Arkansas Times - December 17, 2015 by Arkansas Times

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Suggestions for making the state a better place, including a mentorship program for parents of children in foster care from Our House's Georgia Mjartan

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

COMMENT

From the web: In response to Ernest Dumas’ Dec. 10 column, “The case for gun regulation”: Dumas wrote: “Antonin Scalia, who penned the 2008 order that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to weapons aside from the military purpose spelled out in the prefatory clause ‘a well regulated military being necessary to the security of a free State ... .’ Preserving the militias that Southern states thought were threatened by the new Constitution’s grant of power to create a federal army might have been the primary reason for an arms amendment, but not the only one. Scalia’s opinion in 2008 was a lengthy linguistic disputation on what an independent clause means and how the term ‘keep and bear arms’ should mean ‘for self-defense in the home’ as well as for military action.” I think James Madison, in “The Federalist Papers, No. 46,” answered that very well: “[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... [where] the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.” Runner55k Runner, context is everything. James Madison wrote No. 46 during a shaky period just after the Revolutionary War. He doubted the federal government could raise enough men to create a permanent standing army and believed state militias “officered by men chosen from among themselves” could help fend off another attack by a European country. It’s clear he interpreted the “militia” wording of the Second Amendment as an organized military force, perhaps like today’s National Guard. Madison would never have countenanced individuals running around willy-nilly with Glocks and AR-15s. Wanda Tinasky

Make Your Home a

doesn’t have to attack ISIL himself. He will be happy to let other countries carry the weight, even if the long-term consequences of that include a dominant Russian military that loses all respect for American balance to its ambitions. Steven E.

Just because you don’t agree with the president’s stance doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care. It just means that he doesn’t care the way that you think he should. And yeah, best douse that fire, Steven.

No-Freeze Zone!

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

So why is it a problem that somebody besides us is dropping bombs and why not the Russians? They certainly played their part in the fine mess in which we find ourselves

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when they invaded Afghanistan. Surely we all recall that al Qaeda was birthed there, much the same as ISIS was birthed from the de-Baathification of Iraq. What could possibly make anyone think that we can bomb this problem once and for all out of existence? It will be with us for the foreseeable future. We need to grow up and realize that we live in a world with very real, very intractable issues. Mack Paul In response to “Asa World approach to health care: Get mean” on the Arkansas Blog on Dec. 9: Sounds like Asa [Hutchinson] wants the feds to leave Arkansas in the lurch. Pull the money and let Asa solve the problem. Bootstraps, personal responsibility and all that. Show us all that less federal money and intrusion will make the state stronger. Poor, decrepit, ignorant — but stronger. Gee Asa, what a great plan for success. Maxifer Arkansas is ranked 49th in health care. How does taking people’s health insurance away help our ranking? imjustsaying

QUICK & SIMPLE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TO PROTECT YOUR PLUMBING

In response to Gene Lyons’ Dec. 10 column, “Ravings from the right”: Obama doesn’t care about what happens with ISIL so long as he can get gun control and whip Americans into a furor against each other. Obama has been divisive and flaky. He genuinely doesn’t care if Americans get killed so long as he

Robert Dear is a Christian terrorist, and he’s not the first one to pop up on the horizon. The problem is religious fundamentalism, not any particular religion. All religion produces extremists. That doesn’t mean all religion is bad, just that they are all equal. Vanessa

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Sounds like that Fox News uproar about the poor having refrigerators or air conditioning. These just keep more people from getting sick and ending up in that great doctor’s office, the ER. couldn’t be better Looks like posturing to me. Primaries are coming and he needs to protect some legislators from tea party supporters. Some of this stuff was promised in 2013 and the feds will say “no” to part. Meanwhile, back to listening to “What’s Going On.” Screen name taken In response to “The Medicaid lockout: Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s proposal to bar beneficiaries from coverage for six months if they miss premium payments” on the Arkansas Blog on Dec. 14: Lockouts are not entirely lacking in merit, in my opinion. For example, they could be imposed every time the state passes a law that is subsequently ruled to be in violation of

the U.S. Constitution. When the federal decision is handed down, every member of the Arkansas Legislature who voted for the bill and the governor who signed it should immediately be locked out of receiving their state salary for a period of six months in order to help pay for the taxpayers’ losses in defending the legislation. An unsuccessful appeal would trigger another six-month lockout. Such a “stick” could be useful in correcting irresponsible legislative behavior, which is detrimental to the state as a whole. Olphart

enough to know our high-premium, high-deductible and many co-pays [policy] is slowly putting us under the bridge. Anytime I have a test or a procedure, I get a bunch of bills from people I never saw or heard of. What if you bought some hamburger meat and a gallon of milk at the grocery store and two weeks later you got additional bills for the items you purchased. Also, when you bought the meat and the milk, you saw a price tag that told you how much you were going to pay at the register.

When the kids were growing up, many a time I got to the register and had to put something back because I didn’t have the money to pay for everything. This happens across arKansas more times per second than I can guess at. Yet, one never knows the bill in advance when you go to the doctor and on top of that is the high premium and co-pays, and the high deductible and all the extra bills from outer space. But Asa thinks good-for-nothing, lazy people are getting something

for free and God has told him to smite them at every turn, as hard as he can. What an absolute prince of a man Asa is. What a golden reflection of organized religious he is. I’m sure he’s appointed a blue-ribbon panel of his cronies to study this problem, each getting a high salary and sharing his belief that the NRAUSA would be better off without these parasites. Of course, without all the sick and the poor, it means MORE FOOD FOR US! Deathbyinches

Did Jesus say that poverty is one’s own fault? Did he condemn those who could not pay their bills to the wealthy? The Bible says clearly that when you punish people in poverty, you punish Christ, and when you reward the wealthy for their greed, you advance the devil. Yet such an attitude is the foundational principle of modern American free-market conservatism. Paying Top Dollar for Legislators Yes, yes, Gov. Asa Clayton Powell, use every trick in the Republican playbook to lock sick people out of the health insurance market. Nothing says “I Love Jesus” more than dooming a sick person to an early, miserable death. Oh, imagine the children who’ll suffer because of no way to see a doctor! This is an arKansas government-sanctioned post-birth abortion! I’m currently watching a spinning wheel on the healthcare.gov website. Several weeks ago we contacted an insurance agent who promised to help us, but apparently he’s too busy to even return our calls. So today my wife launched into trying to get 2016 health care by using the healthcare.gov website, which is supposed to work this time around. Not that this is connected to Asa’s dirty little trick, but since my wife had to go to work I’ve been keeping an eye on the spinning wheel on her computer. Therefore I’ve been thinking about health care all morning. Obamacare ain’t no gift. I don’t know how slightly poorer people than us can manage to make the high insurance premium at the first of every month. We’ve had to do many dirty dances to make ours every month, and I’m aware www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

WEEK THAT WAS

Tweet of the Week “The individual with a weapon has been surrounded by police. No shots have been fired, no reported injuries.” — Arkansas State University on Thursday afternoon, soon after a tweet reporting an “active shooter” on the Jonesboro campus. Brad Kenneth Bartelt, 47, a former ASU student, drove his truck onto campus near the student union and brandished a shotgun, which he never fired; he seems to have been more suicidal than homicidal. Given the attacks of the past few weeks — Paris, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino — the state breathed a collective sigh of relief when Bartelt surrendered himself to police peacefully after a brief standoff.

A heavyweight for Tyson Poultry giant Tyson Foods announced last week it had named former Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe to its board of directors, less than a year after Beebe left office. Directors at Tyson typically earn over $200,000 annually; that’s in addition to state retirement benefits earned by the former governor through his decades in elected office, a pension that likely adds up to well over $100,000 per year. There’s nothing illegal about Beebe taking a plush position in the corporate world. And yet, it doesn’t exactly feel right when the former regulator-inchief for the state slides over smoothly to a governing role at one of the largest companies in Arkansas, especially in an industry with its share of questionable labor and environmental practices. Couldn’t he at least have waited a full year?

Rebranding works? Maybe. Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his legislative allies are trying hard to convince anyone that his supposedly new health care program, “Arkansas Works,” 6

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

is substantially different than the private option. “On Dec. 31, 2016, the private option ends,” the governor said last week as he unveiled what amounts to a new branding campaign. Please. Call it Arkansas Works or any other name — it’s still Obamacare. Hutchinson’s plan makes some changes to the private option, most of which are less-than-sensible sops to conservative suspicions about the undeserving poor, but it keeps the expansion of Medicaid authorized by the Affordable Care Act. Medicaid expansion is the private option. Some conservatives are calling him out: Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers-funded advocacy group, sharply criticized the governor. But the fact is that the private option, or Arkansas Works if you prefer, looks to be sticking around.

Alice Stewart leaves Team Huck With dismal poll numbers and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz gobbling up his evangelical base, Mike Huckabee’s presidential bid is in sorry shape headed into January. More bad news came out this week: Huckabee’s communications director,

Alice Stewart, confirmed to reporters on Monday that she was no longer working for the campaign. Stewart, a conservative Little Rock talk show host, has previously worked for two other flavor-of-the-month GOP presidential hopefuls with strong evangelical support: former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Tooth turf fight returns On Friday, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals breathed new life into a case that pits a Fayetteville orthodontist against the state’s regulatory board for dental specialists. At issue is who’s allowed to clean teeth in Arkansas. Orthodontist Ben Burris provided low-cost cleanings at multiple locations, until the dental board threatened to take away his license as an orthodontist. Only dentists may clean teeth, it declared, not other dental specialists, no matter how extensive their training. Burris sued over the restriction, but a federal district judge dismissed the suit. Now, the appellate court says, the case must be reconsidered.

Blue Bell back in business Speaking of tooth decay, Blue Bell Creameries announced it would return to Central Arkansas freezers Jan. 11. The Texas-based ice cream manufacturer recalled all of its products and shut down its operations earlier this year after a low-level listeria outbreak — ongoing for years — resulted in three consumer fatalities linked to facilities with subpar sanitation standards. After a review, Blue Bell says its problems have been addressed — so eat up, folks.

OPINION

The Trump show T

o anybody who watches cable TV ner of the screen news, it’s clear that the nation has keeping viewers GENE embarked upon a great political apprised of the LYONS experiment. Its object would be instantly weeks, days, hours, clear to readers of Neil Postman’s 1985 minutes and seconds leading to the Dec. classic, “Amusing Ourselves to Death: 15 GOP debate — as if it were a moon Public Discourse in the Age of Show launch or, more appropriately, a payBusiness.” per-view professional wrestling match. To wit, is it even possible for a demoIn between live broadcasts of Trump’s cratic country to govern itself when news speeches, advertisements feature fullbecomes “infotainment,” and infotain- screen photos of the contestants drament, news? matically lit like WWE stars promoting At any given moment, one of two TV the upcoming Showdown in Las Vegas “news” stories predominates to the exclu- — the final Republican debate of the year! sion of all other topics: Donald Trump Cue Michael Buffer: “Let’s get ready and terrorism. CNN has covered almost to RUMBLE …” nothing else since the tragedy in San OK, so there will be something like 84 Bernardino, Calif. Tune in any time, day more debates in 2016. It’s nevertheless or night, and it’s either Trump, terror or your patriotic duty to feel the excitement. panels of talking heads discussing them. Or not. Actually, I see where the noted Meanwhile, the network has been scholar and media critic Charles Barkrunning a countdown clock in the cor- ley has beaten me to it. The famously

outspoken basketball jock was recently asked his opinion of the GOP debates on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” “To be honest with you, CNN has done an awful job this election, an awful job. They have followed ratings and sound bites this entire cycle,” Sir Charles opined. “I love CNN because they’re part of our company, but they’ve been kissing butt, chasing ratings. … They follow every single sound bite just to get ratings for these debates. It’s been sad and frustrating that our company has sold its soul for ratings.” (CNN and TNT are subsidiaries of Turner Broadcasting.) However, it’s not just CNN. The TV networks generally, where most Americans get their news, have abandoned all pretense of public service in the drive for enhanced market share. Quick now: Which cable network has covered Trump the most assiduously? Surprise, it’s MSNBC. According to figures cited by Washington Post blogger Jim Tankersley, the allegedly leftwing network has mentioned The Donald some 1,484 times during the current campaign. That’s roughly 100 more mentions than CNN, and three times as many

as Fox News. Like CNN, MSNBC often breaks away from live programming to broadcast Trump speeches live — something neither network does for any other candidate, Republican or Democrat. That’s free campaign advertising no politician can afford to buy. The second most commonly cited Republican, Chris Christie, has drawn 144 mentions on CNN, the rapidly vanishing Jeb Bush, 88. In a 17-person GOP race, fully 47 percent of TV mentions have gone to Trump since he announced his candidacy last June. Is there any wonder the bombastic New Yorker is leading in opinion polls? His is apparently the only name many low-information voters can recall. Look, Trump gives good TV. Under ordinary circumstances, for example, my sainted wife would prefer undergoing a root canal to a GOP presidential debate. I’m forced to record the fool things for professional purposes. Trump, however, she’ll watch, if only in the hope he’ll humiliate some rival fraud. Multiply her by a few million, and you’re talking real advertising dollars. The New York Times, whose editors apparently have no TVs, recently CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

Max Brantley is off this week.

AEC dumps ALEC N o matter which side of the battle over global warming you’re on, that was blockbuster news la st week . No, not the sig ning of the climate-change treat y that commits all of Earth’s 195 n at ion s t o lower i n g t hei r g re en hou se -g a s em i s sion s a nd slowing the heating of the planet, but American Electric Power’s announcement that it would no longer underwrite efforts to block renewable energ y or federal smokestack controls in the United States. Not that the climate accord was minor. Even if you t hin k globa l wa rming is a plot to thwa r t economic growth around the world or else that it is too little too late, it was the biggest news for the planet since Japan’s surrender in 1945 signaled the dawn of the nuclear age. But American Electric Power’s disclosure t hat it would no lon-

ger support the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and other Koch ERNEST brothers groups DUMAS t hat f ight env ironmental reg ulations and carbon taxes may have an immediate and discernible impact in the United States, unlike the climate ag reement. ALEC, Americans for Prosperit y and State Policy Net work, the Koch surrogates, are really big in Arkansas. Americans for Prosperit y spends heavily to elect conser vative Republica ns to leg islat ures, including A rka nsas’s, a nd to Cong ress. The Arkansas legislature is fast becoming a subsidiary of A LEC, which educates leg islators on environmental and tax policies a nd sends out cookie-cut ter bills to further the Koch brothers’

interests. American Electric Power is one of the countr y ’s biggest electricutilit y conglomerates and the second biggest in Arkansas. It delivers power to more than 5 million customers a nd ow ns t he la rgest transmission system in the country, larger than all the other utilities combined. It built the g ia nt coal-burning plant in Hempstead County, which went online in 2012 a f t er b ot h A rk a n sa s app el lat e courts ruled unanimously that it did not legally win state regulatory approval but also after agreeing to close a Texas coal plant and buy 400 megawat ts of sola r or w ind power by 2014. The Kochs, who built a fortune of more than $100 billion largely from fossil fuels, spearheaded the campaig n to cast global warming as a hoax or else mere speculation and helped finance the campaig ns of candidates for legislatures, Cong ress and attorneys general who could inf luence carbon legislation a nd r u les. That i ncluded ba n krolling t he Republica n At torney Genera ls Association, which cut big commercials in Arkansas last

year for Leslie Rutledge. She has declared war on new federal rules that reduce mercury and sulfuricacid emissions f rom coa l pla nts and mandate reduced carbon-dioxide emissions from big fossil-fuel i ndu st r ies. She ha s i nter vened in litigation asking the courts to thwart the rules. Now, American Electric Power says it ’s prett y much on the side of the Oba ma administration on the Clean Power Plan, which has been condemned by all six Arkansas members of Cong ress, General Rutledge, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and t he A rka nsa s State Cha mber of Commerce as a needless rule that will wreck the Arkansas economy. The big company said it was going to meet the plan’s goals in all the states where it operates and help t he United States meet it s commit ment to t he world. A spokesma n said the compa ny let A LEC k now it wa s ca nceling it s membership and spending the money instead on reducing its emissions. Arkansas’s biggest electric utilit y, Enterg y Corp., is already well on its way to meeting all the Obama air standards without much strainCONTINUED ON PAGE 13 www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

Too early to tell

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

ollege basketball is such a strange, amorphous thing right now, what with the annual defection of totally unproven commodities to the NBA, but even in that context it was going to be difficult to project Arkansas’s 2015-16 season. The negatives that piled up from the end of the Hogs’ encouraging 27-win prior campaign were extensive. Bobby Portis and Michael Qualls bailed for draft money and misfortune that befell the latter meant that only half of that duo decided right. Rashad Madden’s upand-down eligibility ended. Anton Beard and Jacorey Williams got popped for a felonious forgery endeavor, and that seemed to spell the ends of their careers, but the far more valuable commodity, Beard, struck a deal and will be back on the court under a microscope soon. The Hogs brought in two particularly high-end recruits, Jimmy Whitt and Ted Kupita. Whitt has been mercurial but clearly has a ton of skill, while Kupita was never going to be eligible and looked like one of those semi-regular recruiting disasters along the lines of Craig Tyson, Kareem Poole, Marcus Saxon, and such — a big-ticket product whose qualification was suspect from the outset. Dusty Hannahs, a Little Rock product, was going to be eligible after transferring in from Texas Tech, but his viability as a go-to threat was unknown, his longrange acumen notwithstanding. As the season neared, this was the bleak picture: The Hogs were going to be dependent on the capable but erratic Anthlon Bell and Hannahs for perimeter punch, and reliant on the interior scoring of Moses Kingsley, who had never really exhibited that skill. The newcomers were sorely needed. And, oh yeah, Kentucky and Florida were in full reload mode while the likes of Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss all appeared to be on the rise as well, in a league that has just recently shown signs of across-the-board resurgence to national prominence. The results thus far? Five wins in nine games. Nothing spectacular, but also nothing too damning on the surface. Probably the lowest moment came when the Hogs blew all of a big lead against Stanford in the waning minutes and took a narrow loss. The other defeats at the hands of Akron, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech were close enough to not quarrel over, but again, those are three unranked teams that do not impress anyone at this juncture. Nevertheless, the Razorbacks

have demonstrated some resiliency and fight lately, namely a couple of easy home victories the last week, and now BEAU Beard’s return is WILCOX forthcoming. Mike Anderson is still in an odd place, speaking solely of his standing as program rebuilder. The progress has been slow and measured, but frustrating, too. When he was hired, the expectation was that he would end this ongoing, maddening cycle of baffling losses and in-state recruiting failures. So far, the strikeout on Malik Monk looks and feels near-fatal in its gravity, even if Monk spends a matter of months in Lexington, Ky. He was an absolute hard target and would’ve nicely complemented some well-regarded incoming junior college talent. Now the Hogs are in the position of trying to stay afloat now for next fall, and hoping that Hannahs, Beard, Kingsley and Whitt make up an excellent nucleus of experience and depth for that group. The now is not as bad as we admittedly feared, though. Jabril Durham doesn’t score much, but he’s a competent on-court presence in Beard’s absence, and his progress as a leader cannot hurt a team lacking it. Manuale Watkins is also putting in some of the same steady help he gave last fall, and even Willy Kouassi and Keaton Miles are having some occasionally bright moments. It’s a team that has the appearance of being largely role players trying to excel as breadwinners, and whether it will do so in January and beyond is as big of a mystery as you might expect from a team with these components. The next two or three weeks will be a great gauge for how well this ragtag unit coalesces. Beard’s inclusion is, of course, the great determinant. A few years ago, Courtney Fortson arrived late due to a discipline issue and while he played well on an individual basis, the Pelphrey-helmed team was already a careening wreck and Fortson was too me-first in trying to rescue the outliers. Going into the holidays, the scheduling again gives the team a shot to move its needle a little harder in the right direction. Then SEC play commences, and a team on a winning run can and should emerge strongly against that slate. But as it always seems with an Anderson team, the fragility of the whole unit seems evident, too.

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THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Neighbors

ownstairs from the Fortress of Employment, there’s an office that’s been a couple of different businesses now since Yours Truly started here 14 years ago. It was an architecture firm for a long, long time, but that moved. After that, some kind of tech outfit moved in for a while; redid the sturdy, workaday office so that the joint looked like it had been decorated by a methed-out kindergarten teacher, every wall a different primary color, every chair a different rainbow hue, a cheery red British phonebooth in the kitchen, and several of the windows featuring frosted films (say that three times fast) that, in turn, featured a bunch of “tion” words: invention, creation, innovation, and — our favorite — disruption, a word that has apparently gone from being an outcome to be avoided to some kinda wunderkind shorthand for upsetting the old fogeys’ carefully built apple carts and introducing a little profitable anarchy into the economic situation. The Observer, try as we might to get our cobwebby old brain around things from what we could see through the door, never really got a handle on exactly what the Disruptors were doing down there in their Crayola womb that was clearly the product of somebody else’s money. So, when they were themselves disrupted around a year after they moved in, we weren’t too busted up about it. Such is the invisible hand of the free market. We did get a touch of that long, weird German word we can never quite remember how to spell, though, when we walked by one day to see that “Disruption” was the first word to be razorbladed off the glass. The Observer, a great lover of words since the days when disruption was something you dreaded happening to your telephone landline, has never been a fan of those Word of the Moment words, which get rolled around in cynical mouths for a while before being spewed out, used up as a wad of six-hour-chewed bubblegum. We were hoping they’d have a going-outtabidness sale, so Yours Truly could stroll up and say: “Greetings, future dwellers! I’m from the steamboat company upstairs. How much for a desk chair?” The new outfit in that space is another

tech company. Something to do with texting or some damn thing. They’ve been there a while, but there rarely seems to be any body in residence. The previous tenant’s vomit of primary colors has been swapped in and painted over with a more subdued and classy color scheme, the phone booth trucked back to Her Majesty’s realm, the offices full of modern and lovely furniture, the walls featuring nice art, a perfect, glassed-in hive for busy bees poised to flit boldly into the 21st century, a space to put the flotsam-strewn and dingy hovel of our newsroom to shame. But where are the bees? There is the rare sighting of someone downstairs every once in a while, like a juvenile Bigfoot. But beyond that, all we see is just the lovely space, appointed, furnished, outfitted and ready, but rarely a human being to run or appreciate it other than a passerby. The weird, expensive ghost ship of an office has cranked the curiosity of the tumbledown steamboat company upstairs to 11. They’ve got a website, but none of us can quite puzzle out what they’re up to, even when it’s spelled out in pixels. The possibility of it being some kind of Yakuza front company has been floated, but you’d think you’d see more heavily tattooed Japanese guys hanging around if that was the case, so that’s probably out. We shall soon know, however. In the elevator on Monday appeared a flyer, inviting “every employee of every business” in the Fortress of Employment to come tour the ghost ship, with promised food, drink and a tour. We suppose that includes us. These folks have obviously never seen how thoroughly reporters can abuse the word “free” when it comes to food and drink. The Observer is both intrigued and somewhat worried about this Willy Wonka-esque development, Golden Ticket now in hand. While we’re hoping for a line of dour Pacific Rim mobsters, what we believe we’ll get instead is something altogether ordinary. And where’s the fun in that? We may have to skip the tour, just to preserve one of the spots of mystery in our altogether explainable life. No sense knowing everything about everything.

