B Y:
D E S I G N B Y:
April Ambrose
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
FREE EVENT
Razor Chemical, Inc D E S I G N B Y:
Razor Che
Razor Chemical, Inc
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
Continued on page 29
www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 27
Downtown’s sexiest Lounge is
Alive after 5 Tuesday
2-for Tuesday Appetizer for 2 • Entrees for 2 Dessert for 2 • Bottle of Wine $49.95
Wednesday
Wino WEDnEsDAy Join proprietor jmattwino and taste 8 wines for $8 or try your own private wine dinner, 4 food courses perfectly paired with 4 wines for $40.
Thursday LADiEs night $4 Fresh Fruit infused Martinis $4 appetizers
501.374.5100
220 West 6th Street www.lulaveatery.com
28 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
APRIL 22-28
THE PRICE OF BEAUTY 9 p.m. Mondays VH1
Iraq, immigrants (both illegal and legal), compulsive shoppers, people living “off the grid,” tattooistas looking to lose their ink, folks addicted to shopping (and pills, and plastic surgery), male-to-female transsexuals, women who are desperate to rid themselves of ridiculously large breasts and women desperate to enhance their breasts to ridiculous proportions. While all that might sound like par for the freakshow course reality TV has become, it’s actually quite moving, with people in genuinely odd or heartbreaking situations explaining what it’s like to be trapped on the hamster wheel of remorse, doubt and guilt. This week, the show follows a young gay man struggling to make it in the Promised Land, with “True Life: Hustling in the Hamptons.”
n Notorious dingbat Jessica Simpson — who famously once thought the label on the Chicken of the Sea brand tuna can meant she was eating chicken — might be the last person in the world you’d want to take advice from about … well, anything. That said, in a sea of soulless reality TV programming, Simpson’s travel show, “The Price of Beauty,” is a real breath of fresh air, mostly because I genuinely believe that Simpson and her two globehopping compatriots are all too dumb to be egotistical, calculating or working their emotions for effect. The shtick of the show is that Simpson, her hairdresserto-the-stars Ken Paves and her friend and personal assistant CaCee Cobb jet all over the world, SIMPSON: Too dumb to offend on ‘The Price of looking into what is considered Beauty.’ beautiful in other cultures. Yeah, there are some horrendous Ugly Ameri- Triggerstreet.com can moments, as when Simpson traveled to Morocco wearing her Daisy Duke n In recent months, I’ve been pleased to shorts and set her hosts clucking over become a part of Little Rock’s burgeonher shameless leg-flaunting. At the same ing community of filmmakers. Yes, there time, however (see my previous com- is one — folks out there in the dark, with ment about Simpson and Co. being too credit-bought cameras and borrowed dumb to be conniving), their trespasses lights, making art. It’s never been easier are mostly in the form of being too over- to make a movie these days — even an eager to learn, which is never a sin. While incredible looking movie — thanks to the it might not be everybody’s cup of tea, digital revolution. Where just a few years especially if your patience with blonde ago you were talking compact-car prices goofiness runs thin, “The Price of Beau- just to get your foot in the filmmaking door at the lowest level, these days you ty” can be a good time with the tube. can walk into Best Buy, plunk down a credit card, and $1,500 later you can be TRUE LIFE shooting deep focus on a camera that’s 9 p.m. Mondays better than the ones used in Hollywood MTV only five years ago. My initiation into the n Meanwhile, over on the OTHER filmmaking world has been accompanied channel that used to show a dead art form by my becoming absolutely addicted to called the “Music Video,” reality pro- short films. If you want to check out what gramming regularly takes a much darker the world of low budget film offers these tone with the always interesting show days, there are a few places to go online, “True Life.” The concept is pretty sim- but one of the best is triggerstreet.com. A ple, and is much more the child of classic clearinghouse for short films that run the documentary than most reality television: gamut, its cup runneth over with the fruits Every week, the show follows the for- of the DIY filmmaking revolution. You tunes and misfortunes of people caught have to sign up (for free), but once you in controversial, life-changing, danger- do the films just keep on coming. Defious or adventurous circumstances. Re- nitely recommended if you’re interested cent episodes, for instance, have focused in seeing how the next Welles, Spielberg on men and women working in the sex or Kubrick gets his or her wings. — David Koon industry, wives of soldiers deployed to
calendar
Continued from page 27 at 301-7773 or visiting pulaskisingleparents.org. Auditions for the Community Theatre of Little Rock’s production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25. Participants are asked to bring sheet music for the provided accompanist. Auditions will include dancing and a cold reading. For more information, call the CTLR at 663-9494 or visit
GALLERIES, MUSEUMS New exhibits, upcoming events ACAC, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road: “10+10” art show opening, 6 p.m. April 24. 244-2979, myspace.com/acacarkansas. ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Museum Comes to Life Family Night,” performances and activities, 5-8 p.m. April 23, $5; “Discoveries in the Desert: the North Kharga Oasis Survey,” Fine Arts Club talk by Egyptologist Dr. Salima Ikram, 11 a.m. April 26, $10, reserve at 396-0322; “Capturing the Orient,” lithographs by David Roberts and works by other 19th century artists who traveled to Egypt and the surrounding region, through May 16; “World of the Pharaohs: Treasures of Egypt Revealed,” artifacts from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through July 7, $22 adults, $14 students; “Currents in Contemporary Art,” “Masterworks,” “Paul Signac Watercolors and Drawings,” ongoing. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. ARKANSAS GOVERNOR’S MANSION: 8th annual “Expressions Art Show and Sale,” 250 framed paintings by clients of Birch Tree Communities for the mentally ill, 6-8 p.m.; live auction at 6:45 p.m. April 29, $25. 303-3202. BERNICE GARDEN, 1401 Main St.: “Celebration of Sculpture,” reception and talk by Karen Cope of “Sculpt Across America,” 5:30-8:30 p.m. April 22. BOSWELL-MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: New paintings by Alejandra Guazen, reception 6-9 p.m. April 24. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-0030. KETZ GALLERY, 705 Main St., NLR: Spring Art Show and Celebration, work by Robin Hazard-Bishop, Rene Hein, Michael Lindas, Dan Thornhill, Marty Smith and Matthew Gore, 5:30-8 p.m. April 22; “Sculpt Across America” sculpture workshop with Karen Cope 10 a.m.-1 p.m. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 24-25. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 529-6330. M2 GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell Road: Work by new artists Danny Broadway, Todd Williams, David Walker, Char Demoro and Morgan McMurry. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 225-5257. OLD STATE HOUSE, 300 W. Markham St.: “Muffins, Chimneys and Clinkers: Rediscovering Old Davidsonville,” Brown Bag Lunch lecture by Kathy Cande, noon April 28; “100 Years of Scouting: Celebrating the Adventure and Continuing the Journey,” Scouts in Arkansas, through May 1; “Arkansas/Arkansaw: A State and Its Reputation,” the evolution of the state’s hillbilly image; “Badges, Bandits & Bars: Arkansas Law & Justice,” state’s history of crime and punishment, through March 2011. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: Work by students Lindsey Bloom, Carl J. Hardwick, Candice C. Bass, Kristie N. Kelch, Jennifer A. Fitzhugh, Aariona McCann and Brandi L. Snead, April 24-May 5, Galleries II and III; “UALR Annual Student Competitive,” through May 6, Gallery I. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977. n Calico Rock CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Grand opening, with displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad, and history and trolley rides to Trimble House and Peppersauce Ghost Town, April 24-25. www.calicorockmuseum.com. n Conway UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: “2010 BA/BFA Juried Senior Exhibition,” Baum Gallery, through April 29. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu. 501-450-5793. n Heber Springs DOWNTOWN: “Art/Photography Walk” and “Chair Art Auction,” 6 p.m. April 23, various businesses. 501-362-2444.
n Jacksonville JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER, 5 Municipal Drive: “Arkansas Bead Market,” designers, jewelry, beads, including gemstones, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 24, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 25. 903-734-3335. JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: “The Sky Soldiers of Vietnam/173rd Airborne Brigade,” lecture by Larry Hensley, doors open 6 p.m.; lecture 6:30 p.m. April 22, $2; exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943. n Jonesboro ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “Spring 2010 Senior Exhibition, Part II,” work by Victoria Baureis, Anna Beth Harden, James Jumper, Dustin Knight, Natalie Lavender and Cindy Province, Bradbury Gallery, through May 8, Bradbury Gallery. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 870-972-2567.
Drinking Good Beer. Listening To Good Music. For A Good Cause.
Always a good decision. Friday, April 30, 2010 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
GALLERIES, onGoInG ExhIbItS.
ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER’S TERRY HOUSE COMMUNITY GALLERY, 7th and Rock: “49th Annual Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition,” through May 23. 372-4000. ARKANSAS COMMUNITY ARTISTS COOPERATIVE, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road: “Wait ... What?” Large-scale paintings and installation pieces by Henson Flye, through April. 2-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri. 244-2979. ARKANSAS STUDIES INSTITUTE, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Paper Trails,” large-scale charcoal drawings by David Bailin, main gallery, through May 29; “The Big Bear’s Arkansas ABCs: Original Artwork and Storyboard,” original illustrations by Leslie A. Przybylek for Butler Center children’s book, atrium gallery, through April 30; “Book Arts,” books transformed into art, through June; “AAE State Youth Art Show 2010,” Concordia gallery, through May 29. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 320-5792. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Faces of the Frontier,” history paintings by John Deering, through April 24. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat. 224-1335. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “Lynn Bell: Watercolors, Collage & Sandblasted Glass,” through May 10. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-noon Sun. 375-2342. CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. 6640880. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Celebrating 15th anniversary with exhibit of work by Steven Wise, Jeff Waddle, Emily Galusha and Kevin Kresse, through May 8. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-8996. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Isolated Encounters,” paintings by Kendall Stallings, through May 15. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 664-2787. HEIGHTS GALLERY, 5801 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 664-2772. LAMAN LIBRARY EXHIBIT HALL, 2801 Orange St., NLR: “Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography,” Smithsonian Institution exhibit, through May 29. 758-1720. LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by artists in cooperative; Pat Matthews featured artist for April. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 265-0422. RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: Work by Twin, Robin Steves, Brady Taylor, Georges Artaud, Lola, Jim Johnson, Amy Hill-Imler, James Hayes and Theresa Cates. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 753-5227. SHOWROOM, 2313 Cantrell Road. Work by area artists, including Sandy Hubler. 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 372-7373. STEPHANO’S FINE ART GALLERY, 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Hank Gatlin, Jim Jolly, George Peebles, Chris Runyan, Jay Lane, Matthew Gore, Kevin Bell, Pepper Pepper, Mark Johnson, Jonathan Harris, Shannon McKinney, Teresa Smith-
$25 in advance $30 at the door $22 advanced group of 10+ BeneFiting the Arthritis FoundAtion ArkAnsAs ChApter
Tickets Available at Boscos and Arthritis Foundation Office and online at FOAMFEST.ORG
Bridging the Cities & Celebrating the Arts May 13-22 www.art-week.org
Continued on page 33 www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 29
HELP WANTED ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Friday, April 23 -Thursday, April 29
A ProPhet – r 1:30 4:15 7:00 Oscar Nominee, Golden Globe Award
GreenberG – r 2:15 4:20 7:15 9:20 Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Koby Rouviere Berlin International Film Fest
Mother – r 1:45 4:15 7:00 9:10 Cannes & Toronto Film Fest Independent Spirit Award, Asian Awards
the runAwAys – r 2:00 4:30 7:00 9:15 Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie
the secrets of JonAthAn sPerry – PG 2:00 4:20 7:15 9:20
Gaven Macleod, Jansen Panettiere, Robert Guillaume 9 PM shows fri & sAt only NOW SERVING BEER & WINE EMAIL CINEMA8@CSWNET.COM FOR SPECIAL SHOWS, PRIVATE PARTIES & BUSINESS MEETINGS OR FILM FESTIVALS CALL (501) 223-3529 & LEAVE MESSAGE
501-312-8900 marketstreetcinema.net
1521 MERRILL DR.
s cajun’ wharf presents
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
PG-13 The Band
SATURDAY, APRIL 24
Mean Green Music Machine
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
Trademark
live music every night Big Swingin’ Deck Parties on Thursdays
cajunswharf.com
mon-sat from 4:30 p.m.
2400 cantrell road • on the arkansas river
375-5351
April 23-25
movielistings All theater listings run Friday to Thursday unless otherwise noted.
Rave and Riverdale times weren’t available at press time. Visit www.arktimes.com for updates. NEW MOVIES The Back-Up Plan (PG-13) — Jennifer Lopez stars as a single woman who meets the man of her dreams hours after artificially conceiving twins. Breckenridge: 1:40, 4:50, 7:45, 10:05. Chenal: 11:25, 1:40, 4:20, 7:40, 9:55. The Losers (PG-13) — After escaping an assassination attempt in the Bolivian jungle, executed by a shadowy man seemingly on their side, elite U.S. agents vie for revenge. Breckenridge: 1:20, 4:20, 7:35, 9:55. Chenal: 11:40, 2:05, 4:45, 7:45, 10:15. Oceans (G) — An ecological drama/documentary about the amazing underwater world and threats to ocean life. Chenal: 11:15, 1:50, 4:40, 7:10, 9:30. A Prophet (R) — A 19-year-old Franco-Arab begins a six-year stint in prison, falling in with a sadistic gang of Corsicans. Market Street: 1:30, 4:15, 7:00. RETURNING THIS WEEK Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (G) — Alvin, Simon and Theodore take a break from stardom and return to school. Movies 10: 1:15, 3:25, 5:40, 7:50, 10:00. Animalopolis (NR) — A half-hour film of goofy animals being goofy in enormous 3D. Aerospace IMAX: 11:00, 7:00 Fri.; 1:00, 3:00, 7:00 Sat. Avatar (PG-13) — A paraplegic ex-Marine war veteran is sent to establish a human settlement on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet’s indigenous race. Movies 10: 2:00, 5:00, 8:30. The Blind Side (PG-13) — A homeless black teen-ager is taken in by a family that coaches him into becoming a star student-athlete. Movies 10: 1:10, 7:05 Book of Eli (R) — Across the wasteland of what once was America, a lone warrior (Denzel Washington) must fight to bring civilization the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Movies 10: 1:25, 4:20, 7:15, 10:05. Clash of the Titans (PG-13) — Perseus, son of Zeus, leads a band of warriors into uncharted dimensions while attempting to defeat the evil Hades, God of the Underworld. Breckenridge: 1:15, 4:15, 7:10, 9:40. Chenal: 11:00, 1:25, 4:25, 7:15, 9:45. Lakewood: 1:35, 4:15, 7:05, 9:50. Cop Out (R) — Two New York City police officers (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) try to track down the gangster who stole an exceptionally rare baseball card in this send up of 1980s buddy movies. Movies 10: 1:35, 4:25, 7:25, 9:50. The Crazies (R) — A rural town’s water supply is mysteriously contaminated, turning the residents into psychopaths. Movies 10: 1:20, 4:05, 7:10, 9:30. Date Night (PG-13) — When a bored couple tries for a romantic evening in New York City, a case of mistaken identity sends them off into a night
GET TOMORROW’S NEWS TODAY! Arkansas Times News Blog (Where news junkies get their fix.)
Stephens Media Group State Capitol Coverage Local Weather and much more!
ONLINE AT ONE OF THE LARGEST AND FASTEST GROWING WEBSITES IN THE STATE!
www.arktimes.com
30 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
UNDER THE SEA: Directed by the same team behind “Winged Migration,” Disney’s newest eye candy/nature documentary “Oceans” explores the odd, beautiful world of the sea, examining the unusual animals which live and plants that growing in its deep recesses. of danger. Breckenridge; 2:15, 4:40, 7:25, 10:00. Chenal: 11:20, 1:30, 4:05, 7:20, 9:50. Lakewood: 1:40, 4:25, 7:25, 9:45. Death at a Funeral (PG-13) — A funeral for a family patriarch goes haywire, being constantly disrupted by a series of accidents, missteps, idiocy and blackmail. Breckenridge: 2:10, 5:00, 7:40, 10:10. Chenal: 11:10, 1:20, 4:10, 7:25, 10:10. Lakewood: 1:25, 4:10, 7:30, 9:40. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (PG) — Greg, a 6thgrade runt, can’t stand the ceaseless bullying, wedgies and swirlies he puts up with at school, so he retreats to his journal and his imagination. Breckenridge: 1:35, 4:10, 6:45, 9:30. That Evening Sun (PG-13) — Men battle when a proud ex-farmer on the lam returns to his old farm to find a disrespectful, drunken tenant. Breckenridge: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:35. From Paris With Love (R) — James Reese (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a low level CIA operative, has a white-knuckle day alongside his new loose cannon of a partner, Charlie Wax (John Travolta). Movies 10: 4:15, 9:55. Greenberg (R) — Middle-aged and a perpetual failure, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) ends up finding love and hope while house-sitting for his successful brother. Market Street: 2:15, 4:20, 7:15, 9:20. How to Train Your Dragon (PG) — A timid young Viking, raised to slay dragons by his heroic father, ends up befriending one he tried to slay. Breckenridge: 1:30, 4:30, 6:55, 9:25. Chenal: 11:05, 1:35, 4:15, 7:05, 9:25. Lakewood: 1:20, 4:00, 7:00, 9:35. Hot Tub Time Machine (R) — Four best friends, bored with adult life, take a ski vacation only to find themselves transported back to 1986. Lakewood: 1:25, 4:05, 7:20, 10:00. Kick-Ass (R) — Teen-age wannabe superheroes turn their aspirations into reality and take to the streets in spite of having absolutely no superpowers. Breckenridge: 1:55, 4:35, 7:15, 9:55. Chenal: 11:30, 2:00, 4:55, 7:30, 10:25. Lakewood: 1:45, 430, 7:20, 9:55. The Last Song (PG) — Miley Cyrus and Greg Kinnear star in this father/daughter tale in which an alienated teen is forced to spend a summer in Georgia with her pianist father. Breckenridge: 1:10, 4:25, 7:20, 9:50. Chenal: 11:30, 1:55, 4:35, 7:35, 10:05. Lakewood: 1:30, 4:20, 7:15, 10:00. Mother (R) — A mother sets out to prove her foolish co-dependent son’s innocence after he’s accused by an incompetent police force of murdering a stranger. Market Street: 1:45, 4:15, 7:00, 9:10. Remember Me (PG-13) — After tragedy befalls their families, two young New Yorkers find solace
in each other and, eventually, begin to fall in love. Riverdale: 1:45, 4:30, 7:35, 10:15. Repo Men (R) — After receiving a top-of-the line mechanical heart transplant from a futuristic company, the company’s star repo man falls behind on payment and finds himself on the wrong end of the knife. Riverdale: 11:30, 1:55, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10. The Runaways (R) — The young girls of the titular band experience a quick, starry rise and faster, druggy fall from glory during the ‘70s. Market Street: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:15. The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (PG) — A 12-year-old on summer vacation forms a friendship with an elderly man from church, learning life lessons along the way. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:15, 9:20. The Spy Next Door (PG) — A CIA spook retires to marry his girlfriend and must gain approval of her kids, who mistakenly download top secret documents, making the family a Russian target. Movies 10: 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40. The Tooth Fairy (PG) — A star hockey player (Dwayne Johnson) is temporarily transformed into a full-fledged tooth fairy as penalty for discouraging a young fan. Movies 10: 1:40, 4:10, 7:20, 10:10. Valentine’s Day (PG-13) — Los Angelenos make, break, and take hearts on Valentine’s Day in this ensemble movie. Movies 10: 1:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:45. Why Did I Get Married Too? (PG-13) — When four couples get together for their annual vacation in the Bahamas, their rest and relaxation is interrupted by an ex-husband determined to reunite with his remarried wife. Breckenridge: 1:05, 2:00, 4:05, 4:45, 7:05, 7:30, 9:45, 10:15. Lakewood: 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 10:00. Wildfire: Feel the Heat (NR) — Discover how firefighters all over the planet fight the biggest, hottest fires on the planet. Aerospace IMAX: 10:00, 12:00, 2:00, 8:00 Fri.; 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 8:00 Sat. Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com. Cinemark Movies 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 9457400, www.cinemark.com. Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com. IMAX Theater: Aerospace Education Center, 3764629, www.aerospaced.org. Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 3128900, www.marketstreetcinema.net. Rave Colonel Glenn 18: 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza, 687-0499, www.ravemotionpictures.com. Regal Breckenridge Village 12: 1-430 and Rodney Parham, 224-0990, www.fandango.com. Dickinson Theaters Lakewood 8: Lakewood Village, 758-5354, www.fandango.com.
■moviereview Weak ass No thrust in ‘Kick-Ass.’
‘KICK-ASS’: Chloe Moretz stars. n I will not give “Kick-Ass” the benefit of controversy. A film this lifeless hasn’t earned it, no matter how gory and profane. It boasts not a single original idea, imaginative sequence, or unpredictable outcome. There’s nothing startling or boundary pushing here — nothing you haven’t seen already in “Scream” or “Interview with a Vampire” or “Mystery Men” or “Superbad.” And, honestly, is there any idea in those lightweights truly worth copying? Comic books have been going all meta to signal their seriousness for years. Arguably beginning with Alan Moore’s dour inquiries into violence and vigilantism, few crossover superhero comics have managed to completely avoid self-reference. Commenting on the genre itself is a way of disavowing triviality and defusing the more ludicrous ingredients of popular sequential art. “Kick-Ass” seems to be from the Mike Allred school of self-awareness, embracing the violence of the genre with glee and treating its protagonists with suspicion that borders on contempt, as little more than troubled and lonely losers. I’ve never read the comic from which this film is adapted, but I can’t imagine the basic ingredients of the book felt any less stale on the page. “Kick-Ass” tells the story of a teen-ager who suddenly decides the world could use a superhero and that he could fit the bill. His plans extend no further than ordering an ugly green wetsuit and patrolling alleyways at random. Things go south immediately, but he soldiers on, exceptionally stupid — even for a teen-ager. Eventually he runs into a couple more competent vigilantes, each likewise dressed up for Aprilween but at least capable of and comfortable with kicking ass. One happens to be a pre-pubescent girl (Chloe Moretz), a fact which earns a fading smirk but persists in announcing itself for the duration of the film. The other
(Nicholas Cage) is a psychotic ex-cop bent on vengeance. Because the plot has to go somewhere, the three get their destinies all mixed up and fall foul of a nasty criminal organization. Lots of people die in sometimes inventive ways. The lead is played by Aaron Johnson, an actor so bland and unremarkable that he prevents the film from achieving even the most basic watchability. His self-effacing voice-over feels largely expositional and characterless. Not since “The Last Starfighter” has a curly-headed teen-age hero been this stubbornly irredeemable. Moretz — as the pint-sized, purplehaired, potty-mouthed Hit-Girl — turns in a spirited performance, one likely overshadowed by the crass exploitation of the
film’s marketing push. She may be able to curse with authority, but she also brings the actors around her to life and carries herself like a star. Hers is the only performance in the film that comes across as anything but unpleasantly knowing. Moretz does her level best to connect with Nicolas Cage, who deserves better from his director. A more capable filmmaker might have harnessed some of Cage’s manic weirdness, laced the film with his pathological soulfulness, rather than allow it to stand out so sharply from its surroundings and wither from the exposure. When Cage tries his hand at reference, channeling Adam West’s staccato Batman delivery and then the dying wheezes of Darth Vader, he robs from us the nature of his talent: his lunatic singularity. A film that can’t conjure an interesting performance out of Nicolas Cage couldn’t begin to hope for one out of Arkansas native Clark Duke or even that brash geek Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Both go through some irritatingly empty motions. Nobody here seems engaged with the material, least of all the supporting cast. I don’t know why the audience should be any different. — Derek Jenkins
‘Mother’ n While I usually hold back my pronouncements about a film until the end of my reviews, I’ll go ahead and spoil it for you: If you’re a mystery geek — or just enjoy a good story — you should definitely take a couple hours to check out “Mother,” now playing at Market Street Cinema. A taut, genuinely surprising take on the classic murder mystery with a dark and disturbing twist, it’s a really fine bit of mind candy. Made in South Korea (it’s subtitled
in English), the film follows the fortunes of a middle-aged acupuncturist and traditional healer known only as “Mother” (Hy-ja Kim). Tending shop in a small city, Mother lives alone with her a-few-friesshy-of-a-Happy-Meal son, Do-Joon (Bin Won). Their relationship is strictly one of love/hate, with Do-Joon playing tough with a fast crowd of boys during the day, and retiring to sleep in the same bed as his mother at night. After a promiscuous local girl named Jae-Moon (Je-Mun) turns up dead with her skull crushed, Do-Joon is picked up by the police, many of whom are former friends of Mother and her mentally-challenged son. With the police declaring the case closed, no help from her crooked attorney and her son doing more to incriminate himself than clear his name, Mother sets off as the world’s most unlikely detective, trying to find the real killer. While that quest seems to be taking the very well-worn path of Unlikely Detective yarns, it soon detours into some very dark territory, and winds up in a place so amazingly unexpected that it’s almost enough to make you gasp. Though I’m always a little wary of making judgments about the performances of foreign actors — their delivery might be as wooden as a cigar store Indian for all I know — I can say that Hy-ja Kim is amazing as Mother, in a turn that is all about the eyes, the body and the movement of her hands. I’ve long said that good acting isn’t about words. It’s about selling the emotion through the body. And Hy-ja Kim is amazing here in selling both her character’s vulnerability and underlying Lady MacBeth vibe, all with very little dialogue. In short: “Mother” is a thriller that I suspect Hitchcock would have been proud to put his name on. See it if you’re a fan. — David Koon
‘MOTHER’: Hye-ja Kim stars. www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 31
■ artnotes ‘Expressions’ at Mansion Arts promotion at Argenta. by leslie newell peacock
The To-do lisTTO-DO
RIVERMARKET BAR & GRILL
➤➤➤
The comprehensive list of everything worth doing this weekend from Times entertainment editor, Lindsey Millar. Whether it’s live music, dance, theater or an exhibit, Lindsey steers you to the best. The To-Do List email newsletter arrives in your in-box every Wednesday afternoon with an eye toward planning for your weekend. The To-Do List is a sure bet for your active life!
CLUBS, CONCERTS & MORE @ arktimes.com
FROM ROCK CANDY
S U B S C R I B E
DAILY UPDATE
WEEKLY ROCK CANDY
TO-DO LIST
WEEKLY
EATARKANSAS DIGEST
WEEKLY
UPDATE
• Lor autatincil dolutpat. Anklnmlae lkdnm dkdoe dkoaioe. • Lske kci Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat. • Aclken eknos lciiine autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat. • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Anklnmlae lkdnm dkdoe dkoaioe. • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Anklnmlae lkdnm dkdoe dkoaioe. • Lske kci Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat.
ArkTimes.Com
iT’s Free! Go To cats
• Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat. • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat.
• Aclken eknos lciiine autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat. • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Anklnmlae lkdnm dkdoe dkoaioe.
• Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat. • Lor autatincil dolutpat. Andre dunt utpat.
➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤
| UNSUBSCRIBE |
32 april 22, 2010 • arKaNSaS TiMES
SMILES & CORN DOGS AT THE ARKANSAS STATE FAIR
AT THE BACKSTAGE PASS
ARKANSASBLOG
SubScribe for thiS local newS email!
LIST
ROBINSON AUDITORIUM THIS WEEKEND
the Main Street properties (which include n Joey Skripko, 36, says Birch Tree Comthe old Kohler bakery). Williams said the munities took him in a year and a half ago CDC was inspired by the Studioplex dewhen “the world was hard” on him and velopment in Atlanta that combines studio made him family. Now Skripko has a space and living space. “We’re looking part-time job, an apartment and is the feaat ways to bring literary arts and expand tured artist in Birch Tree’s “Expressions” annual show and sale to be held Thursday, April 29, at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Skripko, as do all Birch Tree’s clients, suffers from mental illness. Some 300 of those clients take weekly art classes with Jim Tindall as part of their journey toward recovery. Starting eight years ago, Birch Tree began offering a way their artwork could bring them financial rewards as well; all profits from the sale go to the artists. “Expressions” has packed the Governor’s Mansion’s ballroom the last two years. The show and sale starts at 6 p.m. and that is when you should be there to make sure you get the piece you want. There will be 250 works by 100 artists in the show; prices are FEATURED ‘EXPRESSION’: Joey Skripko’s “Lost in Time.” mostly in the $90 to $130 range. on the burgeoning visual arts” and music Four paintings — including Skripko’s scene in Argenta, Williams said. painting and first, second and third place The Ford Foundation’s Space for prize winners to be determined the mornChange Planning and Pre-Development ing of the show — will be auctioned live Grants are meant to encourage projects by TV anchor Pamela Smith starting at that will “function as engines of cultural 6:45 p.m. Last year’s featured painting equity and social change,” according to brought the artist $5,000. the foundation website. Skripko’s painting, “Lost in Time,” is V.L. Cox, founder of Argenta Studios, a collage of sorts; he said he tries to inat Fourth and Maple streets, said the stutroduce dimensionality into his work. He dio is applying for a different Ford grant, hopes to become a fashion designer when the Ford Foundation/Met Life Foundation he recovers. “Birch Tree has helped me Innovative Space award. The awards are quite a bit,” he said. between $10,000 and $50,000. This year’s “Expressions” will also Argenta Studios is part of an active arts feature 20 works by persons treated at scene in downtown North Little Rock that Ozark Guidance Center, MidSouth Health includes several galleries, a bead shop, Systems, Little Rock Community Mental and a group art market space. The Thea Health, Counseling Associates and the Foundation is adding artist studio/gallery Arkansas State Hospital. space in its building at 401 Main St. The venues are open late every third Friday of n The Ford Foundation is offering planthe month for the Argenta Artwalk. ning grants of up to $100,000 to nonprofThe Argenta CDC apartment complex its that are building or renovating space on Maple Street will include one- and for artists, and what better applicant could two-bedroom apartments in a mid-price there be than an Argenta organization? range. The cost of the project, including Brad Williams of the Argenta CDC the renovation of the Main Street propersaid the non-profit would like to renovate ties, is estimated at $7 million to $8 milproperty it owns in the 700 block of Main lion; the apartments alone should come in Street for arts “programming” — retail around $5 million to $6 million. Elevaspace for the visual, performing and littions are before the historic district planerary arts — as an adjunct to the 56-unit ning board now. The CDC hopes to break apartment building the CDC is proposing ground in June, Williams said. for the 700 block of Maple, backing up to
calendar
Continued from page 29 Mulkey, Joan Courtney, Kelly Edwards, Robbie Wellborn, BJ Aguilar, Rachel Carrocio, Natalie Meadors, Mary Anne Erickson, Alexis Silk, Rob Nowlin, Connie Fails Fashions 2.0. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 563-4218. THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St.: Student art from across Arkansas. 375-9512. TOBY FAIRLEY FINE ART, 5507 Ranch Drive, Suite 103: Contemporary Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Fri. or by appointment. 868-9882. UALR BOWEN SCHOOL OF LAW: “Law in a Land Without Justice: Nazi Germany 1933-1945,” World War II artifacts, through July. 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri., 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun. n Benton DIANNE ROBERTS ART STUDIO AND GALLERY, 110 N. Market St.: Area artists. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 860-7467. n Bentonville CRYSTAL BRIDGES AT THE MASSEY, 125 W. Central: “Looking at Our Landscape,” juried community photography exhibit by more than 100 contributors, through May. 479-418-5700. n Dardanelle LAKE DARDANELLE VISITORS CENTER: Betty N. Snellings, paintings, through April. 479968-2452. n Fayetteville UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS: “Renewable Energies: Visual Case Studies,” paintings by Craig Voligny, through April 23. 479-575-7987. n Hot Springs ALISON PARSONS GALLERY, 802 Central Ave.: Paintings by Parsons. 501-625-3001. ARTISTS WORKSHOP GALLERY, 810 Central Ave.: Jane Fitch, watercolors; Linda Shearer, Chinese brush painting, through April. 501-623-6401. AMERICAN ART GALLERY, 724 Central Ave.: Work by Jimmy Leach, Jamie Carter, Govinder, Marlene Gremillion, Margaret Kipp and others. 501-624-0550. ATTRACTION CENTRAL GALLERY, 264 Central Ave.: Work in all media by Hot Springs artists. 501-463-4932. BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: Raku pottery by Kelly Edwards, through April. 501-3182787. CAROLE KATCHEN ART GALLERY, 618 W. Grand Ave.: Paintings, pastels, sculpture by Katchen. 501-617-4494. FINE ARTS CENTER, 610 Central Ave.: “Awakenings,” work by area artists. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.Sat. 501-624-0489. FOX PASS POTTERY, 379 Fox Pass Cut-off: Pottery by Jim and Barbara Larkin. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 501-623-9906. GALLERY 726, 726 Central Ave.: Jim Oberst, landscapes, through April. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat. 501-624-7726. GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave.: Equine art by Bob Snider, Renee Torbit, Jan Gartrell, Elaine Irwin, Sandy Hubler and others. 501-318-4278. HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER: “Hot Springs: Baseball’s First Spring Training Town,” 24 photos from the early part of the 20th century. JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 A Central Ave.: Robin Hazard-Bishop, Dolores Justus and JoAnne Oliver, paintings; Cynthia Bowers, clay sculpture; and other work. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501-321-2335. LINDA PALMER GALLERY, 800 B Central Ave.: Work by Linda Palmer, Doyle Young, Ellen Alderson, Peter Lippincott, Sara Tole and Jan Leek. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 501-620-3063. RICIANO ART GALLERY, 833 Central Ave.: Featuring work by Riciano, Lacey Alysse, Char DeMoro and other artists. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. 501339-3751. TAYLOR’S CONTEMPORANEA, 204 Exchange St.: Work by area and regional artists. 624-0516. n Pine Bluff ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER, 701 Main St.: “Expressions of African Culture,” masks, figures, thrones, clothing, musical instruments and more, through April. 870-536-3375. n Springdale SHILOH MUSEUM OF OZARK HISTORY, 118 W. Johnson Ave.: “Answering the Call,” history of the Springdale Fire Department, through Sept. 18; “Carl Smith’s Fayetteville,” photographs from the
1910s-1950s, through Aug. 21. “All Dressed Up,” men’s, women’s and children’s fancy clothing, through January 2011. 479-750-8165. n Yellville P.A.L.’s FINE ART GALLERY, 300 Hwy. 62 W.: Clay sculpture by Anni Worster, paintings and prints by Janet Goodyear. 870-405-6316.