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

John Lynch of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette undoubtedly was correct in an article last week in pointing to which part of an order by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox the Arkansas Supreme Court considered “inappropriate.” The court, in staying part of Fox’s ruling giving sweeping rights to amended birth certificates for same-sex couples whose children were born after marriage, said it would address those inappropriate remarks when the full appeal is decided. As Lynch noted, Fox made reference in his order to the unconscionable Supreme Court delay (almost 14 months) of a decision in the “expedited” appeal of the same-sex marriage case. The law established in that case is essential to the finding that same-sex couples can’t be discriminated against in law, such as by being denied insurance benefits, on account of their sexual orientation. Fox wrote in the Dec. 1 order: “Unnecessary delays in the issuance of opinions, as in the recent case ... do not promote societal confidence in judicial decisions. Such delays provide a breeding ground for speculation of political intrigue or other illegitimate reasons for the delay — whether true or not. “The default during appeal should be in favor of affording all United States citizens their full and complete constitutional protections and rights during the appeal, not the continued deprivation of those rights.” Two justices, Paul Danielson and former Chief Justice Jim Hannah, said other members of the court had delayed the case for political reasons, though a regulatory agency concluded no ethical rules had been broken. Our reporting revealed that Justice Karen Baker’s split view on the case was one of the elements that contributed to Justice Courtney Goodson’s sitting on the release of an opinion she had drafted striking down the same-sex marriage ban. Baker wanted to affirm only on U.S. Constitutional grounds, as the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately

DAVID KOON

High court continues longrunning political feud

STANDING UP AGAINST SUBSTATION: Barbara Douglas, in green, president of the Pankey Community Improvement Association Inc., speaks out.

What about Pankey? LRPD substation plan puts historic, WLR black community on defense. BY DAVID KOON

t’s strange to hear people talk about history in West Little Rock, a place that seems to have sprung up, polished and prefabricated, in the past 25 years or so. During a recent press conference at the Pankey Community Center at 13700 Cantrell Road, however, history — even ugly history — was on display as around 30 lifelong residents of the tiny, historically African-American community spoke out against plans to put a Little Rock Police Department Substation in the building that had once been planned as a community center, but which has been boarded up for years after funding ran out. The community of Pankey was

founded by Josephine Pankey, an African-American woman who bought land in what was then the wilderness far to the west of the city in 1907. According to residents who spoke at the press conference, Pankey lived in Little Rock until 1927, but decided to decamp to the country following the death of John Carter, a black man lynched in downtown Little Rock after the murder of a 12-year-old white girl. A mob that approached 5,000 people watched as Carter was hung, shot and dragged through the streets before his body was set ablaze at Ninth Street and Broadway, with vigilantes tearing wood from black homes and businesses

to keep the pyre going. Seeking refuge after the lynching, Pankey uprooted and moved to the woods, offering land on the cheap to any black family who wanted to join her. She donated still more land for a school, churches, parks and other community focal points. Little Rock, however, crept steadily west. Today, the Pankey community is surrounded by high-end apartment complexes and strip malls, and sits across the street from a supermarket. Venture down into Pankey itself, however, and it looks more like an impoverished Delta hamlet instead of part of the high-end area of a major metropolitan city. Two bridges over a creek there have been out for years. When it rains, water floods a park and flushes rocks across one street so deep that it’s impassible. Residents say they usually have to get a resident’s backhoe to clear the rocks. Many of the homes in Pankey still depend on trucked-in propane for heat, and trees growing up around powerlines put the community’s electricity at risk every time it storms. As traffic poured past Pankey on CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

THE

BIG PICTURE

Top stories of the year on arktimes.com What did people read on the Arkansas Times’ website in 2015? Many, many stories about Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork) and rehoming. The travails of Josh Duggar. Posts about bigotry, Republicans behaving badly and beloved Arkansas artists dying. Also, a jury awarding $145,000 for the shooting of a coon dog. In order of popularity: 1. “Casting out demons: Why Justin Harris got rid of kids he applied pressure to adopt”

INSIDER, CONT.

2. “A child left unprotected” 3. Ruth Coker Burks, the cemetery angel 4. “Satanists petition Arkansas for place at the Capitol” 5. “Tom Cotton to gays: Get perspective. At least they don’t hang you.”

6. “Father and son turned away from “Muslimfree” Hot Springs gun range for being brown” 7. “Monticello preparing for KKK rally” 8. “Magazine obtains police report over Josh Duggar sexual molestation investigation; he admits past ‘mistakes,’ resigns Family Council job”

Will Stephenson’s cover story on a Pocahontas drug ring, involving murder and a snake in a box, was picked up by Longform.org. Yelp was the company making the threat in a reaction to Arkansas’s controversial anti-gay HB 1228. A compromise measure was later reached.

9. “A killing in Pocahontas” Benjamin Hardy’s story breaking the news of the Harrises rehoming of their adopted girls.

11. “Lincoln County jury awards $145,000 in shooting of coon dog”

David Koon’s profile of Ruth Coker Burks, an Arkansas woman who cared for hundreds of AIDS patients whose families had abandoned them, went viral upon publication in January and then again on Reddit in November.

12. “Foster family disputes key statements from Justin Harris”

In the ultimate troll of Jason Rapert, the Satanic Temple, a group of First Amendment pranksters (i.e. not real Satanists) wanted to place a monument to Baphomet, a goat-headed idol, on the Capitol grounds.

15. “Fox News wrong about release of Duggar police report”

Thankfully, the rally was a nonevent.

13. “Readers Choice 2015” 14. “Months after the rehoming of their adopted daughters was made public, Justin and Marsha Harris have yet to face consequences”

16. “Is Arkansas planning to withdraw from PARCC, the Common Core testing consortium?” 17. “Arkansas River pipeline blowout occurred on Sunday morning, cause still unknown” 18. “Duggars meet their maker” 19. “R.I.P. Darnelle Barnes”

10. “$380 million tech firm promises not to add jobs in Arkansas because of discriminatory legislation”

20. “R.I.P. Miller Williams (1930-2015)” 21. “Justin and Marsha Harris: We have ‘suffered a severe injustice’ ” 22. “Twenty problems with 20/20’s coverage of the Justin Harris ‘rehoming’ ” 23. “Beware: Sen. Jason Rapert is armed (if not with good judgment)” 24. “House likes whine with eggs, could mean end of Cali wine in Arkansas” 25. “Arkansas’s overloaded foster care system”

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Still no Arkansas Republican has ever publically criticized Rep. Justin Harris for any of his actions related to the adoption and subsequent rehoming of two young girls.

The state did indeed opt out of PARCC. It will use the ACT Aspire test next year.

Darnelle Barnes was a 18-year-old Little Rock rapper with the group DMP.

An encounter with a constituent in the parking lot of Lowe’s, led Rapert to tweet a warning that he was #armedandready, which sparked a number of memorable memes.

did. But Baker didn’t want to join a then-majority of justices who also wanted to say the state Constitution dictated a similar outcome. In the end, the state Supreme Court issued no decision, saying the case was moot because of the U.S. Supreme Court. By that time, our sources said, Goodson had an opinion ready to affirm the ban on marriage had the U.S. Supreme Court ruled differently. Fox noted that the state Supreme Court, by punting on a ruling, failed to resolve a variety of related issues including the birth certificate question. Baker defeated Fox in a race for the state Supreme Court in 2010 that had ugly overtones. A former clerk and campaigner for Baker made a court filing in an unrelated divorce case in Lonoke County in which the man accused Fox of having an affair with his wife. The attorney who made the filing said it should be a campaign issue. The order staying Fox and making the comment about his remarks was unsigned, but all members of the court participated. Justice Rhonda Wood wrote a separate concurrence and Justice Paul Danielson dissented. It wouldn’t be hard to see Baker as the driving force on the “inappropriate” remarks. She’s not been happy about reporting on behind-the-scenes activities in court administration in general and, particularly, the marriage case. The unhappiness led at one point to a suggestion by two justices (Baker and Goodson were the leading suspects) to require lie detector tests of employees to ferret out leakers. The rich irony of all this is that opinions of trial court judges get next to no public attention. By announcing that it was preparing to take Fox to the woodshed for remarks with little relevance to the pending legal issue, it has managed to broadcast them to a much wider audience in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. And it again illustrates how politics were at the forefront of the handling of the marriage case. In addition to Danielson and Hannah, retired Justice Donald Corbin has also been heard on the subject in a similar vein. www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

WHAT ABOUT PANKEY?, CONT.

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

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Cantrell, resident Barbara Douglas, who is heading the effort to fight a police substation there, outlined her concerns, focusing on the November 2013 agreement between the city of Little Rock and the Pankey Community Improvement Association Inc. — a group that Douglas claims does not represent the residents of Pankey. It consisted of “people who have not lived here, [or] never lived here,” she said. In the agreement, the city agrees to rent the building for 25 years, with the possibility of a 25-year extension. The agreed rent for the first five years will be $13 per square foot, jumping to $13.50 per square foot each year after that. Of the 6,415 square feet in the building, 3,815 square feet will be used as a police substation, while 2,600 will be used as a community center. As stipulated in the agreement, the city will allow “controlled access” to the community center for 10 Pankey residents at a time, with those 10 required to be identified to the city by name, address and date of birth before they are issued access cards that allow them to enter the building. Police officers, meanwhile, will have “access to the entire structure, including the Community Center, if available and not booked by the Association, for Law enforcement purposes.” The city says that it will seek permission before using the Pankey Community Center area or equipment “whenever possible.” Jackson, who married into the community over 50 years ago, still owns property across the street from the proposed substation. She says she believes the neglect she sees in the Pankey community is part of a plan to lower property values and drive out residents so the land there can be bought cheaply for development. “When the bridge is out, the park is flooding, and you’re smelling other peoples’ sewage,” she said, “what would you want to do with your family and your children? That’s not an accident. That’s intentional.” Douglas said Pankey isn’t a high crime area and doesn’t need a permanent police presence nearby. She said that the substation will only increase traffic in the area and will possibly require the installation of a traffic light, which will force

the city to take land from residents along the highway. City Director Brad Cazort, whose Ward 4 includes Pankey, said that since he’s been on the board, Pankey has been trying to build a community center. “They basically had two factions: one group that owned the land and one group that wanted to build the building,” he said. “They got some money and they tried, and it sat dormant for a long time, because they couldn’t finish it.” Cazort said that when voters approved money for a police substation in West Little Rock, the unused building in Pankey was a logical place for it. Until recently, he said, he had heard only excitement at the news of getting a substation there. Currently, the closest police station to West Little Rock is near Baptist Health Medical Center on Kanis Road. “All of this talk lately that I’ve read in the paper about being upset with the police being there, that’s brand new,” Cazort said. “I’ve never heard it from anybody before. It surprises me, because if the city wasn’t coming there and doing this, there would be no community center at all.” Putting the substation there with an attached community center, Cazort says, is a way to kill two birds with one stone. Despite the opposition, he said, “it’s going to be there, because the city needs a police substation out west, and Pankey needs a community center.” As for why Pankey’s infrastructure seems to be sorely lacking when compared to the surrounding area, including the flooding issues and the bridges out, Cazort says that there is money for improvements but nobody in Pankey has ever asked for infrastructure funding. “There are issues there like there are in any part of town,” he said, “but we’ve gone through two cycles now of infrastructure requests from everybody in all seven wards. We’ve got infrastructure money from the sales tax, but we need recommendations on how to spend it. We’ve never gotten a recommendation from anybody in Pankey about things they’d like to see improved there. ... I’m not saying they don’t need it, but they haven’t asked for it. They haven’t come up and said, ‘These are high-priority projects.’ ”

LYONS, CONT.

devoted considerable column inches to the seeming mystery of “High Polls for Low-Energy Campaigners.” Specifically, how come JEB!, who normally does multiple campaign events every day, appears to be getting nowhere, while Trump, a comparative homebody, surges? Um, let’s see: “Morning Joe” in the a.m., followed by “Good Morning America,” a sit-down with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, a face-to-face with NBC’s Chuck Todd, who basically calls Trump a barefaced liar but invites him back for “Meet the Press,” next a blustering speech covered live by MSNBC’s “Hardball,” followed by “Breaking News!” a prerecorded interview with Don Lemon. And then to bed. Would it also surprise you to learn that according to the Tyndall

Report, which compiles such figures, “ABC World News Tonight” has devoted 81 minutes of programming this year to Trump’s campaign vs. 20 seconds total to Bernie Sanders, who arguably has more supporters? (Each has roughly 30 percent support in his party, but there are many more Democrats than Republicans.) In my judgment, neither Trump nor Sanders has a very good chance of becoming president. But that shouldn’t mean an exclusive of diet of Trump’s bombast, braggadocio, conspiracy theories and barefaced lies simply because the one-time “reality” star gets good ratings. Is the United States a democratic republic or a TV series?

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DUMAS, CONT. ing of its own pocketbook or its consumers’. Contrary to its support of ALEC and the other Koch enterprises, a spokesman for American Electric said, “We have long been involved in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” American Electric is only the latest among global energ y giants that have come around on Obama’s Clean Power Plan and tough global rules on climate change. Six other U.S. utilities have left ALEC. Also, Roya l Dutch Shell a nd Br it ish Petroleum also withdrew and commit ted to meeting carbon-emission deadlines. Shell condemned A L EC ’s resi st a nce to cl i m ate change rules. Then there’s Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest private oil company and a Koch ally on global warming. The New York attorney general is investigating whether the company conspired to lie to the public a nd investors about t he risks of climate change. It turns out, from documents unearthed by news organizations, that Exxon’s army of scientists and engineers knew as far back as 1977 that carbon dioxide from burning oil, gas and coal could have terrible effects on the planet, including ocean and atmospheric warming that would gradually melt ice caps, f lood lowlying areas around the globe, affect human health and alter vegetation and animal habitats. The Exxon

scientists long ago briefed Exxon’s board on the growing consensus on the long-term effect of fossil fuels. Ex xon’s boa rd responded by f u n d i n g d i s i n f or m a t ion c a m paigns about the health of fossilf uel consumption. Exxon Mobil now says it always sponsored neutral research on climate change, merely pushed for a wider debate on the subject and itself worked to reduce emissions and slow climate change through better batteries and carbon-capture technolog y. But it has continued funding groups like Consumer Energ y Alliance and the National Black Chamber of Commerce that lobby against reg ulations that seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or that promote leg islation in Arkansas and other states to make it hard for solar and wind power to hook onto power grids and be compensated. But the updated memo hasn’t reached t he Republ ica n presidential ca ndidates, who, all but Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, are still reading from old Exxon talking points about global warming being a joke or harmless. Kasich limits himself to saying it ’s da ngerous to have Ba rack Oba ma r un ning t he g loba l-wa r m i ng ca mpa ig n . The memo t hat reached A merica n Elec t r ic Power ha sn’t yet reached t he polit ica l est ablishment in Arkansas, and likely never will. The good thing is, it ma kes no dif ference.

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A Growing Economy. For many in central Arkansas, public transit is a dependable route to more employment opportunities. With daily paratransit and bus service across Pulaski County, we offer riders access to thousands of jobs. Whether taking people a few miles from home or to a neighboring city, our buses help hardworking employees get to work safely and affordably. THERE’S A LOT RIDING ON PUBLIC TRANSIT.

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

Big ideas for Arkansas Readers and experts suggest ways to change Arkansas for the better.

t’s now an annual tradition: The Arkansas Times solicits suggestions from readers and a variety of experts on how to improve life in Arkansas. Throughout this year, we’ve spent a lot of time investigating the state’s child welfare system, often highlighting problems that can seem intractable. In this issue, we devote significant space to potential solutions, including ideas from

child trauma experts, a foster parent, an adult adoptee and our own contributor Kathryn Joyce. We present those ideas here, along with others on a variety of topics. We hope you find them as inspirational as we do. If any especially strike a chord with you, help make them happen. Many are works in progress; those that aren’t could be with the right collection of advocates.

ABOVE: Matthew Rowe suggests (sort of) that Little Rock have a mascot, such as the Travs’ possum in Tae Kwon Do get up.

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

A LITTLE ROCK PROMISE By Max Brantley and Sam Ledbetter How about a Little Rock Promise modeled on the El Dorado Promise? It would provide graduates of the Little Rock School District with a scholarship covering tuition and mandatory fees that could be used at any accredited two- or four-year, public or private educational institution in the U.S. The maximum amount payable would extend to the highest annual resident tuition at an Arkansas public university. Funding would be led by Warren Stephens, William Dillard, Scott Ford, Lisenne Rockefeller and others in our community who have the resources to make it happen. The Walton Family Foundation, Murphy/Deltic and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation could join in. Talk about getting folks interested in the LRSD! Max Brantley is senior editor of the Arkansas Times. Sam Ledbetter is an attorney with the McMath Law Firm and a former chairman of the state Board of Education.

A SYMBOL FOR LITTLE ROCK By Matthew Rowe Little Rock follows the model for lots of

Southern cities: Its rich parts are really rich, its poor parts are really poor and its weird parts are reeeeeally weird. It’s also incredibly divided. As such, Little Rock has a hard time gathering public consensus in controlling its own fate. The state has taken over its school system, the highway department threatens to ensure that downtown growth stalls and you can’t even watch minorleague baseball within the city limits without at least a very tall ladder. Meanwhile, the things that Little Rock residents have focused on as a whole aren’t always things you’d put on a greatest hits collection, from the showdown for school integration to “Bangin’ in Little Rock.” Name your issue, and you’ll find a sensitive city resident. I think it’s time we turned this around. We need something that all residents of Little Rock can get behind and root for. We need a symbol to the world. A new flag for Little Rock is a good start, but we need something more. I’m not sure what that is, but here are three ideas to get the brainstorming started: 1.) A football team: Little Rock doesn’t have a major professional sports team, and everyone roots for the Hogs on Saturday. I suggest that Little Rock businesses and connected individuals start opening their pocketbooks to help UALR get a football team. Get Houston Nutt to coach it. Play in War Memorial Stadium. Allow tailgating on the field. Get one of the 3,000 Kickstarted microbreweries to sell booze. Tell me that wouldn’t sell. 2.) A mascot. With or without the football team. Make it something distinctive. Call on the ghosts of the gang wars of the ’90s, embrace the heritage of Tae Kwon Do, steal that trash-eating possum costume from the Travs and call it O.G. the Black Belt possum. I’m spitballing here; we can workshop something better. 3.) The snarkiest advertising campaign. Cities like Portland and

Asheville want you to believe their cities are weird or eclectic. This is a lie, as these are super-gentrified, not racially diverse areas with good marketing. Little Rock is one of the weirdest places in America and people should know that. Now that I think about it, maybe we shouldn’t share it with the rest of the world. It’s too good for them. Matthew Rowe writes Brasher and Rowe, a weekly column for Rock Candy, the Arkansas Times entertainment blog.

AGGRESSIVELY INVEST IN PUBLIC TRANSIT By Jarod Varner A region of our size with tremendous economic potential should have a strong transit system backed by dedicated local investment along with capital support from the state Highway and Transportation Department. Under Arkansas law, dedicated funding for public transit can come only in the form of a quarter-cent sales tax. Rock Region Metro is now funded by partner governments who choose to chip in to provide the service. In Pulaski County, a quartercent sales tax would generate about $18 million, money Rock Region could count on to increase frequency

of buses and expansion of routes. Ongoing support from existing funding partners (Pulaski County, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Maumelle, Jacksonville) would also allow for express bus service operating on designated bus lanes branded as METRO Rapid. The new Bus Rapid Transit corridors would provide residents and visitors to Little Rock with the level of service they are accustomed to in other cities that have long provided public transit, and the transit stations would provide anchors for lively, mixed-use development. Once transit service is strengthened in the core of Pulaski County and infill development has occurred, our region could turn to robust commuter services connecting Conway, Benton, Bryant, Cabot and other growing areas to job and educational centers in Little Rock. Not adequately investing in our public transit network would put us behind the major demographic changes that are occurring in our region and country. Millennials, the largest and most economically impactful generation, demand transportation alternatives, including quality public transit. At the other end of the spectrum, our large population of senior citizens also needs public transit options. According to AARP, 87 percent of adults over the age of 65 want to stay in their current home and community as they age. Without proper public transit services, we will be in a poor position to attract and retain young talent and allow our greatest generation to stay connected to their community. With aggressive investment in public transit, we can create a vibrant, close-knit community with economic opportunities for all. Jared Varner is executive director of Rock Region Metro, formerly known as the Central Arkansas Transit Authority.

www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

WAR MEMORIAL SHOULD EMBRACE RUGBY: Says Jay Jennings.

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

USE WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM FOR RUGBY By Jay Jennings Most Arkansans know that the Razorbacks will play only one game per year at War Memorial Stadium through 2018 and that the future of Hog football in the stadium is probably doomed. Most Arkansans do not know that Little Rock has a U.S. Olympic coach who will lead a team at Rio de Janeiro next year and who runs a training center for the team here. If more of the former knew the latter, they might see the sense in my big idea: Turn War Memorial Stadium into a rugby facility and host national and international competitions that will attract tourism and media coverage and transform the city’s white elephant of a stadium into a mecca for the All Blacks and other professional and amateur teams. Jules McCoy is a Little Rock neurologist and has for years run the American Rugby Pro Training Center here, the largest of five national development organizations, hosting players from all over the country who want to refine their skills for future professional or Olympic play. (The players also train at Ross Strength and Speed, the gym where I met many of them.) In September, USA Rugby, the sport’s national governing body, named her the coach of the U.S. women’s rugby Sevens team for the sport’s reappearance in the Olympics after a long absence. McCoy’s expertise and leadership have already attracted attention to Little Rock in the rugby community, and the state, which owns War Memorial, could build on that by providing additional resources. Rugby is already one of the most popular sports in the world, and Forbes reported in May that “there is ample indication that rugby is ready to become the country’s next big sport,” having grown by 13.3 percent over the last five years. An

American professional league begins play next spring. This year’s men’s international rugby Sevens competition in Las Vegas, the largest in the U.S., drew a record 75,000 fans over a three-day weekend. According to Ellie Karvosky, a coach and former women Sevens star who lives in Little Rock, the field at War Memorial would need to be widened and lengthened to meet rugby standards. But such adaptations would be well worth the cost and would not prevent the stadium from hosting its current big events like the high school football playoffs or the odd college football game. A former rugby player himself, Mayor Mark Stodola should support this pitch to turn War Memorial into a world-class rugby pitch. Now is the time for a city like Little Rock, with a strong rugby foundation already in place, to fashion itself a hub before someplace else does. Jay Jennings is senior editor of the Oxford American, author of “Carry the Rock: Race, Football and the Soul of an American City” and the editor of “Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany.”