MUSEUMS, ongoing exhibits
CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957. CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Leadership in a Time of Crisis: President Clinton and the Oklahoma Bombing,” through June 1; “Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection,” more than 200 pins the former secretary of state wore during her diplomatic tenure, through June 1 (video at www.arktimes. com); standing exhibits about policies and White House life during the Clinton administration. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “National League of American Pen Women Juried Exhibit,” sculpture and painting, through June 6, “Stretched Foundations: Works by Lee Anthony, Jon Hayden and Mary Shelton,” through May 10. 324-9351. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, Ninth and Broadway: Exhibits on African-Americans in Arkansas, including one on the Ninth Street business district, Dunbar High School, entrepreneurs, the Mosaic Templars business and more. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 683–3593. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: Interactive science exhibits. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission: $8 adults, $7 children ages 1-12 and seniors 65 and up, children under 1 free, “Pay What You Can” second Sunday of every month. 396-7050. www.museumofdiscovery.org. WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission. n England TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, State Hwy. 165: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $3 for adults, $2 for ages 6-12. 961-9442. n Eureka Springs EUREKA SPRINGS HISTORICAL MUSEUM: History of the Ozark Folk Festival, in photographs, programs, documents. 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.Sat., 11 a.m. a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sun. 479-253-9417. n Hot Springs MID-AMERICA SCIENCE MUSEUM: “Not So Separate,” science and art, through May 9. $8 adults, $7 seniors, military and youth. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. 501-767-3461. MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, 425 Central Ave.: 12 photos by Disfarmer, Steve Kaufman, celebrity photographs, including Jimmy Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Coca Cola. $5, $4 for seniors. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thu.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. 501-609-9955. n Scott PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. 165 S and Hwy. 161: Artifacts and interactive exhibits on farming in the Arkansas Delta. $3 adults, $2 ages 6-12. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-961-1409. SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.
A& E Ne w s
New on Rock Candy n Riverfest has announced all of its n It’s a mere two weeks away: On headliners save one that it can’t reveal Thursday, May 6, the second annual until May 3. The latest additions inRock Candy 500 pinewood derby reclude the headliners for the Arkansas turns to the River Market Pavilion. Like Music Tent: Blues guitar hero Michael last year, we’ll have a 40-foot track, Burks on Friday, blues legend CeDell beer and race-themed music. Unlike Davis on Saturday and alt-country star last year, we’ll have non-beer drinks Hayes Carll on Sunday. and we’re requiring advance registration (only so making the bracket won’t n Here’s the best time killer we’ve be such a hassle). All ages are welcome. come across in weeks: The Johnny The registration deadline is April 29, slightly more than one week before the race. You can find a registration form this week on page 18. The entry fee is $10. All of this year’s proceeds benefit the Centers for Youth and Families Boy Scout Troop 726, a troop of highly at-risk boys who, according to the Center for Youth and Families Dawn Prasifka, have “one foot in the gang and rock candy 500: Register now! Cash Project is a crowd-sourced video the other in Boy Scouts. Every week, for Cash’s song “Ain’t No Grave” that’s CYF picks up the 10- to 16-year-olds constantly evolving. The project invites and takes them to a center, where participants to redraw, using a custom they get help with homework, dintool on the site, hundreds of frames of ner and have Boy Scouts meetings. archival footage. As more people conCYF is the state’s oldest continuously tribute, the video continually changes, running nonprofit. It serves 8,000 chilthough each contribution, even if it’s redren and families with a continuum of drawn by someone else, remains on the care that includes intervention, prevensite archivally. Which allows you users tion and treatment, according to Prasifka. to do things like select a version of the Back to the derby: You can get pinvideo that includes only drawings that ewood car kits, which come with a employ pointillism or those highest block of wood, wheels and axles, at just rated by the community. about any hobby store in town. Or you can order all kinds of pre-cut car shapes n Check out a new music video from and slick add-ons — decals, fenders, Bryan Frazier, “Angelene and the Alspeedier axels — from pinewoodderby. pha Ray.” It’s about a girl, who, while com. If you mention the Rock Candy Frazier is wooing her, surreptitiously 500, they’ll give you free shipping. builds a rocket and then uses it to blast Remember, that you don’t have to be off into space on her scooter. We think. handy to enter. A paint job will do. David Fowlkes directed and Bryan Call Lindsey Millar at 375-2985 Stafford shot and edited it. with questions.
ART ANNOUNCEMENTS ArtWeek ’10 is inviting visual and performing artists to participate in the May 13-22 arts festival in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. For more information, got to art-week.org. Deadline is May 1. The Shiloh Museum is asking patrons to select artifacts to be displayed in its October exhibit, “The Music of Our Lives.” The curator has selected 40 artifacts to choose from. Ballots are available at the museum or the museum’s website, www.springdalear.gov/Shiloh. Votes will be collected through April 30.
davis: Headed to the Arkansas Music tent at Riverfest. www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 33
Best Steakhouse 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Best Steak 2005-2010
2009
COME TASTE CHEF CLAY SIPES NEW SPRING MENU. INQUIRE ABOUT OUR PRIVATE CORPORATE LUNCHES 500 President Clinton Avenue (In the River Market District) Call for Reservations 501-324-2999 www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com
PeTer MorGAN Please join Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp, Frost/Nixon Director Gilbert McCauley with special guests Publisher Alan Leveritt and Journalist Gerard Matthews from the Arkansas Times for a panel discussion on politics, journalism and the presidency. April 21: 6:15 p.m. – 7 p.m. April 22: 7:15 p.m. – 8 p.m. Performance of Frost/Nixon immediately following. Tickets available by calling (501) 378-0405.
601 Main Street, Little rock (501) 378-0445 34 April 22, 2010 • ArKANSAS TiMES
what’scookin’
n Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, a national self-serve chain that bills itself as the “fastest growing frozen yogurt chain” in the US, plans to open its first Arkansas franchise in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, off Cantrell Road, in about six weeks, according to Pleasant Ridge Town Center developer Lou Schickel. You can read more about Orange Leaf at www.orangeleafyogurt.com. n Beginning on Tuesday, April 27 — the day the River Market Farmer’s Market celebrates its grand opening — Kent’s Downtown plans to debut evening hours that’ll find it serving food from its River Market space out of a window that opens to President Clinton Avenue. Kent’s Ronnie Cox said 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday (after the Tuesday debut) is the initial plan, though he said that’s subject to change depending on business. Eventually, he said he hopes to open evenings seven days a week. The menu focus will be barbecue sandwiches, polish and bratwurst, though full-sized dinner plates will be available as well. Kent’s phone number is 375-1900.
Restaurant capsules Every effort is made to keep this listing of some of the state’s more notable restaurants current, but we urge readers to call ahead to check on changes on days of operation, hours and special offerings. What follows, because of space limitations, is a partial listing of restaurants reviewed by our staff. Information herein reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error. Restaurants are listed in alphabetical order by city; Little Rock-area restaurants are divided by food category. Other review symbols are: B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards
LITTLE ROCK/ N. LITTLE ROCK AMERICAN
ACADIA A jewel of a restaurant in Hillcrest. Wonderful soups and fish dishes. Extensive wine list. On Mondays and Tuesdays get three courses for the fixed price of $22.50. It’s a bargain. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 603-9630 D Mon.-Sat. ALLEY OOPS The restaurant at Creekwood Plaza (near the Kanis-Bowman intersection) is a neighborhood feedbag for major medical institutions with plate lunches, burgers and homemade desserts. 11900 Kanis Road. Full bar. CC $-$$ 221-9400 LD Mon.-Sat. ATHLETIC CLUB What could be mundane fare gets delightful twists and embellishments here. Embassy Suites Hotel. 11301 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 312-9000 LD daily. BEST IMPRESSIONS Soup, salad and sandwiches are always on the menu in the Arkansas Arts Center café, and we’ve never had a bad soup of the day here. But there are also entrees you might usually see at dinner, too. Plus, a strong dessert menu. 501 East Ninth Street (Arkansas Arts Center) Full bar CC $$ 907-5946 L Tues.-Sun.
Continued on page 37
■ dining Conway gem Faby’s tortillas and stuffed avocados stick with you. n The first thing we need to tell you about Faby’s, which has two locations in Conway, is the tortillas — hot, soft tortillas that are handmade from scratch each day. They’re as flavorful as a good savory pie crust, but not so much that they distract from whatever you put them with. And that’s far from all Faby’s has to offer. We’ve been a few times and had the opportunity to try many of their items. One great starter is the fajita queso ($5.49). Like all good restaurants, it serves chips and salsa to you when you’re seated, and the chips are hot and fresh and thin and the salsa is thick with tomatoes and cumin. Add fajita queso and you have a meal. That’s a very thick white cheese dip with chunks — big, half-inch cubes — of beef (or chicken if you want) fajita meat in there. Because the chips are thin, it’s a little more than they can scoop up, but there’s a spoon with it so you can top your chip with the thick mess. Good eating. Faby’s also does a tortilla soup that’s a rich tomato and onion broth, with an undercurrent of paprika and black pepper that’s just enough to jump-start your sinuses if you let it. But just enough. Another favorite, the supreme burrito ($6.25), comes covered in a big pile of tomatoes and lettuce and peppers and sour cream. Hidden under the vegetation is a thick burrito full of ground beef and what they call “gravy sauce” that works well as a topping. And we really enjoyed the pollo Acapulco ($7.49). It’s a chicken breast sauteed in white wine and butter and mushrooms and onions and cilantro, covered in Jack cheese and served up with refried beans and rice and, yeah, those awesome tortillas (they’ll bring you about as many as you please, thank goodness). Faby’s likes to stuff items with other things — and stuff them full. The fajita beef quesadilla ($6.49) is not a flat affair; instead, it’s a pocket full of tender beef fajita
only at faby’s: Stuffed avocado (above) and fajita queso. punctuated by a bit of cheesesoaked chicken within a crispy crust. Fattening to be sure, but remarkably tasty. We never quite made it to dessert, somehow. But Faby’s has a very full dessert list with dulce de leche and sopapillas. And somehow we keep forgetting to order a couple of items that have intrigued us, such as the mushroom-stuffed chile relleno or the quail. That’s the problem with Faby’s — the menu’s not quite as thick as a phone book but almost. If you’re indecisive, it can take a half-hour to make up your mind. Fortunately, they don’t mind if you take your time. meat that’s just a little too puffed up for dipping in something else. But, hey, that’s what your fork’s for. Then there’s the fried stuffed avocado (which, oddly, we’ve only seen at a handful of restaurants in Conway). Faby’s offers two, a shrimp version and a chicken version. We tried the chicken one ($7.50), which came with rice and beans and a beef fajita soft taco (in this case, covered in that strange cheese roux they call gravy). It appears they split an avocado, cook up fajita-grade chicken, and pack it and a good amount of Manchego cheese and perhaps some other white melted goodness inside the avocado where the pit once was. Then they put it back together, wrap it in more cheese, batter it and deep-fry it. What you get is a very creamy interior
Faby’s
Conway 1023 Front St. 501-513-1199 2915 Dave Ward 501-329-5151 Quick bite
Faby’s also does Continental cuisine, with tasty house-made sauce. We’ve enjoyed the shrimp alfredo and a salmon and lemon butter special served over pasta.
Hours
11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
Other info
Credit cards accepted. No alcohol. www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 35
¡Novedoso Portal el latINo! ¡Noticias de ÚLTIMA HORA a Cada Hora! El sitio www.ellatinoarkansas.com en la Internet es donde los latinos pueden dar ahora a conocer sus opiniones al resto de la comunidad Ahora los lectores de EL LATINO obtendrán minuto a minuto las últimas noticias de Estados Unidos, México, Centro y Sur América y el mundo: política, deportes, entretenimiento, economía, y mucho más transmitidas por el servicio de noticias EFE. Además, leerán las noticias más importantes de Arkansas preparadas por el equipo profesional de EL LATINO y en el blog PULSO LATINO compartirán sus opiniones e inquietudes con el resto de la comunidad. En un sólo portal, minuto a minuto TODA la información de Arkansas y del mundo:
www.ellatinoarkansas.com T
E
N
T
H
A
N
Thanks to all of our advertisers for an incredible 10 YEARS
36 April 22, 2010 • ArKANSAS TiMES
N
I
V
E
R S
A
R Y
Continued on page 38
contemporaryurbanelements 501-375-2985
FA X 5 0 1 - 3 7 5 - 3 6 2 3
C UE LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203 P. O . B O X 3 4 0 1 0
ITALIAN AMERICAN PIE PIZZA Handmade pizza on perfect thin crust with varied toppings, and inexpensive. We liked the olive-oil-based margherita and supreme, plus there are salads, sandwiches and appetizers ― all under $6. 9708 Maumelle Blvd., Maumelle, 758-8800; 4830 North Hills Blvd., NLR, 753-0081. Beer and wine. CC $ LD daily. CIAO Don’t forget about this casual yet elegant bistro tucked into a downtown storefront. The fine pasta and seafood dishes, ambiance and overall charm combine to make it a relaxing, enjoyable, affordable choice. 405 W. Seventh St. Beer and wine. CC $$ 372-0238 L Mon.-Fri. D Thu-Sat. DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. Delivery available. 6706 Cantrell Road and 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. (Pick-up and delivery only location at 10720 Rodney Parham Road). Beer and wine. CC $$ 664-2239 LD daily. GUSANO’S They make the tomatoey Chicago-style deepdish pizza the way it’s done in the Windy City. It takes a little longer to come out of the oven, but it’s worth the wait. 313 President Clinton Ave. Full bar. CC $-$$ 374-1441 LD daily. LARRY’S PIZZA The buffet is the way to go — fresh, hot pizza, fully loaded with ingredients, brought hot to your
201 E. MARKHAM
EUROPEAN / ETHNIC ALIBASHA GRILL This Mediterranean eatery specializes in large portions of kebabs, gyros, and shawarma served up with a tasty minted Jerusalem salad and rice or hummus. More for the American palate than most. 302 North Shackleford. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 217-3855 LD Thurs-Tues L Wed. CAFE BOSSA NOVA A South American approach to sandwiches, salads and desserts ― all quite good ― as well as an array of refreshing South American teas and coffees. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite 105 Full bar. CC $$ 614-6682 LD Tue.-Sun. ISTANBUL MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE The Turkish eatery offers decent kebabs and great starters. The red pepper hummus is a winner. So are cigar pastries. Possibly the best Turkish coffee in Central Arkansas. 11525 Cantrell Road Suite 914 Little Rock Alcohol pending CC $$ 223-9332 LD daily. LEO’S GREEK CASTLE Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabbouleh — plus dependable hamburgers in this charming tiny eatery; there’s outdoor dining for fresh air fans or the claustrophobic. 2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 666-7414 BLD Mon.-Sat. THE PANTRY Bratwurst, wienerschnitzel, Czech dumplings and a “Rustic Bowl” one-pot meal are what set this restaurant apart from the town’s regular out-to-eat offerings. The setting is more elegant than you might suppose from consulting the menu at www.littlerockpantry.com. You can get dinners to go here after 4:45 p.m., too. 353-1875, 11401 Rodney Parham Road. $$-$$$ All CC Full bar. D Mon.-Sat.
find it each month in the
ASIAN ASIAN PALACE BUFFET Formerly Dragon Palace Buffet, this sister restaurant to China King Buffet, features the delicious Mongolian grill, sushi, crab legs and Asian and American items. Bowman Station, Hermitage and Bowman. Beer and wine. CC $ 225-0095 LD daily. CHINA INN Massive Chinese buffet overflows with meaty and fresh dishes, augmented at dinner by boiled shrimp, oysters on the half shell and snow crab legs (all you want cheap). 2629 Lakewood Village Place, NLR. Beer and wine. CC $-$$ 771-2288 LD daily. CRAZY HIBACHI GRILL The folks that own Chi’s and Sekisui offer their best in a three-in-one: teppanyaki cooking, sushi bar and sit-down dining with a Mongolian grill. 2907 Lakewood Village, NLR. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 812-9888 LD daily. FORBIDDEN CITY The Park Plaza Mall staple has fast and friendly service, offering up good lo mein at lunch and Cantonese and Hunan dishes. Markham and University. Full bar. CC $ 663-9099 LD daily. a KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE AND SUSHI BAR Though answering the need for more hibachis in Little Rock, Kobe stands taller with its sushi offerings than grill fare. 11401 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 225-5999 D daily. KOPAN BULGOGI & SUSHI. Cabot’s entry into Korean/ Japanese style food does well when it comes to delicious food at reasonable prices, but the wait for dinner can be unbearable. Go for the bulgogi — thin strips of beef marinated in housemade sauce — and for the kebabs, but skip the salad or soup. 701 West Main Street in Cabot. Alcohol. CC. $$. (501) 843-2002 LD Mon.-Sat. OSAKA JAPANESE RESTAURANT Fine-dining Japanese dishes and a well-stocked sushi bar. 5501 Ranch Drive, Suite 1. Full bar. CC $$ 868-3688 LD daily. PEI WEI Sort of a miniature P.F. Chang’s, but a lot of fun and plenty good with all the Chang favorites we like, such as the crisp honey shrimp, dan dan noodles and pad Thai. You order from the cashier, get your own tea, silverware and fortune cookies, and they bring your piping hot food to your cozy table. Midtowne Little Rock, West Markham Street and University Avenue. Wine and beer. CC $-$$ 280-9423 LD daily.
BARBECUE CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE Beef, pork, sausage and chicken — all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces. The crusty but tender back ribs star. Side dishes are top quality. 915 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, wine. CC $ 372-4227 L Mon.-Fri. CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with tangy sauce. Pie is tall and tasty. 9801 W. Markham St. No alcohol. CC $$ 225-4346 LD Mon.-Sat. DIXIE PIG Pig salad is tough to beat — loads of chopped pork atop crisp iceberg, doused with that wonderful vinegar-based sauce. The sandwiches are basic and the sweet, thick sauce is fine. 35th and Schaer streets, NLR. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 753-9650 LD Mon.-Sat. SMOKE SHACK BAR-B-Q The beef and pork sandwiches are the best bet. Interstate 40 at Maumelle/Morgan exit (Exit 142), Maumelle. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 803-4935 LD Mon.-Sat. WHITE PIG INN Go for the sliced rather than chopped meats at this working-class barbecue cafe. Side orders — from fries to potato salad to beans to slaw — are superb, as are the fried pies. 5231 E. Broadway, NLR. Beer. CC $-$$ 945-5551 LD Mon.-Fri. L Sat.
Continued from page 35 BLACK ANGUS Charcoal-grilled burgers, hamburger steaks and steaks proper are the big draws at this local institution. 10907 N. Rodney Parham. No alcohol. CC $ 228-7800 LD Mon.-Sat. BOULEVARD BREAD CO. Fresh bread, fresh pastries, wide selection of cheeses, meats, side dishes, dinners to go — all superb. Good coffee, too. 1920 N. Grant St. CC $-$$$ 663-5951 BLD Mon.-Sat.; River Market Hall, beer and wine, CC $-$$$ 374-1232, BL Mon.-Sat.; College of Public Health, 401 W. Markham St. No alcohol CC $-$$$ 526-6661 BL Mon.-Fri. BOUDREAUX’S GRILL & BAR A homey, seat-yourself Cajun joint in Maumelle that serves up all sorts of variations of shrimp and catfish. With particularly tasty red beans and rice, jambalaya and bread pudding. 9811 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock. Full bar CC $-$$ 753-6860 LD Wed.-Sat., D Mon.-Tue. CAJUN’S WHARF The venerable seafood restaurant has a new look to go with great gumbo and oysters Bienville, and options such as fine steaks for the non-seafood eater. In the citified bar, you’ll find some of the best nightly entertainment in town. 2400 Cantrell Road. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 375-5351 D Mon.-Sat. CATFISH HOLE Downhome place for well-cooked catfish and tasty hushpuppies. 603 E. Spriggs, NLR. Beer. CC $-$$ 758-3516. D Tues.-Sat. COFFEE BEANERY CAFE Come for the coffee first, but the sandwiches and desserts are good, too. 17200 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol. CC $$ 821-7747 BLD daily. COMMUNITY BAKERY This sunny downtown bakery is the place to linger over a latte, bagels and the New York Times. But a lunchtime dash for sandwiches is OK, too, though it’s often packed. 1200 Main St., 375-7105; 270 S. Shackleford, 224-1656. No alcohol. CC $-$$ BLD daily. COPPER GRILL A sunny and ultra-modern restaurant in downtown’s most chic condo tower offers comfort food (fried mac-and-cheese), burgers and sophisticated appetizers and entrees geared solidly for the middle of the dining spectrum. Grilled meats and fish, hearty side dishes and big salads ― everything served with a generous hand. Fresh fish, grilled expertly, is a top choice. But sandwiches, big salads and even fried catfish offer a little something for everyone. Desserts are made from scratch. 300 E. Third. Full bar. CC $$-$$$. 375-3333 LD Mon.-Sat. DAVE AND RAY’S DOWNTOWN DINER Lunch buffet with four choices of meats and eight veggies. All-youcan-eat catfish on weekend nights. 824 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. $$ 372-8816 BL Mon.-Fri. DOE’S EAT PLACE A skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering hole with huge steaks, great tamales and broiled shrimp, and killer burgers at lunch. 1023 W. Markham St. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 376-1195 LD Mon.-Fri, D Sat. DOUBLETREE PLAZA BAR & GRILL Heaping breakfast and lunch buffets in the elegant lobby restaurant. Markham and Broadway. Full bar. CC $$ 372-4371 BLD daily. FATSAM’S LOUISIANA CAFÉ Louisiana native James Meadors, a former teacher/part-time caterer has gone fulltime into the food business, with a brightly decorated oasis of good cheer and cheap, heaping plates of Louisianainfluenced food in a corner of the River Market food hall. The lineup changes daily, but expect to find a steam table full of rib-stickers – shrimp Creole, etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice, gumbo and po boys with chicken, spicy pork or catfish. A big cobbler might be bubbling in the convection oven. Get you some of that, too. 400 President Clinton Ave. 244-4720. CC $ LD Mon.-Sat. FRANKE’S Plate lunch spot strong on salads and vegetables, and perfect fried chicken on Sundays. Locations in the Regions Bank Building, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 225-4487 LD daily. FRONTIER DINER Order at the counter for home-cooked plate lunches, burgers and delicious pies. 10424 Interstate 30. No alcohol. CC $ 565-6414 BL Mon.-Sat. GRUMPY’S Try the Wednesday night bonanza: large, fresh oysters on the half-shell and hefty shrimp for a quarter a pop. Rib special on Mondays. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. Full bar. CC $-$$ 225-3768 LD Mon.-Sat. IZZY’S It’s bright, clean and casual, with snappy team service of all his standbys — sandwiches and fries, lots of fresh salads, pasta about a dozen ways, hand-rolled tamales and (night only) brick oven pizzas. Wholesome, all-American food prepared with care, if rarely far from the middle of the culinary road. 5601 Ranch Drive, off Highway. Beer and Wine CC $-$$ 868-4311 LD Mon. - Sat. LULAV AND V LOUNGE A Mediterranean-California fusion eatery, and the delicious flavors are like none you’ll experience anywhere in the city. Good fish, veal, daring salads and much more. Plus, a hot bar to see and be seen. 220 A W. 6th St. Full Bar. CC $$-$$$ 374-5100 LD Tue.-Sun. MILFORD TRACK Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill, featuring hot entrees, soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. 10809 Executive Center Drive, Searcy Building. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 223-2257 BL Mon.-Sat. MIMI’S CAFE Breakfast is our meal of choice here at this upscale West Coast chain. Portions are plenty to last you through the afternoon, especially if you get a muffin on the side. Middle-America comfort-style entrees highlight other meals, from pot roast to pasta dishes. 11725 Chenal Parkway. Full bar. CC $$ 221-3883 BLD (breakfast served
SAMURAI JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE A hibachi grill that transcends typical fare. With a pricey sushi menu, too. 2604 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 224-5533 LD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. SEKISUI Fresh-tasting sushi, traditional Japanese, the fun hibachi style of Japanese and an overwhelming assortment of entrees. Nice wine selection, sake, specialty drinks. 219 N. Shackleford. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 221-7070 LD daily. SHOGUN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE AND SUSHI BAR The chefs will dazzle you, as will the variety of tasty stir-fry combinations and the sushi bar. Usually crowded at night. 2815 Cantrell Road. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 666-7070 LD daily. SUSHI CAFE Impressive, upscale sushi menu with other delectable house specialties like tuna tataki, fried soft shell crab, Kobe beef and, believe it or not, the Toyko cowboy burger. 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar. CC. $$-$$$ 663-9888 LD Mon.-Fri. D Sat.-Sun.
Don’t miss your
Restaurant capsules
until 4 p.m.) daily. PURPLE COW DINER 1950s fare — cheeseburgers, chili dogs, thick milkshakes — in a ’50s setting at today’s prices. 8026 Cantrell Road, 221-3555; 11602 Chenal Parkway, 224-4433. Beer, “adult” milkshakes. CC $-$$ BLD daily. RED LOBSTER Top-grossing restaurant in Central Arkansas, a crowd favorite for fried and sauteed shrimp and more seafood. 3707 McCain Blvd., NLR, 753-4000; 8407 W. Markham St., 224-0940. Full bar. CC $$ LD daily. ROCKS GRILL Bounteous buffets at lunch and Sunday brunch, while steaks, seafood and chicken are the main draws at dinner, mostly for travelers. Holiday Inn Select, 201 S. Shackleford. Full bar. CC $-$$$ 223-3000 BLD daily. ROCKSTONS AMERICAN BAR AND GRILL Steaks, ribs and other meaty entrees are the stars here at this outpost of Jerry Barakat’s restaurant empire. 11 Shackleford Drive, 954-8787. Full bar $$-$$$ CC LD daily RUDY’S OYSTER BAR Good boiled shrimp and oysters on the half shell. Quesadillas and chili cheese dip are tasty and ultra-hearty. 2695 Pike Ave., NLR. Full bar. CC $-$$ 771-0808 D Mon.-Sat. SALUT! Pleasantly quirky menu here — rosemary barbecued shrimp on seared polenta, gnocchi in a cream sauce with asparagus and red onion, short ribs ravioli and Low Country shrimp and grits. Patio dining. 1501 N. University. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 660-4200 L Mon.-Fri. D Wed.-Sun. SHORTY SMALL’S Land of big, juicy burgers, massive cheese logs, smoky barbecue platters and the signature onion loaf. 4317 Warden Road, NLR, 753-8111; 1100 N. Rodney Parham Road, 224-3344. Full bar. CC $$ LD daily. STARVING ARTIST CAFE An important addition in helping Argenta achieve restaurant ―critical mass,― this is a fun, creative, affordable and consistently excellent locally owned spot. Lunches are downright cheap, while the quality at dinner is impressive for the generally lessthan-$20 entrée price tag. 411 Main St., NLR. Full bar. CC. $$ 372-7976 LD Tue.-Sat. THE BOX Cheeseburgers and french fries are greasy and wonderful and not like their fast-food cousins. 1623 Main St. Beer. No CC 372-8735 L Mon.-Fri. THE HOP You half expect the Fonz to stroll by this oldfashioned dairy bar, where the shakes are thick, the cones tall and the burgers good and greasy. 7706 Cantrell Road. No alcohol. $-$$ 219-2200 LD Mon.-Sat. TRIO’S Still great after 20 years. You can’t go wrong with custom sandwiches, Peck Special Salad or chicken salad at lunch; the enchiladas and voodoo pasta at dinner, or the monumentally rich list of tempting desserts. 8201 Cantrell Road. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 221-3330. LD Mon.-Sat. UNION RESTAURANT Tasty tapas dishes are really only part of the draw at this rather trendy late-night spot with a great wine list, a full complement of specialty drinks and a chic atmosphere that belies its sub-shop beginnings. 3421 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar CC $$ 661-8311 D daily. WHOLE FOODS MARKET Good sandwiches, soups and hummus to go; an enormous number of hot and cold entrees from the deli. 10700 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 312-2326 BLD daily. YOUNG’S CATFISH RESTAURANT You can’t go wrong with this longtime favorite. 3400 E. Broadway, NLR. No alcohol. $-$$ 372-7441 LD Mon.-Sat.
www.arktimes.com • april 22, 2010 37
want to reach more Latino clients? need to understand Latino customs? need to translate employee manuals? want to hire bilingual workers?