Bart Calhoun

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CREATE AN LGBTQ MENTORING PROGRAM By Katie Eisenhower Ah, coming of age. It can range from mildly awkward to excruciatingly painful. Discovering sexual/gender identity is a process that can begin at any age, but it often comes to the forefront in puberty. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) young people are not raised in families or community environments that reflect their sexual/gender identities. Arkansas already has several organizations that provide services to LGBTQ youth: safe, nonjudgmental, supportive places to socialize and form friendships. But our www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

LGBTQ youth would benefit from a Big Brother Big Sister-type mentoring program. A mentoring relationship between a vetted and trained adult and a young person can provide additional perspective and a place for one-on-one discussion of many issues regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. Katie Eisenhower is a board member of PrideCorps LGBT Youth Center of Arkansas.

END PRISON OVERCROWDING By Omavi Shukur Arkansas will enter 2016 with the fastest growing prison population in the nation since 2012. The question is not if this incarceration crisis will end, but when and how. Here are just a few possibilities: There should be a class of nonrevocable parole for people who are at a low risk of recidivating. People incarcerated for minor felonies like theft or hot checks do not pose a violent threat to society and should not have to be subject to community supervision upon their release from prison. Arkansas’s parole rate is three times the national average; we simply have too many people on parole. Eight percent of Arkansas’s incarcerated population is serving a life sentence. Currently, these women and men will spend the rest of their lives in prison unless the Parole Board recommends, and the governor approves, a commutation. Meanwhile, taxpayers are paying a private corporation, Correct Care Solutions, a king’s ransom to treat elderly people in prison who don’t pose a threat to anybody — just so we can guarantee that the elderly die in prison. We should follow Louisiana’s lead and make people sentenced to life eligible for parole. The war on drugs has failed. Drug decriminalization overseas has 18

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

decreased overdose rates, restored trust in the police and helped people addicted to drugs get therapy, housing and employment. South Carolina has made possession of cocaine a misdemeanor, while in Arkansas it is a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. Alexander Hamilton once warned us that “people are commonly most in danger, when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those whom they entertain the least suspicion.” A prosecutor in Arkansas is effectively the prosecutor, judge and jury. The prosecutor has discretion to determine which offense to charge, what sentence to offer in the form of a plea deal and who will die in jail. The United States is the only Western nation that has an adversarial sentencing process in which the prosecutor can effectively determine the sentence. The prosecutor can compel an innocent person to plead guilty to a charge by threatening to pursue the maximum possible sentence should the accused lose at trial. Prosecutors can, and do, punish blacks and Latinos harsher than whites. Meanwhile, many European countries check the power of the prosecutor because of the inherent threat of disparate treatment in prosecutorial discretion. The best solution to the unchecked power of prosecutors is a reduction in sentencing ranges and an elimination of adversarial sentencing hearings in which the prosecutors can argue for harsher sentences. There should be sunset provisions to criminal statutes, thus compelling legislators to address ineffec-

tual criminal justice policies. Fiscal impact studies should reflect anticipated costs of any projected increase in incarceration in order to provide more transparency as to the costs of harsh legislation. Municipalities should pay a fee per prisoner to provide a financial incentive for local prosecutors and judges to think twice before sentencing someone to prison. Finally, parole and probation revocation hearings should always occur after the disposition of new criminal cases to preserve the parolee’s right to due process of law. Most importantly, we have to empower our most vulnerable communities. Resources should be shifted away from excluding and controlling the poor and toward granting them access to the opportunity and the dignity that all of us deserve. That is how we can begin to finally put an end to the Arkansas incarceration crisis. Omavi Shukur is the director of Seeds of Liberation, a Little Rock nonprofit whose mission is to work “alongside Arkansas’s marginalized communities to create a just, equitable and empowering criminal justice system.”

is constantly struggling to meet its budget. UAMS must compete with private hospitals but has the added expenses of training medical professionals, conducting research and providing charity care. Doesn’t it make sense to keep $57 million at home rather than sending it to a contractor in Nashville, Tenn.? Doesn’t it make sense that UAMS residents and supervising physicians would better serve inmates’ medical care needs than contractor doctors who are hired at the lowest possible cost for Correct Care Solutions LLC? Tim Cullen is an attorney at Cullen & Co.

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PUT UAMS IN CHARGE OF HEALTH CARE AT ARKANSAS PRISONS By Tim Cullen One of the single biggest expenditures in the Arkansas Department of Correction’s budget is a contract for medical care for prisoners. In the last fiscal year, ADC spent $57 million on health care with Correct Care Solutions LLC. Yet, the quality of medical care for inmates is notoriously lousy. Arkansas’s inmate population is aging and has a high percentage of patients with chronic diseases and ailments. At the same time, Arkansas’s only academic medical institution, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,

Ongoing discussion of the state Highway and Transportation Department’s proposed 30 Crossing project to widen Interstate 30 has illustrated Little Rock’s need for a comprehensive master plan to outline priorities and future goals for the city’s continued revitalization and smart growth. Let’s develop a framework to navigate future urban design opportunities for maximum benefit to the citizens of Little Rock. This living document could provide enough detail to inform long-range planning while allowing enough flexibility to accommodate unforeseen needs and opportunities. A statement of design and usage expectations can illustrate a comprehensive vision for the future of Little Rock by including consideration for each of our interdependent planning tools, including zoning, future land use, a master streets plan, a master bike plan and a public transit plan, rather than considering those aspects of city planning independently. The development of a master plan for the city of Little Rock will facilitate a forward-thinking approach to city planning and serve as a resource for city lead-

ers, citizens and developers. StudioMain is an archictect/engineer/ design collective in Little Rock.

black community. The publication has sustained itself since 2008. For a black media outlet to work in Central Arkansas today may require forgoing print. There should be no reason why an online black progressive publication couldn’t sustain itself here. Central Arkansas has the numbers in terms of a potential audience. Such an outlet could be successful if it produced content that truly showed the diversity of black life in the region. James Murray is a freelance writer in Central Arkansas.

CREATE AN ONLINE PROGRESSIVE PUBLICATION FOR AFRICANAMERICANS IN ARKANSAS By James Murray The black press in Arkansas has a history that reaches back to 1869, in the form of the Arkansas Freeman. The founders of the Freeman thought that the creation of a black-owned newspaper would foster a sense of community in a newly freed people. Fast forward to the establishment of the Arkansas State Press in 1941, a paper that actively advocated for civil rights long before the movement was full-fledged. Today, however, Central Arkansas lacks a widely read black newspaper or magazine with a progressive agenda. One could attribute this to the expansion of rights to blacks or the fact that the news media is a struggling industry, but there are sustainable models in other places. One that may be worth emulating is Q City Metro in Charlotte (qcitymetro.com). Its online-only format includes national stories, local news, opinions, entertainment features and profiles of religious leaders and professionals from Charlotte’s

ELIMINATE ONE-WAY STREETS By Cary Tyson One-way streets are a relic. They were originally built as civil defense, to facilitate the mass exodus of citizens in the wake of a disaster such as a nuclear attack. We saw how well that worked in Hurricane Katrina. Oneway streets are particularly detrimental to downtowns and commercial districts; we should eliminate them. I recently chatted up a couple that lives about an hour outside of Little Rock. They found maneuvering Little Rock confounding, particularly downtown with its confusing and illogical pattern of traffic. One-way streets make the heart of the capital

city confusing, uninviting and unnecessarily complicated. Beyond being illogical to maneuver, one-way streets can have a deleterious economic impact. Don’t believe me? Check out the work of the Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods at the University of Louisville on this issue. Two-way streets were found to slow traffic, which resulted in fewer and less serious accidents. Perhaps most importantly, researchers found that crime dropped, property values rose and pedestrian traffic increased. There’s also recent research that shows twoway streets actually decrease congestion. Converting streets to two-way also sends a signal that streets are not just for motorists, but that pedestrians matter too. We can’t fully promote our downtowns or other places in our cities if we don’t knowingly and aggressively act to make them less confusing for the visitor. Many people forget that one of today’s best performing commercial districts, Argenta’s Main Street, was converted to one-way during Urban Renewal. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays say, “The best thing that happened to business in downtown North Little Rock was to make it two-way.” Let’s make downtown two-way streets the law of our land. Cary Tyson is the co-author of the MoveArkansas blog on planning, design, transit and cycling in Central Arkansas.

INVEST IN HIGH-IMPACT LITERACY PROGRAMS AND FORGE PARTNERSHIPS TO CREATE A SKILLED WORKFORCE By Victor Pulido-Rojas Too many children do not read at grade level and therefore lack the literacy skills needed for success in college and their future careers. Our children must first learn to read before they can then read to learn. A child’s ability to read on grade level by the end of third grade is a strong indicator of how well he or she will perform in school, how likely he or she is to graduate from high school, and how likely he or she is to enter college and graduate. As a state, we must invest in high-impact literacy programs — like the De Queen School District’s nationally recognized Direct Instruction (D.I.) reading program — that help students develop the reading skills they need for academic success and bright futures. Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. Education is the fuel that powers our economy. In Utah, the Aerospace Pathways program offers high school students the opportunity to train and certify in aerospace manufacturing through concurrent enrollment. The program was created by a unique part-

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nership of state government, education leaders and the aerospace industry. Arkansas would benefit by having its own Aerospace Pathways program, as aerospace is a leading industry in our state. A highly skilled workforce is essential in strengthening our state’s economy. We must forge partnerships that lead to a more educated workforce. Victor Pulido-Rojas is a member of the Arkansas United Community Coalition and the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice Board. He is also a paraprofessional for the De Queen School District.

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CREATE AN ARKANSAS CARBON BANK Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, states must curtail carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has expressed opposition to the CPP, in part because it will supposedly hurt consumers by raising electric prices and hampering economic growth. To meet CPP goals while also stimulating the economy, Gov. Asa Hutchinson should lead the creation of the Arkansas Carbon Bank. The capital for this bank would come from a carbon fee and dividend policy. The approach is simple. Utilities would be charged a fee for each ton of carbon pollution they emit from coalfired power plants. The fee would be collected and deposited in the Arkansas Carbon Bank and distributed monthly to every Arkansan over age 18 and every employer. Employers’ dividends would be based on the number of employees. The recommended carbon fee for Arkansas would be $15 per ton for the first year and would rise annually by a fixed amount, $10. As the price of burning fossil fuels increased, polluters would be financially motivated to find cleaner and

more efficient ways to produce energy. This would lead to more investment in clean, renewable power. The monthly fee distribution from the carbon bank to consumers and employers would stimulate the economy, creating more jobs. The fee distribution to Arkansas families would assist low-income families with energy costs. Businesses would have an incentive to create more jobs, as their dividend would depend on their number of permanent employees. Unlike so many previous job creation ventures, this one would not require the state to provide huge tax incentives or bond issues. Attorney General Rutledge could have her cake and eat it, too. She would have the clean air she says she wants and Arkansas could meet CPP goals while offsetting impacts to consumers and the economy. An added economic benefit of burning less coal would be cleaner air for all Arkansans, thus reducing health care costs. Gov. Hutchinson is already on the right side of the issue regarding a plan for Arkansas to reduce carbon pollution. While other states have dug their heels in and refused to even produce a plan, the governor has taken the initiative to adhere to the CPP by instructing the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Public Service Commission to work on a state implementation plan. We have the opportunity to make Arkansas a leader in the implementation of the Clean Power Plan by avoiding unnecessary and protracted litigation while creating thousands of jobs and stimulating economic growth. With a nod from the governor, Arkansas could easily be reaping the benefits within a year. It’s a win-win situation for all Arkansans. Robert McAfee is a member of the Arkansas Citizens’ Climate Lobby and the Arkansas Citizens First Congress. He lives in Hackett.

OPEN PSYCHIATRIC CRISIS CENTERS By Nancy Kahanak People suffering from mental illness are clogging our state prison system. Many of these individuals don’t deserve punishment and will not cause harm to others. Let’s take some of the money that is now used for incarceration and put it toward statewide mental health emergency crisis centers. The mentally ill would receive better treatment at a lower cost, and law enforcement officers would be available to focus on true threats to the community. Here is how a crisis center might work: An officer is trained to recognize signs of mental illness and how to deal with a person in crisis. Rather than sending that person to jail, the officer would drop the person off at a crisis center and be confident that the man or woman would be treated with respect as he or she is assessed for mental issues, physical problems and substance abuse. The individual in crisis would be given the time needed to calm down and regain control, whether that is a few hours or several days. From there, referrals for further treatment would be provided as available. An increase in services is a necessity to keep community crises to a minimum. Necessary services include life coaching, medication, drug and alcohol treatment, housing and job readiness training. Yes, those ideas will take money, but the overall savings are evident. Estimates show a year of treatment costs 1/20th the expense of putting a mentally ill individual into the Arkansas Department of Correction. In addition, many of these same services are needed by people being released from jail or prison. Such assistance has been shown by other states to greatly reduce recidivism rates. The legislature is looking into these issues. Let your legislator know your opinion — that really counts! Nancy Kahanak is a member of Judicial Equality for Mental Illness, a coalition working to change the revolving door of persons with mental illness being held in jails and prisons.

TRAIN EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS IN MINDFULNESS By Adria English Arkansas’s students and teachers should spend 20 to 30 minutes each day practicing a form of meditation in the classroom. This can be achieved with use of programs such as MindUP and Mindful Schools that offer training in mindfulness to educators and students. The benefits of meditation are numerous, but in students the specific benefits include increased ability to concentrate, boosted selfesteem, increased empathy, lower levels of stress, better behavior and lower aggression. In short, the student becomes more aware of his feelings and his surroundings. A range of meditative practices should be taught, from deep breathing exercises to mindfulness-based stress reduction, and students will benefit from learning multiple styles and discover what suits them. If parents or students object to meditation, the students could read quietly or pray at their desks instead. Incorporating meditation sessions will make the school day longer by the allotted 20 or 30 minutes, but the benefits reaped by the exercise should outweigh the inconvenience and expense of added time. In the end, teaching a student to regulate his feelings and behavior in a way that aids him socially, mentally and academically is just as important as teaching him basic education to succeed in his future goals. Meditation is a tool we should give our students. Adria English lives with her husband, Garrett, in Mountain Home, where she works for First Security Bank and contributes to the website OnlyInArk.com.

EMBRACE AN OMBUDSMAN POSITION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

RENOVATE HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER FIELDS FOR SCHOOL AND PUBLIC USE

By Matthew Ramsey

By Matt Dishongh

In private and public business, grievances are usually handled through rigid human resources or compliance offices that invariably uphold the best interest or bottom line of the organization. Ombudsmen, on the other hand, provide fair, alternative dispute resolution. It troubles me that these unwavering advocates of fairness are sorely lacking not only in business and government, but also higher education. An ombudsman serves as an independent watchdog within a given organization, reporting to the highest level of the administration. The ombudsman’s work is confidential and neutral, facilitating grievance resolution outside formal channels and helping identify problems that suggest systemic issues within an organization. A benevolent administration that genuinely cares about its stakeholders will be most receptive to the unbridled truths and thoughtful recommendations for improvement that an ombudsman can provide. The University of Arkansas has an opportunity to promote a bona fide culture of fairness, transparency and openness by reopening its ombudsman office and using it as a model for others to follow, including other state-run institutions and the local corporate oligarchy. Matthew Ramsey is a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholar and current at-large representative on the city of Fayetteville and University of Arkansas’s Town & Gown Advisory Committee.

The soccer fields at Henderson Middle School are in the perfect spot to bring together many parts of a city that is facing a shortage of athletic facilities and that is perceived to be divided economically and ethnically. Today, unfortunately, the Henderson soccer fields sit mostly underutilized and under-maintained (and insufficiently lighted after dark). What if the Henderson fields could become a great public soccer facility through a partnership with the Little Rock School District, the Little Rock Parks and Recreation department, local soccer clubs such as Arkansas United, and a corporate partner that would be rewarded with naming rights for the complex in return for an ongoing donation? Improving the Henderson fields is in the best interest of the city and its soccer-playing residents. Rather than look for additional field space, Little Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department should agree to maintain and oversee a great piece of land already staring us in the face. And the LRSD, which is searching for more athletic space to serve all of its students, should place more importance on land it already has. One important part of this renovation project should be keeping the goals and nets maintained and available yearround so that it is the one place in the city where the public can go play soccer on a Sunday or other times when not being used by club soccer or the district. Another part of the public-use strategy could involve turning the vacant and neglected tennis courts adjacent to the soccer fields into futsal courts. Futsal is a form of mini-soccer played on a hard surface and smaller court. Sevwww.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

DOLLY PARTON’S IMAGINATION LIBRARY: The state should pay for the country singer’s book program for children, Rep. Clarke Tucker says.

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

eral public schools around the country — such as those in Kansas City — have recently turned old tennis courts into futsal courts with great success. This could be replicated in Little Rock and result in an annual summer futsal tournament that draws teams from around the region, like the indoor version held in the winter in Branson, Mo. A renovated Henderson soccer field complex could be a great asset in a part of town that does not get enough attention for revitalization. And, the partnership would symbolically unite the Little Rock School District and the city of Little Rock at a time it is sorely needed. Matt Dishongh is the publications editor for Baptist Health and a soccer evangelist who is a big fan of the Little Rock School District’s much-overlooked middle-school soccer league.

PROVIDE EVERY CHILD IN ARKANSAS WITH BOOKS FROM INFANCY TO KINDERGARTEN By Clarke Tucker Arkansas should implement on a statewide basis the program known as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. At a cost of just $25 per year, this program provides each child with one ageappropriate book per month (as selected by a panel of early childhood education experts) from the time of registration to the child’s fifth birthday. Dolly Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995 as a way to give back to her community, but the results have been so impressive that the program has grown to provide books for over 900,000 children worldwide. Kids who participate in this program are more likely than their peers to ask to be read to, and, eventually, to read on their own. For a child, it’s especially exciting to receive a book in the mail with a label bearing his or her name; this causes children to take ownership of the books and helps cultivate a love of read-

ing from a young age. The program also promotes positive time spent with family. Research indicates that the Imagination Library increases enrollment in ESL language and adult literacy classes because parents and other family members want to be able to read to their children. A child with a good early childhood education is much less likely to need remedial education, be held back a grade in school, use drugs, be arrested for a violent crime or become a teen parent. A child with quality early childhood education is much more likely to graduate from high school, go to college, own a home and obtain a better-paying job. And yet, early childhood education is severely underfunded. Research shows 85 percent of cognitive development takes place before age 5, but nearly 90 percent of our public education dollars are spent on K-12 education. Since children participate in the program for a maximum of five years, the Imagination Library costs up to $125 for up to 60 books over the life of the program for a single child. That breaks down to $2.08 per book, which includes the cost of printing and mailing. Tennessee implemented the program on a statewide basis approximately 10 years ago with impressive results. Participants in the program score significantly higher in reading comprehension and vocabulary measures than their peers — not only in kindergarten, but also in second and third grades. More broadly, there is evidence that a child with even 25 books in his or her home will complete two more years of school than a child with no books. The state of Tennessee provides about half the funding for its program, with the other half raised locally on a county-bycounty basis. In Arkansas, the program exists in many counties — for example, the Imagination Library has been fully implemented in Des Arc for more than five years with incredible results. Unfortunately, our state government has not stepped in as a partner to local communities, and there are significant parts of Arkansas, including Pulaski County, where the program does not exist at all. Arkansas could become the second state in the nation to implement the Imagination Library on a statewide basis if it were to act now. The entire program would cost an estimated $2.6 million to $2.8 million per year to implement. If the state matched local community dollars at a 50 percent to 75 percent rate, we could provide 12 books every year to every child in Arkansas from birth to age 5 for $1.3 million to $2.1 million per year. In doing

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so, we would change the lives of a generation of Arkansas children. Clarke Tucker represents a portion of Little Rock and Pulaski County in the Arkansas House of Representatives and is an attorney at Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC. He is hoping, and working to make sure, that his daughter will receive an Imagination Library book in the mail before her fifth birthday in the summer of 2017.

LEGISLATE FOOD WASTE AND DISPOSAL By Gail E. Allen In May 2015, France made it illegal for large supermarkets to throw out edible safe food. The new law requires them to donate the food to charity. They must enter into a contract with a charity within one year or face steep fines for failure to do so. Here in the U.S., after a five-year preparatory notice and education period, Massachusetts in 2014 passed a much more comprehensive law concerning food waste disposal that prevents any institution or company that produces at least 2,000 pounds of food waste per week from putting it in a landfill. The state requires all food waste (edible or not) to be recycled, composted or donated. Even before the law went into effect in Massachusetts, new businesses in the energy and composting sectors were beginning to spring up. According to the Massachusetts EPA site, Massachusetts’ goal each year is “to divert 450,000 tons of inedible food waste to composting facilities or anaerobic digesters, which convert food waste into a biogas that can be used for heat and electricity … and will cut greenhouse gases, lower waste disposal costs and preserve scarce landfill space across Massachusetts.” In Europe, draft legislation similar to the French law (which was recently modified to add some of the Massachusetts features) has been proposed 24

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ARKANSAS TIMES

in Norway, Poland, Romania and Italy. Parliament in the United Kingdom is leading a campaign by 16 national parliaments in Europe to have the EU take action with binding limits, and a U.K. supermarket chain, Morrisons, announced that a pilot project that gave unsold food to local community organizations will be extended to all of its stores across the U.K. One out of seven people in the U.S. are “food insecure” (in Arkansas, the figure is one in five). At the same time, almost incomprehensibly, some $160 billion worth of food is wasted and goes into U.S. landfills every year, representing a staggering 40 percent of all food consumed in the U.S. (up from 10 percent in 1980). There are many contributing factors, one of which is the misleading “sell by,” “best by” or “use by” dates appearing on food, which bear little relation to food safety, and which many experts say are artificially set to scare consumers and increase sales. While we often hear about the serious environmental impact of food production on biodiversity and scarce land and water resources, the more startling statistic is that food waste is one of the largest contributors to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. A 2013 United Nations’ study stated that if wasted food were a country, it would be the third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. When food waste decomposes in landfills, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas which, according to the EPA’s website, “pound for pound, has 25 times more effect on climate change than carbon.” Gail E. Allen practiced law in New York for 17 years before returning to Little Rock to tend to her parents’ medical needs and small family business.

COMMIT LITTLE ROCK TO BEING 100 PERCENT POWERED BY CLEAN ENERGY BY 2025

category. I say we aim higher and show the rest of the United States what’s possible when we Arkansans think big. Glen Hooks is the director of the Sierra Club of Arkansas.

By Glen Hooks Communities from Long Island, N.Y., to Aspen, Colo., are taking the pledge to use 100 percent clean energy in the foreseeable future. Having Arkansas’s capital city set this goal would establish a path that other cities and towns across the state can follow. Now is the perfect time to start making those plans. Entergy’s massive and dirty White Bluff coal-fired power plant is nearing retirement, and new clean air protections are coming that will make coal and gas power even more of a risky bet in the very near future. Our reliance on fossil fuels is no longer a smart strategy. While dirty energy is becoming less attractive, the plummeting price of solar and wind energy, combined with rapidly advancing renewable energy technology, is changing the energy game entirely. In 2015, Arkansas saw no fewer than four utility-scale solar and wind project proposals across the state. We’re also very close to adding in 500 megawatts of wind energy from the pending Clean Line Energy project. Couple those giant projects with new programs (some governmental, some home-grown) making it easier for Arkansans to generate their own solar energy, and it’s clear the clean energy revolution has arrived in Arkansas. It’s time we embraced that revolution on a larger scale. Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola ran for election on a platform that included protecting our natural resources. If he took this ambitious but doable next step, it would cement his legacy as a truly “strong mayor” who prioritized our economy, health and environment all at the same time. Such a move would not only result in cleaner air and a healthier population for Central Arkansas, but would also undoubtedly create thousands of new jobs. Imagine our citizens building and installing solar panels, wind turbines and energy efficient appliances. Imagine our citizens helping to retrofit our buildings and homes, weatherizing them to save energy and lower our power bills. Most of these are solid, good-paying jobs that, frankly, can’t be outsourced. Even an Arkansan who is loath to be called an environmentalist won’t turn away a goodpaying job. I’m ready for the Natural State to live up to her potential. Those of us who have grown up in Arkansas know the historic sting of always being 49th or 50th in every

ERECT MARKERS TO REMEMBER ARKANSAS’S HISTORY OF OPPRESSION AND RESISTANCE By Acadia Roher Amid recent debates over the Confederate flag and similar symbols of Southern heritage, it’s become clear that many Arkansans — and white Arkansans in particular — are unfamiliar with much of our state’s history. Defenders of Confederate symbolism complain about “whitewashing the past” but tend to be silent about the folks who have perpetrated oppression, as well as those who have resisted it. Though some of this history (such as the Central High crisis) is widely known, much else remains nearly invisible. How many residents of Little Rock have driven through the intersection of Broadway and Ninth streets oblivious to the fact that in 1927, a white mob lynched John Carter and burned his body there on the trolley tracks? And what of the locations of sit-ins led by Philander Smith students throughout the 1960s that prompted the desegregation of downtown businesses? State and local funding should be made available to establish markers and memorials both to reckon with our violent history and to celebrate the legacy of social justice and creative accomplishments of all our people. Then we can have a full picture of our Southern heritage and know which parts are really worth defending. Acadia Roher is a Little Rock native who works with Little Rock Collective Liberation and other social justice groups in Central Arkansas. She also volunteers her time in several community gardens and consults for nonprofits with a team of fellow Clinton School alumni.

Big ideas for families in need

TO PRESERVE FAMILIES STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE, DEVELOP A NEW TYPE OF SPECIALTY COURT

in the foster care system. Often, parental rights are terminated and the child ends up being adopted. Although child welfare statutes require that the state do its best to keep a child in his or her home and with family, they are often ignored. Instead, removal and foster care placement come first — and then, if we figure out that the child shouldn’t have been removed, we try to fix it later. That is backward thinking and detrimental to many children. With the current success rate of specialty courts in dealing with addiction, we have a golden opportunity to salvage families and to keep or return kids to their sober and drug-free parents. Lisa Parks is an attorney with the Washington County Public Defender’s Office who is currently assigned to Washington and Madison counties’ drug court/ veterans treatment court programs.

By Lisa Parks Arkansas needs to implement family treatment courts as a part of its “specialty courts” system. Our state is doing a great job of developing drug courts and veterans treatment courts, but we must streamline a relationship between the treatment courts and the child welfare courts so that families can address substance abuse problems in a way that maintains the family structure. Foster care is sometimes necessary. We have many, many foster families that care deeply for our children in need and are doing their very best to provide safe and loving homes. However, I believe that the most important step in reducing the burden on the foster care system is to avoid using it whenever possible. We have become desensitized to the idea that it is OK to take kids away from their families, and we must do a better job of leaving kids in their homes whenever possible. Parental substance abuse problems are the primary reason children are removed from their homes and placed

P l a n n i n g2 0 1 6Ma r k e t i n g? T h i n kOn l i n e . T h i n kAr i s t o t l e .

ARKANSAS FAMILY CAREGIVERS DESERVE OUR SUPPORT. More than 450,000 Arkansans care for older parents or loved ones, helping them live independently and safely at home — where they want to be. But these caregivers often lack the resources and support they need to provide that care. That’s why our state needs to support family caregivers and provide services for seniors at home and in their communities.

ALLOW ADULT ADOPTEES ACCESS TO THEIR ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATES AND RELATED COURT DOCUMENTS

Learn more about how AARP is fighting to support family caregivers and their loved ones.

Visit aarp.org/ar

By Westley Ashley In Arkansas, like many other states, an adopted person’s birth certificate is amended to list his or her adoptive

Facebook.com/AARPArkansas @ARAARP aarp.org/AR

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parents and remove his or her biological parents. Additionally, all court records and documents related to the adoption are sealed. This effectively prevents an adult adoptee in Arkansas from learning anything about his or her background not provided in documentation given to the adoptive parents when the adoption was finalized. From a very young age, I knew I was adopted. My parents felt it was important to be honest with me about that fact, but at the same time, it was obvious. My parents are African Americans; they have darker skin tones and their hair is kinkier than my own. I am a multiracial American whose features lend to being interpreted as native to many different parts of the world: Cuba, Iran, Ecuador and even China. After months of discussing “the search” with my mother as a teenager, I was given the only documentation she had regarding my biological parents. Arkansas law requires an agency or person involved in adoption proceedings to compile this information. My adoptive mother’s records contained a narrative from my teenage biological mother explaining she was unaware she was pregnant until the last few days before she went into labor. It also explained her family’s composition — one military father, one stay-at-home mom, a little sister, all Catholic and white. The only information pertaining to my biological father is extremely limited — he wore glasses, he did not smoke or do drugs and he was described as “black/Hispanic.” Growing up, I would often get lost in the mirror wondering where my brown eyes came from or whose ears also had that funny crimp in the corner. I have become comfortable with the label of “multiracial” only in recent years. My own lack of biological history has left me feeling untethered at times, and I’ve struggled with the concept of identity as an adult. I am uncomfortable around new people because I fear I will be asked the question I dread the most: “What are you?” This uneasiness is partly due to just how entitled strangers can feel and partly because I’m unable to answer my own questions about my origins. I’d suggest altering Arkansas’s laws regarding the presumption of absolute secrecy in adoption, thereby granting adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates and/or court documents related to their adoption. Changes in this area of law would not only help with the adoptee’s journey 26

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ARKANSAS TIMES

of identity development, but would also impact early identification and treatment of hereditary health problems. Although I cannot speak for all adoptees, I believe this to be a human rights issue. Opponents to opening access to such records assert that it would unfairly rescind promises of anonymity made to women who surrendered children for adoption in the past. However, this misses the point; an adoptee’s right to information is not a right to a relationship. Tennessee has modified its laws to provide all adult adoptees access to these original records while also providing biological parents the option to veto any contact being sought by the adult adoptee. Violation of the veto results in a misdemeanor offense. To facilitate the same goal, Arkansas law provides two avenues for adoptees, but neither provides real opportunity for success. First, adoptees can rely on a voluntary registry that is largely unknown to the public. The state created Arkansas’s Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry to allow identifying information to be shared when both the adoptee and a biological relative consented to such an act. The other option provided is the use of the court system, but the appellate courts have shown little interest in this issue. Going the route of the courts, adult adoptees seeking access to information about their origins must meet a judicial standard that has not been clearly defined by Arkansas case law. To gain access, adoptees must show “good cause,” but it is at the discretion of the court to determine what exactly “good cause” means for each case. Therefore, the adult adoptee cannot appropriately prepare to meet this shifting standard. The two legal avenues provided to Arkansas’s adoptees place a burden on them that must be overcome before they are granted access to information most individuals take for granted. Why continue to presume that all biological parents prefer secrecy regarding an adoption that occurred 18 or more years ago? Why continue to place all the administrative hurdles and burdens on the adult adoptee, who was simply a passive participant in a legal proceeding? Westley Ashley was born and raised in Arkansas and lives in Little Rock with his wife, son and two dogs. He received a B.A. in anthropology from

Texas A&M University in 2004 and a law degree from the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law in 2015. In April 2015, his paper “Reconsidering the Presumption: A Proposal to Provide Arkansas’s Adult Adoptees Open Access to Their Original Birth Records” was published in the Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public Service.

LET’S END CHILD ABUSE By Teresa Kramer and Chad Sievers

Arkansas’s child abuse rate is substantially higher (14.6 per 1,000) than the national average (9.1 per 1,000). We propose to establish a Child Trauma Innovation Center in Arkansas to fundamentally change the way we develop and implement preventative policies and programs and clinical practices for children who have been abused. It is self-evident why child abuse is unacceptable on a human level, but child maltreatment also takes a toll on larger society. It is estimated that each new case of child abuse costs the United States economy approximately $1.8 million over the course of that individual’s lifetime, due to trauma’s effect on physical and mental health, educational achievement, substance abuse, work performance and other quality-of-life indicators. In 2014, there were 10,370 new cases of child abuse reported in Arkansas. Each has the potential both to dramatically change one child’s life and to significantly impact the overall social fabric of our state for years to come. Changing these statistics requires working more collaboratively and creatively with industry, the arts, educational institutions, health care professionals and others. A Child Trauma Innovation Center would bring together the best minds and

brightest innovators from our state and nation to disrupt the cycle of abuse that occurs generationally across racial, socioeconomic, ethnic and religious communities. We’re inspired by the entrepreneurial work of the Arkansas Innovation Hub in North Little Rock and believe that same creativity can be applied to social issues such as child abuse. Indeed, there are models nationally for doing this, including the Center for Social Innovation in Massachusetts and Minnesota’s Social Innovation Lab. We want to discover answers to questions such as these: How might the business community design and implement campaigns to educate employees about child abuse and its effects? How do we encourage educational institutions, from pre-K to college, to advocate for inclusion of information about child abuse and resiliency skills into curricula, from health education to history? How can we engage communities through social media and other online networks to adopt “not-in-my-neighborhood” initiatives? Effectively treating victims of abuse is especially crucial. We know that not all therapy is created equal and that some treatments are more effective than others. However, Medicaid and other thirdparty payers typically do not base their reimbursement rates to mental health providers on whether they have received training in evidencebased practices. How can we encourage mental health providers to use evidence-based mental health treatments for children who experience trauma, perhaps through enhanced reimbursement rates? To answer such questions, the Child Trauma Innovation Center would fund novel pilot studies across the state with rigorous outcomes measurements, leading eventually to more wide-scale programs. With a proactive, innovative approach, we can derail the upward trend in child maltreatment rates and dramatically improve the health indices of Arkansas. Teresa Kramer is a professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Psychiatric Research Institute and director of the Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma (ARBEST) program. Chad Sievers is the project coordinator for the ARBEST program.

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PAIR FOSTER FAMILIES WITH BIOLOGICAL FAMILIES IN A MENTORING PROGRAM By Georgia Mjartan Foster families are sometimes referred to as resource families, since our job as foster parents is to be a resource to the child or children in our care. But what if we could be a resource not only to the children, but also to their biological parents? Long-term foster care tends to be a painful and confusing experience for children. The goal is always to find a permanent situation, whether children are returned to their biological families or adopted into a new home. As foster parents, the question guiding all of our decisions should be, “How can I make this child’s life better?” One way to do this, when appropriate, would be to mentor the child’s biological family. At present, involvement between foster parents and a child’s biological family is often discouraged. When a person decides to foster or adopt through the state Division of Child and Family Services, they are given a choice of three check boxes on a form: foster care, adoption or provisional foster care (an option for family members seeking to foster a relative). There used to be a fourth option, foster-to-adopt. That choice was removed, I understand, because of concerns that foster parents hoping to adopt the children in their care were working against the goal of reunification with the biological family. I envision a wider selection of choices for engagement, including the option to be a foster-mentor family. Everyone — DCFS caseworkers, foster parents, biological parents and, most importantly, children — would benefit from a greater breadth of options available for the complex and life-changing relationships that 28

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ARKANSAS TIMES

this system brokers. At first, foster-mentor families would look just like regular foster parents. A child or children in need of care would be placed in their home. But as the case progressed, if caseworkers, ad litem attorneys and judges deemed the biological family to be good candidates, the foster parents would be asked if they would be willing to also serve as mentors to the biological family members trying to reunify with their children. Foster families would mentor through both words and actions —modeling better, healthier child-raising strategies for biological parents. When my husband and I took our own journey as foster parents mentoring the biological father of the little girl in our care, we learned we could be part of something beautiful and selfless. We would have loved to have adopted this child. Instead, we helped someone become a father worthy of the bright and shining star who is his daughter — not because it’s what we wanted for ourselves, but because it was what was best for our child. As executive director of Our House, I have been inspired by the life-changing power of positive, mentoring relationships. I have seen complete transformations occur in the lives of people whom society has written off. I have seen people with histories of addiction, crime and homelessness become clean, stay sober, get jobs, save money and provide for themselves and their children. Accountability is key, and DCFS currently provides that: Biological parents often are required to submit to drug tests, attend mental health counseling and take parenting classes as part of the mandated plan to get their children out of foster care. We provide these kinds of services at Our House, too, and I know their value firsthand. But I am also convinced that rules and brokered services are not enough. I can only imagine the tremendous worry that a parent feels when his child is taken from him. What a powerful and grace-giving experience it must be for that same parent to receive love, kindness, encouragement and practical support from the same people who are serving as the temporary parents to their children. If we had a formal foster-mentoring program, maybe we could take a situation that is painful for everyone and make it a little better. We could use the resources of foster parents to help biological families

become better equipped to raise their children. Most importantly, we could show the children in our care that our love for them extends to their biological families as well, thus helping to integrate and lessen the pain of a disjointed childhood. Georgia Mjartan is the executive director of Our House.

kids sleeping in office buildings. Jordan King is a managing editor at Inuvo and a recent graduate of the Venture Center’s pre-accelerator business program.

EXAMINE ARKANSAS’S PRIORITIES REGARDING FAMILY PRESERVATION LEVERAGE ARKANSAS’S DATAGATHERING INDUSTRY TO EXPAND THE STATE’S FOSTER PARENT NETWORK By Jordan King Ergonomic desk chairs, towering file cabinets and manila folders brimming with paperwork don’t sound like the furnishings of a child’s bedroom, but for 22 foster children who bunked down in state Division of Children and Family Services offices in early 2015, it simply had to do. These makeshift accommodations were the result of a drastic foster home shortage in our state. A report on the DCFS released this summer revealed that there are only 0.66 foster beds per child in Arkansas. Efforts to ramp up recruitment of new foster families have been mixed. The solution to this shortage may reside in the servers of Arkansas’s datagathering companies, which specialize in gathering consumer insights on an increasingly granular level. Acxiom, for instance, is able to categorize individual households into 70 demographic groups and 21 life-stage groups through its Personicx product. These kinds of tools are commonly used by marketers to offer targeted online advertisements, but they also could be used to identify and reach out to the strongest foster family candidates in each Arkansas county. This strategy would allow DCFS to focus its recruitment efforts and ultimately alleviate a shortage that currently leaves

By Kathryn Joyce In a year in which many big questions have been raised about Arkansas’s Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) — from the story of Rep. Justin Harris rehoming his adopted daughters to the agency’s ongoing foster care placement crisis — it’s time to have a discussion broader than just licensing more foster homes and take a hard look at the role of family preservation. Throughout the history of modern child welfare work, there’s been an ongoing push and pull between two priorities: keeping children safe and keeping families together. Since the first widespread child placement initiative in the U.S. — the “Orphan Train” movement, which in the 1800s shipped hundreds of thousands of children from East Coast slums to families on the expanding American frontier — there’s been debate about whether abused and neglected children are best served by uplifting their families or removing them from troubled situations. During the New Deal era, policy shifted from placing children in new families to providing material support to poor single mothers. Historians frequently say that child abuse was “rediscovered” in the 1960s, when a pediatrician coined the term “Battered Child Syndrome,” which helped lead to the establishment of mandatory child abuse reporting laws. But as the population of children in foster care skyrocketed over the next decade, the family preservation movement arose as a corrective, arguing that the one-size solution of removing children from dysfunctional families

ignored the root cause: poverty. Family preservation advocates argue that children too often end up in foster care because their parents’ lack of resources is confused with neglect; that kids, generally speaking, fare best within their own families; and that many families could solve their problems and keep their children safe if they received the right kind of help, whether financial assistance or intensive caseworker interventions. This pendulum never really stops swinging. Today, when a high-profile tragedy like a child death occurs, family preservation advocates are sometimes blamed for seeking to keep families together at all costs. But one of the most outspoken family preservation groups, the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform (NCCPR), argues that many of the problems in distressed child protective services agencies are linked. When there are too many children in foster care overall, they say, there are neither enough foster homes to care for them, nor caseworkers with adequate time to identify the children who are truly in danger. NCCPR acknowledges that some children must be removed from families that are severely abusive. In many other cases, they argue, the trauma of being placed in foster care is quantifiably worse than what children would face if they were left in their homes. NCCPR points to two large-scale studies finding that foster children fare worse on outcomes like teen pregnancy, arrests and employment instability than children who stayed in families with comparable problems. As NCCPR’s executive director Richard Wexler puts it, “You’re not going to recruit your way out of this problem. … The only way to fix foster care is to have less of it.” Family preservation has never received a fair hearing in Arkansas, according to Janice Chaparro, an Arkansas native and social work professor. In 1994, Chaparro accepted a position with DCFS as its first assistant director of family preservation. At the time, the agency was still adjusting to the systemic changes proposed the year before by the settlement of Angela R. v. Bill Clinton, a classaction lawsuit that overhauled Arkansas’s foster care system. Over the three years she worked with DCFS, Chaparro held trainings for agency staff, juvenile courts and other child welfare stakeholders, hoping to introduce some principles of the family preservation movement that had taken hold in other states. She took groups on study trips to Seattle and Detroit, where

child protection agencies had successfully implemented family preservation models. But in Arkansas, she said, family preservation was “almost universally rejected” from the start, thanks to a DCFS culture that was wary of trusting families with decision-making. Simply trying to keep more children with their families won’t address all the challenges that DCFS is grappling with. There will always be some families that are too abusive or unfit to safely care for their children. And the mixed evidence regarding the effectiveness of intensive family preservation services suggests that’s not the solution for all families. But the larger questions of the movement — whether simply increasing the number of foster homes or caseworkers will solve DCFS’s problem absent a deeper look at why so many children are coming into care, and whether removing them from their families is the best way to help — bear more consideration. Kathryn Joyce is a journalist in New York City whose work has appeared in The Nation, Mother Jones, the Atlantic, the New York Times, Slate and elsewhere. In 2015, she began covering Arkansas’s child welfare system for the Arkansas Times. She is the author of two books: “The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption” and “Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.”

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DEVOLVE GREATER RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILD WELFARE TO THE LOCAL LEVEL By Pat Page It is time to formally place more responsibility and accountability at the local level for services to neglected and abused children and their families, and those at risk of abuse and neglect. I served as director of the Arkansas Division of Children and Famwww.arktimes.com

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From the pioneering collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Our America T H E L AT I N O P R E S E N C E I N A M E R I C A N A R T

Nuestra América L A P R ES E N C I A L AT I N A E N E L A R T E ES TA D O U N I D E N S E

October 16, 2015 – January 17, 2016 Free Admission Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support for the exhibition has been provided by Altria Group, the Honorable Aida M. Alvarez, Judah Best, The James F. Dicke Family Endowment, Sheila Duignan and Mike Wilkins, Tania and Tom Evans, Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, The Michael A. and the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello Endowment, Henry R. Muñoz III, Wells Fargo and Zions Bank. Additional significant support was provided by The Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Support for “Treasures to Go,” the museum’s traveling exhibition program, comes from The C.F. Foundation, Atlanta. Our America is sponsored in Arkansas by (at time of printing):

Donna and Mack McLarty The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston Consulate of Mexico in Little Rock Alan DuBois Contemporary Craft Fund

501 East Ninth Street, Little Rock arkansasartscenter.org Above: Joseph Rodríguez, Carlos, from the series Spanish Harlem, 1987, chromogenic print, 12 x 18 inches, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, © 1987, Joseph Rodríguez

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

ily Services from 2006 to 2008, so I know there are many good people involved in the statewide system, both inside DCFS (e.g., workers, supervisors, administrators) and outside the agency (e.g., advocates, legislators and other state leaders). But the system has never been as good as it needs to be. I don’t think it will be until communities and neighborhoods reassume some ownership of the problem and the solution. Why is it so hard to have an excellent child welfare system? Part of it has to do with the nature of child welfare, which must strike a balance between the protection of children and the rights of parents. This is not easy on any level — executive, legislative, administrative or on the front lines of caseworkers in the field. Another part of the “why” is the fact that families and communities have changed over the past few decades. Our society has transitioned from smaller towns and neighborhoods with a more stable sense of community to larger, more transient, impersonal cities and neighborhoods in which people often do not know each other or feel any obligation to help or support one another. At one time, communities — particularly the faith community — assumed greater responsibility for child welfare. But with the identification of child abuse as a major social problem, federal and state authorities became more involved. Local communities and counties often were happy to let “the state” assume ownership of the problem. Yet as communities have relinquished responsibility, we have seen more instances of child abuse, more children entering foster care and more children aging out of the system without a family (and therefore more likely to end up in prison, homeless, addicted to drugs and so on). Of course, there are still many people at the local level who invest much time, energy and passion in child welfare, from foster parents themselves to Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers. Some parts of Arkansas have local child death review committees and multidisciplinary teams that coordinate responses to child abuse. Since 2008, the Christian community has become more involved in foster and adoptive parent recruitment, training and support through The CALL (Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime). It is time to formalize local commu-

nity involvement. We need to give people concrete ways to get involved, easyto-use data and appropriate training. We need to let them determine local solutions — by county or by community or by neighborhood. We should let communities determine how best to prevent child abuse locally, how best to recruit foster and adoptive parents, and how best to support and partner with families involved in the system or at risk of involvement. At the state level, we need better mechanisms to listen to families and local partners. State legislators and administrators should structure services based on formalized input and feedback from involved constituents. Higher education (such as schools of social work) should also be involved, including in evaluation of different approaches. What works best for different types of families? A Center for Excellence in Child Welfare Practice could be developed involving DCFS, higher education and the local entities involved in serving children and families. After spending 35 years of my career in child welfare, I have the utmost respect for professionals in this field. I believe, however, that they do not and should not have the sole responsibility for these children and families, and that they can never do it all by themselves. I believe we need more funding for child welfare services, but more tax dollars will not solve the problem in itself. People must say, “Wait — these are OUR children, OUR families. They deserve better services than they are getting. They deserve protection and help and support. As taxpayers and citizens of the state, we demand better services for our money. But we are not content to just demand more from the state agency — we want to be part of the solution. We are willing to put our time and resources and energy into helping serve these children and families. We will hold the state agency AND our community accountable for what happens to them.” Pat Page worked in child welfare for 35 years, serving as director of the Division of Children and Family Services from 2006 to 2008. She serves on the state board of The CALL and served on the planning committee for Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Restore Hope Summit, which aimed to involve the faith community in increased foster parent recruitment and prison re-entry programs.