50% OFF 2ND ENTREE* Half off least expensive entrée
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Dine in • Take Out • Patio • full Bar Mon. -Fri. 10-10 Sat. 9-10 • Sun. 9-9 501-280-9888 6820 Cantrell • 9am -10 pm
400 President Clinton Ave. (In the River Market) Hours: 8 am 5:30 pm Mon -Sat 372-6637
PANAMERICAN CONSULTING, INC.
want to reach more Latino clients? need to understand Latino Leiderman customs? Michel need to translate We can help your business grow! employee manuals? contact: hotelmpl@aol.com want to hire bilingual michel@arktimes.com workers?
The BesT AuThenTic MexicAn seAfood in Town
501-868-8822 18321 Cantrell Rd. • Hwy. 10
Full Bar • Take out • Dine in For Gourmet Seafood lovers Monday • Friday: 10-10 • Saturday: 9-10 • Sunday: 9-9 *Must present coupon
(501) 993-3572
PANAMERICAN CONSULTING, INC. a w Michel a r d wLeiderman i n n i n g
We can help your business grow!
New Orleans Cuisine
contact us: hotelmpl@aol.com michel@arktimes.com mobile: (501) 993-3572
AT LITTLE ROCK PRICES! STEAKS • SEAFOOD CREOLE SPECIALTIES
The Faded Rose
®
LITTLE ROCK’S WORLD FAMOUS RESTAURANT 400 N. Bowman Road 501-224-3377 • 1619 Rebsamen Road 501-663-9734
It’s Patio Season!
Come join us on one of the best patios in Central Arkansas. Featuring live music Tues, Thurs and Sat nights.
Located in the Promenade at chenaL
501.821.1144
Hours: Sun. 10am- 9pm Mon. - Thurs. 11am- 10pm Fri. - Sat. 11am- 11pm
CHRISTMAS BELLES April 20-May 23
The sequel to last year’s popular comedy “Dearly Beloved” brings the Futrell sisters back in a brand new hilarious comedy!
Colonel Glenn & University • murrysdinnerplayhouse.com • 562-3131 38 april 22, 2010 • arkansas Times
Restaurant capsules Continued from page 37 table, all for a low price. An always-filled lunch spot at 11th and Center streets downtown on weekdays, 372-6004, no alcohol; 12911 Cantrell Road, 224-8804, no alcohol, LD daily; 5933 JFK Blvd., 812-5353, beer and wine LD Mon.-Sat; and the original at 10312 Chicot Road, 565-6006, no alcohol, LD daily. CC $ 565-6006. OW Pizza Formerly part of the “Olde World” trio of restaurants, these two locations serve up good pizzas in a variety of ways, sandwiches, big salads and now offering various pastas and appetizer breads. Beer and wine. CC $-$$ 1706 W. Markham St., 374-5504 LD Mon.-Fri. (close at 7 p.m.); 8201 Ranch Blvd., 868-1100 LD daily. ROCKY’S PUB A little taste of Philly, right in North Little Rock, with authentic cheesesteak sandwiches, hoagies, salads and the like. But you’d be remiss not to try the Italian specialties whipped up at night, such as the proscuitto piselli verdi. 6909 JFK Blvd., NLR. Full bar. $$ CC 833-1077 LD Mon.-Sat. SHOTGUN DaN’S Hearty pizza and sandwiches with a decent salad bar. Multiple locations: 4020 E. Broadway, NLR, 945-0606 LD daily; 4203 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood, 835-0606 LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun.; and 10923 W. Markham St., 224-9519 LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. Beer and wine. CC $$ 224-9519 . zaza Here’s where you get wood-fired pizza with gorgeous blistered crusts and a light topping of choice and tempting ingredients, great gelato in a multitude of flavors, call-yourown ingredient salads and other treats. 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd. $$ Beer and wine 661-9292 CC LD daily.
MEXICAN CaSa MaNaNa Great guacamole and garlic beans, superlative chips and salsa (red and green) and a broad selection of fresh seafood, plus a deck out back at the Cantrell location. Small stand in the River Market (400 President Clinton Ave., 372-6637). 18321 Cantrell Road, 868-8822. 6820 Cantrell Road. Full bar. CC $$ 280-9888 LD daily. Also B on Sat. and Sun. CaSa MEXiCaNa Familiar Tex-Mex style items all shine, in ample portions, and the steak-centered dishes are uniformly excellent. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. Full bar. CC $-$$ 835-7876 LD daily. EL PORTON Very good Mex for the price and a wideranging menu of dinner plates, some tasty cheese dip, and great service as well. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar. CC $$ 223-8588 LD daily. FLYiNG BURRiTO A trendy-looking walk-up-and-order spot in the River Market district for tacos, burritos and the like, with various styles of tortillas and add-ons. The bar looks impressive, too. 300 President Clinton Ave. Full bar. CC $-$$ 372-7272 LD daily. La REGiONaL A small grill is tucked away in this fullservice grocery store catering to SWLR’s Latino community, and it offers a whirlwind trip through Latin America, with delicacies from all across the Spanish-speaking world (try the El Salvadorian pupusas, they’re great). 7414 Baseline Road. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 565-4440 BLD daily. MEXiCO CHiQUiTO Hearty platters of boldly spiced, inexpensive food compete well with those at the “authentic” joints. 13924 Cantrell, 217-0700, full bar; 4511 Camp Robinson Road, NLR, 771-1604, full bar; 1524 W. Main St., Jacksonville, 982-0533, no alcohol. Takeout only from 102 S. Rodney Parham, 224-8600, and 11406 W. Markham, 217-0647. All CC $$ LD daily. PONCHO’S ViLLa It serves all the familiar Tex-Mex plates that Nancy Johnson has been serving up for going on three decades, most of them at restaurants on Broadway in North Little Rock. We recommend the stuffed and fried jalapenos. Plate lunches, hamburgers and highly touted fried shrimp are among other choices on a broad, cheap menu. 123 S. Jeff Davis, Jacksonville. No alcohol. No CC $ 241-0656. LD Mon.-Sat. SENOR TEQUiLa Authentic dishes with great service and prices, and maybe the best margarita in town. Multiple locations: 4304 Camp Robinson Road, NLR, 791-3888; 9847 Maumelle Blvd., Maumelle, 758-4432; 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road, 224-5505; 2000 S. University Ave., 660-4413; 1101 S. Bowman Road, Little Rock, 954-7780. CC Full bar. $$ 224-5505 LD daily.
■ update TaQUERia LaS iSaBELES It’s easy to overlook the white 1970s-era, 26-foot Executive motor home outside a dilapidated former service station in the 7100 block of Colonel Glenn Road, about a mile west of University Avenue. It looks more like an abandoned RV than a place to eat. But there’s a small hand-painted sign outside that says, “Taqueria Las Isabeles—tacos y mas.” It’s worth the trip just for the tacos, but they also have burritos, nachos and Hawaiian hamburguesas — burgers topped with pineapple and avocado. There’s outside seating for four at a plastic table under the old station’s overhang, and Norteño music is piped through a speaker hidden in the structure above. Colonel Glenn Rd. 501-5634801 No alcohol. L Mon.-Fri. (11 a.m.-4 p.m.) and LD Sat. (11 a.m.-8 p.m.) $ Cash only
around arkansas CONWAY
FiSH HOUSE The other entrees and the many side orders are decent, but this place is all about catfish. 116 S. Harkrider. No alcohol. No CC $-$$ 501-327-9901 LD Mon.-Sat. MEaN BEaN CaFE & RESTaURaNT Offers a mean bean burrito and mean coffee beans and, meanest of all, homemade pie. The Reuben might be the best in Arkansas. 2501 Highway 286 West. No alcohol. CC $$ 501-336-9272 LD Mon.-Fri. OaK STREET BiSTRO Creativity is the hallmark of the massive lunch menu — nothing earth-shaking but a creative combining of interesting ingredients to fashion some great sandwiches and salads. The desserts also are excellent. 713 Oak St. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 501-450-9908 L Mon.-Sat., D Fri.-Sat.
FAYETTEVILLE AREA a TaSTE OF THai Terrific Thai food, from the appetizers to the entrees to the desserts. Only the brave should venture into the “rated 5” hot sauce realm. 31 E. Center St. Beer and wine. CC $-$$ 479-251-1800 LD Mon.-Sat. CaBLE CaR Pizza Thick, crispy crust, tons of cheese and 27 toppings. Maybe the best pizza in town. 2630 E. Citizens Drive, Suite 7 (Near Highways 265-45). Beer only CC $$ 479-444-7600 LD daily. CaFE RUE ORLEaNS Top quality Creole food and a couple of Cajun specialties (a soupy gumbo, a spicy and rich etouffee) from a cook who learned her tricks in Lafayette, La., and the Crescent City. Best entree is the eggplant Napoleon. Oyster bar downstairs to make your wait for a dining table pleasant. 1150 N. College Ave. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 479-443-2777 LD Wed.-Sat. DOE’S EaT PLaCE This may be the best Doe’s of the bunch, franchised off the Greenville, Miss., icon. Great steaks, and the usual salads, fries, very hot tamales and splendid service. Lots of TVs around for the game-day folks. 316 W. Dickson St. Full bar. CC $$$ 479-443-3637 D Mon.-Sat., lunch during football season. FiSH CiTY GRiLL The thing you want to order here are the Oyster Nachos, the chain’s specialty starter that combines fried oysters, chipotle tartar sauce and fresh pico de gallo. It’s spicy enough to make you want to drain your beer and original enough to make you come back for more. The place is nicely done up with colorful paintings on brick walls, a pretty bar and a television set you can watch the Hogs on. 2203 S. Promenade Blvd. 479-636-8833. CC $$ Full bar. LD daily. JaMES aT THE MiLL “Ozark Plateau Cuisine” is creative, uses local ingredients and is pleasantly presented in a vertical manner. Impeccable food in an impeccable setting. 3906 Greathouse Springs Road. Full bar. CC $$$ 479-4431400 LD Mon.-Sat. MaRKETPLaCE GRiLL Appetizers set on fire, Italian chips, funky low-fat dressings, prime rib and pasta in big ceramic bowls: The fare is a combination of old standbys and new-age twists. 1636 S. 48th St., Springdale. No alcohol. CC $-$$ 479-750-5200 LD Mon.-Sun. PESTO CaFE This nice little Italian restaurant in, yes, a roadside motel offers all the traditional dishes, including a nice eggplant parmesan. 1830 N. College Ave. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 479-582-3330 LD daily. POWERHOUSE SEaFOOD Build-your-own fried seafood platters, great grilled fish specials. 112 N. University. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 479-442-8300 LD daily. VENESiaN iNN People swarm in for the Italian fare and feast on what may be the best homemade rolls in the state. 582 W. Henri De Tonti Blvd., Tontitown. No alcohol. CC $$ 479-361-2562.
HOT SPRINGS CaFE 1217 Great gourmet meals served over-thecounter. Bustling at lunch. 1217 Malvern Ave., Suite B. No alcohol (BYO wine and glasses). CC $-$$ 501-318-1094 LD Mon.-Sat. HaWGS Pizza PUB Good pizza and other Italian food, a wide selection of appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches in an all-Razorback motif. 1442 Airport Road. Full bar. CC $-$$ 501-767-4240 LD daily. KREaM KaSTLE DRiVE iNN Revisit the past with a stop at this classic spot on U.S. 70 East. Burgers, dogs, cones and shakes the way they’re supposed to be made, at prices to like. 15922 Highway 70 East, Lonsdale. No alcohol. No CC $ 501-939-2350 LD daily. La HaCiENDa Authentic Mexican food; array of entrees. 3836 Central Ave. Beer and wine. CC $-$$ 501-525-8203 LD daily. ON THE BORDER Tasty Tex-Mex at reasonable prices; great margaritas too. 190 Pakis St. Full bar. CC $$ 501-5205045 LD daily. PORTERHOUSE Another Spa City entry by Joe Gargano, focusing on beef and seafood. The high-quality beef is served virtually untouched by seasoning, unless you ask for it. 707 Central Ave. Full bar. CC $$-$$$ 501-321-8282 D Mon.-Sat. ROD’S Pizza CELLaR Terrific handmade pizzas highlighted by the Godfather, a whopper. Lunch specials are a steal. 3350 Central Ave. Beer and wine. CC $-$$ 501-3212313 LD Tue.-Sun. STUBBY’S Doesn’t short you on near-perfect pork and beef: lean, flavorful, smoky. 3024 Central Ave. Beer. CC $-$$ 501-624-1552 LD daily.
Food for Thought
a paid advertisement
To place your restaurant in Food For Thought, call the advertising department at 501-375-2985
AMERICAN
SEAFOOD CAJUN’S WHARF
Food and fun for everyone when you pair Cajun’s Wharf’s succulent seafood and steak with the ever-evolving live entertainment. Enjoy the fabulous fresh seafood or aged Angus beef while listening to the rolling Arkansas River on the famously fantastic deck! They also boast an award-winning wine list.
DENTON’S TROTLINE
Attention: Members and Guests. Denton’s Trotline is known for their award winning catfish and seafood buffet. Outstanding appetizer menu. Family owned, featuring a newly remodeled building with live music. Full service catering available.
2400 Cantrell Road 501-375-5351
DENTON’S CATFISH & SEAFOOD BUFFET — 24 Years In Business —
2150 Congo Rd. Benton, 501-416-2349 Open Tues, Wed & Thurs 4-9 Fri & Sat 4-11
BISTRO LULAV
220 West 6th St. 501-374-5100 Lunch Mon-Fri 11am-2pm Dinner Tues-Sat 5-10pm V Lounge til 1am, Thurs-Sat
YAYAS
17711 Chenal Parkway, Suite I-101 501-821-1144
DIZZY’S '9039 ")342/ 200 S. Commerce, Suite 150 (501) 375-3500 Tues-Thurs 11am-9pm Fri & Sat 11am-10pm
Fresh seafood specials every week. Prime aged beef and scrumptious dishes. Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, over 30 wines by the glass and largest vodka selection downtown. Regular and late night happy hour, Wednesday wine flights and Thursday is Ladies Night. Be sure to check out the Bistro Burger during lunch. Ya Ya’s is both sophisticated and whimsical. Mosaic tile floors, stone columns and fabric covered wall panels while heavy beamed ceilings, hand blown chandeliers and curvy wroughtiron railings add a whimsical flair. The menu is inspired by a combination of Italian, French, Spanish and Greek cuisines. Mediterranean Euro Delights share the menu with pizzas from our wood-burning oven, rich creative pastas and an array of the freshest of seafood dishes and innovative meat entrees. Live music resumes on the patio this spring. Join us for live, local music through the week. Don’t forget our Sunday Brunch ($16.95 & only $13.95 for the early bird special, 10 am to 11 am). Reservations are preferred. For the salad lover, Dizzy’s is an absolute paradise. Its list of eleven “Ridiculously Large EntrĂŠe Saladsâ€? runs the gamut of what you can do with greens and dressing. For example Zilpphia’s Persian Lime Salad, featuring grilled turkey breast, tomato, cucumber, onion, lime and buffalo mozzarella over romaine. For another: Mary Ann’s Dream, with grilled chicken breast, baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries, mandarin oranges, bourbon pecans and bleu cheese. Don’t that sound good?
CHINESE FANTASTIC CHINA 1900 N Grant St Heights 501-663-8999
Sharing good things with good friends is the motto at Fantastic China. A Central Arkansas favorite offering the Freshest Chinese Food in town. It’s made to order with 100% Vegetable Oil. The presentation is beautiful, the menu distinctive, and the service perfect. Fantastic China is one of the heights most reliable and satisfying restaurants and a local favorite. Full bar.
",!#+ !.'53
Homemade Comfort Food Daily 3PECIALS s -ONDAY 3PICY 3HRIMP 3TIR FRY 4UESDAY 0OT 2OAST 7EDNESDAY -EATLOAF 4HURSDAY ""1 0LATE OR 3HEPHERD S 0IE &RIDAY 3ATURDAY &RIED #ATlSH
UMP’S 05" '2),,
Whether the Travs are at home or on the road, come enjoy the unique Dickey-Stephens Park Atmosphere at Ump’s, an upscale sports pub and restaurant, featuring sandwiches, salads, steaks, seafood, good times and more! Come treat yourself to a meal prepared by Chef’s Ball award winning sous chef Richard Lindsey. Open 6 days a week for lunch, 11am-2pm. Open nightly for all Travellers home games. Regular dinner hours Friday and Saturday only.
CAPERS RESTAURANT
Indulge in the culinary creations and intimate environment that define Capers Restaurant. Food and wine enthusiasts agree Capers’ sophisticated approach to dining is key to it’s many accolades including receiving the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for six years running.
COPPER GRILL & GROCERY
An endless array of delicious dishes available in the Grill or grab your Gourmet-to-Go from the Grocery. Offering products by French Farm, Bella Cucina & Bittersweet Herb that promise to turn any recipe into a memorable masterpiece Copper Grill & Grocery is a wonderland for the gourmand.
WEST END 3-/+%(/53% AND TAVERN
Happy Hour Mon-Fri 3pm-6pm. $1 off All Drinks and 1/2 Off Appetizers. Monday is Steak Night USDA Choice Aged 14oz Ribeye with 2 sides $13.99. Tuesday is Burger Night – Ultimate Burger with Fries just $4.99. Live Music Fri & Saturday!
SO
This is a first class establishment. SO has some of the best steaks and seafood in the city, including oysters from the east and west coasts. Their menu has been updated and features a fantastic selection of cheeses like port salut, stilton, murcia and pecorino. Don’t forget to check out the extensive wine list.
"54#(%2 3(/0
Tremendous steaks, excellent service, fair prices and a comfortable atmosphere make The Butcher Shop the prime choice for your evening out. In addition to tender and juicy steaks, The Butcher Shop offers fresh fish, pork chop, 24 hour slow roasted Prime Rib, char grilled marinated chicken and fresh pasta. Ideal for private parties, business meetings, and rehearsal dinners. Rooms accommodate up to 50-60 people.
10907 N. Rodney Parham Mon-Sat 10:30am-9pm 501-228-7800
Dickey-Stephens Park Broadway at the bridge North Little Rock (501) 324-BALL (2255) www.travs.com
14502 Cantrell Road 501-868-7600
300 West 3rd Street 501-375-3333
215 N. Shackleford 501-224-7665 www.westendsmokehouse.net
Open daily. 11 am - close Sunday Brunch. 11 am to 2 pm 3610 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1464
Shackleford & Hermitage Rd. (501) 312-2748
MEXICAN CASA MANANA TAQUERIA
400 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-6637 #ANTRELL 2OAD s #ANTRELL 2OAD s
Voted Best Mexican 2007. Featuring authentic fare from the Puebla region of Mexico, the selections seem endless at your choice of 3 locations in the Little Rock area. You will find an array of dishes ranging from the salient Shrimp Veracruzana at La Palapa out west to great Guacamole in the River Market Taqueria. Or try tasty Tostadas that share the name of the original Cantrell location, Casa Manana.
ASIAN LILLY’S DIMSUM THEN SOME 11121 Rodney Parham 501-716-2700
HJE:G @>C< 350%2 +).' "5&&%4 7J;;:I
4000 Springhill Plaza Ct. North Little Rock (Just past Wal-Mart on McCain) 501-945-4802 Sun-Thurs 11am to 9:30pm Fri & Sat 11am to 10:30pm
Look no furtherâ&#x20AC;Śvoted Best Asian again by the Arkansas Times readers. Lillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serves up extraordinary dishes made from the freshest, premium local and organic ingredients. Also enjoy warm and inviting ambiance as you dine on any one of the tasty house specialties. Sundays are wine day: all wine by the bottle, half off. One of central Arkansasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest Chinese buffets, we offer all your favorites with our sushi bar and Mongolian Grill included for one low price. Our dinner and all-day Sunday buffet include your lunch favorites as well as all-you-can eat crab legs, whole steamed fish, barbecue spare ribs, crispy jumbo shrimp and grilled steaks. Take-out buffet and menu available.
STEAK SONNY WILLIAMS
If you have not been to Sonny Williams lately, get there immediately and check out the martini/wine bar. Now you can enjoy 35 wines by the glass, 335 selections of wine, 6 single barrel bourbons and all different kinds of Scotch from the many regions of Scotland. Of course, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss out on the nightly entertainment by Jeff at the piano. Sonnyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is a River Market mainstay and perfect for intimate private parties; free valet parking! As always, Sonny Williams has the best steaks in town along with fresh seafood and game. No Skinny Steaksâ&#x20AC;Ś Call ahead for reservations (501) 324-2999
FADED ROSE
Featuring the Best Steaks in town with a New Orleans flair from a New Orleans native. Also featuring Seafood and Creole Specialties. As Rachel Ray says â&#x20AC;&#x153;This place is one of my best finds ever.â&#x20AC;? Back by popular demandâ&#x20AC;ŚSoft Shell Crab and New Orleans Roast Beef Po-Boys.
DOEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EAT PLACE
Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers more than just high-flying politicos, it has the best steaks, burgers and tamales in Little Rock. Come by today and check it out!
500 President Clinton Avenue Suite 100 (In the River Market District) 501-324-2999 DINNER MON - SAT 5:00 - 11:00 pm PIANO BAR TUES - THU 7:00 - 11:00 pm FRI & SAT 7:00 - Late
400 N. Bowman 501-224-3377 1619 Rebsamen 501-663-9734 OPEN SUNDAY
Markham & Ringo 501-376-1195
MEDITERRANEAN STAR OF INDIA
North Shackleford Road 501-227-9900
LAYLAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S
9501 N. Rodney Parham 501-227-7272
Authentic North Indian Cuisine at its very best! Vegetable and Non-vegetable Buffet daily with Special. Saturday and Sunday Brunch. Mention this ad for a complimentary Indian Mango Drink.
Enjoy regional specialties such as Lentil soup, a huge serving of yummy Hummus, Baba Ghannnouj or Tabbouleh. And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget about the Gyros, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re sure to be heroes in your book!
BREW PUB VINOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 0)::!s05"s"2%7%29 923 West 7th Street 501/375-VINO (8466)
Beer, pizza and more! Drop in to Vinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Little Rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Original Brewpub! and enjoy great New York-style pizza (whole or by-the-slice) washed down with your choice of award-winning ales or lagers brewed right on site. Or try a huge calzone, our new Muffaletta sandwich or just a salad and a slice with our homemade root beer. The deckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always open, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to dress up and the kids are always welcome (or not). Vinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is open 7 days, lunch and dinner. You can call ahead for carry-out and even take a gal. growler of beer to-go. And guess what?? The bathrooms have just been re-done!
LUXURY THAT TREATS YOU LIKE YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE ON THE ROAD. SAFETY THAT RECOGNIZES THAT YOU’RE NOT. 5-STAR SAFETY RATING
395
2010 Acura RDX
$ mo. RIVERSIDE ACURA Leather, Sunroof, Heated Seats, XM, Bluetooth, And Much More
“The Smart Luxury Choice”
501-448-8000 • 16100 CHENAL PARKWAY • WEST LITTLE ROCK • www.riversideacura.com *WAC, 10% Down, MSRP $33,330, Price $32,800, 36 Month Balloon, 10,000 Miles Per Year, 4.46% APR, $18,998 Residual,T T & L Not Included.
REAL ESTATE b
y
n
E
i
g
h
b
o
R
h
o
o
d
ApRiL 22, 2010
Downtown: Lifestyle happens here Destination Downtown.
Destination Downtown. Explore the different lifestyles available in downtown Little Rock. Come enjoy a tour of seven different homes, condos and apartments. It’s all here...downtown!
Explore the different lifestyles available in downtown Little Rock. Come enjoy a tour of seven different homes, condos and apartments. It’s all here...downtown!
Sunday, April 25 1 - 5 p.m. - Tickets $7 Kids 12 and under FREE Passport tickets may be purchased the day of the event at Lafayette Square on the corner of Sixth and Louisiana Streets.
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership (DLRP) will host its “Destination Downtown may drive the tour. For more information contact Passport tickets are $7 (children 12 & under are free) and may be purchased the Living Tour this Sunday, April 25, from 1-5 p.m. The tour of properties was started Downtown Little Rock Partnership Sunday, April 25of Lafayette Square the DLRP in the lobby at the corner of in 2007 by the DLRP as a way to “showcase Downtown as a unique neighborhood day of the event from at 501-375-0121. 6th and Louisiana1Streets. A tour and property with different lifestyle options,” Executive Director Sharon Priest said. - 5 p.m. - map Tickets $7 guide will be in each passport. to and enter eachFREE property and will be stamped to register Rubber-wheel trolleys and shuttles will take guests inside some of Downtown Passports must be shown Kids 12 under Little Rock and North Little Rock’s unique new homes, condos and apartments. to win prizes. Free street parking is available to tour participants as well as in the tickets may ExploreThe the different 6th and Scott StreetsPassport parking deck and in be the Best Park parking lot at the corner Guests will also be able to sample menus from neighborhood restaurants. tour purchased the day of the event at go to the downtown beautificalifestyles available inand Louisiana. Proceeds from the tour of 6th will will feature River Market Towers, Lafayette Square, Block 2 Lofts, The Cliffs Lafayette Square on the corner of project. and Cumberland Place in Little Rock. North Little Rock properties on the tour downtown Littletion Rock. Sixth and Streets. Here’s lookLouisiana at some of the properties on the tour: are City Grove Townhomes and Enclave at the Riverfront. Trolleys and shuttles Come enjoy a tour of a more detailed Continued on page 42 will run three continuous loops to include each of the sites, though participants seven different homes, For more information contact On Tour: Lafayette Square Downtown Little Rock Partnership condos and apartments. Block 2 Lofts • The Cliffs at 501-375-0121. It’s all here...downtown! CityGrove • Cumberland Place River Market Tower Enclave at the Riverfront Sunday, April 25
Destination Downtown.
Destination Downtown.
Explore the different lifestyles available in downtown Little Rock. Come enjoy a tour of seven different homes, condos and apartments. It’s all here...downtown!
Destination
Sunday, April 25 1 - 5 p.m. - Tickets $7
1 - 5 p.m. - Tickets $7
Sponsored in part by
Kids 12 and under FREE Passport tickets may be purchased the day of the event at Lafayette Square on the corner of Sixth and Louisiana Streets.
All proceeds go to the beautification of Downtown
On Tour: Lafayette Square Block 2 Lofts • The Cliffs CityGrove • Cumberland Place For more information contact Downtown Little Rock Partnership River Market Tower at 501-375-0121. Enclave at the Riverfront
Sponsored by: IBERIA BANK Centennial Bank • Community Bakery Copper Grill & Grocery • Sufficient Grounds • Metropolitan National Bank
Sponsored in part by www.arktimes.com • April 22, 2010 41
All proceeds go to the beautification
2010 DOWNTOWN LIVING TOUR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41
Block 2 Lofts
Cumberland Place
Enjoy downtown living with spectacular city and river views at Block 2 Lofts, an urban historic high-rise community in the heart of the River Market district. The Block 2 Lofts consist of three buildings with sleek contemporary features and built with comfort in mind. One and two-bedroom lofts are available with 26 uniquely designed plans that will accommodate any lifestyle, taste or budget. Contemporary kitchens, stylish appliances, soaring ceilings and spectacular views are just some of the amenities found in each of the homes. The community is pet-friendly, has controlled access entry and onsite maintenance. New features include a fitness center and a rooftop patio. Lofts are available for rent and range in price from $665-$1065 for one bedrooms and $1115-$1265 for two-bedroom units.
These townhomes in the SOMA (South Main) part of downtown Little Rock provide new construction at affordable prices. Each townhome has two bedrooms, two-andone-half bathrooms and almost 1,800 square feet of space on two levels. The first floor has an amazing ceiling with beamed architectural details. Custom cabinets, granite counters, beautiful appliances and superb lighting complete the open kitchen. A stunning stone fireplace serves as the townhome’s centerpiece and acts as a divider between the living area and kitchen. Big windows allow in lots of natural light. All the bedrooms are upstairs and each has its own bathroom. The master suite features a garden-style tub and separate shower. Outside features are a private courtyard, two-car garage and lots of storage. Enjoy walks to Community Bakery or McArthur Park from this convenient location.
123 E. Markham Leslie Walraven, 501-371-9100
live it up downtown River Market Tower ON THE CORNER of 3RD + ROCK • Many great units available! • Unique purchase plan
Visit us during the
2010 DESTINATION DOWNTOWN TOUR Sunday, April 25, 1-5 PM
SARAH DUKE | 501.539.1528 sduke@mosestucker.com
www.rivermarkettower.com
Catering Provided By
501.376.6555 //mosestucker.com
200 S. COMMERCE SUITE 300 • DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK
42 April 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
1521 Cumberland Eric Wilkerson, The Charlotte John Company, 501-804-2633
DOWNTOWN LIVING TOUR 2010 River Market Tower
315 Rock Street Sarah Duke, Moses Tucker Real Estate, 501-376-6555 Rising 20 stories above the corner of 3rd and Rock, River Market Tower provides residents with outstanding views in every direction. Take in the Arkansas River and the River Market District to the north, the Clinton Presidential Library & Heifer International to the east and the downtown skyline and State Capitol to the west. This new urban development from Moses Tucker Real Estate provides everything from a fully landscaped and gated courtyard with gardens to an outdoor fire pit, swimming pool and state-of-the-art security. It offers pet-friendly living plus tennis and basketball courts, putting green and so much more. With three different living options, the River Market Tower provides many opportunities to live well in the neighborhood. The Penthouses are the uppermost tier of the Tower. Occupying floors 18 and 19, they are blank canvases to custom-design to suit a particular lifestyle. These units have extensive outdoor terraces and spectacular views. The Residences are just below The Penthouses on floors 12-17. They provide spacious high-rise living in the style of a traditional home with incomparable views. Units feature hardwood floors, solid core doors, granite counters and a choice of several interior design packages. Some units are also available with a “white box” finish to complete the look your own way. The Lofts boast a downtown industrial look. Exposed concrete floors accentuate the feel of a warehouse loft. These urban-chic spaces occupy floors 6-11 and include studio, as well as one and two-bedroom plans. Some of these units are also available with the “white box” finish. Prices are from $235,000.
Lafayette Square
523 Louisiana Melissa Bond, The Charlotte John Company, 501-960-0665 Step inside the grand lobby of the historic Lafayette Building to discover a bustling community of condominium dwellers, all enjoying the convenience and excitement of downtown living in stylish comfort. Lafayette Square has one and two-bedroom condos which feature open floor plans of 1,026 to 1,667 square feet that are competitively priced for lease and for sale. Pella windows provide amazing views of downtown and all units feature open and inviting living and dining areas. Each condo has a large kitchen complete with granite marble counters, classic hardwood cabinetry and extensive storage space. Large bathrooms have beautiful tile flooring, jetted garden tubs and walk-in showers. Stainless appliances and washers/dryers are included in every condo. Condos on the penthouse floor feature 14-foot ceilings and 10-foot arched windows. Building amenities include reserved gated parking, an exercise room and sauna, storage units and meeting/event space. The Lafayette Square is pet-friendly. These properties illustrate that there’s something for everyone when it comes to downtown living. Visit these locations on Sunday’s Downtown Living Tour. Call the DLRP at 501-375-0121 for advance tickets to the tour or for more information. Call the individual locations to schedule a personal tour outside of Sunday’s event.