It's the return of the annual Arkansas Times

MUSICIANS SHOWCASE with performers competing for an array

of prizes worth over $2500! TO ENTER GO TO arktimes.com/showcase16 OR send a link to Facebook, ReverbNation, Bandcamp or Soundcloud to showcase@arktimes.com and include the following: Band Name Hometown Date Band Was Formed Age Range of Members (All ages welcome)

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Arts Entertainment AND

ONE-MAN BAND: Riede Faires (left) created the solo project Voodoo Phaser in 2014; “Tropical Scenario” was his debut release.

O U T E R SPHERES A Q&A with Voodoo Phaser. BY ANDREW MCCLAIN

iede Faires is a native of Paris, Texas, and a senior at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He played in several Fayetteville bands before starting the solo project Voodoo Phaser in late 2014. The first Voodoo Phaser record, “Tropical Scenario,” released earlier this year on Bandcamp and Soundcloud, was selfproduced by Faires on GarageBand using two guitars and an old spinet piano. Faires’ second full-length, “Retrograde Oscillations,” was released on Dec. 14.

Faires’ music is mostly informed by psychedelic rock, but his one-man approach makes for something a little more intimate: He sings in a distant falsetto, over tracks filled out with textured layers of lush guitar and piano. It’s homemade pop music filtered through one man’s imagination. From a recent interview: First off, I love the new project. It hasn’t even been a year since “Tropical Scenario” (plus the “Fang Magie”

EP in between), so you’ve had a pretty productive 2015. Do you work on music every day? How are you balancing that with school? Well, I work on music almost every day. School keeps me pretty busy, but I usually get to work about two days a week. Lyrics are a more, umm, sporadic type of thing. Lyrics can happen on the bus, on my bike, in my apartment, at a party, at work, or anywhere in between. I think that’s what makes lyrics so magical to me. I’ve actually done quite well balancing school and music — I sacrifice a bit of both sometimes. It goes both ways. What are you studying? I’m a senior studying English Literature. Right now I’m interested in studying the Romantics — Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, etc. When did you start playing in bands? At around 17 I formed my first band, Breakfast Blend, and then there was Mount Olympus, and those were both in Paris, Texas. When I got here I formed Cambridge with my cousin and a few friends, then after that followed Water

Walk and Jungle Cycle. I’m also an honorary member in an Austin, Texas, band called Empire Kid. Why did you start recording as Voodoo Phaser? What’s your recording setup like? I started doing Voodoo Phaser late 2014 as a creative outlet for stuff that didn’t fit the mold of my other projects. My recording setup is really sporadic — it’s really whatever I can get my hands on and when I can work with it. Sometimes I’ll record big vocals in a bathroom with sounds bouncing everywhere. I use a couple of pedals for my guitar. I also use a Betsy Ross Spinet piano, which I’m quite proud of. I use GarageBand for recording and a mastering program that I got from a developer online. The drums I program and mess with. I also try to use background sounds for sonic landscape and atmospheric effects. Especially on the new stuff that I’ve been working on. We’re seeing a lot more “bedroom” or “laptop” artists that are essentially studio-only acts. Why do you think this is? I think it’s obviously the way the CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

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NEXT UP IN THE ARKANSAS Times Film Series, on Jan. 21, we’re partnering with Arkansas Sounds to host the U.S. premiere of Tav Falco’s ambitious and fascinating new film “Urania Descending.” Falco was born on a farm in rural Arkansas and today lives in Vienna, where he writes books, directs films and records music with the cult art-rock band Panther Burns, whose most recent album, “Command Performance,” was released in March. For many years, Falco lived in Memphis, where he befriended and collaborated with a cast of now-iconic characters that included the producer Jim Dickinson, the photographer William Eggleston and Big Star front man Alex Chilton. He is a true Arkansas character and genuine artist, and we are proud to present his latest work. Influenced by the German Expressionist cinema of Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau, the film follows a young woman in Little Rock who travels to Vienna, where she “becomes embroiled in an intrigue to uncover buried Nazi plunder.” Part fable and part tone poem, it’s an eerie and powerful experiment from one of Arkansas’s most distinctive native artists. The film, Falco’s first full-length feature, has previously been screened in Europe — at David Lynch’s club Silencio, in Paris, among other venues — but Falco has held off on American showings until he could premiere the movie in Little Rock. Falco will attend the premiere and participate in an audience discussion after the screening, which is free and open to the public. SEARCY NATIVE BONNIE Montgomery has been nominated for Outlaw Female in the 2016 Ameripolitan Awards, an Austin, Texas, award show that honors musicians whose work doesn’t imitate today’s notions of country music. The awards ceremony will be held in Austin on Feb. 16. Vote for Montgomery at ameripolitan.com.

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY WILL STEPHENSON

THURSDAY 12/17

LUCERO FAMILY CHRISTMAS

9 p.m. Revolution. $21 adv., $26 day of.

Gruff, beloved Memphis alt-country band Lucero has a new record out, titled “All a Man Should Do.” It’s been well received — Salon called it the band’s “best record yet” — and it’s easy to see why: It’s as nostalgic and narrative as the group’s previous releases, but seems to go out of its way to be catchier, friendlier, more sentimental, with less sonic or emotional interference. It’s acoustic and moody and lush, and features one of the year’s best (and most Lucero-esque) song titles: “Went Looking for Warren Zevon’s Los Angeles.” And it’s good to see front man Ben Nichols keeping in touch with his Little Rock roots; the album’s first music video (the first of a trilogy), “Baby Don’t You Want Me,” was directed by Little Rock natives Adam and Sara Heathcott. The group will be in town this weekend for its annual holiday concert.

THURSDAY 12/17

TRINA

9 p.m. Envy (formerly Elevations).

NOTHING MUCH HAS CHANGED: We’re showing the 1971 classic “The Last Picture Show” at the Ron Robinson Theater as part of the Arkansas Times Film Series, 7 p.m. Thursday, $5.

THURSDAY 12/17

‘THE LAST PICTURE SHOW’

7 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater. $5.

The novelist Larry McMurty grew up on a ranch outside of Archer City, Texas, the place on which he based the imaginary town of Thalia that frequently appeared in his fiction. It’s most memorable portrayal was in his 1966 novel, “The Last Picture Show.” It’s a dusty, atomized place salvaged only by pool halls, all-night cafes and Main Street, “the only street in Thalia with businesses on it.” If Peter Bogdanovich’s film adaptation is remembered better than the novel today, it’s partly because it so effectively and imme34

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

diately captured the experience of living, maturing and making mistakes in a place like this. It was shot in Archer City, in fact. Grover Lewis, a Texas-born magazine writer and longtime friend of McMurty’s, visited the set of the movie for Rolling Stone (it’s often credited as the original “on-location” magazine piece), and described the place as “a vast, landlocked Sargasso Sea of mesquite-dotted emptiness.” The film was shot in vivid black-andwhite — a counter-intuitive move at the time, one that grew naturally out of Bogdanovich’s previous career as a cinephile film critic and scholar

of Golden Age Hollywood directors like Orson Welles and John Ford (both of whom he considered more his peers than the other New Hollywood upstarts of the era). Here are the iconic early performances from Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepard (making her debut), high school students wondering what’s next — the answer isn’t necessarily happy, but it feels true. It’s a beautiful, languorous, interesting film, a masterpiece with smart things to say about adulthood and movies and small towns and loss. Pauline Kael, in the New Yorker, called it “a movie for everybody.”

Trina, born Katrina Laverne Taylor in Miami, has been ahead of her time and behind it, but most often and most thrillingly she has been solidly, hyperconfidently of her time. Women aren’t supposed to thrive in hip-hop — this is why the exceptions are always so captivating — and rappers in general aren’t supposed to persist for long beyond their youth and initial period of relevance. So how do we account for Trina, who first appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998 and has reasserted herself every couple of years since? She’s an icon, the Queen of Miami. Lil Wayne still has her name tattooed on his ring finger — he must see it every day. As a rapper, she shuffles between registers: depraved, taunting, proud and resolute. In the video for last year’s single, “Fuck Love,” she dug her own lover’s grave. And I still think about 2002’s “B R Right” (featuring Ludacris), which could have been a Bjork song in an alternate universe, with its lavish, elusive, vaguely Middle-Eastern production (by a young Kanye West). “With me, this shit gonna cost,” she says. “I live life like it’s just a dream.”

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 12/17 The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts a closing reception for its largest exhibition to date, “Freedom, Oh Freedom! Arkansas’s People of African Descent and the Civil War,” at 6 p.m., free. Bonnie Montgomery performs at the Southern Gourmasian, 6:30 p.m. Comedian Claude Stuart is at the Loony Bin at 7:30 p.m., $7 (and at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10). Trans-Siberian Orchestra returns to Verizon Arena with its prog-rock holiday light show, 7:30 p.m., $52.50-$92. Jingle in the Rock is at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $10. Local garage punks Bombay Harambee play at the White Water Tavern with Dylan Earl, 9:30 p.m., $5.

FRIDAY 12/18

HOLIDAY POPS: Bonnie Montgomery is a featured soloist at this year's Holiday Pops with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra at Pulaski Academy’s Connor Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, $19-$58.

FRIDAY 12/18-SUNDAY 12/20

HOLIDAY POPS WITH THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Pulaski Academy’s Connor Performing Arts Center. $19-$58.

This year’s holiday program from

the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra features selections from Bach and Gabrieli alongside your standardissue Christmas anthems: “Joy to the World,” “Silver Bells,” “Silent Night,” etc. (Like most things, Christmas carols sound far less depressing coming from an orchestra than they do at

the mall.) Guest performers include a children’s choir (directed by Timothy Allen), lyric soprano Christine Westhoff, gospel soloist Vickie Woodward and — intriguingly — Bonnie Montgomery, the opera composer and accomplished country singersongwriter.

FRIDAY 12/18-SUNDAY 12/20

SATURDAY 12/19

NEIL BERG’S ‘BROADWAY HOLIDAY’

JUANITA’S LAST DANCE

Neil Berg is the composer-lyricist responsible for a number of Broadway and off-Broadway hits, including rock musical “The 12” and adaptations of Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper,” Rudyard Kipling’s “The Man Who Would Be King” and the Jack Lemmon film “Grumpy Old Men.” He’s also produced a series of touring Broadway revues: Neil Berg’s “Rock & Roll,” Neil Berg’s “Piano Man,” Neil Berg’s “100 Years of Broadway,” etc. The man is a brand. Celebrity Attractions brings his new project to Maumelle this weekend, Neil Berg’s “Broadway Holiday.” Billed as “the number one touring Broadway concert in America” (I’d fact-check that, but it’s too impressivesounding), the show features the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and so on.

The other day I saw Patterson Hood play at South on Main, the restaurant and concert space located at 1304 Main St., the original site of the iconic Little Rock venue Juanita’s. After his first song, Hood thanked us for coming and then looked around the room with what seemed like real curiosity or nostalgia, or both, offering after a pause that he’d always hoped to play at Juanita’s one day with his band, the Drive-By Truckers. “Guess I outlasted the place,” he said. I didn’t think so at the time, but it turned out Hood was right. Juanita’s, which relocated to the River Market in 2011, announced earlier this month — pretty suddenly — that it would be closing for good. It’s been in business since 1986, when it was founded by Frank McGehee (father of local restaurateur Scott McGehee) and Mark Abernathy (later of Loca Luna and Red Door). The Tex-Mex format was game-changing for Little Rock at the time, but its reputation as one of the only real rock venues in town lent it far greater prominence. For firsthand remembrances, check the venue’s closing announcement on Facebook, where commenters have been weighing in with memories and tributes. This week, they’ll be serving food off the original 1986 menu and selling off trinkets and ornaments from the venue’s walls. Goose, Rodge Arnold and more will perform Saturday night before the space shuts its doors for good.

8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Maumelle Performing Arts Center. $32-$57.

8 p.m. Juanita’s. $5.

Comedy troupe The Main Thing performs its Christmas production, “A Fertile Holiday,” at the Joint in Argenta, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, $22. Lagniappe plays a holiday show (featuring special guests) at the Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. Dream Cult plays at Vino’s with Mean Ends, Claw Marks and I Was Afraid, 9 p.m. Southern rock group Stephen Neeper & The Wild Hearts plays at Stickyz with Dead End Drive, 9 p.m., $5. TwiceSax plays at Another Round Pub at 9 p.m. Burlesque show Foul Play Cabaret comes to White Water at 9:30 p.m., $10. R&B singer Tawanna Campbell performs a late-night show at South on Main, 10 p.m., $15.

SATURDAY 12/19 The Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team plays the Mercer Bears at Verizon Arena, 7 p.m., $25. Big Red Flag plays at Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 7 p.m. Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe plays the Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. Deadbird plays at Vino’s with Snakedriver and Crankbait, 9 p.m. Jimbo Mathus — Squirrel Nut Zippers founder, former sideman for Jim Dickinson and Buddy Guy, self-proclaimed “Arkansas Sonin-Law” — returns to White Water at 9 p.m., $10. Grateful Dead tribute band The Schwag plays at Revolution with FreeVerse, 10 p.m., $10. www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please email the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 501-2449690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. LGBTQ/ SGL Youth and Young Adult Group, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St.

FILM

THURSDAY, DEC. 17

“Home Alone.” Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $5. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

MUSIC

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

Bombay Harambee, Dylan Earl. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-3758400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Bonnie Montgomery. The Southern Gourmasian, 6:30 p.m. 219 West Capitol. 501-313-5645. www. thesoutherngourmasian.com. Chris DeClerk (album release). Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar. com. Chris Long. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 6 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. “Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Jingle in the Rock. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Lucero Family Christmas. Revolution, 9 p.m., $21 adv., $26 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Mayday By Midnight (headliner), Karen Jr. (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com. Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Verizon Arena, 7:30 p.m., $52.50-$92. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501975-9001. verizonarena.com. Trina. Envy, 9 p.m. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317.

COMEDY

Claude Stuart. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m., $7. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

Antique/Boutique Walk. Shopping and live entertainment. Downtown Hot Springs, third Thursday of every month, 4 p.m., free. 100 Central Ave., Hot Springs. #ArkiePubTrivia. Stone’s Throw Brewing, 6:30 p.m. 402 E. 9th St. 501-244-9154. “Freedom, Oh Freedom!” Closing Reception. A celebration of the center’s largest exhibit to date, “Arkansas’s People of African Descent and the Civil War: 1861-1866.” Mosaic Templars Cultural 36

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

MUSIC

BLUE HEALER: Jimbo Mathus — Squirrel Nut Zippers founder, former sideman for Jim Dickinson and Buddy Guy, self-proclaimed “Arkansas Son-in-Law” — returns to the White Water Tavern at 9 p.m. Saturday, $10. Center, 6 p.m., free. 501 W. 9th St. 501-683-3593. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.

FILM

“The Last Picture Show.” Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m., $5. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals. lib.ar.us/ron-robinson-theater.aspx.

POETRY

POETluck. Literary salon and potluck. The Writer’s Colony at Dairy Hollow, third Thursday of every month, 6 p.m. 515 Spring St., Eureka Springs. 479-253-7444.

FRIDAY, DEC. 18

MUSIC

All In Fridays. Envy. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317. Dream Cult, Mean Ends, Claw Marks, I Was Afraid. Vino’s, 9 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-3758466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Foul Play Cabaret. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com. Holiday Pops with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Connor Performing Arts Center, Pulaski Academy, 7:30 p.m., $19-$58. 12701 Hinson Road. Just Sayin, Grayhaus, Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Lagniappe. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Mandy McBryde. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 7 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Neil Berg’s “Broadway Holiday.” Maumelle

High School, 8 p.m., $32-$57. 100 Victory Drive. 501-851-5350. Roar!, Mantra Love. Maxine’s, 9 p.m. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. Route 66. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 6:30 p.m., $5. 705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway. Stephen Neeper & The Wild Hearts, Dead End Drive. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Tawanna Campbell. South on Main, 10 p.m., $15. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com. TwiceSax. Another Round Pub, 9 p.m. 12111 W. Markham. 501-313-2612. www.anotherroundpub.com. Upscale Friday. IV Corners, 7 p.m. 824 W. Capitol Ave.

COMEDY

“A Fertile Holiday.” An original production by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Claude Stuart. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Contra Dance. Park Hill Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansascountrydance.org. “Salsa Night.” Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL

Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar. com. Big Red Flag. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 7 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Deadbird, Snakedriver, Crankbait. Vino’s, 9 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Foul Play Cabaret, Joe Myside and the Sorrow. Maxine’s, 9 p.m. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com. Goodbye Forever: Juanita’s Last Dance. With performances by Goose, Rodge Arnold and more. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $5. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com. Holiday Pops with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Connor Performing Arts Center, Pulaski Academy, 7:30 p.m., $19-$58. 12701 Hinson Road. Jimbo Mathus. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m., $10. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876. Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-492-9802. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Members Only. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Neil Berg’s “Broadway Holiday.” Maumelle High School, through Dec. 19, 8 p.m.; through Dec. 20, 2 p.m., $32-$57. 100 Victory Drive. 501851-5350. Pepperland (headliner), Chris DeClerk (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org. The Schwag, FreeVerse. Revolution, 10 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com.

COMEDY

EVENTS

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell and Cedar Hill Roads. Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd. Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001. Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

FILM

“It’s A Wonderful Life.” Walton Arts Center, 2 p.m., $5. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479443-5600. “The Polar Express.” Walton Arts Center, 6 p.m., $5. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-4435600.

SPORTS

Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Mercer Bears. Men’s college basketball, Verizon Arena, 7 p.m., $25. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

SUNDAY, DEC. 20

MUSIC

Al White and Friends. Kent Walker Artisan Cheese, 4 p.m. 1515 E. 4th St. 501-301-4963. www.kentwalkercheese.com. Holiday Pops with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Connor Performing Arts Center, Pulaski Academy, 3 p.m., $19-$58. 12701 Hinson Road. Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls.com. Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot. 501-982-1939. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Neil Berg’s “Broadway Holiday.” Maumelle High School, 2 p.m., $32-$57. 100 Victory Drive. 501-851-5350.

EVENTS

Artist for Recovery. A secular recovery group for people with addictions. Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 10 a.m. 1601 S. Louisiana.

MONDAY, DEC. 21

MUSIC

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Monday Night Jazz. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Open Mic. The Lobby Bar. Studio Theatre, 8 p.m. 320 W. 7th St. Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com.

EVENTS

Hoppy Anniversary Party. With live music from Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass. Lost Forty Brewing, 4 p.m., donations. 501 Byrd St. 501319-7335. www.lost40brewing.com.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22

MUSIC

Holiday Cover Up Show: Oasis and The Strokes tributes. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Jeff Ling. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. willydspianobar.com/prost-2. Karaoke Tuesdays. On the patio. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., free. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Music Jam. Hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

NO SKINNY STEAKS!

Piano Bar Tue– e Bar Martini & Win Sat

e • 35 By The Gla ss 33 5 Sel ect ion s Of Win The Wo rld Fin e Spi rits Fro m Acr oss ion Of Sco tlan d Reg ry Eve m Fro t Sco tch Lis Op en unt il 10 pm • ns rbo 6 Sin gle -Ba rrel Bou

In The River Market District 501.324.2999 sonnywilliamssteakroom.com

Free Valet Parking

COMEDY

Stand-Up Tuesday. Hosted by Adam Hogg. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Juanita’s, 7:30 p.m., $7. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd. com/stores/littlerock.

FILM

“It’s A Wonderful Life.” Vino’s, 7:30 p.m., free. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 23

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Drageoke with Chi Chi Valdez. Sway. 412 Louisiana. www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

AFTER DARK, CONT.

MOVIE REVIEW

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com. Karaoke. MUSE Ultra Lounge, 8:30 p.m., free. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-6398. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

COMEDY

‘A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS’: Amy Poehler (from left), Bill Murray and Julie White try to salvage a snowed-out Christmas special.

A very blurry Christmas Bill Murray gets good and soused in his odd new Netflix holiday special. BY GRANT TAYLOR

efore I watched “A Very Murray Christmas” Sunday night, I had a couple of whiskeys with an old friend. OK, I had five. (’Tis the season.) She and I drank cocktails in an openair market as wealthy children in red caps picked out chocolates from vendors behind us. I had a cold. I imagined punching my racist uncle. I looked off into the distance and tried not to hear sleigh bells. Generally, I find the holidays unbearable — from the murderous scurrying for gifts to the instant emotional deflation of a Christmas midafternoon. My favorite tradition growing up was burning the tree on New Year’s Day. I tend to get boozy and far off this time of year. Still, as I settled in to watch writerdirector Sofia Coppola’s new Netflix original special, starring Bill Murray and a slew of his showbiz friends, I gave myself over to the warm glow of icicle lights and liquor, and I knew that no matter how unfocused or beside the point — and unlike Christmas — it’d all be over in an hour. Bill Murray, who plays himself, looks like he needs a drink as bad as anyone. Other than pianist and musical director Paul Shaffer of “The Late Show with David Letterman” fame (bald, sunglasses); his assistant Dmitri; and his over-supportive producers (Amy Poehler, Julie White), Bill is alone in 38

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

his room at the Carlyle Hotel, where his live TV Christmas Eve special has been ruined by a massive blizzard that knocked out the power all over New York City. Without any audience or sufficiently famous guests, he sulks and sobs as he prepares to take the stage alone. The special’s opening number, Dean Martin’s “Christmas Blues,” sets the tone for most of the hour. While Dino was a more natural, cheerful drunk — excuse me, performer — Murray has no problem singing or wallowing in a caricature of himself for a good time. He performs the song in the dark to no one, his bowtie hanging limply from his collar. When he hears a knock at the door, he shouts, “I’m not here. I’m already dead. God hates me.” After an abortive attempt at “Jingle Bells,” a small onstage breakdown — “I’m supposed to be laughing. I want to weep, OK? I’m weeping!” — and a dubious duet with Chris Rock, the weather deals a merciful last blow to the East Coast power grid, and Murray is released from his contract. Because he is a gentleman, he heads to Bemelmans Bar. There, he and Shaffer meet the rest of the cast: a quarreling engaged couple (Rashida Jones and Jason Schwartzman), a lounge singer (Maya Rudolph) and various California-looking friends

of Coppola’s (e.g. the French band Phoenix). Throughout the night, they trade stories and songs as they progress from champagne to shots. Straightaway, a waitress (Jenny Lewis) approaches Bill with what appears to be cognac, and they launch into the classic, obligatory “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Bill could have played it straight for a more solid performance, but he’s getting tight, and it’s Christmas, so he ad-libs the male vocal to varying effect. In the background lurks former New York Dolls front man (and the “Ghost of Christmas Past” from “Scrooged”) David Johansen, who plays the bartender. I hiccupped when I saw him, thinking it was Benny from “Rumble Fish.” I had to step outside. The most memorable performance in “A Very Murray Christmas” is a group rendition of “Fairytale of New York” from Irish punk band the Pogues, led by Johansen, Murray and Lewis. Johansen sets the mood, but Bill gets the best lines, like “I got a feeling this year’s for me and you” and “You took my dreams from me” — Happy Christmas! — that he delivers eyes closed in a full tuxedo, with blurry, empty bottles in the foreground. Maybe someone burps. It’s wonderful! There are 15 minutes left after that, but for me it ends right there. Miley Cyrus shows up and quite skillfully sings nearly every Christmas song I never want to hear again. George Clooney makes martinis. It’s all very beautiful, “for a sound stage in Queens,” as Clooney puts it. But it’s also an illusion, and it all just creeps me out. It’s like the “brightly-packaged tinsel-covered Christmas blues” from the opening song. The purpose of a plotless, booze-sodden trudge through the holidays is to pacify, to soothe. That is also what television is for, and Christmas never feels as good as television.

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The Joint, 8 p.m., $7. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th and Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

EVENTS

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Verizon Arena, 7 p.m., $10. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows. html.

NEW GALLERY EXHIBITS, EVENTS ARGENTA GALLERY, 413 Main St., NLR: “Revelation,” 18 pastel and mixed media works by Virmarie DePoyster, through Jan. 4, reception 5-8 p.m. Dec. 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 912-6567. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Charles Harrington — The Journey,” landscapes, through Jan. 9, reception 5-8 p.m. Dec. 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 664-2787. L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Religious Art,” through December, drawing for free giclee 7 p.m. Dec. 17. 6604006. LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St.: “Beyond Words,” 34 illustrations from the International Book Fair for Children and Youth, Dec. 17-Jan. 25. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 372-6933. LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St.: “36th Street Art Exhibition,” show and sale of work by the clients of the United Cerebral Palsy Education Center, through Jan. 1, reception 5-8 p.m. Dec. 18, Argenta ArtWalk. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 687-1061. M2GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road: Launch of “Art Is Your Life. Make It Your Living.,” by Susan Johnson-Mumford, with talk by the author, book photographer Chris King and gallery owner Mac Murphy, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Dec. 22; holiday show. 225-6271. MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “Blue Lines and Black Ink,” original comic book art by John Lucas and Dusty Higgins, through Jan. 13, reception 5-8 p.m. Dec. 18, Argenta Art Walk. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 960-9524. STEPHANO AND GAINES FINE ART, 1916 N. Fillmore St.: “Small Works,” art under

$300 by Stephano and Mike Gaines, with music and libations, 1-5 p.m. Dec. 20; also carved wood sculpture by actor Tony Dow, through Feb. 8. 563-4218. BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “Cultural Symbolism of Plants in Art,” talk by University of Arkansas associate professor Justin Nolan, 1-2 p.m. Dec. 21; “Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic,” more than 100 paintings by Bierstadt, Church, Cole, Heade, O’Keeffe and others, from the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada, through Jan. 18, “Alfred H. Maurer: Art on the Edge,” 65 works spanning the artist’s career from the Addison Gallery of Phillips Academy, through Jan. 4; American masterworks spanning four centuries in the permanent collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Resonance and Memory: The Essence of Landscape,” paintings, mixed media, glass by contemporary artists, through March 6, organized by Katherine T. Carter & Associates; “The Artist Revealed: Artist Portraits and Self-Portraits,” works by Milton Avery, Leonard Baskin, Edward Steichen, Norman Rockwell, Anders Zorn and Chuck Close, from the Syracuse University Art Galleries, through Dec. 20. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-2787.

NEW MUSEUM EXHIBITS, EVENTS ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: “Oh What Fun!” holiday exhibit, featuring vintage decorations and ornaments, through Jan. 3. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., $8-$10. 916-9022. PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: “Holiday Crafts Open House,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 19, $2 per craft or $20 for a family; permanent exhibits on historic agriculture. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 961-1409.

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and the Arkansas Humanities Council are sponsoring a filmmaking contest for high school students. Films must be between five and 15 minutes long and be about an historic site (including archeological sites, buildings, or other places with historic significance at least 50 years old or older) for AETN’s “Student Selects: A Young Filmmakers Showcase.” Winning films will be screened in May 2016 at the Ron Robinson Theater. Deadline is March 18. Find more information at www.aetn.org/studentselects.

CONTINUING GALLERY EXHIBITS ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art,” 93 works by 72 artists from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, through Jan. 17; “Life and Light: Photographic Travels

through Latin America with Bryan Clifton,” through Feb. 14. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP., 200 River Market Ave., Suite 400: “Longevity,” artworks by Emily Wood, Melissa Gill, Joli Livaudais and Sandra Sell. www.arcapital.com. BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Drawing Value,” trompe l’oeil charcoal drawings by Trevor Bennett, 20 percent of sales benefit the Friends of Contemporary Craft. 664-0030. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Earth Work: Photographs by Gary Cawood”; “Arkansas Pastel Society National Exhibition,” both through Feb. 27; “Photographic Arts: African American Studio Photography,” from the Joshua and Mary Swift Collection, “Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines,” both through Dec. 26. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790. CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “In Arkansas Territory,” paintings by John Deering, through Dec. 24. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335. CHRIST CHURCH, 509 Scott. St.: Paintings, mixed media and printmaking by Diane Harper, through December. 374-9247. 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. 664-0880. DRAWL, 5208 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “The Flatlander,” depictions of the Delta by Norwood Creech. 240-7446. GALLERY 221, Second and Center streets: “Fall into Art Show and Sale,” annual gallery artists exhibition. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211. GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: 21st annual “Holiday Art Show,” work by 66 Arkansas artists, through Jan. 9. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 664-8996. GALLERY 360, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road: “Pressure,” printmaking by Nora Messenger, Christian Brown, Kristin Karr, Amery Sandford, Slade Bishop, Alli Thompson, Jack Sims, Emily Brown and Jennifer Perren, through Dec. 24. GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 2nd and Center: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Treasure,” works by Mason Archie, Phoebe Beasley, John Biggers, Ludovic Booz, Bisa Butler, Robert Carter, Kevin Cole, Alfred Conteh, Chukes, Dean Mitchell, Lawrence Finney, Sam Gilliam, Samella Lewis, Betye Saar, Marjorie-Williams Smith and TAFA; “Contemporary Folk Art; Four Decades of Creativity: My Way,” works by Melverue Abraham, Willie Earl Robinson, Sylvester McKissick, Sondra Strong and Kennith Humphrey, receptions 5 p.m. Dec. 31, Kwanzaa “Kumba” Day of Creativity. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 372-6822. HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM GALLERIES, 200 E. Third St.: Oversized portraits by Ray Parker;“Growing Up … In Words and Images,” paintings by Joe Barry Carroll, through Jan. 3; “Art. Function. Craft: The Life and Work of Arkansas Living Treasures,” works by 14 craftsmen honored by Arkansas Arts Council. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. LOCAL COLOUR, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Rotating work by 27 artists in collective. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 265-0422. MATT MCLEOD FINE ART GALLERY, 108

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

OUTER SPHERES, CONT. world is changing. More people are spending time indoors, trying to make their schedules contour to their personal interests. Also, I think people are more comfortable with being introverts than maybe, say, 10 years ago. It’s more practical (and beneficial) for artists to take their own time to use the vast technology at their fingertips, rather than write a song and let it ferment until they get studio time. There’s also a connectivity and community to producing and creating in your bedroom. With outlets like Soundcloud, artists have the immediate resources to collaborate and share ideas and talents. If a rapper from Little Rock needed a beat, he or she could easily find someone to help in a matter of minutes with a couple of Google searches. Did you have any collaborators on the project, or is it still just you? Have you discovered any new recording methods lately? Right now, there are no collaborations. I’ve considered doing some stuff with other artists, but it’s going to take some time for me to be comfortable with that — I want to get more sophisticated equipment before I even consider it seriously. The main change I’ve made with recording: different methods for vocals. As many of my vocals utilize falsetto and/ or head voice, I’ve started recording vocals in my bathroom. It’s a reverb-y bounceback sound that I’ve come to really enjoy.

Mount Magazine State Park

What about psychedelic rock speaks to you? I love psychedelic rock for the same reason I love studying astronomy. There’s a vast vision before me, something sublime, but time reveals what is to come. And everything seems to react very spaciously, building on the selfawareness and self-consciousness of the human. To me, psychedelia is about the voyage, not the destination.

ENJOY

A HIKE

ON NEW YEAR’S DAY

In step with America’s State Parks’ “First Day Hikes” health initiative, state parks around Arkansas will host guided hikes on January 1. It’s a great way to get outside, connect with nature, and start the new year on the right foot. Visit ArkansasStateParks.com for a participating state park close to home.

ArkansasStateParks.com My park, your park, our parks 40

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

#ARStateParks

You have a lot of older influences, but a lot of contemporaries as well. Is there a reason that psychedelic rock is in the zeitgeist again? Is it in the zeitgeist again, Andrew? [Laughs] I’m not sure. Being partial to psychedelic rock, I believe this is where the loners belong — the non-belongers. I think today’s psych-rock is putting a modern spin on the great sounds we all know and love. MGMT and Tame Impala are making music that is as accessible as the Grateful Dead or Pink Floyd. In art history terms, I think psychedelic rock is a kind of neoclassicism, [as opposed to] the other genres we’re

ARIANA MEETS LENNON: Faires’ take on “Retrograde Oscillations.”

seeing emerge. Your music is definitely a progression on psychedelic ideas. How do you view your work as distinct from what a jam band does? Mainly, I have to go a bit insane to do my work. It’s almost like a schizophrenic process. A jam band is typically a bunch of dudes soloing for 30 minutes. The work I do is based on meditation-like songwriting, where the jam-band environment is still present but I’m drawing on different versions of myself. This is a blessing and a curse simultaneously, which I think is why I do it. With music it’s better to play two contrasting roles — the inner and outer spheres. Is there an overarching concept to “Retrograde Oscillations”? When we talked earlier, you said you often enjoy making music “too obscure to be widely loved,” but you also described the new album as sounding like Ariana Grande and John Lennon wrote an album together. Why do you think you found yourself gravitating toward sweeter pop songwriting? “Retrograde Oscillations” began while I was recording “Tropical Scenario.” I didn’t intend to write the songs and I didn’t even know where they came from initially. One day I was sitting down at my piano in Paris, Texas, and just played the chords and rambled some lyrics that hours later became “Syriacus.” Now that I’ve finished it, I’ve kind of realized that I wasn’t thinking a whole lot while writing it — I tend to overthink everything that I do, but “Retrograde” seemed to be more heart than head. This is how I used to write songs when I was in high school — I let emotions kind of flow with no filter. The album for me is about looking forward with one foot in the past and one in the present, two worlds that didn’t necessarily belong together, but seemed to happen for whatever reason.

AFTER DARK, CONT. W. Sixth St.: Work by McLeod, J.O. Buckley, Taimur Cleary, Kathy Strause, Alice Andrews, Max Gore, James Hayes, Harry Loucks and Angela Davis Johnson. 725-8508. RED DOOR GALLERY, 3715 JFK, NLR: New work by Matt Coburn, Paula Jones, Theresa Cates and Amy Hill-Imler, new glass by James Hayes, ceramics by Kelly Edwards, sculpture by Kim Owen and other work. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 753-5227. TRIO’S PAVILION ROOM, 8201 Cantrell Road (Pavilion in the Park): “Wet Nose Series,” works by Stephano Sutherlin. FAYETTEVILLE LOCAL COLOR STUDIO GALLERY, 275 S. Archibald Yell Blvd.: Drawings and paintings by Diane Stinebaugh. 5:30-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 479-461-8761. HOT SPRINGS JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 Central Ave.: “Delta in Blue,” photographs by Beverly Buys, also work by Dolores Justus, Laura Raborn, Tony Saladino, Rebecca Thompson, Dan Thornhill and others, through December. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501-321-2335. JASPER NELMS GALLERY, Church Street: Work by Winston Taylor, Don Nelms, Pamla Klenczar and Scott Baldassari. 870-446-5477. PINE BLUFF ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St.: “Arkansas Women to Watch: Organic Matters” work by Dawn Holder, Sandra Luckett, Katherine Rutter and Melissa Wilkinson selected by the Arkansas committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, through Jan. 21; “Pictorialist and Modernist: Howard Stern Photographs from the Permanent Collection”; “Pine Bluff Art League Exhibition”; “Exploring the Frontier: Arkansas 1540-1840”; STEAM Studio and Tinkering Studio. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375.

CONTINUING HISTORY, SCIENCE MUSEUM EXHIBITS ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: The USS Razorback submarine tours. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 371-8320. ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD MUSEUM, Camp Robinson: Artifacts on military history, Camp Robinson and its predecessor, Camp Pike, also a gift shop. 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., audio tour available at no cost. 212-5215. ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328. 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.: “Coca-Cola: An American Original,” the art and history of Coca-Cola advertising and bottles, antique Coca-Cola delivery truck, artist’s installation of 3D-printed bottle designs, through Feb. 15; Anne Frank Tree, new installation on the grounds; permanent exhibits on

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. 3rd St.: Refurbished 19th century structures from original city, guided tours Monday and Tuesday on the hour, self-guided Wednesday through Sunday, $2.50 adults, $1 under 18, free to 65 and over. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351. MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, 503 E. Ninth St. (MacArthur Park): “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602. MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: Permanent exhibits on African American entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 683-3610. MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 -10:30 a.m. every Tue. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050. OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Lost + Found: Saving Downtowns in Arkansas,” photographs of eight projects completed or renovated by Cromwell Architects Engineers; “Different Strokes,” the history of bicycling and places cycling in Arkansas, featuring artifacts, historical pictures and video, through February 2016. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on fishing and hunting and the state Game and Fish Commission. 907-0636. CALICO ROCK CALICO ROCK MUSEUM, Main Street: Displays on Native American cultures, steamboats, the railroad and local history. www. calicorockmuseum.com. ENGLAND TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. 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. JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle: 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. MORRILTON MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibit of more than

50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days. 501-727-5427. PINE BLUFF ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St.: “Exploring the Frontier: Arkansas 1540-1840,” Arkansas Discovery Network hands-on exhibition; “Heritage Detectives: Discovering Arkansas’ Hidden Heritage.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375. POTTSVILLE POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St.: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures, hat museum, doll museum, doctor’s office, antique farm equipment. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free. 479-968-9369.

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DECEMBER 17, 2015

Dining

Information in our restaurant capsules 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.

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

WHAT’S COOKIN’ FLYWAY BREWING, AT 314 MAPLE St., North Little Rock, will open its first taproom on Saturday, Dec. 19. Initially, the brewery’s hours will be 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. The brewery’s first styles include Migrate Pale Ale, River Trail Ale, Shadow Hands Stout, Free Range Brown Ale and Early Bird IPA. Brewmasters Jess McMullen and Matt Foster founded Flyway in 2013. THREE FOLD NOODLES and Dumpling Co. is running a Twelve Days of Noodles special in the weeks leading up to Christmas with off-menu traditional noodle dishes, served with a side of slaw and sesame balls. The latest dish will be announced a day before it debuts at facebook.com/eat3fold.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

1620 SAVOY Fine dining in a swank space. 1620 Market St. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-1620. D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. ADAMS CATFISH & CATERING Catering company in Little Rock with carry-out trailers in Russellville and Perryville. 215 N. Cross St. All CC. $-$$. 501-336-4399. LD Tue.-Fri. AFTERTHOUGHT BISTRO AND BAR The restaurant side of the Afterthought Bar (also called the Afterthought Bistro and Bar) features crab cakes, tuna tacos, chicken tenders, fries, sandwiches, burgers and, as entrees, fish and grits, tuna, ribeye, chicken and dumplings, pasta and more. Live music in the adjoining bar, also private dining room. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, all CC. 501-663-1196. D Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. ALL ABOARD RESTAURANT & GRILL Burgers, catfish, chicken tenders and such in this trainthemed restaurant, where an elaborately engineered mini-locomotive delivers patrons’ meals. 6813 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. 501-975-7401. LD daily. ALLEY OOPS The restaurant at Creekwood Plaza (near the Kanis-Bowman intersection) is a neighborhood feedbag for major medical institutions with the likes of plate lunches, burgers and homemade desserts. Remarkable chess pie. 11900 Kanis Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-221-9400. LD Mon.-Sat. BR Sat. ASHER DAIRY BAR An old-line dairy bar that serves up made-to-order burgers, foot-long “Royal” hot dogs and old-fashioned shakes and malts. 7105 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-562-1085. BLD Tue.-Sat. ATHLETIC CLUB SPORTS BAR & GRILL What could be mundane fare gets delightful twists and embellishments here. 11301 Financial Centre Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-312-9000. LD daily. B-SIDE The little breakfast place in the former party room of Lilly’s DimSum Then Some 42

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

NEAPOLITAN PERFECTION: Pizza at Raduno.

Raduno hits its stride The SoMa restaurant formerly known as Piro does near-perfect pizza.

hat a first 10 months it’s been for Raduno Brick Oven & Barroom: opening on South Main as Piro in February, changing its name to Raduno in July and having its act fully and totally together by December, if not before. Our first couple of visits there were just to sit at the bar, have one of the impressive slate of craft beers and soak up the cool vibe of the place with its floors made of wood planks from 18-wheeler trailer beds, bulb pendant lights, cool furniture and art. The long, sleek bar is mirrored by the even longer banquette along the north wall that provides the bulk of the seating. And when we did get around to eating there, our first pizza was disappointing, as it was tragically soggy in the middle. But that soggy crust problem had been rectified by the second time we dined there. And the third, fourth, etc., just reinforced that we adore Raduno’s food. Reading recently that new menu items had debuted gave us a reason to return, like we needed one. We got the last table at 7:30 p.m. on a recent Wednesday evening and started our meal with a beer flight — four 5-ounce

pours for $10, with each beer identified on the chalkboard portion of the serving tray — and the new mushroom gratin ($12), big hunks of a variety of ’shrooms in an oval crock, doused with a light garlic cream sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and Parmesan. We were warned there was a 15-minute prep-cook time, but the dish came quicker and, oddly, wasn’t very hot. But it was tasty. We would have enjoyed some toasted baguette slices or similar accompaniment. We also tried the new chicken pesto sandwich ($10), featuring several thin and tender pieces of chicken breast bound with cheese and spread with pesto that was not overwhelming in quantity or taste. The focaccia, made by Arkansas Fresh Bakery, was soft and light. (Its crumbs are also featured atop the mushroom gratin.) We had heard Raduno now featured the creations of noted dessert chef Zara Abbasi, which on our Wednesday meant two choices — lemon cake with amaretto frosting and chocolate cake with espresso frosting (both $7). We opted for the lemon, a tall four-layer slice that was dense and moist. The slick cream cheese-based frosting wasn’t too boozy.

Two nights later we were back at straight-up 6 p.m. and had about a 20-minute wait for a table, more proof that Raduno is thriving. We started with the Burrata ($10), an appetizer we will never not get again. It was a new cheese to us — mozzarella exterior with a buttery cream filling that is about the consistency of a smooth cottage cheese. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar and served with baguette slices, it was dreamy good. We opted for two of the new pizzas — “Tuscan Ragu” ($16) and “Shrimp and Pine Nuts” ($17) — and another of the new sandwiches, “Italian Beef” ($11). All three were out-of-this-world good. The beef-and-red-wine sauce atop the Tuscan Ragu pie tasted like a pasta sauce, but it worked great in this context. “It tastes like your Italian grandma cooked it for seven days,” our friend exclaimed. This pizza proved Raduno has the Neapolitan pizza crust thing down pat, as well as the liberal use of gooey mozzarella. We really enjoyed the other pizza, too — featuring plenty of spicy, large shrimp and an ample sprinkling of pine nuts — but frankly just the mild pesto sauce and that amazing crust would do the trick for us. We also were mightily impressed with the sandwich, particularly how tender the beef was. The same two Zara cakes were still there Friday, so we went for the other one — also a dense, no-longer-quite-asmoist four-layer cake with light espresso frosting that didn’t scream “coffee!” We finished our dinner at 8 p.m., and Raduno was still full of happy diners. Our only hope for our next visit is a larger variety of desserts, and it likely won’t be long before we’ll see if that’s the case.

Raduno Brick Oven and Barroom 1318 S. Main St. 374-7476 radunolr.com

QUICK BITE If you think there’s even a chance you’ll like the Burrata — mozzarella encasing a creamy, buttery filling — get it. We’ve not been this knocked out by an appetizer in many moons. HOURS 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. OTHER INFO 19 beers on tap in rotation and full bar. Credit cards accepted.