EXPLORE DOWNTOWN LIVING! 300 THIRD TOWER
Fantastic Condo that is competitively priced and ready to be sold! Enjoy spectacular sunset views plus building amenities including a fitness center, swimming pool, roofdeck party room and dog run. Condo extras include a French balcony, blackout shades, limestone coutners and stainless appliances. $369,000
CUMBERLAND TOWNHOMES
Take your pick from 1521A or 1521B! New construction in SOMA. Each spacious townhome has 2BR/2.5BA and almost 1800 SF. Walk to Community Bakery or McArthur Park. Enjoy your private courtyard, two-car garage and lots of storage. Each unit has custom cabinets, granite counters, nice appliances and a stunning FP serving as the townhome’s centerpiece. Each townhome is priced at $264,900
1 & 2 Bedroom Lofts Available! • New Fitness Center • Controlled Access • Underground Garage Parking • Urban Loft Style Living
• New Roof Top Patio • Beautiful River & City Views • Just Steps Away from the Entertaining River Market
123 E. Markham St. Little Rock, AR 72201 501.371.9100 www.ApartmentsAtBlock2Lofts.com
Head downtown this Sunday, April 25 and check out these fabulous properties as part of the Downtown Living Tour. Each property will be open from 1-5 PM! 501.804.2633 www.ericandcarawilkerson.com
Please Visit Our Blog! www.livethehomelife.com
www.arktimes.com • April 22, 2010 43
REAL ESTATE by neighborhood TO ADVERTISE, CALL TIFFANY HOLLAND AT 375-2985
IS THIS YOUR NEXT HOME?
Real Estate
DOWNTOWN
Now is the time to find out!
5 Statehouse Plaza • $409,000 - $2,350,000 7 NEW condos on the River next to the Doubletree Hotel
WEST LITTLE ROCK
6 Cypress Point in Pebble Beach • $329,000 2900 SF, 4BR/2.5BA on a lot and a half. Updated! 5 Cypress Point in Pebble Beach • $279,500 2500 SF, 4BR/3BA. Vaulted family room. Updated! 8 Cypress Point in Pebble Beach • $289,900 2900 SF, 4BR/2.5BA in GREAT cul-de-sac neighborhood! Beautiful! Professionally landscaped!
Land LOTS FOR SALE - Greenbrier. 1/3-1/2 acres starting at $23K. Trees, all utilities. Just 8 miles from Conway. 501-472-5807
Midtown 16 RESERVOIR HEIGHTS CONDO $129,900. 2BR/2BA, 1384 SF. Great open floorplan and stress free living. Condo fees includes pool access. Qualifies for $8K tax credit. Seller to pay $2500 towards closing costs and 6 months condo dues w/acceptable offer. Call John, Pulaski Heights Realty, for showing at 993-5442.
20 Templin Trail in Briarwood • $133.8k Completely remodeled in 2008. All new systems top to bottom. Get this wonderful home and the tax credit. Hurry! Call Susan Desselle for more info or a private tour
501-772-7100 www.SusanSellingLittleRock.com
Cammack Village KENWOOD ROAD - $159,900. 3BR/1BA, 1400 SF M/L. Updated kitchen & bath. Hardwoods, new roof. Tons of closet & storage space. Sep laundry. Great yard, deck, hot tub, storage bldg. Walk to school, pool, park. Minutes to UAMS. Call Tracy @ 501-680-3469
Buying Lake Hamilton Condos!
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
6220 Southwind • $273,400 Moments from the Big Dam Bridge and river trail. 2600 SF, 3BR/3.5BA. Private. Breathtaking views of the valley. MID TOWN/LITTLE ROCK
HEIGHTS/HILLCREST
4307 N. Lookout in Hillcrest • $399,000 2700 SF, Overlooking Allsop Park. Contemporary and Fabulous!
FT. WALTON BEACH Gorgeous sunsets on Santa Rosa Sound. 2BR/2BA waterfront condo for sale. Dream Team Realty of NW Florida, Inc. 850-865-5839 www. florida-home4you.com
Downtown LAFAYETTE SQUARE - One & two BR condos which feature open floor plans of 1,026 to 1,667 SF and are competively priced for lease and for sale. Urban upscale living has never been so accessible and affordable. Each unit has large kitchens complete with marble counters, classic hardwood cabinetry & stainless steel appliances. Washers & dryers are included in every condo. Building amenities include reserved gated parking, an exercise room & sauna, storage units and meeting/event space. Pricing starts at $145,900. Call Melissa Bond of the Charlotte John Company for sales inquires at 960-0665.
501.664.6629 Publisher’s Notice All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act which
makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free 1-800-669-9077. The toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.
Arkansas times presents PULASKI COUNTY Real Estate sales over $120,000 BV Development Little Rock LLC to Anz Family Estate LLC, Ls1-2 BM, Robert M. Goff And Associates Replat, $1,400,000. Eugene A. Dejordy, Jamie C. Dejordy to K. C. Westbrook, Jr., Aspen Realty Trust, 16801 Valley Falls Dr., $1,350,000. Pfeifer Family Limited Partnership No.2, James E. Hathaway, Jr., Gay Hathaway to David Dickinson, Suzanne Dickinson, L2, Candlewood East, $828,000. Brave Investments LLC to S&B Corp LLC, 111 N. Jackson St., $665,000. Dozier LLC to Gene H. Whisenhunt, Fth Revocable Trust, L3 B19, Pleasant Valley, $660,000. Billy Hartness, Brenda Hartness to Harold R. Moore, Virginia Moore, Moore Family Revocable Living Trust, L1, Hickory Pointe, $600,000. Philip K. Gamache, Angela R. Gamache to Benjamin Jones, Kendra Jones, 19 Courts Dr., $550,000. Eric D. Akin to BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, L29 B118, Chenal Valley, $517,500. Scott L. Fleischauer, Scott L. Brown, Shelly M. Fleischauer to Ronald C. Beggs, Sharon A. Beggs, L24 B124, Chenal Valley, $505,000. Brent K. Whittington, Denise R. Whittington to Joseph R. Hiett, Erica H. Hiett, 1700 Kavanaugh Blvd., $452,000. Russell B. Melchert, Stephanie A. Melchert to Allison P. Houlihan, Michael P. Houlihan, 67 Marcella Dr., $436,000. Sixth Hole Condos At Chenal LLC to Jacob E. Abraham, Anita J. Abraham, 233 Chenal Woods Dr., $400,000. BOE Acquisition Company, Inc. to Lane Stafford, Brandi Stafford, 149 Lake Valley Dr., Maumelle, $370,000. Jeffrey M. Roe, Jennifer L. Roe to Federal Home Loan Mortgage
44 April 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES
C o r p o r a t i o n , 1 0 4 B r o n t e C i r. , $366,588. Robert M. Cearley, Jr., Sarah Cearley to Christina B. McGehee, 25 Bugle Ct., 327,000. Simon D. Atwill, Marianne L. Atwill to Victor M. Nwiloh, Mariagorety O. Nwiloh, 23 Arles Dr., $315,000. Rich Homes, Inc. to Rebecca L. Smith, James A. Smith, Ls280-281, Millers Crossing Phase V, NE SE 31-3N-11W, $310,000. David Tate, Diana Tate to Lawrence E. Bengal, Gail L. Bengal, L3 B21, Chenal Valley, $302,000. Bret Sherkenbach, Dea Sherkenbach to Patrick Burnett, Stacey Burnett, 41 Norfork Dr., Maumelle, $292,000. James R. Sharpe, Judy C. Sharpe to Dayong Yang, Jinglei Yi, 15306 Hartford St., $290,000. Marcia M. Abide to J. S. Chiarizzio, Marjorie Chiarizzio, 25 S. Shore Cove, Maumelle, $270,000. Tim A. McCawley to Clark C. Peterson, Kristi L. Peterson, 7 Ouachita Dr., Maumelle, $265,000. Sixth Hole Condos At Chenal LLC to ECBB LLC, L323 B300, Chenal Woods HPR, $261,000. Sixth Hole Condos At Chenal LLC to ECBB LLC, L323 B300, Chenal Woods HPR, $261,000. Keathley Properties, Inc., Keathley Homes to Sophath Hen, 1 Ison Creek Cove, $258,000. D.K. Rutledge, Nancy C. Rutledge to Carl J. Vogelpohl, Sharon T. Vogelpohl, 3 3 2 2 S h e n a n d o a h Va l l e y D r. , $255,000. Harold R. Moore, Virginia R. Moore to Billy Hartness Construction Company, Inc., 2805 Hinson Rd., $250,000. First Security Bank to Lila H. Dickey, LHD Revocable Trust, L36C, Valley Falls Phase IV-B, $230,000.
Randy E. Elms, Jema J. Elms to Charles R. Lively, Patsy R. Lively, 5908 Eagle Creek Rd., NLR, $230,000. Nancy R. Mertz, Paul T. Mertz to Michael J. Flakoll, Audrey E. Flakoll, 3 N. Star Cove, Maumelle, $230,000. Jeremy E. McDonald, Marsha W. McDonald to Carl B. McInturf, Amanda S. Caldwell, 128 Orleans Dr., Maumelle, $228,000. Mark R. Noles, Emily J. Noles, Emily J. Gantz to Clay T. Sanders, Janise M. Sanders, 6901 Gap Point Cir., Sherwood, $228,000. Gary D. Kimberling, Theresa D. Kimberling to Janet G. Chandler, 13802 Edgemond Dr., $225,000. Gary D. Kimberling, Theresa D. Kimberling to Janet G. Chandler, 13802 Edgemond Dr., $225,000. Allied Bank to Jack D. Wilson, Mary A. Wilson, 1304 Tupelo Ct., Jacksonville, $218,000. David Bazzel to Sixth Hole Condos At Chenal LLC, L58 B800, Cliffs HPR, $210,000. Gloria Todd-Rousseau to Federal National Mortgage Association, 1 Arles Dr., $205,686. Alice C. Rand to Mary E. Watkins, 213 Schoolwood Ln., Cammack Village, $200,000. Scott W. Shapbell, Carrie G. Shapbell to Rachel Parker, 6900 Park Meadows Dr., Sherwood, $200,000. Phyllis L. Rogers, John Rogers to Bradley Russell, Sonya Russell, L14 B13, Overbrook, $193,000. Ryan W. Goddard, Georgette L. Hall, Georgette Goddard to Myra J. Bauer, Jason A. Bauer, 1226 Commons Dr., Jacksonville, $190,000. Michael L. Johnson, Arlene Johnson to Michael Sinclair, 1 Justice Ln., $190,000. John D. Lax, Michele Lax to Alicia
M. Pattillo, 1100 N. Harrison St., $190,000. Randy Wiggins Company, Inc. to BJ Houston, 8133 Austin Gardens Ct., Sherwood, $182,000. Angela M. McNichols, James B. McNichols, Sr. to Andrew J. Perea, Megan N. Perea, 11610 Shady Creek Dr., $181,000. Jamie Kerr to Elizabeth S. Nagel, 1304 Jennifer Dr., $180,000. Delores Shelden to Jacqueolyn Smith Walter Living Trust, L81, Sturbridge Phase II, $180,000. Ira C. Goodwin, Erma Hogue to CitiMortgage Inc., 7229 Pecan Rd., Scott, $177,617. Jeffrey M. Wingfield, Judy L. Wingfield to Rebecca A. Kahle, L2, Little Big Horn Estates, $175,000. R. D. Myers Development, Inc. to Carl W. Garner, Carole B. Garner, NE SE 27-2N-13W, $175,000. Robin R. Stevens, Barbara J. Stevens to Jeffrey W. Harrington, Elizabeth L. Harrington, 1209 Talihana Dr., NLR, $170,000. Silver Tree Realty LLC to Kira Lee, L23 B3, Stone Links, $168,000. Robert F. McCallum, Karmella McCallum to Jennifer Ester, 13601 Hansfield Cir., NLR, $166,000. Chad H. Carlson, Amy Carlson to John A. Mallory, Jr., John A. Mallory, Sr., 6716 Brentwood Rd., Cammack Village, $166,000. Donald L. Shields, Dolores J. Shields to Chris Koscielny, Maegan H. Koscielny, 11 Sharondale Ct., Maumelle, $162,000. Kimberly B. Constable to Jordan Verdell, Stephanie L. Verdell, 40 Garden Oaks Dr., Maumelle, $160,000. Eric M. Fradette, Kimberly Fradette to Justin M. Pate, 10960 Bainbridge Dr., $153,000.
Susan M. Miller to Angela R. Burton, 12709 Pleasant View Dr., $152,000. Laurie Trujillo to BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, Ls64-65, Normandy, $150,447. M i c h a e l M e d l i n t o A a r o n P. Borengasser, 13016 Westglen Dr., $150,000. Oliver Bautista, Pinky Bautista to David C. Holt, 1505 Mesquite Dr., $149,000. Commissioner In Circuit to US Bank National Association, L10 B1, Woodcreek, $148,500. Elder Montagne LLC to Cheryl Ma tthews, 1203 Tuscan y Cir., Maumelle, $148,000. Jason W. Meredith, Sherry Meredith to Julia C. Johnson, 15 Lendl Loop, $148,000. Jay D. Falls, Jacqueline A. Falls to Adam E. Wierciak, Anna Wierciak, 1310 Jennifer Dr., $146,000. Nuage Residential Contractors LLC to Patricia E. Hoogeveen, 10709 Misty Ridge Dr., Sherwood, $146,000. Elder Montagne LLC to Allison L. Johnson, 1005 Tuscany Cir., Maumelle, $145,000. Jeffrey Banks, Barbara Banks to Cara Duch, 1615 Calgary Trail, $145,000. Jeffrey A. Edwards, Tammy Edwards to Sean D. Smith, Monica E. Smith, 928 Karla Cir., Sherwood, $145,000. Bart R. Stigall, Terri Stigall to BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, L5 B429, Duval, $142,360. Mark L. Woods, Margaret L. Woods to Jason R. Robison, 3 Amber Ct., $140,000. Julie McElrath, Wayne R. McElrath to BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, L44 B7, Cherry Creek, $139,914. Emily F. Eisenach, Emily A. Foser, Beverly M. Ruthven, Neill W. Ruthven, Jeffrey K. Eisenach to Brian Ragsdale,
Miranda Ragsdale, 43 Prospect Trail, NLR, $139,000. David E. Ready, Michelle L. Ready, Daniel Coelho, Teresa A. Coelho, Rick R. Emmett to Nancy D. Morris, 302 Stagecoach Village, $135,000. Allan V. Mercado, Thelma Mercado to Robert J. Chapo, 17 Kingspark Dr., Maumelle, $135,000. Robert R. Etters, Susan E. Etters to Charles S. Runyan, Nichole D. Runyan, 43 Ophelia Dr., Maumelle, $134,000. Timothy C. Ables, Kathy I. Ables to Jay W. Gorman, 112 Cedarwood Dr., Sherwood, $130,000. Tcv Associates LLC to Delores Shelden, L42, Kingsbridge Townhomes HPR No.5, $130,000. Michael A. Austin, Leigh B. Austin to Kenneth L. Fritsche, Debra C. Fritsche, L7 B3, Beachs Addition, $130,000. Rausch Coleman Mid Ark LLC to Debbie M. Stobaugh, 1115 Bittercress Dr., NLR, $128,000. Morgan Dooley to James B. Trice, Leah M. Trice, 10 Coronado Cove, Maumelle, $127,000. Morris Byrd & Berniece B. Byrd Living Trust, Morris P. Byrd, Janet E. Shapiro to Elmer J. Ritchie, Lynne H. Ritchie, Andrew S. Ritchie, 415 Shamrock Dr., $126,000. David Brunt, Mary Brunt to Charles S. Hardy, Anna Hardy, 119 Berkshire Cir., Jacksonville, $125,000. Stephen J. Davis, Gretchen E. Davis to Calvin Clift, Mathea Clift, 4 Odonnell Ct., $125,000. Nancy D. Morris to Ronnie M. Peters, Amanda L. Peters, 42 Oak Ridge Dr., Maumelle, $123,000. Bart Marnitz, Shannon Marnitz to Rebekah Surratt, 9308 Cloverhill Rd., $123,000. Shawn OBrien to Lindsay Spivey, 605 Nan Cir., $120,000.