BELLY UP Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. turns tradition on its ear, offering French toast wrapped in bacon on a stick, a must-have dish called “biscuit mountain” and beignets with lemon curd. 11121 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-716-2700. B-BR Sat.-Sun. BAR LOUIE Mammoth portions of very decent bar/bistro fare with an amazingly varied menu that should satisfy every taste. Some excellent drink deals abound, too. 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 924. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-228-0444. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. BIG WHISKEY’S AMERICAN BAR AND GRILL A modern grill pub in the River Market District with all the bells and whistles - 30 flat-screen TVs, whiskey on tap, plus boneless wings, burgers, steaks, soups and salads. 225 E Markham St. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-324-2449. LD daily. BOBBY’S COUNTRY COOKIN’ One of the better plate lunch spots in the area, with some of the best fried chicken and pot roast around, a changing daily casserole and wonderful homemade pies. 301 N. Shackleford Road, Suite E1. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-224-9500. L Mon.-Fri. BOOKENDS CAFE A great spot to enjoy lunch with friends or a casual cup of coffee and a favorite book. Serving coffee and pastries early and sandwiches, soups and salads available after 11 a.m. Cox Creative Center. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501- 918-3091. BL Mon.-Sat. THE BOX Cheeseburgers and french fries are greasy and wonderful and not like their fastfood cousins. 1023 W. Seventh St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-372-8735. L Mon.-Fri. BUFFALO GRILL A great crispy-off-the-griddle cheeseburger and hand-cut fries star at this family-friendly stop. 1611 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, CC. $$. 501-296-9535. LD daily. CAFE 201 The hotel restaurant in the Crowne Plaza serves up a nice lunch buffet. 201 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-2233000. BLD Mon.-Fri., BD Sat., BR Sun. CATFISH CITY AND BBQ GRILL Basic fried fish and sides, including green tomato pickles, and now with tasty ribs and sandwiches in beef, pork and sausage. 1817 S. University Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-663-7224. LD Tue.-Sat. CHEERS IN THE HEIGHTS Good burgers and sandwiches, vegetarian offerings and salads at lunch, and fish specials and good steaks in the evening. 2010 N. Van Buren. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-5937. LD Mon.-Sat. 1901 Club Manor Drive. Maumelle. Full bar, all CC. 501-851-6200. LD daily, BR Sun. CHICKEN WANG & CAFE Regular, barbecue, spicy, lemon, garlic pepper, honey mustard and Buffalo wings. Open late. 8320 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-562-1303. LD Mon.-Sat. COLD STONE CREAMERY This national chain takes a base flavor (everything from Sweet Cream to Chocolate Cake Batter) and adds your choice of ingredients or a combination of ingredients it calls a Creation. Cold Stone also serves up a variety of ice cream cakes and cupcakes. 12800 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, all CC. $. 501-225-7000. LD daily. DAVE AND RAY’S DOWNTOWN DINER Breakfast daily featuring biscuits and gravy, home fries, sausage and made-to-order omelets. Lunch buffet with four choices of

meats and eight veggies. 824 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol. $. 501-372-8816. BL Mon.-Fri. DAVID’S BURGERS Serious hamburgers, steak salads, homemade custard. 101 S. Bowman Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-227-8333. LD Mon.-Sat. 1100 Highway 65 N. Conway. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. (501) 327-3333 4000 McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-353-0387. LD Mon.-Sat. FORTY TWO Solid choice for weekday lunch, featuring entrees and sandwiches from around the world. 1200 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-537-0042. L Mon.-Sat. HILLCREST ARTISAN MEATS A fancy charcuterie and butcher shop with excellent daily soup and sandwich specials. Limited seating is available. 2807 Kavanaugh Blvd. Suite B. No alcohol, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-671-6328. L Mon.-Sat. JASON’S DELI A huge selection of sandwiches (wraps, subs, po’ boys and pitas), salads and spuds, as well as red beans and rice and chicken pot pie. Plus a large selection of heart healthy and light dishes. 301 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-954-8700. LD daily. JIMMY JOHN’S GOURMET SANDWICHES Illinois-based sandwich chain that doesn’t skimp on what’s between the buns. 4120 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-945-9500. LD daily. 700 S. Broadway St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-1600. LD daily. KITCHEN EXPRESS Delicious “meat and three” restaurant offering big servings of homemade soul food. Maybe Little Rock’s best fried chicken. 4600 Asher Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-666-3500. BLD Mon.-Sat., LD Sun. LASSIS INN One of the state’s oldest restaurants still in the same location and one of the best for catfish and buffalo fish. 518 E 27th St. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-372-8714. LD Tue.-Sat. MADDIE’S PLACE Owner/chef Brian Deloney has built quite a thriving business with a pretty simple formula: making almost everything from scratch and matching hefty portions of Cajun and Creole with reasonable prices in a fun, upbeat atmosphere. Maddie’s offers a stellar selection of draft beers and a larger, better wine list than you might expect. 1615 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4040. LD Tue.-Sat. MARIE’S MILFORD TRACK II Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill, featuring hot entrees, soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. 1428 Merrell Dr. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-225-4500. BL Mon.-Sat. MARKETPLACE GRILLE Big servings of steak, seafood, chicken, pasta, pizza and other rich comfort-style foods. 11600 Pleasant Ridge Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3939. LD daily. MASON’S DELI AND GRILL Heaven for those who believe everything is better with sauerkraut on top. The Bavarian Reuben, a traditional Reuben made with Boar’s Head corned beef, spicy mustard, sauerkraut, Muenster cheese and marble rye, is among the best we’ve had in town. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-376-3354. LD Mon.-Sat. MIDTOWN BILLIARDS You’ll find perhaps the city’s finest burgers in this all-night dive. But be prepared to smell like stale cigarette smoke

EVERYDAY SOMMELIER Your friendly neighborhood wine shop. #theeverydaysommelier

THE EVERYDAY SOMMELIER CAN HELP YOU CURATE THE PERFECT GIFT THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. “Bespoke Gift Baskets, Client Gifts, Holiday and Event Planning are just a few of our specialties. Fast turn around, attention to detail, and encyclopedic knowledge of the beverage industry are hallmarks of the experience that we create daily for our guests. My co-workers are an amazing group of service professionals —their only goal is to provide outstanding service to our clients. Call, text, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or stop by soon to discover more. We want to become your Everyday Sommelier, I look forward to introducing myself to you very soon.” – O’Looney

BEST LIQUOR STORE

Rahling Road @ Chenal Parkway • 501.821.4669 • olooneys@aristotle.net • www.olooneys.com www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. and grease once you’re finished. 1316 Main St. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-372-9990. D daily. MIMI’S CAFE Breakfast is our meal of choice here at this upscale West Coast chain. Portions are plenty to last you through the afternoon, especially if you get a muffin on the side. Middle-America comfort-style entrees make up other meals, from pot roast to pasta dishes. 11725 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-3883. BLD daily, BR Sun. MORNINGSIDE BAGELS Tasty New York-style boiled bagels, made daily. 10848 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-7536960. BL daily. NEWK’S EXPRESS CAFE Gourmet sandwiches, salads and pizzas. 4317 Warden Road. NLR. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-753-8559. LD daily. ORANGE LEAF YOGURT Upscale self-serve national yogurt chain. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-227-4522. LD daily. RED MANGO National yogurt and smoothie chain whose appeal lies in adjectives like “allnatural,” “non-fat,” “gluten-free” and “probiotic.” 5621 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-663-2500. BLD daily. SPECTATORS GRILL AND PUB Burgers, soups, salads and other beer food, plus live music on weekends. 1012 W. 34th St. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-791-0990. LD Mon.-Sat. SPORTS PAGE One of the largest, juiciest, most flavorful burgers in town. Grilled turkey and hot cheese on sourdough gets praise, too. Don’t want a burger or sandwich? They have good daily lunch specials. 414 Louisiana St. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-9316. L Mon.-Fri., D Fri. SUFFICIENT GROUNDS Great coffee, good bagels and pastries, and a limited lunch menu. 124 W. Capitol. No alcohol, CC. $. 501-372-1009. BL Mon.-Fri. 425 W. Capitol. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-4594. BL Mon.-Fri. SUGIE’S Catfish and all the trimmings. 4729 Baseline Road. No alcohol, all CC. $. 501-5700414. LD daily. T.G.I. FRIDAY’S This national chain was on the verge of stale before a redo not long ago, and the update has done wonders for the food as well as the surroundings. The lunch combos are a great deal, and the steaks aren’t bad. It’s designed for the whole family, and succeeds. Appetizers and desserts are always good. 2820 Lakewood Village Drive,. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-758-2277. LD daily. THE TAVERN SPORTS GRILL Burgers, barbecue and more. 17815 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-830-2100. LD daily. TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFE Smoothies, sandwiches and salads in an art deco former YMCA. 524 Broadway. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 246-3145. BLD Mon.-Fri. (closes at 6 p.m.) 10221 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, all CC. $$. 501-224-2233. BLD daily 12911 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, all CC. $$. 501-376-2233. BLD daily. TWIN PEAKS ‘Hearty man food,” such as “wellbuilt sandwiches” and plenty of cleavage on the side. 10 Shackleford Drive. Full bar. 501-2241729. VICTORIAN GARDEN We’ve found the fare quite tasty and somewhat daring and different with its healthy, balanced entrees and crepes. 4801 North Hills Blvd. NLR. $-$$. 501-758-4299. L Mon.-Sat. WHITE WATER TAVERN Good locally sourced bar food. 2500 W. 7th St. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-375-8400. D Tue., Thu., Fri., Sat.

ASIAN

BENIHANA JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE Enjoy the cooking show, make sure you get a little 44

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

filet with your meal, and do plenty of dunking in that fabulous ginger sauce. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-8081. LD Sun.-Fri., D Sat. CHI’S DIM SUM & BISTRO A huge menu spans the Chinese provinces and offers a few twists on the usual local offerings, plus there’s authentic Hong Kong dimsum available. 6 Shackleford Drive. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-221-7737. LD daily. 17200 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-8000. LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. CHINA TASTE Conventional menu with an online ordering system (though no delivery). 9218 N Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol. $-$$. 501-227-8800. LD Mon.-Sat. FORBIDDEN GARDEN Classic, American-ized Chinese food in a modern setting. Try the Basil Chicken. 14810 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-868-8149. LD daily. FU LIN Quality in the made-to-order entrees is high, as is the quantity. 200 N. Bowman Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-225-8989. LD daily, BR Sun. IGIBON JAPANESE RESTAURANT It’s a complex place, where the food is almost always good and the ambiance and service never fail to please. The Bento box with tempura shrimp and California rolls and other delights stand out. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-217-8888. LD Mon.-Sat. KIYEN’S SEAFOOD STEAK AND SUSHI Sushi, steak and other Japanese fare. 17200 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-7272. LD daily. NEW FUN REE Reliable staples, plenty of hot and spicy options and dependable delivery. 418 W. 7th St. No alcohol, all CC. $. 501-664-6657. LD Mon.-Sat. PANDA GARDEN Large buffet including Chinese favorites, a full on-demand sushi bar, a cold seafood bar, pie case, salad bar and dessert bar. 2604 S. Shackleford Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-224-8100. LD daily. PEI WEI Sort of a miniature P.F. Chang’s, but a lot of fun and plenty good with all the Chang favorites we like, such as the crisp honey shrimp, dan dan noodles and pad thai. 205 N. University Ave. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-280-9423. LD daily. P.F. CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO Nuevo Chinese chain food. 317 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-4424. LD daily. THE SOUTHERN GOURMASIAN Delicious Southern-Asian fusion. We crave the pork buns. Made the transition from food truck to brickand-mortar in 2015 to rave reviews. 219 West Capitol. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-3135645. LD Mon.-Sat. VAN LANG CUISINE Terrific Vietnamese cuisine, particularly the way the pork dishes and the assortment of rolls are presented. Great prices, too. Massive menu, but it’s user-friendly for locals with full English descriptions and numbers for easy ordering. 3600 S. University Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-570-7700. LD daily.

BARBECUE

CAPITOL SMOKEHOUSE AND GRILL Beef, pork and chicken, all smoked to melting tenderness and doused with a choice of sauces. The crusty but tender backribs star. Side dishes are top quality. A plate lunch special is now available. 915 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-4227. L Mon.-Fri. CROSS EYED PIG BBQ COMPANY Traditional barbecue favorites smoked well such as pork ribs, beef brisket and smoked chicken. Miss Mary’s famous potato salad is full of bacon

and other goodness. Smoked items such as ham and turkeys available seasonally. 1701 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-265-0000. L Mon.-Sat., D Tue.-Fri. HB’S BBQ Great slabs of meat with a vinegarbased barbecue sauce, but ribs are served on Tuesday only. Other days, try the tasty pork sandwich. 6010 Lancaster. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-565-1930. LD Mon.-Fri. SIMS BAR-B-QUE Great spare ribs, sandwiches, beef, half and whole chicken and an addictive vinegar-mustard-brown sugar sauce unique for this part of the country. 2415 Broadway. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-372-6868. LD Mon.-Sat. 1307 John Barrow Road. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-2242057. LD Mon.-Sat. 7601 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, all CC. $$. 501-562-8844. LD Mon.-Sat.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ALI BABA A Middle Eastern restaurant, butcher shop and grocery. 3400 S University Ave. No alcohol, all CC. 501-379-8011. BLD Mon.-Sat. BANANA LEAF INDIAN FOOD TRUCK Tasty Indian street food. 201 N Van Buren St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-227-0860. L Mon.-Fri. KHALIL’S PUB Widely varied menu with European, Mexican and American influences. Go for the Bierocks, rolls filled with onions and beef. 110 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-224-0224. LD daily. BR Sun. THE PANTRY Owner and self-proclaimed “food evangelist” Tomas Bohm does things the right way — buying local, making almost everything from scratch and focusing on simple preparations of classic dishes. The menu stays relatively true to his Czechoslovakian roots, but there’s plenty of choices to suit all tastes. There’s also a nice happy-hour vibe. 11401 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-353-1875. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. STAR OF INDIA The best Indian restaurant in the region, with a unique buffet at lunch and some fabulous dishes at night (spicy curried dishes, tandoori chicken, lamb and veal, vegetarian). 301 N. Shackleford. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-227-9900. LD daily.

ITALIAN

CHUCK E. CHEESE’S Games, rides, prizes, food and entertainment for kids, big and small. 2706 S. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-225-2200. LD daily. DAMGOODE PIES A somewhat different Italian/pizza place, largely because of a spicy garlic white sauce that’s offered as an alternative to the traditional red sauce. Good bread, too. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer and wine, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 6706 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-6642239. LD daily. 10720 Rodney Parham Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-2239. LD daily. 37 East Center St. Fayetteville. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 479-444-7437. LD daily. JAY’S PIZZA New York-style pizza by the slice. 400 President Clinton Ave. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-374-5297. L Mon.-Sat. VESUVIO Arguably Little Rock’s best Italian restaurant. The cheesy pasta bowls are sensational, but don’t ignore the beef offerings. 1315 Breckenridge Drive. Full bar, all CC. $$$. 501-246-5422. D daily.

LATINO

CANTINA CINCO DE MAYO Friendly, tasty American-ized Mex. 3 Rahling Circle. Full bar, CC. $$. 501-821-2740. LD daily. 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. 6820 Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-280-9888. LD daily 18321 Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-8688822. LD daily 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. (501) 372-6637. BL Mon.-Sat. CASA MEXICANA Familiar Tex-Mex style items all shine, in ample portions, and the steakcentered dishes are uniformly excellent. 7111 JFK Blvd. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-835-7876. LD daily. EL PORTON Good Mex for the price and a wide-ranging menu of dinner plates, some tasty cheese dip, and great service as well. 12111 W. Markham St. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-223-8588. LD daily. 5021 Warden Road. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-753-4630. LD daily. LAS DELICIAS Levy-area mercado with a taqueria and a handful of booths in the back of the store. 3401 Pike Ave. NLR. Beer, all CC. $. 501-812-4876. BLD daily. LAS PALMAS Mexican chain with a massive menu of choices. 10402 Stagecoach Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-455-8500. LD daily 4154 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. LD daily. MARISCOS EL JAROCHO Try the Camarones a la Diabla (grilled shrimp in a smoky pepper sauce) or the Cocktail de Campechana (shrimp, octopus and oyster in a cilantro and onionlaced tomato sauce). 7319 Baseline Road. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-565-3535. Serving BLD Fri.-Wed. MERCADO SAN JOSE From the outside, it appears to just be another Mexican grocery store. Inside, you’ll find one of Little Rock’s best Mexican bakeries and a restaurant in back serving tortas and tacos for lunch. 7411 Geyer Springs Road. Beer, CC. $. 501-565-4246. BLD daily. MEXICO CHIQUITO Some suggest cheese dip was born at this Central Arkansas staple, where you’ll find hearty platters of boldly spiced, inexpensive food that compete well with those at the “authentic” joints. 13924 Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-217-0700. LD daily. 1524 W. Main St. Jacksonville. No alcohol. $$. 501-982-0533. LD daily. 4511 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-771-1604. LD daily. 11406 W. Markham. No alcohol, all CC. $$. 501-217-0647. LD daily. MOE’S SOUTHWEST GRILL A “build-yourown-burrito” place, with several tacos and nachos to choose from as well. Wash it down with a beer from their large selection. 12312 Chenal Pkwy. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-223-3378. LD daily. SUPER 7 GROCERY STORE This Mexican grocery/video store/taqueria has a great daily buffet featuring a changing assortment of real Mexican cooking. Fresh tortillas pressed by hand and grilled, homemade salsas, beans as good as beans get. Plus soup every day. 1415 Barrow Road. Beer, No CC. $. 501-219-2373. BLD daily. SUPERMERCADO SIN FRONTERAS Shiny, large Mexican grocery with a bakery and restaurant attached. 4918 Baseline Road. Beer, all CC. $$. 501-562-4206. BLD daily. TAQUERIA SAMANTHA On Friday and Saturday nights, this mobile taqueria parks outside of Jose’s Club Latino in a parking lot on the corner of Third and Broadway. 300 Broadway Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-5685264. D Fri.-Sat. (sporadic hours beyond that). TAQUERIA Y CARNICERIA GUADALAJARA Cheap, delicious tacos, tamales and more. Always bustling. 3811 Camp Robinson Road. NLR. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-753-9991. BLD daily.

Come Celebrate New Years Eve and New Years day with us! We will be serving our regular menu with champagne specials, good times, and more. Open on New Years Day at 3 pm.

322 Main Street 501.379.8019

www.samstap.com Holiday Hours Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Opening Dec 26th at 3 PM Complimentary Valet Services www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

New Year’s Eve 2016 Little Rock 1620 SAVOY

New Year’ s Eve Ringing in 2016 Break out the bubbly. It’s time to celebrate as we ring in

2016 with a bang! From private and elegant locations for dinner, super big parties with dancing to a quiet evening with friends and family, there’s something for everyone this New Year’s Eve. Check out the happenings around the state as we present a special end of the year party guide. BUDWEISER reminds you to make a plan to make it home for the holidays and every time you go out! Do whatever it takes to get home safely. Call a friend, arrange for a cab or designate a driver.

1620 Market St. 221-1620 • 1620savoy.com Enjoy classic cocktails and a special New Year’s menu by their team of chefs while ringing in the New Year at 1620 Savoy. This swanky restaurant is the perfect place to bring in 2016 in style. Reservations are required. Call now to book your spot while openings are still available.

CACHE RESTAURANT

425 President Clinton Ave. 850-0265 • cachelittlerock.com arkansaslivemusic.com/event/view_tickets/2409 Break out the bubbles, it’s time to celebrate! Head to Cache to toast the New Year in style with cocktails, music and dancing. The dining room will offer a four-course prix fixe dinner with seating options at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Dinner is $75 per person or with a choice of wine pairings for $125 or $200. Purchase of dinner includes entry into the New Year’s Eve celebration in the upstairs lounge starting at 9 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets for just the party are $50 and include light appetizers and champagne toast at midnight. They can be purchased online or by calling Cache. Must be 21 to attend.

CAJUN’S WHARF

2400 Cantrell Rd. 375-5351 • cajunswharf.com There is no better way to ring in the New Year than with a glass of champagne at Cajun’s Wharf! Cajun’s is hosting the best dance party in Little Rock with lots of party favors and a champagne toast at midnight so you can start the 2016

NEW YEAR’S EVE EVENTS SPARKLE AT THE ARLINGTON! NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION DINNER

Dec. 31, 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm Venetian Dining Room Make it a great start to a memorable evening by enjoying this festive buffet in the Venetian Dining Room. Adults $35, Children (Age 6 - 12) $17 No charge children 5 & under (Prices include tax & gratuity)

GALA DINNER DANCE

FESTIVAL PARTY

In the Conference Center 8:30 pm - 1:00 am Dancing to the music of a live band. White Chocolate, party favors, champagne toast at midnight and tax are included. $45 per person At 12 am, a Black Eyed Pea Reception will commence in the Magnolia Room for guests of both parties.

7:30 pm • Crystal Ballroom Stardust Big Band from 8:30 pm - 12:30 am Five-course gourmet dinner, two drink tickets, wine with dinner, champagne toast at midnight, party favors, tax and gratuity included. (Also includes visiting the Festival Party next door.) $175 per person Reservations required

For more information call or email 800.643.1502 or info@arlingtonhotel.com • visit www.ArlingtonHotel.com 46 46

DECEMBER 17, 2015 DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

off right. Arkansas favorite, Cody Belew, takes the stage at 9 p.m. and a DJ will be on hand playing great music before, and after, Cody’s performance. Enjoy a buffet of delicious hors d’oeuvres from 6-11:30 p.m.

Year’s Eve party featuring their dueling pianos downstairs and the party continues upstairs. Get there early since the cover charge will go up as the events start to fill up. Call for more information.

CAPERS RESTAURANT

THE FADED ROSE

14502 Cantrell Rd. 868-7600 • capersrestaurant.com Simplify your New Year’s celebration at Capers Restaurant. Start the night by enjoying the always fantastic menu and wine list. They’re closed for lunch on New Year’s Eve but are open for dinner at 5 p.m.

COLONIAL WINE AND SPIRITS

11200 W. Markham St. 223-3120 • colonialwineandspirits.com facebook.com/colonialwines Stock up on your pre-party and after-party supplies with the best selection and the friendliest staff in town. There’s no need to stop the party when the clock strikes midnight though. See owner Clark Trim’s personal recommendations for New Year’s Day on the following pages.