North Little Rock
4307 N. LOOKOUT - $399,000. Fabulous 4 or 5 BR home with 2.5 BA is like a private Hillcrest hideaway. Beautifully updated with stained and leaded glass features. Upgraded kitchen with contemporary solid surface counters & topof-the-line stainless steel appliances. The huge multi-level deck is ideal for outside grilling, dining & entertaining. For more details, call Susan Desselle with the Charlotte John Company at 772-7100 or visit www.SusanSellingLittleRock.com
6220 SOUTHWIND - $273,400. Spacious 3-4BR/3.5BA home with all the amenities you would expect in a newer home. Just across I-430 from Maumelle, this home sits atop the ridge overlooking the Arkansas River Valley & the downtown Skyline. This immaculate home is located in an ideal location, hidden away but only minutes from Little Rock. Easy access to the Big Dam Bridge and the River Trail. Call Susan Desselle of the Charlotte John Company for a private tour. 501-772-7100.
DUPLEX - $187,500. Over 2700 total SF. Buy now & get $8K tax credit and have renter offset your mortgage payment. Main level is 2BR/2BA, 1500 SF. Upstairs studio rental is approx 550 SF ($515/mo.) Also, has 700+SF walkout basement. New Paint! Owner is licensed agent. Call John, Pulaski Heights Realty, at 993-5442 for more info.
West Little Rock 51 BROOKRIDGE $147,500. 3BR/2BA, approx. 1720 SF. See more online at www.pulaskiheightsrealty.com or call Bob Bushmiaer, Pulaski Heights Realty, 352-0156. 9809 VINON COURT - $149,900. 2BR/2BA, approx. 1720 SF. See more online at www.pulaskiheightsrealty.com or call Bob Bushmiaer, Pulaski Heights Realty, 352-0156.
1110 TRENTON $130,000. 3BR/2BA split plan with FP, XL kitchen, lots of cabinets with walk-in pantry, new paint 2010. Close to UCA. Movein ready. MLS# 10245823 Linda Roster White Real Estate, 501-7301100 or 501-679-1103.
Greenbrier 12 VALMONT $179,900. Extremely nice 4BR/2BA with 12’ ceiligns, gas FP, extensive trim, custom maple cabinets, custom tile shower. Walk to school! MLS# 10242940 Linda Roster White Real Estate, 501-7301100 or 501-679-1103. 5 COUNTRY COVE - $399,000. 5BR/4.5BA country estate. Perfect for horses! Den w/FP, granite counters in kitchen. More land available. MLS# 10238516 Linda Roster White Real Estate, 501-730-1100 or 501-679-1103. 53 WIN MEADOW - $239,000. 4BR/3BA, bright & cheery open concept on 55-acre lake. Lg kitchen with oak cabinetry, double pantry, island. Lots of windows, covered porch, large patio. MLS# 10237231 Linda Roster White Real Estate, 501730-1100 or 501-679-1103.
edited by Will shortz
Conway
■ CROSSWORD
4916 HILLCREST AVE - Nicely updated home on oversized lot. Updates include: new roof (March ‘10), refinished hardwoods, new laundry room, new windows, new paint throughout. Other features include two driveways for extra off-street parking, lots of deck space for entertaining, fenced back yard with large storage shed and kid’s playset. The kitchen has gorgeous cherry cabinets with solid surface countertops and stainless appliances. Walk-in closet and double vanity in the MBR! Call John Selva with Pulaski Heights Realty at 993-5442.
No. 0325
Hillcrest
Sherwood 611 GRANDVIEW ST - $136,900. Approx. 1674 SF, split 2BR/2BA, open LR/DR/KIT. For info, pics or appt call 835-7396.
Apartment managers
Are first-time home buyers affecting your occupancy levels? Advertise with Hip Apartment Living. 501.375.2985
REAL ESTATE
by neighborhood www.arktimes.com • April 22, 2010 45 ArkAnsAs Times • sepTember 4, 2008 45
Spring report n “Here in New York we’ve devoted our spring to waiting for Andrew Cuomo,” an Up East acquaintance writes. “How are you spending yours?” We’re not waiting for anybody here in Arkansas — “it only encourages ’em,” Brooks Hays used to say — and we’re spending our spring pretty much the same as always. Planting stuff we hope will grow, cutting back what we hope won’t. Putting up the woolens, getting out the cottons. Airing up tires, charging batteries; changing filters; lubing whatever’s lubable; boldly caulking where no one has caulked before; enjoying other people’s azaleas and wishing we could do that. Resuming the losing wars against the creeping, buzzing, slithering varmitry. Wondering why there are no kites. No bats in the twilight or bees to disperse the pollen, which hangs in awful clumps and cakes your viscera when the wind blows. No clouds that look like spring clouds did back before the big climate change. My brother-in-law put out some string beans the other day. His moocher relatives, including ol’ moi, voted for purplehull peas, and he says maybe, when it gets hot, depending on what condition his condition is in then. The deer will probably beat us to the
Bob L ancaster beans and peas both. They’ve swarmed this bailiwick like a meg of Snopeses and arrogated it like Zhivago proles. Even here in the middle of town, a growing herd comes nearly every evening to denude a few more of my nandinas. Sometimes they come at mid-afternoon, during Judge Judy. I’ve had more than one of them tell me, snorting back over its shoulder, “Hey, Tubby, I ain’t a-skeered of you.” One brother fishes for “hogs” down in the refuge where the ivorybill lurks, or used to. They do catch-and-release now. That’s what fishing amounts to here in Century 21 — you catch one and release it, then catch another one and release it, or catch the first one again and release it again. I don’t understand it, being of the old-fashioned turn of mind that sees them strictly as something to eat. After you’ve dreened off the worst of the quicksilver, of course. The other bro got a late start on his seasonal agri, horti, and pine-plantation management duties on account of having to have a bum kidney removed. A modern
medical miracle, they suck those rascals out now like you do pineapple chunks through your milkshake straw, and send you on home soon as possible because you’re more likely to die from something you caught in the hospital than from whatever it was that fotched you there. A sister recalls when somebody told her you could keep raccoons out of your corn with bright lights and loud noise, so she strung her patch with Bill McCuenlike Christmas lights and amped up the midnight radio, only to have neighbors phone authorities to report a UFO landing. And the raccoons got the corn anyhow, apparently drawn by the spectacle rather than frightened by it, perhaps thinking they’d stumbled on a country carnival put up just for rube varmints. One neighbor is rebuilding the family room on the back of his house that was damaged by the serial flash floods that followed last year’s epic downpours. Been good weather for that work, and there’s only a little irony as yet in passersby opining that we could use a brisk shower or two to settle the dust of this dry spell and allow our trees and garden truck and moody grass to fully resap. Another neighbor has put in a little box garden and erected an imposing scarecrow to guard it. This scarecrow doesn’t advance the scarecrow esthetic much. He’s got a basket head and only a blue tarp toga to hide his naughty bits, assuming he has any. Not exactly a gay blade as scarecrows go.
C
S
LASSIFIED LASSIFIED
Employment
Services
Field Workers-5 temporary positions; approx 9 months; Duties: to operate tractors during the preparation and maintenance of the fields for the harvesting season and during the harvesting season. $9.10 per hour; Job to begin on 5/17/10 through 02/28/11. 3 months experience required in job offered. Must pass drug test provided by employer. All work tools provided. Housing and transportation provided to workers who can not reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day; _ guaranteed of contract. Employment offered by Patch Farms located Jeanerette, LA, Parish of Iberia. Qualified applicants fax resume to Chris Patout at (225) 766-0994 reference job order # 351475.
J & S LAWN SERVICE - great rates, free estimates. Little Rock & North Little Rock areas. Call 590-4559.
Altogether lacking in the beanpole suavity that for a time back in Century 20 had a whole scarecrow generation around here looking as debonair as Ray Bolger after he’d been degoofied and rebrained by the Wiz. I’ve heard that some of these Tea Party protesters are supplementing the government doles they live on by hiring out as scarecrows. If they aren’t they should be, with their talent for pieplate hoodoo and making racket. Just what you want in a scarecrow. Church zigzag down the street a ways had a living Easter re-enactment, not on a Eureka or Oberammergau scale of lurid, but spring-inspired with trumps and hoopla giving it contrast with the somber living Manger Scene at Christmas. Pastor of that church or another of the ilk dropped by a while ago to let me know Jesus is alive and well this very day and much concerned about my personal salvation from his perch there in Glory. I told him that I was mighty obliged, as Pap used to say, but that both of them surely had worthier redemption candidates than my immortal pip, which has been accurately compared to a run-over nutria in a roadside mudhole or the charred remains of a exploded old football pulled from the ashes of a house fire. And of course there’s this: As every spring (and thrice more annually) we’ve changed the flowers on the graves of loved ones and those maybe not so loved but dutifully remembered.
The premier manufacturer of optical encoder-based positioning equipment for the space, military, and range/instrumentation markets, BEIPSSC‘s high-tech, state-of-the-art facility produces thousands of reliable sensor systems for critical applications each and every year. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
Metrology Lab • Quality Assurance Inspector • Quality Engineer Quality Test Technician • Reliability Engineer • Technician I-Engineering
www.BEIPrecision.com
Classes
Legal Notices
Learn
Notice of Filing Applications for Retail Beer Off Premises & Small Farm Winery- Retail Permits. Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has filed applications with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the State of Arkansas for permits to sell wines produced at Small Farm Wineries and beer at retail to be carried out and not consumed on the premises described as: 301-B President Clinton, Little Rock, Pulaski Co. Said application was filed on April 7, 2010. The undersigned states that he is a resident of Arkansas, of good moral character; that he has never been convicted of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude; that no license to sell alcoholic beverages by the undersigned has been revoked within five (5) years last past; and, that the undersigned has never been convicted of violating the laws of this State, or any other State, relative to the sale of controlled beverages. Michael S. Brown Jr. of Green Grass
Classes begin week of April 27, 2010 Register Today! Call 312-1300 ArkansasInstituteof Languages.org
Grants Requirements Manager • Children International University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Children International at the University of Arkansas invites applications for the position of Grants Requirements Manager (P98200). Children International works with parents, Little Rock School District and partners to offer educational, health, and family services for 2730 students, kindergarten through 12th grades. This is a full-time, annually renewed position. The Grants Requirements Manager (GRM) will work with a team of school personnel from the Little Rock School District, staff, and partners to complete grant requirements for identified children in underserved areas of Little Rock. Specifically, the GRM will oversee the sponsor relations area, track and maintain enrollment and core grant requirements, collect and publish reports, hire, train, and supervise staff, and oversee requirements budget. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree required and Master’s Degree preferred. Three years experience in working in management or administration. Demonstrated experience in working with schools and not-for-profit arena. Strong organizational skills, experience in project management, ability to work independently, excellent oral and written communication skills, experience with spreadsheets and databases, and demonstrated commitment to working with diverse constituencies. Salary: Mid $40,000 Please submit a letter of application (referencing Grant Requirement Manager #P98200) that discusses your interest in the position, summarizes past experiences, and describes your philosophy in working with public and private agencies. Email application to CIJobs@ualr.edu . Include current vitae or resume, and three references. Application Deadline is April 29, 2010. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is an equal employment affirmative action employer and encourages applications from women and minorities. Under Arkansas law, all applications are subject to disclosure. Persons hired must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States.
46 april 22, 2010 • ARKANSAS TIMES 46 august 13, 2009 • aRKaNsas tIMEs
Arkansas Needs Leaders! Help Working America get a Real Progressive Elected to the U.S. Senate! Entry level campaign work, full training provided. Work outside with a Great Crew and get paid up to $3,500 dollars in 7weeks! Hours are M-F 12:30p to 9p and Sat 10a-4p.
Call Jess at 501-374-3646 to set up an interview.
Lost And Found Lost/Missing - North Little Rock -Small Shih Tzu (8 lbs) blonde & white with dark ears & tail w/shaved cut; Missing Sat,4/17 p.m., from N.Locust & Endsquick, near Pugh Park. REWARD $$ 501-307-3433
Real Estate Little Rock-3 Bd/1.5 Ba Home for $55,800. Payment as low as $355/mo. Call Now 800-338-0020
FLIPSIDE STUDIO1 P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H
Y
THE MOST AFFORDABLE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE CITY
HUGHESer Friendly IT Services’ goal is to be your home’s IT Department. We can repair or upgrade your PC or Mac, work with you to determine your hardware and software needs and offer ways to secure your data against hack attempts. For More Info On Our Services:
www.hugheserfriendlyit.com info@hugheserfriendlyit.com
501.588.1663
Psychic Reader & Advisor Looks into Past, Present, Future Specialized Reading in Tarot Card-Metal Object-Shakra call & consult for an appointment
501-223-9046
20 years public experience All major credit cards accepted $10 off your reading with this ad.
501.650.1806
www.studio-1-photo.com
501-375-1900 Learn to use a Mac in your home or office.
me sa at Gred Foo
s op Q BBun Chast j Ca an ro li ita at the River Market
Grand OpeninG april 27th
“Window On the avenue” Open later hours meat matters
SCOUT Scout
Is an affable, 14 week old lab mixed puppy who loves the water. He is very cute, likes other dogs, plays hard and loves children. Could be a good hunting dog as well as family pet.
is an affable, 14 week old lab mixed puppy who loves the water. He is very cute, likes other dogs, plays hard and loves children. Could be a good hunting dog as well as family pet.
Kaytee Wright at Kaytee 501-607-3100 or email:Wright at kaytee.wright@gmail.com 501-607-3100 or e-mail:
kaytee.wright@gmail.com
• Organize your photos, music, movies and email. • Wireless internet and backup implementation. •Troubleshooting. • I can help you choose which Mac is exactly right for your needs and budget. Satisfaction guaranteed. cindy@movingtomac.com www.movingtomac.com (501) 681-5855
The Nation’s Leading Wildlife Control Firm for over 28 Years Over 120 Offices Coast-to-Coast • Bats, Raccoons, Squirrels, Bees, Skunks, Opossum, Armadillo, Rats, etc. • Animal Removal, Repairs, Prevention • Attic Cleanups, Deodorization & Insulation
www.CritterControl.com (501) 834-8727 1-800-CRITTER
¡Novedoso Portal EL LATINO! ¡Noticias de ÚLTIMA HORA a Cada Hora! El sitio www.ellatinoarkansas.com en la Internet es donde los latinos pueden dar ahora a conocer sus opiniones al resto de la comunidad Ahora los lectores de EL LATINO obtendrán minuto a minuto las últimas noticias de Estados Unidos, México, Centro y Sur América y el mundo: política, deportes, entretenimiento, economía, y mucho más transmitidas por el servicio de noticias EFE. Además, leerán las noticias más importantes de Arkansas preparadas por el equipo profesional de EL LATINO y en el blog PULSO LATINO compartirán sus opiniones e inquietudes con el resto de la comunidad. En un sólo portal, minuto a minuto TODA la información de Arkansas y del mundo:
www.ellatinoarkansas.com Arkansas Times • april 22, 2010 47
Royal Family
of Companies
Custom Wood Doors save up to $500
Enhance Your Home’s Value With The Perfect Finishing Touch
Solar-Powered Gate Operator Offers Maximum Flexibility.
When The Power Goes Out, Your Garage Door Still Goes Up.
• Ideal for environments where no power is available • One remote control opens gate and garage door
• Strong 3/4 HPS® belt drive system
• Powerful DC motor
• Lifetime motor and belt warranty
Only $1799 installed model LA412
• EverCharge® Standby Power keeps your garage door opener charged and ready to go
Only $459 installed model 3850
WWW.ROYALDOORS.COM Pine Bluff Overhead Door 3110 28th Street 870-247-2502
Royal/Allied Residential Showroom 113 Broadway, Bryant 501-943-3667
Royal Overhead Door Sales 501-943-3667 Service 501-455-3667
fireplaces • wood stoves • central vacuum systems • garage doors • GATES • commercial door products
Making your house a home.