COPPER GRILL

300 Third St., at Cumberland 375-3333 • coppergrilllr.com Copper Grill is doing it up right for New Year’s Eve. Ramona Smith will perform her sultry jazz vocals to ease you into the New Year. Enjoy a special holiday menu and one of Little Rock’s best wine lists. Regular seating is available from 7-10:30 p.m. Call for reservations.

THE EMPRESS OF LITTLE ROCK BED AND BREAKFAST

2120 Louisiana St. (Quapaw Quarter) 374-7966 • theempress.com Skip the noise and noisemakers and attend the “Downton Abbey” dinner party at The Empress of Little Rock. Plans are for an evening inspired by “the opulence of Downton Abbey” with food, wine, dancing and entertainment. The chef will prepare four, elegant courses paired with hand-selected wines from the wine sommelier. After dinner, guests will dance and be entertained by live musicians playing music from the 50’s to present and toast the New Year with champagne. The event is black tie and begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $250 per couple or $200 per couple with a two-night stay. Seating is limited. Call to make reservations early for this exclusive event (room not included in price).

ERNIE BIGGS

307 President Clinton Ave., 372-4782 Count down to 2016 at Little Rock’s favorite piano bar. Ernie Biggs is throwing a New

1619 Rebsamen Rd. 663-9734 • thefadedrose.com Want to go out but not fight the crowds and then pay twice as much because of the holiday? The Faded Rose is your place to be on New Year’s Eve. Go to this neighborhood favorite and enjoy the same great food, drinks and service they provide every day.

FLYING SAUCER

323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032 Celebrate Brew Year’s Eve at Flying Saucer with live music by The Hi-balls , Rare Tappings and a champagne toast at midnight. Plus, enjoy drink specials all night. The party starts at 9 p.m. and is free for UFO Members and $10 for non-UFO members. Reserve a four-person table for $40.

MURRY’S DINNER PLAYHOUSE

6323 Colonel Glenn Rd. 562-3131 • murrysdp.com Head to Murry’s Dinner Playhouse for dinner and a show beginning at 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. After the final bows of Out of Order, watch as the stage floor, becomes a DANCE floor. The DJ will help you boogie into the New Year and lead everyone in a complimentary champagne toast as the clock strikes midnight. After midnight, rest your dancing feet and enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet that the executive chef looks forward to preparing every year. All the festivities, including party hats, horns, noisemakers, etc., are part of the ticket price of $60 per person. An exciting part of the evening is some of the actors will perform songs for the upcoming season either before dinner or after the show.

O’LOONEY’S WINE & LIQUOR

3 Rahling Rd. at Chenal Parkway 821-4669 If you’re more into having a house party or get-together instead of a night on the town, the folks at O’Looney’s can get you stocked with all the necessities. They have excellent pricing and offer case discounts on wine and champagne.

at the door. Party favors are included with the price of admission.

SAMANTHA’S TAP ROOM & WOOD GRILL

322 Main St. 379-8019 • samstap.com Downtown Little Rock’s newest restaurant and bar on Main Street is a great place to

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REV ROOM

300 President Clinton Ave. 823-0090 • revroom.com Ring in the New Year with live music at Rev Room with Backroad Anthem. Enjoy a balloon drop and champagne toast at midnight. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music gets going at 9:30 p.m. $15 advance price, $20

be for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day starting at 3 p.m. They’re keeping it simple with a regular menu, no special reservations or seating times and champagne specials. This contemporary eatery is known for their excellent food options, wide-ranging beer and wine lists and extra-comfortable, yet stunning décor. Closed on Christmas Eve

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE! Give the gift of entertainment! Available in any denomination and never expire.

murrysdp.com

562-3131

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New Year’s Eve 2016 and Christmas day. Start off 2016 right by joining them on New Year’s Day at 3 p.m.

SONNY WILLIAMS’ STEAK ROOM

500 President Clinton Ave. 324-2999 • sonnywilliamssteakroom.com Have a memorable night at Sonny Williams’ with their special menu for New Year’s Eve. Free valet parking.

STICKYZ ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CHICKEN SHACK Celebrate New Year’s Eve by reserving the hot tub suite at the Wyndham Hotel.

107 River Market Ave. 372-7707 • stickyz.com Head down to the River Market for live music at Stickyz featuring the Fuggins Wheat Band with Stella Luss. Enjoy

a balloon drop and champagne toast at midnight. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the music begins at 9 p.m. $10 advance price, $15 at the door. Party favors are included with the price of admission.

WAREHOUSE LIQUOR

10th & Main St. 374-0410 860 E. Broadway, NLR 374-2405 Stock up on all your party needs with a stop at either location for Warehouse Liquor. They have everything you need to complement your New Year’s Eve dinner and New Year’s Day brunch.

YAYAS EUROBISTRO F

17711 Chenal Pkwy. 821-1144 • yayasar.com Can you dig it? Join YaYa’s for a 70’s themed New Year’s Eve celebration! Cover is only $10 and includes party favors and a champagne toast at midnight. There is no cover if you choose to dine at YaYa’s before the party. If you’re looking for far out entertainment, The Buh Jones Band will be playing boogie music until 12:30 a.m. Costumes are encouraged and reservations are recommended. Still need a place to hold your Christmas party? YaYa’s is still taking reservations for their two beautiful party rooms. Call today to see how they can make your holiday party special or for reservations for the New Year’s Eve celebration.

IRST

DOWNTOWN HOT SPRINGS

That’s the kind of history made in Hot Springs every day.

North Little Rock OLD CHICAGO

4305 Warden Rd., NLR 812-6262 • oldchicago.com Celebrate New Year’s Eve around the world at Old Chicago North Little Rock Pizza and Tap Room as they introduce a feature beer special every hour on the hour. Featured beers will correspond to a location that is ringing in the new year at that time. Old Chicago is open late for the festivities. Be sure to come back in for New Year’s Day specials on mimosas and Bloody Marys.

SKINNY J’S

314 Main St., NLR 916-2646 • skinnyjs.com Head to Argenta for some good food, fun and revelry on New Year’s Eve. Skinny J’s is the place to be for live music by Steve Hester and the DejaVoodoo Trio, champagne toast, dancing and the whole works for a complete party. Be sure to check out drink specials for the evening. Come back on New Year’s Day for a jazz brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SPRINGHILL WINE AND SPIRITS HotSprings.org • 1-888-SPA-CITY

48 48

DECEMBER 17, 2015 DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

4281 McCain Blvd., NLR

945-5153 • springhillwineandspirits.com A New Year’s Eve party stop destination is

Springhill Wine and Spirits. Get everything you need to get the night started right. They even carry pre-mixed shots that are a great way to get you in the party mood. They carry a wide variety of liquors, beer, wine and mixers. They will be open regular hours on New Year’s Eve from 9 a.m. to midnight.

WYNDHAM HOTEL

2 Riverfront Dr., North Little Rock 371-9000 Celebrate NewYear’s Eve with the Wyndham. Complimentary shuttle until 2 a.m. to all the downtown hot spots and complimentary breakfast the next morning. With two award-winning restaurants on the property, an amazing dinner is just steps away. Book your room for NYE today. Rooms are filling up fast. For more information, contact The Wyndham at 1-800-WYNDHAM.

Hot Springs THE ARLINGTON RESORT HOTEL & SPA

239 Central Ave., Hot Springs 623-7771 • arlingtonhotel.com The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa offers three ways to ring in your New Year with a New Year’s Eve Celebration Buffet in the Venetian Dining Room, the Gala Dinner Dance in the Crystal Ballroom with the Stardust Big Band or the Festival Party in the Conference Center with live music from White Chocolate. Start the new year right with the breakfast buffet at 7 a.m. or your favorite beverage in the Lobby.

SILKS BAR & GRILL

Inside Oaklawn Racing & Gaming 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs 623.4411 • oaklawn.com Oaklawn will ring in 2016 with one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties in the area featuring dinner, live music and a $7,500 free play drawing. Enjoy a casual meal in Silks Bar & Grill. Moxie will help everyone ring in the New Year with their rock-pop sounds from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Admission is free.

The Empress of Little Rock Bed and Breakfast

Arkadelphia DEGRAY LAKE RESORT STATE PARK

1-30 Exit 78 at Arkadelphia $235.89 per couple! The New Year’s Eve Overnight Package is the way to go. It includes two champagne flutes, dinner for two, admission to the party and lodge accommodations at DeGray Lake Resort State Park for $235.89 per couple. RSVP at 800-737-8355 or degray.com

CELEBRATE NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH US! Complimentary shuttle until 2am to all the downtown hotspots and complimentary breakfast the next morning. With two award winning restaurants on property, an amazing dinner is just steps away. BOOK YOUR ROOM TODAY!

501-371-9000 or Wyndham.com

Bentonville 21C MUSEUM HOTEL

200 NE A St., Bentonville 479-286-6500 21cmuseumhotels.com/Bentonville Kick off the New Year with 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Begin the last night of the year feasting on a special farm fresh menu from Chef Matthew McClure in the Hive Restaurant. Afterwards, enjoy complimentary transportation to and from the Crystal Bridges party, “The New 365,” where you can welcome the New Year with a fresh perspective. And to properly welcome 2016, 21c has what you really want – a late, 2 p.m. checkout time – so you can slumber on until the afternoon with a no-rush wake up. Be

New Year’s Eve…Empress Style Join us New Year’s Eve for a

“Downton Abbey”

Wine Dinner Dance hosted by Sharon Welch-Blair and Bob Blair. Book your reservations now for this exclusive Black Tie New Year’s Eve Dinner Party. Known as one of the top New Years Eve events in Central Arkansas, The Empress of Little Rock will host an evening of food, wine, dancing, entertainment, excitement and the beginning of the New Year in a Downton Abbey experience.

More information at www.theEmpress.com 2120 Louisiana St. 501.374.7966 ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com www.arktimes.com

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New Year’s Eve 2016 sure e to to book book the boo bo th he New NewYear’s Year’s Eve Ev Package to receive two tickets to the Crystal Bridges party, transportation to/from Crystal Bridges and the late check out.

DOUBLETREE HOTEL BENTONVILLE 301 SE Walton Blvd., Bentonville 479-845-7770 • nwanye.com

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ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Shake your Grove Thing with Yayas EuroBistro this New Year’s Eve.

Party at the Doubletree Bentonville for New Year’s Eve, featuring the best electric blues band in the state, The Downtown Livewires. Hors d’oeuvres and drink specials abound. There’s no need to worry about a designated driver! You can take a safe ride home in the Doubletree elevator with special room rates available ONLY for partiers.

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY, AKA THE MORNING AFTER, BRUNCH IDEAS

Not

your average steak & burger JOINT!

BY CLARK TRIM, COLONIAL WINES & SPIRITS New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve is the party of the yearâ&#x20AC;Śliterally. But why limit your celebration to just one night? Keep the party going and start the year off right with a special New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Brunch for family and friends. Here are some delicious cocktail recipes that will up the celebration factor. Happy New Year! And remember to Celebrate Responsibly.

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY COFFEE Ingredients 1 oz. Makerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mark Bourbon 1 oz. Kahlua 1 oz. Frangelico 1 oz. Espresso Preparation Combine over ice in a shaker. Shake until all ingredients are well combined. Serve over ice in a tall glass.

EYE OPENER BLOODY MARY Ingredients 6 oz. Tomato Juice 1 pepper Jalapeno or Chipotle blended to puree (adjust for personal taste) 1 teaspoon Horseradish (adjust for personal taste) Â˝ teaspoon Sriracha Â˝ teaspoon celery salt Â˝ teaspoon fresh ground pepper 6-8 dashes Tabasco 2 oz Vodka Preparation In a shaker with ice, combine all ingredients and shake vigorously. Transfer to a glass and garnish a signature item (boiled cocktail shrimp, crisp bacon, for example), plus a lemon wheel, olives and celery stick.

BRUT ROSE SPARKLING PUNCH Ingredients Orange slices Cucumber slices Raspberries Fresh basil leaves Fresh mint 2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 1 bottle Korbel Brut Rose Preparation Muddle fresh ingredients together with the Germain Liqueur. Add to a pitcher filled with ice. Add the Korbel Brut Rose and garnish with fruit.

hen it comes to New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve , Hot Springs has something for everyone. The town and lake areas are full of great hotels, restaurants and club venues. Just about anything you can imagine can be found here. Go to hotsprings.org for the complete lowdown on all the fun happenings in the Spa City. 2015 Holiday Lights at Garvan Woodland Gardens thru Dec. 31 â&#x20AC;&#x153;First Day Hikeâ&#x20AC;? at Lake Ouachita State Park, Jan. 1 , 9 a.m. until noon Gallery Walk, Jan. 1 9th Annual Arkansas Shorts affiliated with Low Key Arts, Jan. 2

h? B r u n cON ! COMING SO STARTS JAN 3RD

314 3 31 14 4 Main M Ma ain St. Stt North S Norrtth No h Little Liitttllle e Rock R Ro ock ck k | 501.916.2646 50 501 1 91 916 6 26 2646 64 46 6 skinnyjs.com â&#x20AC;˘ @skinnyjsAR

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Drink Responsibly.

Raffle tickets will be available from 11am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11:45am. Drawings at 12pm. Must be present.

REMEMBER!

Wednesday is Wine Day! 15% off ALL wine in the store â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;even on wines already on sale!â&#x20AC;? Hundreds of gift ideas under $25 ASK US ABOUT OUR HUGE WHISKEY SALE! 4281 MCCAIN BLVD, N. LITTLE ROCK, AR | (501) 945-5153 CONTACT US FOR MORE INFO. ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com www.arktimes.com

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Tis the Season W

ith only one weekend of shopping left before Christmas, it’s getting down to the wire! Here’s hoping you’ve completed most of your lists. If not, we have you covered. We found some gift ideas for all those last-minute shopping needs. Visit these local retailers (and all those featured over the past few weeks) for cool finds.

Protective & Cute

Don’t let any cooking spills ills get you down! These cute aprons ns found at Krebs Brothers not only protect ect clothes underneath, they’re cute and sassy too. Other colors and phrases aree available.

2015 Holiday Gift Guide Layer Up

Luxe layers in the warmest of merino—just what yyou ou need for the shorter, and chillier, days aahead. hea Features versatile double a versa zip aand nd suede trim elbow patch andd elb detailing. Shop de etail Wicks Mr. W icks for all of Peter Millar yourr Pet favorites. fa

All Presidential

Politicos and non-politicos alike will enjoy receiving this gift found at the Clinton Museum Store. These wooden pens feature the signatures of the past seven presidents and come in a beautiful keepsake box.

Cocktail Cool

Get to Barakat Bespoke for the cocktail connoisseurs on your list. Mix it up with The Carry on Cocktail Kit & the Barrel Aged Spirits Kit. Pour it into the WILL Leather Goods Flask. Clean it up with DANESON Bourbon and Single Malt Toothpicks. Finally, spruce things up with MOONSHINE soap, after shave balm and gentleman’s cologne. 52 52

DECEMBER 17, 2015 DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Buy it! Find the featured items at the following locations: KREBS BROTHERS RESTAURANT STORE 4310 Landers Rd., NLR 687.1331 • krebsbrothers.com

BARAKAT BESPOKE 417 President Clinton Ave., 224.9670 barakatbespoke.com

CLINTON MUSEUM STORE 610 President Clinton Ave. and inside the Clinton Presidential Center, 748.0400 clintonmuseumstore.com

OLIVER’S ANTIQUES 1101 Burman Dr., Jacksonville • 982.0064 O’LOONEY’S WINE & LIQUOR Rahling Road @ Chenal Pkwy., 821.4669 olooneys.com

MR. WICKS 5924 R St. 664.3062

Lather Up

Looking for a great last minute gift for co-workers or stocking stuffer ideas? Head out to Oliver’s Antiques in Jacksonville for fun, vintage items. It’s not just antiques though! On the new side, we’re partial to these cute soaps. There’s a whole wall full of delicious scents to choose from.

SOUTH MAIN CREATIVE 1600 Main St. • 414.8713

417 PRESIDENT CLINTON AVE LITTLE ROCK, 501.244.9670

CUSTOM SUITS & ACCESSORIES FULL SERVICE TAILORING AND ALTERATIONS BY MASTER TAILORS AUTHENTIC BESPOKE GARMENTS PICK UP & DELIVERY AVAILABLE

KNIFE SALE

BUY 1 GET 1

Cheers!

For the next few weeks, champagne is on everyone’s radar. “theeverydaysommelier at O’Lonney’s Wine & Liquor can help you in making your selection.

HALF OFF

Sale begins on November 23rd & runs through December 24.

(501) 687-1331 4310 Landers Road, NLR M-F 8-5 Sat. 9-5

NOW OPEN

Velvety Goodness

Perfect for the last few holiday parties of the season or as a gift for fashionistas, Blue Swallow Clothing Company’s handmade black cotton velvet crop jacket with pintucks and vintage closure is a must have. Paired with a tissue silk slip with flounce hem and a lovely upcycled vintage brooch necklace with black glass beads and tassel from Paula’s Vintage Charm, it’s a complete outfit for any occasion. Find these pieces and other one-of-a-kind clothing and jewelry pieces at South Main Creative.

Unique Decorations at the CLINTON MUSEUM STORE

inside the Clinton Presidential Center

Shop Today! 1200 President Clinton Ave. • www.clintonmuseumstore.com ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015 DECEMBER 17, 2015

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BOOKS FROM THE ARKANSAS TIMES

THE UNIQUE NEIGHBORHOODS OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS Full of interesting voices and colorful portraits of 17 Little Rock and North Little Rock neighborhoods, this book gives an intimate, block-by-block, native’s view of the place more than 250,000 Arkansans call home. Created from interviews with residents and largely written by writers who actually live in the neighborhoods they’re writing about, the book features over 90 full color photos by Little Rock photographer Brian Chilson.

Adopting your newborn is a gift we’ll treasure. Secure endless love awaits your newborn. Maria & John 877-321-9494

ASPEN COLORADO WINTER VACATION RENTAL Fantastic 2 bedroom 2 bath condo. New remodel. Top of the line everything. Heart of downtown. 100 feet to gondola, walk to everything. Best location in town available Jan 23- March7. $2500 week including tax.

Also Available: A HISTORY OF ARKANSAS A compilation of stories published in the Arkansas Times during our first twenty years. Each story examines a fragment of Arkansas’s unique history – giving a fresh insight into what makes us Arkansans. Well written and illustrated. This book will entertain and enlighten time and time again.

ALMANAC OF ARKANSAS HISTORY This unique book offers an offbeat view of the Natural State’s history that you haven’t seen before – with hundreds of colorful characters, pretty places, and distinctive novelties unique to Arkansas. Be informed, be entertained, amaze your friends with your new store of knowledge about the 25th state, the Wonder State, the Bear State, the Land of Opportunity.

Payment: CHECK OR CREDIT CARD Order by Mail: ARKANSAS TIMES BOOKS 201 E. MARKHAM ST., STE. 200, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72201 Phone: 501-375-2985 Fax: 501-375-3623 Email: ANITRA@ARKTIMES.COM Send _____ book(s) of The Unique Neighborhoods of Central Arkansas @ $19.95 Send _____ book(s) of A History Of Arkansas @ $10.95 Send _____ book(s) of Almanac Of Arkansas History @ $18.95 Shipping and handling $3 per book Name _________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________ City, State, Zip ____________________________________________ Phone _________________________________________________ Visa, MC, AMEX, Disc # _________________________ Exp. Date _______

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARKANSAS TIMES MARKETPLACE

501.772.8780

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORK The City of Maumelle will be accepting applications for the position of Director of Public Works to oversee all aspects of the day-to-day operation of the Department of Public Works, Street, Sanitation and Animal Service.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES: Supervision of Department supervisors to ensure proper operation within the department. Assist street maintenance supervisor with reviews of construction plans and conduct pre-construction meetings, required inspections, and final construction inspections to the City. Ensure Maumelle Transfer Station has State and Federal required forms and bonds prior to street dedication. Maintain responsibility of Building Maintenance supervisor of proper operation of traffic signals on Maumelle Blvd., oversee construction and keep records of cost, employee, materials and equipment, design and construct all signage for City of Maumelle, perform traffic studies, and inspection of sidewalks, and handicap ramps in the construction phase to ensure compliance with ADA requirements. Responsible for funds, property and equipment and supervisory of employees in accordance with the City’s policies and applicable laws include interviewing, hiring, training, planning assigning and directing work. Complete other duties and tasks as needed or assigned. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have an Associate’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or technical school; and seven (7) years related experience and/ or training or equivalent combination of education and experience, and four (5) years of managerial experience-governmental accounting experience is preferred. STARTING SALARY: Commensurate with education and experience that exceed the minimum qualifications may be considered for a higher starting salary. The application process will begin immediately. Applications must be received, post marked, email or fax dated no later than Friday, January 15, 2016. NOTE: Online applications and Resumes will not be accepted by themselves. A City of Maumelle Employment Application must be completed. Please go to the City of Maumelle web page (www.maumelle.org) and click on the Human Resources Department to print an application. Completed applications should be mailed to: City of Maumelle – Human Resources Department – 550 Edgewood Drive, Suite 555 – Maumelle, Arkansas 72113. For questions, you may contact the Human Resources office at (501) 851-2784, ext. 242 between the hours of 7AM and 5PM Monday-Friday . EOE – MINORITY, WOMEN, AND DISABLED INDIVIDUALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. This ad is available from the Title VI Coordinator in large print, on audio, and in Braille at (501) 851-2785, ext. 233 or at vernon@maumelle.org.

ARKANSAS TIMES

MARKETPLACE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985

ARKTIMES.COM/RESTAURANTS16

SINCE 1981, ARKANSAS TIMES has asked readers to vote for their favorite restaurants. Our annual Readers Choice Restaurant Awards are the first, and most renowned restaurant awards in the state. We’re introducing new rules for the survey this year: From Nov. 19 through Dec. 20, vote online at arktimes.com/ restaurants16 for your favorite restaurants in Central Arkansas

and around the state in the 35 categories. You may only submit your votes once, but you can return to your ballot as often as you need during the voting period. Only online votes will be accepted. After Dec. 20, we will determine the top four vote getters for each category. Those four and last year’s winners will then advance to a final round of voting that will run Jan. 4 through Jan. 30.

in the March 17 issue of the Arkansas Times, and the awards party will be held on March 15 at the Pulaski Technical Culinary and Hospitality Institute. We’re excited about this new voting system and look forward to your participation and the final results.

The winners will be announced www.arktimes.com

DECEMBER 17, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES