Arkansas Times - February 18, 2016 by Arkansas Times

NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD / FEBRUARY 18, 2016 / ARKTIMES.COM

ROCK OUR

REGION Fourth of a penny for transit will move Central Arkansas forward

WHO WILL TAKE ROUND FOUR? ROUND ONE WINNER:

SOULUTION

ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE

FEB 18 ROUND TWO WINNER:

SEANFRESH & THE NASTYFRESH CREW

8PM 9PM 10PM 11PM

SATTAKOTA JAY JACKSON VINTAGE PISTOL THE WHOLE FAMN DAMILY

ROUND THREE WINNER:

THE UH HUHS

Judging Process: Three (3) regular judges plus one (1) guest judge will score each band on the following criteria - Songwriting (1-30 points), Musicianship (1-30 points), Originality (1-30 points), Showmanship (1-10 points) for a total of 100 possible points per judge. The lowest overall judge’s score is dropped. A crowd vote (based on a percentage) is also added to each bands’ final score from the judges. 2

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS’S SOURCE FOR NEWS, POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 www.arktimes.com arktimes@arktimes.com Twitter: @ArkTimes Instagram: arktimes www.facebook.com/arkansastimes

PUBLISHER Alan Leveritt EDITOR Lindsey Millar SENIOR EDITOR Max Brantley MANAGING EDITOR Leslie Newell Peacock CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mara Leveritt ASSOCIATE EDITORS Benjamin Hardy, David Koon COPY EDITOR Jim Harris ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Will Stephenson

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LOCAL

EDITORIAL ART DIRECTOR Bryan Moats PHOTOGRAPHER Brian Chilson ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR Mike Spain GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kevin Waltermire DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Phyllis A. Britton DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS Rebekah Hardin SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Tiffany Holland ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brooke Wallace, Lee Major, Ashley Gill ADVERTISING TRAFFIC MANAGER Roland R. Gladden ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Jim Hunnicutt SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING DIRECTOR Lauren Bucher IT DIRECTOR Robert Curfman CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Anitra Hickman CONTROLLER Weldon Wilson BILLING/COLLECTIONS Linda Phillips OFFICE MANAGER/ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Kelly Lyles PRODUCTION MANAGER Ira Hocut (1954-2009)

association of alternative newsmedia

VOLUME 42, NUMBER 24 ARKANSAS TIMES (ISSN 0164-6273) is published each week by Arkansas Times Limited Partnership, 201 East Markham Street, Suite 200, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201, phone (501) 375-2985. Periodical postage paid at Little Rock, Arkansas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ARKANSAS TIMES, 201 EAST MARKHAM STREET, SUITE 200, Little Rock, AR, 72201. Subscription prices are $42 for one year, $74 for two years. Subscriptions outside Arkansas are $49 for one year, $88 for two years. Foreign (including Canadian) subscriptions are $168 a year. For subscriber service call (501) 375-2985. Current single-copy price is 75¢, free in Pulaski County. Single issues are available by mail at $2.50 each, postage paid. Payment must accompany all single-copy orders. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without the written consent of the publishers is prohibited. Manuscripts and artwork will not be returned or acknowledged unless sufficient return postage and a self-addressed stamped envelope are included. All materials are handled with due care; however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for care and safe return of unsolicited materials. All letters sent to ARKANSAS TIMES will be treated as intended for publication and are subject to ARKANSAS TIMES’ unrestricted right to edit or to comment editorially.

The Argenta Irish Festival follows the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which starts at 1PM in Little Rock at 3rd & Rock Streets, ending at 6th & Main in Argenta with clowns, floats, antique cars, Irish Wolfhounds and more!

March 12, 2-5PM

at the Argenta Plaza, 520 Main Street Presented by the North Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to Benefit the Argenta Downtown Council

Free to the Public

Beer Garden including Diamond Bear, Lost Forty, Stones Throw, Bubba Brews, Flyway and more! Live Music, Food Trucks and Kids Activities

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

COMMENT

From the web In response to the Feb. 15 Arkansas Blog post, “The tight margins in the Senate make steep hurdle for continuation of the private option”: The very idea that health care is not a basic human right flies in the face of Christian values. A Christian’s first duty is to the hungry, the sick, the oppressed. That is where we find Christ. We do not find Christ in serving the wealthy, the powerful, the ruling elite. Unless you are reading a different Bible, one that states that greed is good, poverty is a character defect, and health care should be rationed based on income. These small-town conservative “Christians” are the same people who crucified Jesus the first time. Religious hypocrites and wealthy politicians who hate everyone who is not like them, and believe that their money and their power are more important than love and life. Paying Top Dollar for Legislators Where are all those men (and women) of the cloth who should be lined up out the Capitol’s front doors, demanding the self-styled Christians protect health care access and lives of those hundreds of thousands of people who will surely die as a result of these killers’ political posturing? These people are would-be killers, and for many of the idiotic voters of Arkansas, only the clergy has the power to stand up to those who would kill in the pursuit of their political goals. These are life-and-death decisions, and we must name them as such. And we must name those who would choose death for the less fortunate as the wouldbe killers they are. The supreme irony, of course, being that most of these peoplekillers have gotten where they are by accusing others of being “baby” killers. To paraphrase Madeline Albright, there’s a special place reserved for these Pharisees in whatever hell they believe exists in the afterlife. For the rest of us, we must stand up and publicly condemn them for their immoral and ungodly behavior. Public shaming is one of the few powers that we of the 99 percent still have in this 21st century plutocracy. Black Panthers for Open Carry

primaries. None of them can openly support it before the primary. That way they can return to their voters and claim that they did everything they could, but they just had to hold their nose and vote for it. Perplexed In response to the Feb. 13 Arkansas Blog post, “Republicans face off in South Carolina debate”: How could any respectable, honest, well-meaning Republican not have been embarrassed and ashamed by this show of insults, accusations, bravado and

bullshit promises? What has politics come to in the Republican Party? Contrast it with the last Democratic debate, which generally is acknowledged as one of the best discussions of issues in years. I sure hope the American people take note of the difference. However, I am afraid that most of the people who watch the Republican debates are tea party fanatics, who are just as bat-shit crazy as the candidates. Let me give a shout-out, however, to John Kasich, who refused to participate in the name-calling. As Cato can tell you, however, this is retrogressive. This is what politics used

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

What’s Trump gonna do next, pull the head off a live bunny just to see if his supporters will still love him? I think he’s tried about everything to get booted from the clown car, so tonight he’s trying sounding like a Democrat. He’s drawing a few boos, but the rest of the crowd have turned down their hearing aids, still fascinated by the bizarre facial expressions and that dead animal on his head. JB In response to the Feb. 11 Arkansas Blog post, “Why did the NRA endorse Goodson?”

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I still think that these Bozos (with apologies to clowns everywhere) are just posturing, at least until the March

to be like in the 1800s. So we go back to shameful times in our nation, and repeat mistakes all over again. plainjim

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The reason is obvious. Justice Goodson is facing an unprecedented attack from the media, the Chamber of Commerce, the Judicial Crisis Network and Arkansas business interests. Despite her appeal, John Goodson realized she was in risk of losing the election. He hates to lose, and he has a trump card in his cozy relationship with Sen. Tom Cotton. Cotton is a rising tea party and NRA star, and he or his office would be able to wrangle the endorsement for Goodson from the NRA. Goodson used his chit with Cotton by asking him to do him a solid. As powerful as the Chamber and Northwest Arkansas money is, the NRA is exponentially more powerful. The NRA endorsement is all Courtney needs to win and everything else between now and the election is just noise. Goodson knows it. Cotton knows it. And the NRA knows it. It is a win-win for everyone other than the citizens of Arkansas. The NRA now has a loyal chief justice on any gun-related issue that might come before the court, including product liability. Justice Goodson will be elected. Cotton knows Goodson owes him a favor and Goodson will deliver huge bundled donations in the next election cycle. And John Goodson has shown that he can overcome any political obstacle. Puppet Master Puppet Master, I catch your drift but it is probably not quite that simple. But her spreading the word about the NRA endorsement is a perfect case for a motion to recuse or more appropriately recusing because of her flamboyant advertisement of NRA endorsement. That is what I call transparent. Laissez Faire

So I take it, with our new, wonderful “ethics” rules, Arkansas now allows judges to appeal to the NRA for endorsements? Somebody made the appeal. I just don’t think the NRA suddenly said, “Hey, I think Goodson is a go gunner. Let’s endorse her.” David Smith

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I hereby nominate Brother Bob Ballinger for Stupidest Arkansas Legislator of 2016. I’m curious, Bob, if one or more people die of food poisoning after eating food improperly prepared at this facility, can the facility claim that god made them do it or that god used the dangerous food preparation process to bring the victims into god’s kingdom on his timetable? Note: I realize it’s early in 2016, and many other Arkansas legislators will do equally stupid things this year to qualify as nominees. There are how many ReTHUGliCON representatives and senators again? Note 2: Gunslinger Jason Rapert is a standing nominee, therefore no single ignorant act is needed for him to be qualified for this award. Sound Policy

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

EYE ON ARKANSAS

WEEK THAT WAS

“We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial circulation. Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots — the ‘applesauce’ and ‘argle bargle’ — and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion. ... It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.” —U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the death of Justice Antonin Scalia over the weekend. Though Scalia, 79, was a towering figure in the American conservative movement, he and the staunchly liberal Ginsburg always remained “best buddies,” in her words. The empty seat on the court now sets up a huge partisan battle, with Senate Republicans insisting they will block any nominee from President Obama regardless of qualification.

I call do over.

BRIAN CHILSON

Quote of the Week:

CAVE PAINTING: The White Water Tavern’s clientele, with chalk in hand, has made a second-floor wall in the Little Rock establishment a work of art.

same time a suit against one of Morton’s facilities was in Maggio’s court. In that case, Maggio reduced by 80 percent the financial compensation a jury had awarded to the family of a woman who died in a Morton-owned nursing home because of neglect. But no one else involved in the affair has been charged, and presumably Maggio has been cooperating with the government’s investigation in exchange for leniency. Now he’s trying to walk back his admission of guilt.

the National Rifle Association, which she is proudly touting in her campaign ads. Yes, the NRA regularly endorses legislative candidates — but judges are another story. The website of the NRA’s own Political Victory Fund states that it’s “rare” for the group to endorse anyone in a state judicial race. Why are they lending their support in this one? Nobody knows. When asked for comment, an NRA spokesperson only said, “Our endorsement is based on her strong support of the Second Amendment.”

A win for the arts

No backsies Mike Maggio, the former Conway circuit judge who pleaded guilty a year ago to federal bribery charges, is now trying to withdraw his guilty plea — just two weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced. Maggio has a new attorney, who argued that the judge had received bad advice from his previous counsel in accepting the negotiated plea. The backstory: According to federal prosecutors, Maggio accepted sizable campaign contributions from an individual — assumed to be nursing home owner Michael Morton — around the 6

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Justice in the barrel The Maggio tale is one argument against electing judges; another is the current race for chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, which has been marred by unsavory maneuvers on both sides. The latest contemptible development is Associate Justice Courtney Goodson’s endorsement by

On Feb. 9, Little Rock voters approved a bond issue to make improvements to the Arkansas Arts Center, the MacArthur Museum of Military History and MacArthur Park, funded by a 2-cent increase to the hotel tax. (The tax itself had already been approved by the City Board of Directors, but voters needed to approve the commitment of the project.) The vote was 4 to 1 in favor of the measure, but with a big caveat: Turnout in the special election was only around 6.6 percent, with fewer than 8,000 voters citywide casting a ballot.

Sorry, Tina Police were called to the Mitchell Williams law firm the morning of Feb. 9 after an argument between state Treasurer Dennis Milligan and Little Rock lawyer Luther Sutter turned (mildly) violent. Milligan was to be deposed in

a lawsuit filed by a former staffer (who is suing the treasurer for defamation), but became upset when Sutter used the word “shit” in the presence of Milligan’s wife, Tina. Milligan told the lawyer not to use such language with his wife present, the two men approached each other, and Sutter shoved Milligan in the chest. (Sutter claims he was afraid Milligan was about to attack him.) The next day, the treasurer appeared at the Pulaski County prosecutor’s office to file criminal assault charges against Sutter, his right arm in a sling.

Charges filed in Naramore case Last week, Hot Springs Judge Wade Naramore was charged with negligent homicide in the July 2015 death of his 16-month-old son, Thomas. The child died after being left in a hot car for several hours. Scott Ellington, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, said Naramore surrendered himself that same day at the Garland County Detention Center, where he was booked and released on a $5,000 bond.

OPINION

The press fails

las, this is pretty much where I came in. Starting in 1994, when your humble, obedient servant was approached to contribute weekly political columns, I found the behavior of the national political press shocking and alarming. Today, it’s even worse. Even so, it’s not every day a TV talker apologizes for broadcasting a doctored video misrepresenting something Bill Clinton said about President Obama. So it’s definitely worth taking note. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes did that the other night, at least temporarily persuading me that the network hasn’t yet gone full Fox News. But first, some ancient history on a theme directly relevant to today’s Democratic primary campaign: Hillary the Big Liar. See, by 1994 I’d been writing professionally for years, mainly as a literary journalist and monthly magazine reporter. The publications I’d written for employed assiduous fact-checkers. Opinions were expected, so long as they were grounded in fact. After all, what’s the point in win-

Specifically, Hillary acknowledged signing a letter “because I was what we called the billing attorney” for the Madison Guaranty account. “Nightline” ning an argument charged her with concealing exactly that if you’ve got to fact. Jeff Greenfield said no wonder “the White House was so worried about what cheat to do it? However, that’s was in Vince Foster’s office when he killed not how Washhimself” — a contemptible insinuation. Within days, the doctored quote was ington journalism GENE all over ABC News, CNN, the New York works. LYONS See, in April Times and everywhere else. Almost need1994, Hillary Clinton had given a press less to say, Maureen Dowd ran with it. conference about the make-believe William Safire predicted her imminent Whitewater scandal. She answered every criminal indictment. In short, the theme of Hillary Clinton question the press threw at her for a couple of hours. The immediate effect was as epic liar began with an instance of barerather like last fall’s Benghazi hearings: faced journalistic fraud. Her detailed answers calmed the storm. So, anyway, last week Bill Clinton Having previously given sworn testimony made a campaign appearance for his to Treasury Department investigators wife in Memphis. If you’d only seen it on probing Jim McDougal’s failed savings MSNBC or read about it in the Washington Post, you’d think he made a political and loan, she was on solid ground. Two years further on, ABC’s “Night- blunder, trashing President Obama as a line” dug up a video clip of an answer she’d weak leader. given about a specific issue and seamlessly On Chris Hayes’ program “All In,” the deleted two sentences by substituting host chided the former president for going stock footage of journalists taking notes. “a bit off message.” MSNBC aired this video clip: Then they pretended she’d been asked a much broader question, and accused “BILL CLINTON: She’s always makher of lying about the information they’d ing something good happen. She’s the best subtracted. change maker I’ve ever known.

Scalia’s legacy

hey are right that Antonin Scalia’s clean-power rules. sudden death nearly a year before It is true that, Barack Obama is to leave office is for the first time in an epochal event, but for the loss of the 44 years, Republinimble and dazzling old man himself and cans do not have not because it will produce a major trans- a majority on the ERNEST formation of the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court DUMAS From the Senate majority leader’s and for the first dramatic announcement within hours of time in 25 years do not have a virulently Scalia’s death that the Republican major- conservative majority. Now, and at least ity in the Senate was united in preventing for the next 15 months, they are tied on even consideration of any nomination by both counts, 4 to 4, with little chance for the president, in flagrant disobedience a precedent-setting decision during that of the Constitution, you would surmise, period on a big conservative issue, unless wrongly, that Obama would be dramati- one of the softer justices on either side cally remaking the Supreme Court for buckles on some issue like the carbon another generation. dioxide rules. There is scant chance an Obama If Scalia’s seat remains vacant until nominee will become a justice, even if the spring of 2017, it will be filled either he were to name a conservative Repub- by the Democratic president, giving liberlican like Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah or als their first dominion on the court since Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. the torrent of liberal reforms by the court That was settled in 2014, when the GOP after Republican Dwight Eisenhower gained a solid majority in the Senate and packed it with liberals and moderates, pledged to allow no enhancement of the or else by the new Republican president Obama legacy during his last two years — likely the neo-populist Donald Trump. and to make every effort to shrink it, like Whether the new president on Jan. 20 undermining the Affordable Care Act and is a Democrat or Republican, his or her

party will control the Supreme Court for a generation, regardless of what Obama does. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will retire early in 2017, if not sooner, and fellow Democrat Stephen Breyer not long afterward. So the equilibrium on the court caused by Scalia’s death or the impact of a successful Obama appointment will be momentary. But the absence of Antonin Scalia will be nonetheless profound. Many have written about the huge impact Scalia, by dint of intellect, brass and wit, made on the court and jurisprudence. No one mentions his biggest legacy, which is that he made a politicized judiciary not only respectable, but the expectation. Scalia had a passion for the law, for he found in its vast tenets the latitude to support whatever he would like for the law to be in any situation. The force of his intellect almost always brought other Republicans into the fold. When they strayed, as Kennedy, John Roberts and Sandra Day O’Connor sometimes did, they felt the sting of his fierce dissents and the need to get back under the blanket. Originalism was the doctrine that he revived and made the bulwark of constitutional law. The Bill of Rights and other parts of the Constitution had to be interpreted precisely as people understood

A lot of people say, ‘Oh well, you don’t understand. It’s different now. It’s rigged.’ Yeah, it’s rigged — because you don’t have a president who is a change maker.” Ouch! To the Washington Post’s Abby Phillips, “it sounded like he was agreeing with one of [Bernie] Sanders’ central arguments about income inequality — but blaming the sitting president for it.” Older and thinner, Mr. Yesterday was clearly losing it. Except he wasn’t. The real villain was, once again, creative video editing. Tommy Christopher at Mediaite.com restored the full context. So here’s what Bill Clinton actually said about President Obama: “Yeah, it’s rigged — because you don’t have a president who is a change maker with a Congress who will work with him. But the president has done a better job than he has gotten credit for. And don’t you forget it! Mediaite.com’s Christopher put it succinctly: “This is an edit so egregious, it rivals the worst in dishonest political ads, and surpasses them.” Greatly to his credit (and my surprise), Chris Hayes subsequently rebroadcast Clinton’s remarks in full. “We shouldn’t have done that,” he admitted. No, they certainly should not.

them when they were written, not in light of advancing knowledge and sensibilities. Phrases and concepts like freedom of speech, assembly, association and religion obviously were not intended to protect black people, who were at the time not considered full persons, or other irregular people, like women or gays. Race was a peculiar issue that confounded Scalia. He dodged questions about segregation, though he told one interviewer that he might have voted for the court’s 1954 decision outlawing school segregation although it violated his principle of originalism. No theory is perfect. He was maddeningly inconsistent about the doctrine whenever the partisan need was heavy. In his dissent in the Affordable Care Act case, Scalia found that the commerce clause relegated things like health care to the states and outside the ambit of the national government. But Arkansans may remember that Scalia took precisely the opposite stance when President Reagan’s energy commission, ignoring an act of Congress that made intrastate utility rates a state matter, ordered Arkansas electric customers to pay for giant nuclear power plants in Mississippi and Louisiana. We duly paid our southern neighbors $4.5 billion to help them on their electric bills. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

DRIVERS PLEASE BE AWARE, IT’S ARKANSAS STATE LAW:

presents…

Badi Assad Thursday February 18 7:30 p.m. The Joint 301 Main Street North Little Rock

Tickets $20

USE OF BICYCLES OR ANIMALS

Badi transcends traditional styles of her native Brazilian music with a mixture of pop, jazz, and world/ethnic sounds from around the world.

Available at the door or online at www.argentaartsacousticmusic.com

Join CARE for Animals for

ADOPTION DAY

featuring animals from the Paws in Prison program! Saturday, February 20 11 am to 2 pm at CARE Headquarters 5516 Kavanaugh Blvd. in the Heights While there, enter the drawing for a family 4-pack to the Broadway musical ANNIE courtesy of Celebrity Attractions!

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Every person riding a bicycle or an animal, or driving any animal drawing a vehicle upon a highway, shall have all the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except those provisions of this act which by their nature can have no applicability.

OVERTAKING A BICYCLE

The driver of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a roadway shall exercise due care and pass to the left at a safe distance of not less than three feet (3’) and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken bicycle.

AND CYCLISTS, PLEASE REMEMBER:

You’re vehicles on the road, just like cars and motorcycles and must obey all traffic laws—signal, ride on the right side of the road and yield to traffic normally. Make eye contact with motorists. Be visible. Be predictable. Heads up, think ahead.

For Bernie Sanders BY SARAH SCANLON

know that many people in Arkansas are dismissive of Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator competing against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. But Arkansans should take a hard look at what Sanders is proposing and what is happening around his campaign. In my career as an organizer, I have encountered many campaigns that were not designed to reach most voters. In fact, many campaign operations are only intended to reach 20 percent of the population. In my experience, campaigns divide the world into three camps: those with you, those against you and those who are undecided. They do not look to increase the number of voters, or reach out to those who are uninterested in the election. For many politicians, they only care about that 20 percent of the undecided. They pander, brownnose and tell halftruths to get the numbers they need to win the election based on that universe. Reliance on this formula also means some politicians have an interest in suppressing the vote, a tactic that goes against our democratic traditions. Campaigns will say and do things that keep people from getting excited about an election. Consultants will encourage candidates and campaigns to only focus on those people who you know will turn out and vote. Nontraditional campaigns know that new voters make a difference. New voters force politicians to think bigger, to act on behalf of everyone and not just the super wealthy who want to preserve the status quo. New voters are the ones who force change into the system and get the country moving in a different, more positive direction. When new voters come into the system in large numbers, very big things happen. We see a political revolution that gets people excited about governance and thinking that change for all truly is possible. In New Hampshire, exit polls showed that 17 percent of the people who filled out those exit surveys were new voters who had never voted before. We are at one of those moments in history right now. Sanders is energizing communities in every corner of the country. More

and more people are flocking to his events across the country. Here in Arkansas, we see increasing numSARAH bers of volunteers SCANLON come into our offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville. These volunteers are new voters and voters who vote in every election. The new voters are motivated by Sanders’ vision of reforming our campaign finance system to create a country in which corporate interests do not overwhelm politics. It’s a vision that sees the declining middle class pulled up by free college tuition and universal access to health care. The traditional voters are excited because someone is standing up for their values and talking about real issues that affect their lives. Sanders is triggering a revolution that will make the government work for all people and not just those with great wealth. He wants the government to ensure that those workers who put in 40 hours a week should not have to live in poverty. That the money they receive for laboring over a kitchen stove or stocking shelves allows them to put food on the table and give their children a decent life. Sanders believes that health care is a human right and that no one should be denied health care because they cannot afford it. He believes that families should not have to choose between going bankrupt or getting the care they desperately need. Sanders’ vision for America is a breath of fresh air. While other politicians demonize vulnerable populations and play one group of citizens off of another, Sanders is inclusive. His campaign is driving people toward a shared vision. This shared vision is igniting passionate volunteers across the state of Arkansas to spend countless hours talking to their neighbors and friends about the senator from Vermont. Sanders is building a stronger America that works for all of us — one that supports the middle class and ensures that all communities are supported by the government. Sarah Scanlon is state director for the Bernie Sanders campaign.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

Down and out

ARKANSAS’S SOURCE FOR NEWS, POLITICS AND ENTERTAINMENT

N ia s a m r u o g n r e h t u so aN r Dinner thern gourmasi ee& B Beer Dinner &

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Tickets Available at the restaurant or by calling 501-313-5645

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

1ST

Ming Kham - toasted coconut, scallion, shrimp, betel leaves Dark Starrgh Mild

2ND

Celery Root Bisque, Caramelized Pears, Sesame Brittle Pelagia”s Patersbier

3RD Tuesday Sweet Potato & Cauliflower Tempura, Citrus & Soy

sept. 294TH :

Common Sense

6 30 p.m.

Bowl, Miso gourmasian Bourbon Glazed at Rice the southern

Ham Hock, Crispy Kale

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all it “Mississippi Burned.” Arkansas took a spin through the Magnolia State, and it ended up being one of the harshest road trips in recent memory, even for a basketball team that’s had its share of struggles abroad. You see, the Razorbacks had followed a walloping by Texas A&M in the conference opener with a pretty decent slew of efforts away from Bud Walton Arena. Yes, there was only one win to speak of, a thrashing of hapless Missouri, but the other losses to Georgia, Florida and LSU had a combined nine-point margin. In other words, these mercurial Hogs had basically been a tough out even if they hadn’t developed a closer’s mentality. A couple of irregularities, though, caused problems. They had to play Mississippi State on a Tuesday night, which meant an earlier travel date than they’d experienced of late. And while that’s no excuse for the pathetic shooting display that occurred in Starkville — 16 for 72 sounds more like a baseball prospect’s performance at the plate in a September call-up than a college team’s field goal effort — it seemed like the team simply could not get its bearings. The second unusual development was that the trio of Dusty Hannahs, Moses Kingsley and Anthlon Bell had a collective off night for the first time. None of them cracked double digits, and in a year when any one of them has put up 18 points or more on a given night to help carry the load, on this occasion that was the total point output all three compiled. Kingsley was taken out of the game early by the Bulldogs’ feisty inside players, and Bell and Hannahs were simply far off target in a 32-point loss. Arkansas had the benefit of four days to prep with its only date with Ole Miss all year, and started out just fine in Oxford on Saturday, with a clear focus on stifling the conference’s top gunner. Stefan Moody was punchless over the first 20 minutes for the Rebels, but that good fortune was mostly offset by the fact that Hannahs got tagged with early fouls and ended up with his only scoreless game of the season. Kingsley was brilliant in the opening half, compiling 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting, but this was another of those games where it felt like the Hogs simply whiffed on their best opportunities. Specifically, up by varying amounts throughout the half, as much as 11, the

Hogs seemed completely unwilling or unable to make that lead balloon further. It’s been a chronic issue for BEAU an undermanned WILCOX but feisty group all year: There’s no quit in them on one hand, but also not a great deal of decisiveness. Mike Anderson compounds the problem from time to time with strange substitution patterns and an ongoing, bizarre disinterest in engaging the officials when the calls start skewing toward the host. The Rebels trailed by nine, 26-17, at the under-eight television timeout; what followed was a 16-4 run denoted by some disparate treatment from the referees and Ole Miss’ players sensing that their 24-point scorer was off his game. From there, Moody played an admirable game of catch-up. He got 16 of his 17 points after halftime despite having a woeful perimeter shooting game, and the Hogs had their third hideous offensive half out of four in the neighboring state. Getting worked over on the glass, failing to take full advantage of the other team’s star having an off night, and having no help from the complementary players — this theme played out again over the last 20 minutes at the new Pavilion, and Ole Miss looked like the team that wanted to put together the late-season surge back to postseason consideration. It was a forgettable week, yes, but it was likely also the one that revealed exactly what Anderson is going to have to address with expediency once the campaign finally ends at some point in March. This team tethered its fate to three players who weren’t totally proven offensive commodities at the high D-I level. Bell’s shot has betrayed him lately, Hannahs has lost his ability to impact a game on floaters and free throws as he had earlier, and Kingsley is slowing a little after an unforeseen display of improvement through the first 20 games or so. Thus, with six regular season games left, a 12-13, 5-7 team sits basically on the precipice of having it all end a little sooner than might have been anticipated after a reasonably good start to SEC play. The 2015-16 Hogs can still leave a mark, but for 80 minutes of basketball in a neighboring state in early February, they looked every bit like the also-ran that most pundits thought would take the court.

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s of Feb. 15 it had been 15 years on the dot since The Observer’s Dear Old Pa, then only 51 years old, shuffled off his mortal coil and flew away, a moment that made Yours Truly feel like we might not survive it. Survive it we must and did, however, as we are here to tell the tale. It is a hell of a thing to lose your father, maybe especially when he is so young. The Observer was 26 at the time, now grown into a disagreeable old crank of 41, wrinkled and gray bearded, bittersweet as apple cider on the cloudy days. As we’ve told people on occasion, we sometimes imagine the line of our blood as a literal line — men standing chest to back, Those to Come stretching back behind us, Yours Truly only with Junior’s young hand on our shoulder for now. In our mind, the head of that line is the edge of a high and treacherous cliff over the sea, a windy place. As the ones before us have died, they stepped over. For a while now, The Observer has been standing at the head of that line, toes over the treacherous edge, nothing but the waves far below us and the wind in our face. It can be terrifying to stand there. But it can be freeing as well, knowing that you are the product of decent people, all their love, passed down through the ages, passed back from you to Those to Come; to Junior’s hand, and from him to the unseen hand that may yet rest on his shoulder. Knowing that the people you love once stood there, and that others you love will stand there yet, makes it easier. Knowing Monday was coming, The Observer has been putting some memories of dear ol’ Pa on Dr. Zuckerberg’s Fantabulous Book of Face in the past few weeks. Little things he said or did, bits of wisdom. Justin Booth — the once-homeless poet whose work The Observer has championed ever since we bought a terribly printed chapbook from a strung-out man on a street corner downtown in 2012 and was absolutely poleaxed by the loveliness of his verse

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— commented on one post that some of Pa’s advice, passed through his son, helped him through a bad patch once. To which The Observer replied that Pa’s wisdom is the only reason we were having that conversation in the first place, The Observer having stopped for a chat and to buy a book back in 2012 instead of sidestepping our friend like he wasn’t there, as so many did. As we further told Booth: The Observer saw Pa give his last $20 to a homeless person once, at a time when he had a quarter-tank of gas and three cigarettes. He was a four-packsa-day man. That’s sacrifice. But his son was watching. Another story we’ve told, surely to the horror of some, is this: The whole time The Observer was growing up, Pa had a list of people he planned to kill — and at least one building he planned to burn to the ground — if he ever came down with terminal cancer. Not a long list. But a list, full of people who probably damn well deserved it; people who had been unfathomably cruel to those he loved or himself when he was younger. He talked about it fairly often when The Observer was a teenager, in that joking tone people use when they ain’t joking in the least. Let’s just put it this way: After Pa called us in the fall of 2000 to say he was dying, The Observer watched CNN reeeeeeal close for the next few days. Most of the folks on the list were dead already by the time Pa got sick, and the rest have, to our knowledge, died of perfectly natural causes in the years since he passed. The ones who outlived him, however, never knew how lucky they were that The Observer’s old man learned to let it all go and forgive. Because he was serious as a heart attack about the list, and, like all people who are worth a damn, he usually did exactly what he said he would do. A gift before dying, then, to those he believed deserved it the least. We’ve always thought there was something beautiful in that. Rest in continued peace, father. Your son is still standing the line.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Arkansas Reporter

JAMES MATTHEWS

THE

GOING BOTH WAYS: Former state Rep. Andy Mayberry says people want to support both him and his opponent in the District 27 race, former Rep. Mike Creekmore. “It confuses people,” he says.

Husbands and wives In District 27, politics makes strange bedfellows. BY JAMES MATTHEWS

n East End, there is a large brick home with a semicircular driveway. Flanking each entrance are two political signs: one for Republican Andy Mayberry, the other for Republican Mike Creekmore. The odd thing is that Mayberry and Creekmore are running against each other in the March 1 primary for Arkansas House of Representatives District 27. Andy Mayberry has noted the same phenomenon while driving around the district, which is composed of south-

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

eastern Saline County (East End, Shannon Hills and parts of Alexander and Bryant) along with a small sliver of south Pulaski County. “It is kind of interesting. … A lot of places you’ll see an Andy Mayberry sign and a Mike Creekmore sign right next to each other.” People want to be supportive of both candidates, Mayberry said, and added, “It confuses people sometimes.” Andy Mayberry and Mike Creekmore have each held the legislative seat in recent history. Creekmore previ-

ously served as the representative from District 27 as a Democrat but is now running as a Republican. Creekmore and Mayberry faced off once before, in the 2000 general election, which Creekmore won. But the real confusion sets in when you delve deeper into the provenance of the District 27 seat. Follow along if you can. Since 2014, the position has been occupied by Rep. Julie Mayberry, wife of Andy. Julie was preceded in the post by her husband. Andy Mayberry gave up his place in the legislature to run for lieutenant governor in 2014 — he lost — after having twice won the District 27 seat, in 2010 and 2012. Creekmore held the District 27 House seat for three terms, from 1998 to 2004 (before boundaries were redrawn in the 2001 redistricting, it was known as District 51). But wait. Who served as representative in the six years between Mike Creekmore and Andy Mayberry? That would be Dawn Creekmore, Mike’s wife, who — is it a

sign of things to come? — still holds the Twitter handle @RepCreekmore. Both Creekmores “termed out,” since state representatives were limited to three two-year terms at that time. But in 2014, Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment watering down term limits, and now a representative may serve up to 16 years in the same office. (An aside: The Creekmores meanwhile moved to the western end of the district, where Mike has twice been elected to the Saline County Quorum Court. Now that he’s leaving that post to seek the House seat again, who’s running to succeed him as justice of the peace? That’s right: his wife, Dawn.) So to recap, for the better part of two decades, the position of District 27 representative has been occupied by Creekmore (husband), Creekmore (wife), Mayberry (husband) and Mayberry (wife). And now the two husbands are facing off against each other in the primary. Has this ever happened before?

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“The husband/wife scenario, while not super common, does occur from time to time in legislatures,” said Tim Storey, a director at the National Committee of State Legislatures, when reached by email. “However, I’ve been studying legislative elections for over 25 years, and I’ve never heard of a legislative seat being held by two couples over time, as you describe.” Storey couldn’t say for certain that it has never happened, since his organization doesn’t keep records of such events, but he said, “I strongly suspect that this is a first.” “It’s an interesting little dynasty they have out here,” said Melissa Fults, the lone Democrat running for House District 27. (“I wouldn’t like to refer to it as a dynasty,” Andy Mayberry said to me, but Fults is not beholden to anyone else’s semantic wishes.) Fults, a 30-year resident of East End, has seen the seat passed between Creekmores and Mayberrys for much of her time in the community. “I just think that we need new blood in there.” Fults is not a vocational politician. She has never held elected office. She describes herself as a grandmother, a dairy goat farmer and a political activist. For five years, she and her husband, Gary (also not an elected official), have championed the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act. Fults is convinced voters will approve a medical marijuana initiative this year and feels there are other battles she now needs to fight. She ticks off a list — pre-K education, college-preparedness in high school, help for struggling families. “Somebody needs to stand up for those people,” Fults said. “I reached a point in my life where I couldn’t stand by.” Whoever wins the Republican primary in March will face Fults in the general election. But after it’s all done, the three candidates will all still live in the same small communities. Outside of the political arena, how do the candidates see each other? “We get along fine, always have,” Andy Mayberry said of Mike Creekmore. “I like Andy. Andy and I have known each other for years,” Melissa Fults said. No word on who Mike likes, since Creekmore did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails asking for comment for this article.

THE

BIG PICTURE Rep. DeAnn Vaught

Endorsements

It’s less than two weeks before the March 1 primary election in Arkansas. Before he dropped out of the race to be the Republican nominee for president, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee had endorsements from the largest group of elected officials in Arkansas; some of those have since announced their support for other candidates, while a number of high profile Republicans have yet to announce endorsements, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman, and U.S. Reps. French Hill and Bruce Westerman. No state legislator or constitutional officer has endorsed Donald Trump, Gov. Jeb Bush or Bernie Sanders. Rep. Karilyn Brown

Sen. President Jonathan Dismang Senate Majority Leader Jim Hendren

Rep. Nate Bell U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford

Rep. Lanny Fite

Sen. John Cooper

House Majority Leader Ken Bragg

Rep. Jana Della Rosa

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin

Sen. Greg Standridge Rep. David Meeks

Rep. Charlie Collins

House Majority Whip Jim Dotson Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson

Sen. Marco Rubio

Rep. Dan Douglas

Rep. Laurie Rushing Sen. Bart Hester (chair of state campaign)

Arkansas Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe

Rep. Micah Neal

Rep. Justin Boyd

Rep. Mickey Gates

Sen. Missy Irvin

Rep. Andy Davis

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack

Rep. Mark Lowery Rep. Gary Deffenbaugh

Rep. Ken Henderson Rep. Prissy Hickerson

Rep. Justin Conzales

Rep. Charlene Fite Rep. Brandt Smith

Rep. Grant Hodges

Rep. Bob Ballinger (chair)

Rep. Michelle Gray

Rep. Kenneth Ferguson Sen. Linda Chesterfield

Rep. John Payton

Sen. Terry Rice

Rep. Charles Blake

Rep. Stephen Meeks

Sen. Linda Collins-Smith

Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Jason Rapert

Rep. Dan Sullivan

Rep. Vivian Flowers

Rep. Eddie Armstrong

Rep. Fredrick Love

Secretary of State Mark Martin Rep. Charles Armstrong

Rep. Matt Pitsch

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Rep. Reginald Murdock

Rep. Monte Hodges

Gov. John Kasich Rep. George McGill

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

RIDES BUS TO GET TO WORK AND SCHOOL: Ashley Darnell.

F RE E D OM RIDE F O R RO C K RE GION Dedicated tax will give bus agency flexibility to improve.

BRIAN CHILSON

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

o you see bus service in Pulaski County as welfare for the poor, a service used only by people you don’t know and not very often?

Since you don’t ride the bus, do you think it doesn’t benefit you directly? Do you ask yourself, why should I pony up a quarter of a cent tax every time I spend a dollar to help people I don’t know ride a bus I’ll never take?

BRIAN CHILSON

If you think that way, it’s time to think again. There were around three million boardings on Rock Region Metro buses last year. It is not sparingly used. The people who ride the buses are going to work, school, shopping. That means buses boost employment, education and spending. Yes, your taxes already support it, but the dollars Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pulaski County, Sherwood, Maumelle and Jacksonville contribute to Rock Region from general revenues are reconsidered every year, rather than revenues the bus agency can count on. And you do know people who ride the bus. You’ve met them at restaurants, hospitals, colleges, at your job. Some of them are poor, sure. But here’s something else: They’d be poorer if there wasn’t a bus to get them to school or to work. Is that what you want? A city with people who want to work but can’t because they can’t get there? Who want to go to school, but don’t own a car, whose ability to buy a car depends on the degree from school? Who may have to skip their doctor’s appointment? Where a grocery store out west or the outlet mall in the south may have a hard time filling jobs because there’s no way for people to get there? Do you want Little Rock (if that is where you live) to continue to be ranked among the most backward cities in the United States in regard to public transportation? Just a little bit better than Jackson, Miss., and a whole lot worse than Memphis? No. Surely a public transit system that reduces idling and polluting traffic on the interstate system (by 11 percent, if Pulaski County government got serious about investing), with buses that ran more frequently and on more routes and so were more convenient to riders, is better. Surely riders would be attracted to express buses, whose sta-

tions would then attract new business to benefit the riders. Perhaps you live in North Little Rock and want to go from, say, McCain Mall to Pulaski Technical College, without having to go to Little Rock first. Or maybe you live in Maumelle and would like local bus service to get around the community, pick up books at the library, meet folks for dinner. Maybe you are a millennial who doesn’t want to have to rely on a car, who’d rather hitch your bike to a bus and get around town that way. Or a boomer who wants someone else to do the driving. Or a parent who’d like to get your children to that school that doesn’t have its own bus system. Maybe you are someone who shares Rock Region’s vision that by moving more people around town more conveniently and to more places, the standard of living in Pulaski County will rise. Maybe you agree with Jimmy Moses, the chair of Rock Region Metro’s Campaign to Connect to advocate for the quarter of a penny sales tax, who thinks that it’s no coincidence that growing cities have good public transit. Here’s what you do: On March 1, you vote for the proposal to raise the sales tax in Pulaski County by 0.25 percent. That’ll cost you a quarter every time you spend $100. That will buy you a more progressive, healthier and richer community. Ashley Darnell, whose grandmother was interned at Rohwer, the South Arkansas prison camp for Japanese Americans during World War II, is a transplant from California herself. Her grandmother stayed in Arkansas after the war, but Darnell’s mother got on a Greyhound bus to Long Beach, Calif., and that’s where Darnell was born and raised.

Now, a bus figures in Darnell’s life again. She followed a friend to Arkansas and enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She left in California the transportation she relied on there: a couple of Vespas. Here, she relies on Rock Region Metro to get her everywhere. Darnell, 30, is lucky. She lives on one of Rock Region’s bus lines in West Little Rock, near Rainwood and Green Mountain Drive. There she can board the No. 8 that travels east on Rodney Parham Road to Markham and then jogs around a bit before reaching the Travel Center at Capital and Cumberland streets downtown. In the early morning, that particular bus is packed with students going to eSTEM schools at Third and Louisiana streets (“I’ve been the oldest person on the bus” at times, she said). To get to UALR, where she is working toward a master’s degree in public history, Darnell can transfer at H and University to the No. 21 that goes down University Avenue. No problem there. But two days a week, Darnell works at Baptist Health Medical Center (she is an LPN and assists nurses with IT needs). To get there, she boards the No. 8 at Rainwood around 4 p.m., takes it all the way downtown, and then transfers to the No. 3, which takes her back out west again. Darnell can walk to Baptist Health from her apartment, but it’s an hourlong slog. She prefers to take the bus, even though the ride is longer, an hour and 15 minutes. Here’s why it takes so long to get to one place in West Little Rock to another: Rock Region Metro uses a spoke design, making the Travel Center the central transfer station. It’s been that way since 1986. If Darnell wants to go downtown at night, she can’t. Most Rock Region Metro buses stop running by 8 p.m. She could go downtown for a night in the River Market district, but she couldn’t get home without plunking down the cost of a cab. Darnell has studied at UALR with Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History Dr. John Kirk, who is also the director of the university’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity. Kirk, originally from England, has made Arkansas race relations his specialty, and joined the faculty at UALR in 2010. Kirk takes the bus to campus daily, catching the 21 at 8:10 a.m. right across from his house on Kavanaugh Boule-

vard. The 21 takes him home again at 5:30 p.m. Kirk has a driver’s license, and he and his wife have a car. But he doesn’t drive. He grew up in England in a family that had no car — they didn’t need one because of British public transportation — and he doesn’t see a need to drive now. (Kirk, it happens, learned to drive in Arkansas some years ago so he could get to interviews all over the state for a book he was writing. It wasn’t until later that he learned how to drive in the United Kingdom — on what we would call the wrong side of the street.) Kirk is so committed to public transportation that when he and his wife were house hunting here, they deliberately looked for a home near a bus stop. They could not have done better. His commute to work is about 24 minutes, plus the seconds it takes for him to cross the street in front of his house to catch the bus. If he needs to go downtown during the day, there’s the No. 16 from the UALR campus. Not everyone lives across the street from a bus stop. But more people could live closer to a stop if Rock Region had the wherewithal to add routes and buses. Riding the crowded bus Darnell was taking on a recent Friday afternoon was Ronald Kimbrew, who got on at Kavanaugh and North Pine, a block north of Pulaski Heights Middle School. It was the stop this writer took every day for the three years she was a student at Pulaski Heights. In those days, it was how students got to school: There were no school-run buses. Kimbrew is a substitute teacher, and he’d just wrapped up the day teaching keyboarding and Spanish at PHMS. He was headed to his home in the Levy neighborhood of North Little Rock. Kimbrew knows the Rock Region Metro lines well; he also substitutes at other LRSD schools and at Academics Plus in Maumelle. He’s been taking buses to work since 2000, he said. He’d like more routes — like one to Burns Park, for example, or a Sunday route that would allow him to get to church without a several-block hike to the bus stop in his Sunday best. Kimbrew is such a bus maven he knew the name of Rock Region’s CEO, Jarod Varner. He said he’d seen some good changes since Varner came, citing the shiny new buses that run on compressed natural gas, Wi-Fi, new www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

AT THE CENTER: Rock Region Executive Director Jarod Varner.

REPLACING THE FLEET: CNG buses (in rear) will replace diesel-fueled.

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

THIS PAGE: BRIAN CHILSON

HEADED HOME: Substitute teacher Ronald Kimbrew lives in Levy, works in LR.

signage at bus stops and the ability to check online to find out when your bus is coming. Last week, Rock Region rolled out an app, METROtrack, that does the same thing: The app lets you see just how far out your bus is from your stop, in real time, on your phone. You want to know how long it will be before the Pulaski Heights outbound will arrive at Second and Spring streets? You open the app, select the route, and there it is. I’ve got eight minutes to get there from my office! Catch you later! Varner, who before his hiring at Rock Region was with the Denton County Transportation Authority in Texas, and the board of directors of Rock Region have been a catalyst for modernization of Pulaski County’s bus system, which is gradually replacing the buses in its aging fleet with the new CNG buses. In December, Rock Region won a $360,000 federal grant to buy and install 25 solar-powered shelters, each with a bench and bike rack (Rock Region kicked in another $90,000). Thirty more shelters are on the way. With the introduction of the new buses, the agency dumped the Central Arkansas Transit Authority name for the hipper Rock Region Metro and is replacing its fleet’s advertising-on-wheels look for a sleek blue and green design. The changes are part of MOVE Central Arkansas, an 18-month planning project that has involved the board, staff and dozens of community leaders and representatives from schools, businesses and social service agencies. Rock Region hired a San Francisco-based consultant and began a round of public hearings, meetings with neighborhood associations and business groups and any gathering willing to listen to Rock Region’s ideas for more workable public transportation in Central Arkansas. What the agency heard: People want more service, and they want it more often. They want extended hours, and they want routes tailored to the community they live in. The board of directors successfully persuaded the Pulaski County Quorum Court last November to bring before the voters tax support to do just that. Why a tax, and why a quarter of a penny? Because a sales tax is the only dedicated funding allowed public transportation under Arkansas law, which also limits the tax to 0.25 cents. It cannot go higher. Rock Region (and CATA formerly), has been funded at the whim of Pulaski

County and the cities within. That’s truly no way to run a railroad, as they say, or a bus service. Here’s how city and county contributions to Rock Region, which are based on a percentage of mileage of routes, broke down in 2015 (rounded up): Little Rock, $8.7 million. North Little Rock, $2.7 million. Pulaski County, $1 million. Sherwood, $108,834. Maumelle, $48,628. (Jacksonville, which is not a partner to Rock Region, also kicks in, around $42,000.) The total: $12.6 million. Other revenues include $2 million from the Federal Transit Administration and $2.1 million in fares. Total revenue in 2015 was $17,283,416. The quarter of a penny should produce around $18.2 million for Rock Region. It would bring the county tax to $1.75. Because the agency has not had dedicated funding, Varner said, “there are many great [grant] opportunities we can’t necessarily take advantage of,” including federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grants. Because the partners agree to share a fixed cost, should Rock Region drop a route that’s not needed in the county, say, the cost would go up for the other partners to reach the fixed cost. That’s undesirable, and reduces flexibility for Rock Region. It’s important for people to know, Varner said, that Rock Region is “incredibly sound financially”; in 2016, it was able to give money back to funding partners. CNG buses cost nearly $500,000; Rock Region wants to buy more of those as well as smaller, less expensive buses for the community shuttles it will offer if the tax is passed. “We are not asking for more money just for money’s sake,” Varner said. He said Rock Region prides itself “in being good stewards of public funds” and in working to provide Pulaski County service “it deserves.” It is almost certain that if the tax does pass, some of Rock Region’s partner governments will lower their contributions from general revenues. If they were to quit contributing altogether, Rock Region Metro still comes out ahead, by about $6 million. But if cities continue to chip in, Rock Region can begin planning for Bus Rapid Transit corridors, service with few stops along dedicated lanes, similar to an express train on a subway. BRT requires more than money; it

would also require that Little Rock agree to dedicate at least 50 percent of the corridor to the BRT-only lanes. While Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola has no argument with the tax, noting that adding 0.25 cents per dollar to the county tax “would put us at 1.75 percent local, still 25 percent less than all the cities in Northwest Arkansas,” his support comes with a caveat: It must free up a “substantial portion” of the nearly $9 million Little Rock contributes every year from its General Fund. That does not bode well for a BRT system. However, with continued support from cities, even at reduced rates, Varner said, Rock Region could operate what he calls “BRT Lite,” with a Markham Street route serving downtown and UAMS and St. Vincent Infirmary, and a 12th Street route that would connect the quickly multiplying Kanis Road neighborhoods to downtown and add to the city’s efforts to bring new life to 12th Street. Should Rock Region not be able to put in place its BRT idea, Rock Region spokesperson Becca Green said, it would lose the “transformational” part of the plan. Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde is unequivocal in his support for adding 0.25 cents to the county’s sales tax to support public transportation. “I’ve talked to my constituents, and they are interested in better and more bus service,” Hyde said. He said he was “proud of the Quorum Court for stepping up” to put the tax on the ballot. Hyde said it’s “obvious” that increased bus service, especially to the rapidly growing western part of the county, would be advantageous. He noted Rock Region’s ability to sustain itself is precarious: It needs more service to generate the ridership it needs to be sustainable. Consultants to MOVE Central Arkansas said that if all the elements of the plan — better service, more buses, flexibility and BRT routes — were funded, Rock Region could increase ridership by 40 percent. Hyde said he’s “optimistic” voters see the connection between growth and public transportation and will approve the tax. North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith, a former member of the board of Central Arkansas Transit (Rock Region in its former incarnation), is an enthusiastic supporter of the tax, and says he would “encourage others” to vote for it as well. “Whether we personally use the

system or not, we all benefit from public transit,” he told the Times. However, he made no commitment to continued funding, saying the city would review “Rock Region’s total revenue needs” when it draws up the yearly budget, as it always does. Though Jacksonville, like Maumelle, would benefit from the tax, Mayor Gary Fletcher has concerned himself with getting a millage tax increase to fund the new Jacksonville school district; he said he could only fight for one tax at a time. Because increased funding would bring an in-town shuttle to his city, Maumelle Mayor Mike Watson supports the tax. Rock Region now runs express shuttles from Little Rock to Maumelle, two in the morning and three in the afternoon. “I do not support tax increases unless there is a definite enhancement in the current service provided,” Watson said, but Maumelle service would certainly be enhanced, with a community shuttle. Rock Region has not come up with a name for the Maumelle shuttle, Varner told a supportive group at Maumelle’s Jess Odom Community Center recently; “party bus!” one attendee suggested. The tax has also been endorsed by Arkansas Community Organizations, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition of Greater Little Rock Neighborhoods. DLRP Executive Director Gabe Holmstrom said the downtown revitalization group believes the dedicated funding is needed to modernize the transit system and set Little Rock “on a progressive course for future growth.” While Metroplan’s Regional Planning Advisory Council gave a thumbs up to the plan, the Metroplan board of directors, which includes all the partner mayors and the county judge (among others), did not, members outside Pulaski County claiming ignorance. However, the board will hear from Varner at its next meeting, on Feb. 25. As the Metropolitan Planning Agency for Central Arkansas, one that includes public transportation in its long-range planning for the area, Metroplan needs the support of its board for improved bus service. Opposing the tax, though not saying so specifically because campaign laws prohibit it, is the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity. AFP was created by gazillionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, who have no need for public carriers by air, land or sea. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

In January, AFP’s Arkansas chapter, headed by David Ray, began putting hang-tags showing a worried couple staring at a bottle of milk and warning that Pulaski County was about to raise taxes by 25 percent on front doors in the county. In an email to the Times, Ray wrote, “As our activists have knocked [on] doors across Pulaski County, we hear many people ask why the county insists on raising taxes to expand bus routes when there are severe problems with roads and underperforming schools.” He could have answered those concerns by saying, when you need fewer cars on the roads because you have public transit, you don’t have to invest as much in road repair. It was also suggested at a public meeting that maybe the county should spend its money on jails, not transportation. But, Rock Region’s Green said, “Why not spend money on things that keep people out of jail, like [transportation to] jobs and school?” The connection between the cost of building highways and public transportation has been much discussed in the past several months as the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department has unveiled a $600 million-plus plan to rebuild the Interstate 30 bridge and widen seven miles of I-30 from North Little Rock to the Pine Bluff exit from six to 10 lanes. The plan has been met with vocal opposition, both at public hearings and before the Little Rock City Board of Directors, by proponents of downtown revitalization who see other American cities tearing down their interstates to repair urban communities blighted by the interstate sys-

WHAT A BUS RAPID TRANSIT STOP COULD LOOK LIKE: This one is in Grand Rapids, Mich.

tem, and who wonder why the AHTD is locked into a 1950s transportation model. The highway department rejected the idea of a lane for public transportation in its so-called 30 Crossing plan. Yet, the agency’s own Planning and Environmental Linkages study, which it used to come up with the 10-lane plan, considered the effect of public transit on reducing traffic in I-30: It concluded that with an express public transit system that ran buses on the half hour, the number of cars on I-30 could be reduced by up to 9 percent. If frequency of public service could be increased to 10 minutes, traffic would be reduced by up to 11 percent. That would significantly reduce congestion, which the AHTD is trying to do. However, adding lanes to the inter-

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ARKANSAS TIMES

state is not only costly — both now and in the future — but will only increase car traffic. It is not possible to build one’s way out of congestion, Varner and every other person who has studied highway transportation say. Even highway engineers concede that new roads induce traffic. At a neighborhood meeting last Saturday, Varner asked people to address head-on those who express the notion that buses are a welfare service. Highways and the automobile industry are heavily supported by taxes, he noted (the 30 Crossing project will be paid for with a sales tax). It’s a false argument, he said, that one is a social burden and the other is not. Lou Tobian, who is AARP Arkansas’s director for outreach and educa-

tion and who was a member of MOVE Central Arkansas’s coordinating committee, said the agency doesn’t make political endorsements. But AARP is “passionate about the importance” of public transportation, Tobian said. “I know so many people for whom Rock Region is their way of connecting with the world and that’s going to become more and more important as we continue to age, but also important as a lifestyle choice,” Tobian said. He is particularly enthusiastic about the community shuttles Rock Region would be able to offer in the county’s smaller towns. “We can’t tell anybody how to vote. But we can say we believe in healthy public transportation, that it’s only going to get more and more important for the 50-plus population.” When Campaign to Connect head and Rock Region Metro board member Moses talks about the potential benefits of dedicated funding for Rock Region, he notes the recent history of the Central Arkansas Library System. There is the library “pre-Bobby Roberts [the director] and post-Bobby Roberts,” Moses said: Roberts’ vision and ability to secure millage for the library made all the difference, changing the so-so public library into the modern, multibranch system in place now. Will Arkansas voters see dedicated funding for Rock Region as another way to escape mediocrity? Moses doesn’t know. But, “just because we may not be successful doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile,” he said. “It takes a while here [in Little Rock] to get done what we know is the right thing to do.”

Ride the ARKANSAS TIMES

BLUES BUS

APRIL 16, 2016

TO THE JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL IN CLARKSDALE, MS

IT'S ALL ABOUT

THE DELTA!

Enjoy small stages with authentic blues during the day and at night venture into the surviving juke joints, blues clubs and other indoor stages. Reserve your seat by calling 501.375.2985 or emailing Kelly Lyles at kellylyles@arktimes.com BUS TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED BY ARROW COACH LINES

$125

PRICE INCLUDES: + + + + +

Round-trip bus transportation Live blues performances en route Adult beverages on board Lunch at a Delta favorite Wristband for the nighttime events

BUS LEAVES AT 9 A.M. FROM IN FRONT OF THE PARKING DECK AT 2ND & MAIN STREETS IN DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK AND RETURNS LATE NIGHT.

The Arkansas Times Blues Bus is a related event and not affiliated with Juke Joint Festival or the non-profit Clarksdale Downtown Development Association. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Arts Entertainment AND

CYBER COMIC: Matt Besser of Little Rock takes his improv team and stand-up routines to NBC’s new online comedy site, Seeso.com

THE FUTURE OF FUNNY Comedian Matt Besser on Seeso.com, his stand-up special and the new lay of the comedy landscape. BY DAVID KOON

hen researchers survey people about their deepest fears, one of the things that usually pop to the top of the list — scarier, apparently, than spiders, clowns, sometimes even the looming specter of death — is the fear of speaking before a crowd. Not to put you into a panic attack, dear reader, but try to imagine speaking before a crowd … while trying to be funny … with no script … and no idea what you’ll be joking about from one minute to the next.

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Such is the life of an improv comic, a shoot-from-the-hip style of comedy that Little Rock native Matt Besser has practiced for most of his whole life. One of the founders of the cult sketch comedy troupe Upright Ctizens Brigade, which had a show on Comedy Central for several years in the late 1990s, Besser and UCB are now making the jump to cyberspace via NBC’s new all-comedy streaming platform Seeso.com. Featuring exclusive rights to air back episodes of “Kids in the

Hall” and “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” plus over a dozen original series, including the new, eight-episode “The UCB Show” and Besser’s new standup special “Besser Breaks the Record,” the site promises to be one-stop shopping for lovers of improv, classic and sketch comedy, all for $3.99 a month. Besser probably had to be a comedian, just because of his unique background. Born in 1967 in the buckle of the Bible Belt to a Jewish father and a Christian mother, Besser was steeped in contradictions from the time he was young. While he’s no hicksploitation comic of the Larry the Cable Guy stripe, Southern characters of his childhood still make appearances in his comedy, such as the redneck he plays for a bit in “Besser Breaks the Record.” “That’s a character I’ve been doing for 20 years,” he said. “I always say that’s a version of me if I’d gone down a different redneck path in Little Rock. That’s the guy who used to beat me up in the carwash parking lot. So, yeah, there are definitely characters from

my past who originated there, and I do carry a sense of pride for the South and Arkansas in particular, almost like a chip on my shoulder.” Besser said he first became interested in comedy by listening to Little Rock radio DJ Craig O’Neill, now a newscaster at KTHV, Ch. 11, do prank calls on his morning radio show. Once Besser went away to college, he started doing a show of his own at the campus radio station. “I guess the patter between songs just became longer and longer every time I would do the show,” he said. “When I started getting fans who were listeners telling me I was funny, that really struck a chord. I’ve always tried to be funny in school, but that was the first time I thought: Hey, maybe I can entertain people.” Soon, Besser was doing stand-up comedy, and eventually won a stand-up contest at the University of Massachusetts. After that success, he was hooked. He moved to Chicago and began taking classes in improvisational comedy. With Adam McKay, Ian Roberts, Rick Roman, Horatio Sanz and Matt Walsh, he formed the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe in 1991. These days, he helps run four UCB-branded improv theaters in New York and Los Angeles, tours, sells his comedy albums through his website mattbesser.com, and hosts the podcast improv4humans. Besser became involved in Seeso.com in a roundabout way. At the time, he and the other partners in the UCB theaters were pitching a TV series. “There’s a lot of places on TV, classically, for stand-up comedy,” he said, “but there’s rarely been places to show off characters and sketch kinds of comedy, basically all comedy that’s not stand-up. That’s primarily what we do at our UCB theaters. We always wanted to have a show that showed off the greatest hits of our theaters.” While Besser and Co. had originally envisioned the show as TV fodder, possibly as a follow-up to “Saturday Night Live,” NBCUniversal eventually came to them with a different idea. “Right when we were pitching it to late-night-TV type places, NBC came to us and told us about this new platform, Seeso.com, and told us how they were going to have a platform that just

ROCK CANDY

Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

A&E NEWS

UPRIGHT COMEDIAN: Matt Besser does his stand-up routine with UCB.

catered to comedy nerds,” Besser said. An ad-free subscription service that offers classic sketch comedy, episodes of NBC hits like “30 Rock” and “The Office” and a growing roster of original series, Seeso is a really good time, for less than you’ll pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. A particular standout is “Besser Breaks the Record,” which features Besser doing stand-up, riffing on an updated version of the Ten Commandments and other subjects and reading a string of letters to the editor from angry crossword puzzle aficionados (with Besser jumping in with his own letters to stir the pot). “These days especially, millennials are into watching their entertainment on more platforms or all platforms, so it really doesn’t matter if it’s traditional TV,” he said. “So we figured why not? Let’s go with this new platform. They’ve given us complete artistic freedom and no censorship, so it’s kind of an ideal place for us to get across what happens at our theaters.” While Besser says the stage is always going to call to a comic, online streaming is the way entertainment works now, something that’s only going to accelerate in coming years. Once one gets away from the idea that the only way to “make it” as an entertainer is to have a career in film or a show on network TV, it can be freeing. Streaming online services like Seeso can allow that. “It’s great to put out very specific projects vs. being in the world where the only way to be a working comedian is to be on a network sitcom that has 22 episodes,” he said. “It’s a different world now. You can do a smaller, oneoff project.”

THE ARKANSAS LITERARY FESTIVAL has announced its 2016 lineup, a list that includes Sloane Crosley (“I Was Told There’d Be Cake”), Adam Hochschild (“King Leopold’s Ghost”), Peter Guralnick (“Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ roll”), Kiese Laymon (“How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America”) and more. The festival will be held April 14-17 in downtown Little Rock. Also look for novelist Garth Greenwell (author of “What Belongs to You,” one of the best reviewed books of the year), Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo, Tin House editor Rob Spillman (“All Tomorrow’s Parties”), Angela Flournoy (author of the National Book Award-nominated “The Turner House”), renowned poet Kevin Young and award-winning illustrator E.B. Lewis. In addition to Laymon and Guralnick, several other recent contributors to the Little Rock-based Oxford American magazine will be on hand, including essayist Alex Mar (“Witches of America”), humorist Harrison Scott Key and food columnist Chris Offutt (“My Father, the Pornographer”). There’s also strong local contingent, with presentations by Tyrone Jaeger, Kevin Brockmeier, Andrea Zekis, Suzi Parker, Philip Martin and more. For more information, visit the festival’s website: arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

WINTER FESTIVAL

F R I D AY & S AT U R D AY, F E B 1 9 & 2 0 , 6 – 10 P M

Guests this year will visit such exotic locales as:

S U N D AY, F E B 2 1 , 6 – 9 P M THE ARKANSAS TIMES FILM SERIES will return on March 15 with a screening of Orson Welles’ classic 1958 film noir “Touch of Evil” at Riverdale 10 Cinema, 7 p.m., $7.50. Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Marlene Dietrich and Welles himself, the film is a fast-paced and suspenseful thriller set on the Mexican border, one of Welles’ best and most beloved late-career achievements. It has been called “the apotheosis of pulp” by the New Yorker’s Anthony Lane. “Expressionistic in the extreme, filled with shadows, angles and cinematic flourishes,” wrote the Los Angeles Times, “the film raises the usual brooding nightmare ambiance of film noir to a level few other pictures have attempted.”

LANTERNS! Festival is anchored by Asian traditions celebrating the first full moon of the lunar year.

AUSTRALIA

BRAZIL

CHINA

GREECE

HAWAII

U.K.

Cultural vistas with live entertainment, food, drink, games and lights are decorated throughout the Butler Arboretum and inside the Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre. Guests will enjoy the winter wood-lands as they travel from place to place along paved walkways lit with thousands of luminaries.

ORDER TICKETS ONLINE AT WILDWOODPARK.ORG OR CALL 501- 821-7275 FOR MORE INFORMATION

20919 Denny Road Little Rock www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY WILL STEPHENSON

THURSDAY 2/18

‘JAWS’

7 p.m. Ron Robinson Theater. Free.

The screenplay for “Jaws” was a collaboration between the novelist Peter Benchley (author of the film’s source material), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Howard Sackler, comedy writer Carl Gottlieb, mercenary screenwriters Matthew Robbins and Hal Barwood and filmmaker John Milius (“Conan the Barbarian” and “Red Dawn”). Steven Spielberg, then 26, also contributed substantially. It’s a little baffling that it took so many people to write this movie, the rare film that can be effectively summarized in one word: shark. But the whole production process, the more you read about it, sounds like a catastrophe. “We started the film without a script, without a cast and without a shark,” the actor Richard Dreyfuss has joked. The actors and crew were seasick for much of the filming; the three pneumatically powered prop sharks — nicknamed “Bruce,” in honor of Spielberg’s lawyer — rarely worked; Dreyfuss and Gottlieb were both almost killed in accidents (by a steel cage and a boat propeller, respectively); Robert Shaw binge-drank and ran off occasionally due to tax problems. As Spielberg later admitted, “I was naive about the ocean, basically.” The film has been celebrated and overanalyzed and ripped-off and bemoaned ever since, but Spielberg’s line still pretty much sums up its most provocative point: We are naive about the ocean.

ECHOES OF BRAZIL: Guitarist and singer Badi Assad performs at The Joint in Argenta at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, $20.

THURSDAY 2/18

BADI ASSAD

7:30 p.m. The Joint. $20.

Thursday night, as part of its monthly Argenta Acoustic Music Series, The Joint will host the renowned Brazilian jazz singer and guitarist Badi Assad, who was born in Sao Paulo and grew up in Rio de

Janeiro. She’s performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Cocker, Sarah McLachlan and Seu Jorge. She has been recognized as one of the world’s best guitarists by Guitar Player magazine, and Jon Pareles of the New York Times has cited her “imaginative virtuosity, moving from gauzy delicacy to vigorous pro-

pulsion, from dreaming to dancing and back.” In performances on YouTube, she fingerpicks on a nylon string guitar, while also humming complex melodies and simultaneously performing a kind of mouth percussion (clicking and thumping, more or less beat-boxing). It’s pretty gripping.

THURSDAY 2/18

ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE 8 p.m. Stickyz. $5.

Congrats to Little Rock garage punk band The Uh Huhs, winners of last week’s semifinal round of the Arkansas 22

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Times Musicians Showcase. Round 4 will be Thursday night, featuring The Whole Famn Damily, the Conwaybased Americana collective; Southern rock jam band Vintage Pistol from Fayetteville, and Little Rock alt-rockers Jay Jackson and Sattakota. This round’s

winner will join The Uh Huhs, SOULution and Sean Fresh & The Nasty Fresh Crew at the showcase finals, which will be held at Revolution on Friday, Feb. 26. The winning band will receive a prize package that includes headlining spots at Valley of the Vapors, the Arkansas State

Fair, Riverfest and Legends of Arkansas; gift certificates to Jacksonville Guitar, Blue Chair Studios, State of Mind Clothing and Trio’s Restaurant; a photo shoot with the Times’ Brian Chilson, and a celebration party and personalized drink courtesy of Stickyz and Revolution.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 2/18

FRIDAY 2/19-SUNDAY 2/21

‘TORUK: THE FIRST FLIGHT’

7:30 p.m. Fri., 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sat., 1:30 p.m. Sun. Verizon Arena. $37.50-$132.50.

If you’re looking for an event this weekend perfect both for kids and psilocybin mushrooms, look no further than the new Cirque du Soleil production, “Toruk: The First Flight,” a live, multimedia circusextravaganza inspired by James Camer-

on’s “Avatar.” One interesting thing about “Avatar” is that it’s among the highestgrossing films ever made (the first movie to make over $2 billion). Another interesting thing is that I don’t remember anything about it, nor did just about anyone else informally polled about this: One of Hollywood’s most unstoppable behemoths has nevertheless somehow slipped through the cracks of our collective cultural mem-

ory and vanished. Which, it turns out, is good news for Cirque du Soleil, the middle-brow, acrobatic theater company founded by Canadian street performers in the 1980s. From the production stills I’ve seen, I can tell you “Toruk” is something like “The Lion King” on Broadway, if all the parts were performed by the Blue Man Group and soundtracked by the World Music section of a Barnes & Noble.

FRIDAY 2/19-SUNDAY 2/21

FRIDAY 2/19

LANTERNS! FESTIVAL

Little Rock Laxfest 2016, a youth lacrosse tournament, starts at 11 a.m. at Burns Park Soccer Complex and runs through Sunday. Little Rock death metal group Abandon the Artifice plays at Vino’s with Seahag, Legions Await and Throne of Pestilence at 7:30 p.m., $5. Husband & wife progressive banjo duo Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn perform at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center at 8 p.m., $25-$45. Vintage Pistol plays at Maxine’s in Hot Springs with American Lions and Recognizer, 9 p.m., $5. The Big Dam Horns perform at Stickyz at 9 p.m., $6. Little Rock garage punk band Bombay Harambee will play a release show for its new album, “Goldmine,” at White Water, 9:30 p.m. The record, a smart and bruising collection of desperate, claustrophobic post-punk, will be out on vinyl, CD and digital audio via Little Rock’s Max Recordings on Feb. 19. Collin vs. Adam and Fayetteville’s Pagiins will open.

Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts. $8-$10.

FRIDAY 2/19-SUNDAY 2/21

Wildwood Park for the Arts’ annual winter festival, scheduled to coincide with the first full moon of the lunar new year, returns this weekend with three nights of food, live entertainment, gardens and vivid lights. Guests walk through various trails and gardens, elaborately decorated according to international themes (with accompanying cuisines) that vary from year to year. This year’s list includes Brazil, China,

REBECCA WELLS

SUNDAY 2/21

GET YER YA-YA'S OUT: Rebecca Wells performs at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, $35.

7 p.m. Arkansas Repertory Theatre. $35.

“I grew up in the fertile world of storytelling,” Rebecca Wells has written, “filled with flamboyance, flirting, futility and fear.” More prosaically, she grew up in Alexandria, La., studied theater in college at Baton Rouge, worked as a cocktail waitress (and at Yellowstone National Park) and, later, did a stint in advertising, during which period she says she discovered Tibetan Buddhism. She studied at the Naropa Institute in Boulder Colo., where she was tutored by Allen Ginsberg and a Tibetan monk named Choyum Tringpa Rimpoche. She is best-known, however, for a book series she began publishing — with great commercial success — in the late

1990s, starting with “The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” It’s about a lifelong group of female friends and a troubled relationship between a mother and daughter; it was adapted into a film in 2002 starring Sandra Bullock and Ellen Burstyn. The Washington Post called the book “a very entertaining and, ultimately, deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between mother and daughter.” Wells will be in town this weekend performing what the Rep calls a “debut performance of a new solo work for theater,” based on her best-selling books. She’s known as a compelling and energetic performer; “outside of an orgasm,” she writes on her website, “there is no better experience than laughing and crying at the same time.”

Atlanta alt-rock group Fairlane performs at Vino’s with I Was Afraid, Ringfinger and Atta Girl, 7 p.m., $7. Comedian Gabriel Rutledge 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). Nashville’s Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line (“quietly brilliant,” according to NPR) perform at South on Main as part of the Oxford American’s Americana Series, 8 p.m., $17. Drummerboyinfinity hosts a showcase of singers called Diamond Divas at Revolution, 8 p.m., $10. Austin Americana songwriter Carson McHone plays at the White Water Tavern with Jeremy Pinnell and Kevin Kerby, 9:30 p.m.

WATOTO CHILDREN’S CHOIR 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 6 p.m. Geyer Springs Baptist Church.

The Watoto Children’s Choir was founded in 1994 as a touring choir composed of children from Uganda who had lost one or both parents to war or the AIDS epidemic. They perform around the world, blending contemporary gospel and African pop, to raise awareness about the plight of Uganda’s orphans. (According to UNICEF, 11 percent of children in Uganda are orphans, and 8 percent more are “critically vulnerable.”) They’ve performed at the White House, Buckingham Palace and the

Greece, Hawaii, Australia, the U.K. and, intriguingly, the moon. How do you decorate a garden to resemble the moon? Maybe lots of sand and rocks? What sort of food will they serve there? All of these questions and more will be answered at this year’s Lanterns! Festival, at which — it seems worth mentioning — alcohol will be served. Parking is limited at Wildwood; park at Kroger on Chenal Parkway and take a shuttle; shuttles begin at 6 p.m. nightly and will run 30 minutes after the festival closes.

United Nations. They are based out of an Englishspeaking church in Kampala City, and their message is explicitly Christian; a press release sent to the Arkansas Times cites 1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are.” Currently on a six-month U.S. tour, the crew will be traveling through Arkansas this weekend, performing at First Baptist Church in Kensett on Friday; Grace Baptist Church in Scott on Saturday; Geyer Springs First Baptist Church in Little Rock on Sunday; Salem United Methodist Church in Benton on Tuesday, and United Lutheran Church in Bella Vista on Thursday.

SATURDAY 2/20 The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts the Black History Quiz Bowl at 10 a.m. “SINgularly SORDID,” a new stand-up show by Del Shores, is at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock at 7:30 p.m., $35. “Embracing Your Natural Beauty,” a fashion show and film screening presented by Angel Burt, featuring Rodney Block, Big Piph and Bijoux, is at the Clear Channel Metroplex at 8 p.m., $35. The Gloryland Pastor’s Choir, a longtime Little Rock institution currently gearing up to compete on “America’s Got Talent,” performs at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 9 p.m. Little Rock rapper Goon des Garcons, whose new record was recently featured by Vice magazine, performs at Vino’s, 7 p.m., $10. Art rock group Ginsu Wives plays at White Water with Casual Pleasures, 9:30 p.m.

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

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.

THURSDAY, FEB. 18

MUSIC

Ace’s Wild (headliner), Trey Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com. Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. With The Whole Famn Damily, Vintage Pistol, Jay Jackson and Sattakota. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., $5. 107 River Market Ave. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Badi Assad. The Joint, 7:30 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. Carson McHone, Jeremy Pinnell, Kevin Kerby. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Diamond Divas. Revolution, 8 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new. Fairlane, I Was Afraid, The Latter Half, Atta Girl. Vino’s, 7 p.m., $7. 923 W. 7th St. 501-3758466. www.vinosbrewpub.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. 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. Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line. South on Main, 8 p.m., $17-$25. 1304 Main St. 501244-9660. southonmain.com. Open Fields, The Hacking, Turtle Rush. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $3. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www. maxinespub.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/.

COMEDY

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

GOLDMINE: Little Rock garage punk band Bombay Harambee will play a release show for its new album “Goldmine” at the White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. Friday. The record, a smart and bruising collection of desperate, claustrophobic post-punk, will be out on vinyl, CD and digital audio via Little Rock’s Max Recordings on Feb. 19. Collin vs. Adam and Fayetteville’s Pagiins will open.

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.

SPORTS

Horse Racing. Oaklawn Park: 1:30 p.m. post time, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501623-4411. www.Oaklawn.com.

FRIDAY, FEB. 19

MUSIC

Abandon the Artifice, Seahag, Legions Await, Throne of Pestilence. Vino’s, 7:30 p.m., $5. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub. com.

• Beer, wine, cider and mead making supplies • Cheese making supplies • Pickling supplies • Hydroponic, indoor, organic and aquaponic gardening supplies • New and used items

FILM

“Jaws.” Ron Robinson Theater, 7 p.m., free. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-320-5703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ ron-robinson-theater.aspx. 24

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

DANCE

EVENTS

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COMEDY

Contra Dance. Park Hill Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m., $5. 3520 JFK Blvd., NLR. arkansascountrydance.org.

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Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Route 66. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 6:30 p.m., $5. 705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway. Salsa Dancing. Clear Channel Metroplex, 9 p.m., $5-$10. 10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501-217-5113. www.littlerocksalsa.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com/. Upscale Friday. IV Corners, 7 p.m. 824 W. Capitol Ave. Vintage Pistol, American Lions, Recognizer. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com.

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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.

All In Fridays. Envy. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317. The Big Dam Horns. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $6. 107 River Market Ave. 501-3727707. www.stickyz.com. Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn. Walton Arts Center, 8 p.m., $25-$45. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Bombay Harambee (record release), Collin vs. Adam, Pagiins. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Dara. Revolution, 9 p.m. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/ new. Ghost Town Blues Band (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www. cajunswharf.com.

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LANTERNS! Festival. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, Feb. 19-21, $8-$10. 20919 Denny Road. LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL 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. “Toruk: The First Flight.” A new production from Cirque du Soleil based on James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Verizon Arena, Feb. 19-20, 7:30 p.m.;

Feb. 20, 4 p.m.; Feb. 21, 1:30 p.m., $37.50$132.50. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

LECTURES

An Evening with Rebecca Wells and the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m., $15-$35. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep. org.

SPORTS

Horse Racing. Oaklawn Park: 1:30 p.m. post time, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501623-4411. www.Oaklawn.com. Little Rock Laxfest 2016. A youth lacrosse tournament. Burns Park Soccer Complex, Feb. 19-21, 11 a.m. Burns Park, NLR.

SATURDAY, FEB. 20

MUSIC

10 Years. Revolution, 8 p.m. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/ new. The Cons of Formant. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. Eldar Trio. Walton Arts Center, 7 and 9 p.m., $20. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. Ginsu Wives, Casual Pleasures. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com. Gloryland Pastor’s Choir. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 9 p.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-6833593. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com. Goon des Garcons. Vino’s. 923 W. 7th St. 501375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.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. 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. Ramona & The Soul Rhythms (headliner), Alex Summerlin (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com. Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 8 p.m., free. 111 W. Markham St. 501-370-7013. www. capitalbarandgrill.com/.

COMEDY

Gabriel Rutledge. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com. “Little Rock and a Hard Place.” An original production by The Main Thing. The Joint, 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com. “SINgularly SORDID.” A new stand-up show by Del Shores. Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, 7:30 p.m., $35. 1818 Reservoir Road.

EVENTS

Black History Quiz Bowl. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 10 a.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-6833593. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com. “Embracing Your Natural Beauty.” A fashion show and film screening presented by Angel Burt, featuring Rodney Block, Big Piph and Bijoux. Clear Channel Metroplex, 8 p.m., $35. 10800 Col. Glenn Road. 501-217-5113. 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. LANTERNS! Festival. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, $8-$10. 20919 Denny Road. 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. “Toruk: The First Flight.” See Feb. 19.

LECTURES

An Evening with Rebecca Wells and the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Feb. 21, 7 p.m., $15-$35. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

SPORTS

Horse Racing. Oaklawn Park: 1 p.m. post time, $2.50-$4.50. 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-4411. www.Oaklawn.com. Little Rock Laxfest 2016. A youth lacrosse tournament. Burns Park Soccer Complex, 11 a.m. Burns Park, NLR.

SUNDAY, FEB. 21

MUSIC

Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com. Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 President Clinton Ave. 501-3724782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com. Nathan Fox, Ben Gibson. Vino’s. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com. Swing Band Reunion. St. James United Methodist Church, 2:30 p.m., free. 321 Pleasant Valley Drive. 501-225-7372. www.stjames-umc. org. Watoto Children’s Choir. A performance by a group of 18 orphans from Uganda. Geyer Springs Baptist Church, 9:30, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. 12400 Interstate 30. 501-455-3474. www. gsfbc.org.

EVENTS

Artists for Recovery. Located in the Wesley Room, a secular recovery group for people with addictions, open to the public. Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 10 a.m. 1601 S. Louisiana. LANTERNS! Festival. Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, $8-$10. 20919 Denny Road. “Toruk: The First Flight.” See Feb. 19.

LECTURES

An Evening with Rebecca Wells and the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 7 p.m., $15-$35. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.

org.

SPORTS

MONDAY, FEB. 22

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.

TUESDAY, FEB. 23

MUSIC

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. John Neal Rock and Roll. Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, 6 p.m., free. 200 River Market Ave. 501-375-3500. www.dizzysgypsybistro.net/. 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. Mike & The Moonpies. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.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. Seratones, Bad Match. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8:30 p.m., $7. 107 River Market Ave. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com. Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

COMEDY

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

FILM

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“Selma.” Riverdale 10 Cinema, 7 p.m., free. 2600 Cantrell Road. 501-296-9955.

EVENTS

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd.com/ stores/littlerock. Verizon Arena Job Fair. Verizon Arena, 6 p.m. 1 Alltel Arena Way, NLR. 501-975-9001. verizonarena.com.

LOCAL www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

TV REVIEW

AFTER DARK, CONT.

LECTURES

“An Iliad.” A talk by Joe Graves, star of The Rep’s forthcoming one-man show. Sturgis Hall, noon. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24

MUSIC

SCULLY AND MULDER: Anderson and Duchovney, still waiting to be taken seriously.

‘X-Files’ redux Is the truth still out there? BY WILL STEPHENSON

“T

he X-Files” premiered in Sep- mutant criminal imagination — suggested tember 1993, during the first an unhappy interpretation of American year of Bill Clinton’s presiden- history and American life. I found this cy, and persisted until the early months unhappiness deeply likeable. This is how of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Ten the great pulp detectives used to carry years, nine seasons, 202 episodes: At 44 themselves, after all, indifferent to civilminutes per episode, that amounts to a ians or small kindnesses. Mulder wasn’t little over 148 hours of television. It’s a even an especially nice or charismatic big number — you might think the public person; as the critic Robert Warshow has would be satisfied with a number like that. written of the archetypal film noir hero, But like toddlers or addicts, we have lost “He is what we want to be and what we all sense of proportion and restraint. We are afraid we may become.” liked “The X-Files” and wanted it back, Because we are putatively in the and nothing is more accommodating than middle of a Golden Age of Television, I television, and so the show has returned expected the return of “The X-Files” to for a 10th season, which premiered last be taken fairly seriously. I thought they’d month and will conclude Monday night. assemble a crack team of bright and selfI used to watch “The X-Files” after aware writers who would bring together school, before my parents got home from everything we loved about “The X-Files” work. I’d watch it while eating Pop-Tarts and smooth over the rest. I expected an or doing algebra or whatever. I admired HBO-quality sheen, basically. SurprisFox Mulder and Dana Scully for what I ingly, and maybe to their credit, this is understood as their coldness. Teenagers not at all what they’ve done. Of the new are always projecting their misanthropy episodes I’ve seen, one was brilliant and onto others, but Mulder (David Duchov- funny, two were sketchy but diverting, ney) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) were and one was among the worst episodes of the real deal. They were constantly sigh- television I’ve ever seen. In other words, ing and mumbling and rolling their eyes. this is exactly “The X-Files” I remember. Everything disappointed them; they were Bureaucrats are dismembered by ghosts; never taken seriously. Another way of lizard-men attack teenagers in the woods; putting this is that they were unhappy. siblings are telepathically destructive — Their very existences — neglected, deep what else were we expecting? in the cluttered basement of the FBI, Episodes of the show can historically sorting through the surreal dregs of the be divided into three categories, all of 26

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

which are represented here: the mytharc episodes that constitute the series’ main through-line, in which the subject of alien-human hybrids is always being raised, tentatively and confusingly; the “monster-of-the-week” episodes, which are self-contained pulp-horror mysteries, like a cross between “Law & Order” and “The Twilight Zone”; and the postmodern, fourth-wall-splitting, comedic episodes, a handful of which were written by longtime producer Darin Morgan and widely considered the show’s peaks (they also typically claimed the best titles: “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” “War of the Coprophages,” “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’ ”). All of this is intact in the new season. So why does the overall tone feel slightly, somehow, near imperceptibly but crucially wrong? There are many factors in play here, most of them boring. But one big problem with transplanting “The X-Files” into 2016 is pretty interesting, and I think it has something to do with what used to be called the “credibility gap.” What was once a gap — an ambient sense that the government might not always be totally forthright, or have our best interests at heart — has developed into something more like a crater or a canyon. In 2016 we would never expect a national politician to be honest with us; it would be unseemly. The government is absolutely, demonstrably not concerned with our best interests. In 2016, we all know the conspiratorial view of history is essentially the only valid one. But — and here’s the problem for Mulder and Scully — it doesn’t have anything to do with alien-human hybrids. The conspiracy is much less exciting, less phenomenal and more frightening than that.

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. 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. Mark Currey. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 5:30 p.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbistroandbar.com. The Meditations. Revolution, 9 p.m. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www. rumbarevolution.com/new. Ned Van Go. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.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

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.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show. Kollective Coffee & Tea, 7 p.m., free. 110 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive. com/shows.html.

ARTS

THEATER

“Annie.” Maumelle High School, Feb. 19-20, 8 p.m.; Feb. 20-21, 2 p.m., $32-$67. 100 Victory Drive. 501-851-5350. “Bus Stop.” A play by William Inge, directed by Tamara Boggs. Studio Theatre, through Feb. 21: Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $16. 320 W. 7th St. “Fault.” An original new work by TheatreSquared director Robert Ford. Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, through Feb. 28: Thu.Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Sun., 2 p.m., $22-$25. 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600. theatre2.org. “Goodnight Moon” and “Runaway Bunny.” Walton Arts Center, Sun., Feb. 21, 2 p.m., $8. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

“An Iliad.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through March 5: Wed.-Sun., 7 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 28, 2 p.m., $25. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org. “The Odyssey.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Feb. 28: Fri., Sat., 7 p.m.; Sat., Sun., 2 p.m., $10. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com. “Once on This Island: A Musical.” A Tonynominated musical set in the Caribbean Sea, based on the novel by Rosa Guy. The Weekend Theater, through Feb. 28: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m., $20. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-3743761. www.weekendtheater.org. “The Vagina Monologues.” Sturgis Hall, Fri., Feb. 19, 6 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 20, noon, $12. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

NEW GALLERY EXHIBITS, EVENTS ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “The Wittenberg Legacy,” Art of Architecture presentation featuring Gordon G. Wittenberg, Richard Alderman, Wallie Sprick and Chad Young, reception 5:30 p.m., talk 6 p.m. Feb. 23, lecture hall; “Miranda Young: A Printed Menagerie,” museum school gallery, Feb. 23-May 29; preview of “Dorothea Lange’s America” and “Industrial Beauty: Charles Burchfield’s ‘Black Iron,’ ” with lecture by Ann Prentice Wagner, 6 p.m. Feb. 25, free to members, $15 to nonmembers; 46th annual “Mid-Southern Watercolorists Exhibition,” through April 17; “Admiration,” painting by William Adolph Bouguereau, on loan from San Antonio Museum of Art, through May 15; “Life and Light: “Nathalia Edenmont: Force of Nature,” 10 large-scale photographs, through May 1. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000. GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “21st Anniversary Exhibition,” works by John Alexander, Walter Anderson, Gay Bechtelheimer, Carroll Cloar, William Dunlap, John Ellis, Charles Harrington, James Hendricks, Pinkney Herbert, Robyn Horn, Clementine Hunter, Richard Jolley, Dolores Justus, Henri Linton, John Harlan Norris, Sammy Peters, Joseph Piccillo, Edward Rice, Kendall Stallings, Rebecca Thompson, Glennray Tutor and Donald Roller Wilson, champagne reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 19, Argenta ArtWalk. 664-2787. L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Ducks in Arkansas,” paintings by Louis Beck, through February, drawing for free giclee 7 p.m. Feb. 18. 660-4006. LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA, 420 Main St.: “Nature of Transcendence,” paintings by Cindy Wiseman, mixed media sculpture by Melissa Lashbrook, opening reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 19, Argenta ArtWalk, show through March 9. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. 687-1061. MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “The Art of Gum Bichromate,” photographs by Joli Livaudais and students, 5-8 p.m. Feb. 19, Argenta ArtWalk, with talk “Inside the Art: How Gum Bichromate Works” and demonstration by Dylan Yarbrough, 7 p.m. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 379-9101.

NEW MUSEUM EXHIBITS, EVENTS PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM,

U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: Lye soapmaking workshop, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Feb. 20-21, $25 registration; permanent exhibits on historic agriculture. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $4 adults, $3 children. 961-1409.

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Arkansas Arts Council is taking applications for artist fellowships to be awarded in poetry, music composition and painting. Deadline to apply is April 15. Artists must be 25 years old and a resident of Arkansas for a least one year to be eligible. A panel of arts professionals will make the selections. Applications are available at www.arkansasarts.org. For more information, call the Arts Council at 501-324-9348 or email robinm@ arkansasheritage.org. Drawl Southern Contemporary Art and Oxford American magazine are seeking entries of art and literature for “The Gun Show,” a juried regional competition and exhibition of work about the roles that guns play in Southern life to run May 20 to June 17. Deadline is March 25. Prizes are $2,500 for first, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art curator Chad Alligood will be juror. To enter and for more information, go to www.drawlgallery.com/the-gun-show. The Arkansas Arts Center is accepting entries to the 58th annual “Delta Exhibition,” open to artists in Arkansas and contiguous states. Entry forms are at ArkansasArtsCenter.org/ delta. Deadline is March 11. The exhibition runs June 10-Aug. 28. For more information call 372-4000. 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 a 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 at the Ron Robinson Theater. Deadline is March 18. Find more information at www. aetn.org/studentselects. The Historic Arkansas Museum will hold a log cabin repair and restoration workshop March 14-18 with Joseph Gallagher of the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies. Tuition is $985. Register online at www. campbellcenter.org, at the course list link.

ARKANSAS GLASSHOPPERS, INC. Presents the 30th Annual DEPRESSION ERA & VINTAGE GLASS Show and Sale!

Join us Saturday, February 27 • 9am - 5pm and Sunday, February 28 • 11am - 4pm $5 admission covers both days. Parking is free. Hall of Industry, State Fairgrounds, Roosevelt & Howard Streets, Little Rock Twenty-four outstanding dealers from 14 states will display over 175 tables of sparkling glassware, pottery, and kitchen items of the era. Elegant glassware will also be available. SPECIAL DISPLAY BY JAMES HAYES INTERACTIVE PRESENTATIONS: Table Settings by Laura Lavender • Identification Marks by Daniel Ulz Call (501) 868-4969 for more information or email bgmarglass@sbcglobal.net, ARGlasshoppers@aol.com

www.ARGlasshoppers.org

ONGOING GALLERY EXHIBITS ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP., 200 River Market Ave., Suite 400: “Printmakers Under 30,” work by Ben Watson, Daniella Napolitano, Catherine Kim, Kristin Karr and Regan Renfro. www.arcapital.com. BOSWELL MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Sign, Sign,” new works by Dennis McCann, through Feb. 27. 664-0030. BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Painting 360: A Look at Contemporary Panoramic Painting,” Underground Gallery, through April 30; “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. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.Sat. 320-5790. www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

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 IS NEARLY doubling its brewing capacity after just two months of business. This week the North Little Rock brewery, located at 314 Maple St., will install a 30-barrel fermenter. Co-owner Matt Foster also reports that Ryan Frank, formerly of Pisgah Brewing Co. in Black Mountain, N.C., and Aviator Brewing in Raleigh, N.C., is joining Flyway as a brewer. Frank is engaged to Elenore Vena, a Little Rock native who Foster said was one of his favorite students during his past career as a public school teacher. She, in turn, introduced Foster and Frank, and Frank served as a mentor to Foster and partner Jess McMullen as they were preparing to open Flyway.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

BEST IMPRESSIONS The menu combines Asian, Italian and French sensibilities in soups, salads and meaty fare. A departure from the tearoom of yore. 501 E. 9th St. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-907-5946. L Tue.-Sun., BR Sat.-Sun. BIG ORANGE: BURGERS SALADS SHAKES Gourmet burgers manufactured according to exacting specs (humanely raised beef!) and properly fried Kennebec potatoes are the big draws, but you can get a veggie burger as well as fried chicken, curried falafel and blackened tilapia sandwiches, plus creative meal-sized salads. Shakes and floats are indulgences for all ages. 17809 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-1515. LD daily. 207 N. University Ave. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-379-8715. LD daily. BOSTON’S Ribs and gourmet pizza star at this restaurant/sports bar located at the Holiday Inn by the airport. TVs in separate sports bar area. 3201 Bankhead Drive. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-235-2000. LD daily. BOUDREAUX’S GRILL & BAR A homey, seatyourself Cajun joint in Maumelle that serves up all sorts of variations of shrimp and catfish. With particularly tasty red beans and rice, jambalaya and bread pudding. 9811 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-753-6860. LD daily. BREWSTERS 2 CAFE & LOUNGE Down-home done right. Check out the yams, mac-andcheese, greens, purple-hull peas, cornbread, wings, catfish and all the rest. 2725 S. Arch St. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-301-7728. LD Mon.-Sat. BUTCHER SHOP The cook-your-own-steak option has been downplayed, and several menu additions complement the calling card: large, fabulous cuts of prime beef, cooked to perfection. 10825 Hermitage Road. Full bar, all CC. $$$. 501-312-2748. D daily. CACHE RESTAURANT A stunning experience on the well-presented plates and in terms of atmosphere, glitz and general feel. It doesn’t feel like anyplace else in Little Rock, and it’s not 28

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

UNION OF FLAVORS: Local Union uses Creekwood Farms ground beef in its third-of-apound burgers, combined with garlic Montasio cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle.

Late night grub That’s available for lunch, too.

ocal Union bills itself as “Little Rock’s newest 5 a.m. bar and grill,” and logically so. Licenses that allow bars to stay open until the time some folks are getting up are rare, and there’s always going to be a segment of the thirsty population that either gets a late start or just isn’t ready to go home when other bars close at 2 a.m. In that niche market, alcohol is king — but Local Union also offers a full food menu for its late-nighters (the kitchen closes at 4:30 a.m.), and we day owls get our shot at it from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. Serving weekday lunch makes sense for an establishment on the ground floor of the Prospect Building (which, gauging by the parking lot, must have a high occupancy rate), in a busy neighborhood like the Heights. Local Union shows its commitment to the first word of its name by featuring Kent Walker cheeses, Arkansas

Fresh Bakery breads and other locally sourced products — a nice touch that elevates the menu beyond basic bar food. Five appetizers (we’ll be back for the locally sourced meat, cheese and bread plate, $12.50), four salads (including a good-sounding Cobb, $8.50), five sandwiches, two burgers and two bratwurst choices comprise the menu. Our table of three opted for: •The hot ham and cheese ($8.50): A more than ample portion of smoked Petit Jean slices, not quite enough of Kent Walker’s habanero cheddar and mustard (subbed for mayo) griddled on sourdough. It was a fine sandwich, and we appreciated getting the world’s best ham vs. the nasty delistyle ham too many restaurants fall back on. A bag of Miss Vickie’s chips accompanied, and several flavors are available. •The Spicy Southwood burger

($9.50): We appreciated the use of 1/3 pound of Creekstone Farms ground beef, but we wish it hadn’t been cooked to extremely well done. And as with the ham sandwich, we could have used more cheese. The bacon was a nice touch. We subbed fries for $2 and they are hand-cut, freshly fried and plentiful. • The daily special (bargain at $7): On our day it was fried catfish, fries and hushpuppies. When our basket emerged we had a Dugan’s deja vu moment, because our fish was fried in the usual fish-and-chips light, flourbased batter vs. a cornmeal coating. The two huge fillets were also shaped like they were the feature of a fishand-chips basket, long and almost rectangular. But the taste said catfish, and we liked the alternative treatment. Again, they were out of the oil and onto our table in a matter of seconds, so nicely hot. There was a bit of doughiness, the hushpuppies were standard, but overall we enjoyed this dish. • The soup of the day ($4 cup, $6 bowl): On our our day it was chili of the most straightforward and basic variety imaginable, neither offensive nor remarkable. But we ate it. We’ll never know how crowded Local Union is between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., but there were only two solo lunchers when we arrived at 11:30 a.m. But more small parties came in as we ate. It’s doubtful people will travel much of a distance to eat lunch at Local Union, but those in the building or nearby certainly should keep it in mind.

Local Union

1501 N. University, Suite 160 660-4200 QUICK BITE Local Union shows its commitment to “local” in its drink choices, too, featuring Lost Forty and Stone’s Throw selections on tap and a variety of creative cocktails using Rock Town spirits. HOURS 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. OTHER INFO Full bar. Credit cards accepted.

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ASIAN

BANGKOK THAI CUISINE Get all the staple Thai dishes at this River Market vendor. The red and green curries and the noodle soup stand out, in particular. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-374-5105. L Mon.-Sat. CHI’S CHINESE CUISINE No longer owned by Chi’s founder Lulu Chi, this Chinese mainstay still offers a broad menu that spans the Chinese

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restaurant and friendly operators. It’s selfservice, simple and good with sandwiches built with a changing lineup of the bakery’s 40 different breads, along with soups, salads and cookies. 12111 W. Markham St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-228-4677. BL Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. RED DOOR Fresh seafood, steaks, chops and sandwiches from restaurateur Mark Abernathy. Smart wine list. 3701 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-666-8482. BL Tue.-Sat. D daily. BR Sat. RENO’S ARGENTA CAFE Sandwiches, gyros and gourmet pizzas by day and music and drinks by night in downtown Argenta. 312 Main St. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-376-2900. LD Mon.-Sat. RIVERFRONT STEAKHOUSE Steaks are the draw here — nice cuts heavily salted and peppered, cooked quickly and accurately to your specifications, finished with butter and served sizzling hot. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-7825. D Mon.-Sat. RIVERSHORE EATERY A River Market vendor that specializes in salads, sandwiches, wings and ice cream. 400 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-244-2326. LD Mon.-Sat. ROBERT’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL If you’re looking for a burger, you won’t find it here. This establishment specializes in fried chicken dinners, served with their own special trimmings. 7212 Geyer Springs Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-568-2566. LD Tue.-Sat., D Sun.-Mon. SAMANTHA’S TAP ROOM & WOOD GRILL An eclectic, reasonably priced menu has something for just about everyone. Excellent selection of wines and beers on tap. 322 Main St. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-379-8019. LD Mon.-Sat. SHARKS FISH & CHICKEN This Southwest Little Rock restaurant specializes in seafood, frog legs and catfish, all served with the traditional fixings. 8722 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-562-2330. LD daily. TEXAS ROADHOUSE Following in the lines of those loud, peanuts-on-the-table steak joints, but the steaks are better here than we’ve had at similar stops. Good burgers, too. 3601 Warden Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-771-4230. D daily, L Sat.-Sun. 2620 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-224-2427. D Mon.-Fri., LD Sat.-Sun. TOWN PUMP A dependable burger, good wings, great fries, other bar food, plate lunches, full bar. 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-663-9802. LD daily. YANCEY’S CAFETERIA Soul food served with a Southern attitude. 1523 Martin Luther King Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-372-9292. LD Tue.-Sat. ZACK’S PLACE Expertly prepared home cooking and huge, smoky burgers. 1400 S. University Ave. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-6646444. LD Mon.-Sat.

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priced like much of anywhere else in Little Rock, either. But there are options to keep the tab in the reasonable range. 425 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, all CC. $$$. 501-850-0265. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. CAJUN’S WHARF The venerable seafood restaurant serves up great gumbo and oysters Bienville, and options such as fine steaks for the non-seafood eater. In the citified bar, you’ll find nightly entertainment, too. 2400 Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-5351. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. CRUSH WINE BAR An unpretentious downtown bar/lounge with an appealing and erudite wine list. With tasty tapas, but no menu for full meals. 318 Main St. NLR. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-374-9463. D Tue.-Sat. DAVE’S PLACE A popular downtown soupand-sandwich stop at lunch draws a large and diverse crowd for the Friday night dinner, which varies in theme, home-cooking being the most popular. Owner Dave Williams does all the cooking and his son, Dave also, plays saxophone and fronts the band that plays most Friday nights. 201 Center St. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-372-3283. L Mon.-Fri., D Fri. DAVID FAMILY KITCHEN Call it soul food or call it down-home country cooking. Just be sure to call us for breakfast or lunch when you go. Neckbones, ribs, sturdy cornbread, salmon croquettes, mustard greens and the like. Desserts are exceptionally good. 2301 Broadway. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-3710141. BL Tue.-Fri., L Sun. FOX AND HOUND Sports bar that serves pub food. 2800 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-753-8300. LD daily. GADWALL’S GRILL Once two separate restaurants, a fire forced the grill into the pizza joint. Now, under one roof, there’s mouth-watering burgers and specialty sandwiches, plus zesty pizzas with cracker-thin crust and plenty of toppings. 7311 North Hills Blvd. NLR. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-834-1840. LD daily. HONEYBAKED HAM CO. The trademark ham is available by the sandwich, as is great smoked turkey and lots of inexpensive side items and desserts. 9112 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, all CC. 501-227-5555. LD Mon.-Sun. (4 p.m. close on Sat.). IZZY’S It’s bright, clean and casual, with snappy team service of all the standbys — sandwiches and fries, lots of fresh salads, pasta about a dozen ways, hand-rolled tamales and brick oven pizzas. 5601 Ranch Drive. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-868-4311. LD Mon.-Sat. LITTLEFIELD’S CAFE The owners of the Starlite Diner have moved their cafe to the Kroger Shopping Center on JFK, where they are still serving breakfast all day, as well as plate lunches, burgers and sandwiches. 6929 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. No alcohol. 501-771-2036. BLD Mon.-Sat., BL Sun. MOOYAH BURGERS Kid-friendly, fast-casual restaurant with beef, veggie and turkey burgers, a burger bar and shakes. 14810 Cantrell Road, Suite 190. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-8681091 10825 Kanis Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-313-4905. LD daily. OLD MILL BREAD AND FLOUR CO. CAFE The popular take-out bakery has an eat-in

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DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

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FEBRUARY 18, 2016

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. provinces and offers a few twists on the usual local offerings. 5110 W. Markham St. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-604-7777. LD Mon.-Sat. CRAZY HIBACHI GRILL The folks that own Chi’s and Sekisui offer their best in a three-inone: tapanaki cooking, sushi bar and sit-down dining with a Mongolian grill. 2907 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-8129888. LD daily. FANTASTIC CHINA The food is delicious, the presentation beautiful, the menu distinctive, the service perfect, the decor bright. 1900 N. Grant St. Full bar, all CC. $$. 501-663-8999. LD daily. FLAVOR OF INDIA Southern Indian food, including chaat (street food), dosas with lentils, rice and other ingredients, lentil soup, coconut chutney, and northern dishes as well. 11121 N. Rodney Parham, Suite 40B. Beer and wine, CC. 501-554-5678. GENGHIS GRILL This chain restaurant takes the Mongolian grill idea to its inevitable, Subwaystyle conclusion. 12318 Chenal Parkway. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-223-2695. LD daily. KEMURI Upscale Japanese from Little Rock restaurateur Jerry Barakat features entrees grilled on robatas (charcoal grills), sushi bar and other Asian dishes, plus American favorites given a pan-Asian twist. You’ve never had baby back ribs likes these cooked on a robata. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., No. 2. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4100. L Mon.-Fri., D daily, BR Sun. LILLY’S DIMSUM THEN SOME Innovative dishes inspired by Asian cuisine, utilizing local and fresh ingredients. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-7162700. LD Tue.-Sun. MT. FUJI JAPANESE RESTAURANT The dean of Little Rock sushi bars offers a fabulous lunch special and great Monday night deals. 10301 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-227-6498. L Mon.-Sat., D daily. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-227-6498. VEGGI DELI A small cafe in the back of the massive Indian and Mediterranean supermarket Asian Groceries, where vegetarian chaat (South Indian street food) is the specialty. Let no one complain about our woeful lack of vegetarian restaurants before trying the food here. 9112 N. Rodney Parham Suite 102. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-221-9977. LD Tue.-Sun. (closed at 7:30 p.m.).

BARBECUE

CHATZ CAFE ‘Cue and catfish joint that does heavy catering business. Try the slow-smoked, meaty ribs. 8801 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, all CC. $-$$. 501-562-4949. LD Mon.-Sat. CORKY’S RIBS & BBQ The pulled pork is extremely tender and juicy, and the sauce is sweet and tangy without a hint of heat. Maybe the best dry ribs in the area. 12005 Westhaven Drive. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-954-7427. LD daily. 2947 Lakewood Village Drive. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-753-3737. LD daily, B Sat.-Sun. PIT STOP BAR AND GRILL A working-man’s bar and grill, with barbecue, burgers, breakfast and bologna sandwiches. 5506 Baseline Road. Full bar, No CC. $$. 501-562-9635. LD daily. WHITE PIG INN Go for the sliced rather than chopped meats at this working-class barbecue cafe. Side orders — from fries to potato salad to beans and slaw — are superb, as are the fried pies. 5231 E. Broadway. NLR. Beer, all CC. $-$$. 501-945-5551. LD Mon.-Fri., L Sat. WHOLE HOG CAFE The pulled pork shoulder is a classic, the back ribs are worthy of their many blue ribbons, and there’s a six-pack of sauces for all tastes. A real find is the beef brisket, cooked the way Texans like it. 2516 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-664-5025. LD daily 12111 W. Markham. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-907-6124. LD daily. 150 E. Oak St. Conway. No alcohol, all CC. $$. 501-513-0600. LD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. 5107 Warden Road. NLR. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-753-9227.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

CAFE BOSSA NOVA A South American approach to sandwiches, salads and desserts, all quite good, as well as an array of refreshing South American teas and coffees. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-614-6682. LD Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. DUGAN’S PUB Serves up Irish fare like fish and chips and corned beef and cabbage alongside classic bar food. The chicken fingers and burgers stand out. Irish breakfast all day. 401 E. 3rd St. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-244-0542. LD daily. THE PANTRY CREST Czech and German comfort food with a great bar menu. 722 N. Palm St. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-725-4945.

D Mon.-Sat. TAJ MAHAL The third Indian restaurant in a onemile span of West Little Rock, Taj Mahal offers upscale versions of traditional dishes and an extensive menu. Dishes range on the spicy side. 1520 Market St. Beer, all CC. $$$. 501-881-4796. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE Fastcasual chain that offers gyros, grilled meats and veggies, hummus and pimento cheese. 8200 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-227-8291. LD daily. 12800 Chenal Parkway. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-225-1829. LD daily. YA YA’S EURO BISTRO The first eatery to open in the Promenade at Chenal is a date-night affair, translating comfort food into beautiful cuisine. Best bet is lunch, where you can explore the menu through soup, salad or half a sandwich. 17711 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-1144. LD daily, BR Sun.

ITALIAN

BRUNO’S LITTLE ITALY Traditional Italian antipastos, appetizers, entrees and desserts. Extensive, delicious menu from a Little Rock standby. 310 Main St. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-372-7866. D Tue.-Sat. GRAFFITI’S The casually chic and ever-popular Italian-flavored bistro avoids the rut with daily specials and careful menu tinkering. 7811 Cantrell Road. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-2249079. D Mon.-Sat. JIM’S RAZORBACK PIZZA Great pizza served up in a family-friendly, sports-themed environment. Special Saturday and Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Flat-screen TVs throughout and even a cage for shooting basketballs and playing ping-pong. 16101 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$. 501-868-3250. LD daily. PIZZA CAFE Thin, crunchy pizza with just a dab of tomato sauce but plenty of chunks of stuff, topped with gooey cheese. Draft beer is appealing on the open-air deck — frosty and generous. 1517 Rebsamen Park Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-664-6133. LD daily 14710 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-868-2600. LD daily. PIZZA D’ACTION Some of the best pizza in town, a marriage of thin, crispy crust with a hefty ingredient load. Also, good appetizers

and salads, pasta, sandwiches and killer plate lunches. 2919 W. Markham St. Full bar, all CC. $-$$. 501-666-5403. LD daily. RISTORANTE CAPEO This excellent, authentic Italian restaurant was the trailblazer in the now-hot Argenta neighborhood of downtown North Little Rock, the Isaac brothers opening it in 2003. It remains a popular destination for classic Northern Italian favorites and features an outstanding wine list and cellar. 425 Main St. NLR. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-3463. D Mon.-Sat. VINO’S Great rock ‘n’ roll club also is a fantastic pizzeria with huge calzones and always improving home-brewed beers. 923 W. 7th St. Beer and wine, all CC. $-$$. 501-375-8466. LD daily.

LATINO

CANTINA LAREDO This is gourmet Mexican food, a step up from what you’d expect from a real cantina, from the modern minimal decor to the well-prepared entrees. We can vouch for the enchilada Veracruz and the carne asada y huevos, both with tasty sauces and high quality ingredients perfectly cooked. 207 N. University. Full bar, all CC. $$$. 501-280-0407. LD daily, BR Sun. LA SALSA MEXICAN & PERUVIAN CUISINE Mexican and Peruvian dishes, beer and margaritas. 3824 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. Full bar, all CC. 501-753-1101. LD daily. LOCAL LIME Tasty gourmet Mex from the folks who brought you Big Orange and ZAZA. 17815 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, all CC. $$-$$$. 501-448-2226. LD daily. LUPITA’S ORIGINAL MEXICAN FOOD Mexican, American food and bar specializing in Margaritas. 7710 Cantrell Road. Full bar, CC. TACO MEXICO Tacos have to be ordered at least two at a time, but that’s not an impediment. These are some of the best and some of the cheapest tacos in Little Rock. 7101 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-4167002. LD Wed.-Sun. TACOS GUANAJUATO Pork, beef, adobado, chicharron and cabeza tacos and tortas at this mobile truck. 6920 Geyer Springs Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. LD Wed.-Mon. TAQUERIA EL PALENQUE Solid authentic Mexican food. Try the al pastor burrito. 9501 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-3120045. Serving BLD Tue.-Sun.

AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Test one out on our sales floor!

Train For A New Career In Less Than A Year! We provide a quality Cosmetology, Nail Technology, Instructor Training and Esthetics education to our students so that they are able to pass their State Board Exam and be a success in their prospective fields.

2 Freeway Dr Little Rock AR 501-666-7226 • pettusop.com

Classes Start Weekly Call Today! 1-844-901-HAIR Little Rock

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO QUALIFY. 30

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

Can ihelp you?

Learn to get the most from your Apple products at home or your office. • Show how to build and maintain your own websites and social media. • Guide you to the perfect Mac or device for your needs and budget. • Everything Apple: Macs, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV and Apple Watch

ARKANSAS TIMES MARKETPLACE Adopt: a loving secure couple excited to adopt and share our hearts with your precious newborn. Expenses paid.

• Data Recovery & troubleshooting • Hardware & software installations • Computer upgrades • Organize and backup all your documents, photos, music, movies and email on all your devices with iCloud.

Follow @MovingtoMac on Twitter and Like Moving to Mac Facebook for news and deals. Call Cindy Greene Satisfaction Always Guaranteed

MOVING TO MAC

www.movingtomac.com

cindy@movingtomac.com • 501-681-5855

Call Christy and Vinny

800-983-3992

ARKANSAS TIMES

YOU LOVE GEORGE JONES …

CONSIDER THIS PILLOW BIT.LY/GJONESPILLUH

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION, CALL LUIS AT 501.375.2985

ARKANSAS TIMES

Maumelle, AR and may work from home

MAIL RESUME TO GLOBAL TEACHERS SOLUTIONS LLC 11901 CRYSTAL HILL ROAD MAUMELLE, AR, 72113

LOCAL

MARKETPLACE

MOATS

MARKETING SPECIALIST Research School Districts staffing market conditions and present findings to management. Market teacher staffing services to School Districts. Forecast and track key account metrics. Master’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration required. Must possess ability to communicate, present and influence credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization, including executive and C-level. Must possess ability to manage multiple projects at a time while paying strict attention to detail. Must possess excellent listening, negotiation and presentation skills, and verbal and written communications skills.

explore ARKANSAS TIMES

PUBLISHER

BOOK AND LYRICS BY LYNN AHRENS MUSIC BY STEPHEN FLAHERTY

Based upon the novel “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy February 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 2016 Curtain time is 7:30pm Friday and Saturday 2:30pm Sunday $20 Adults • $16 Students & Seniors For more information contact us at 501.374.3761 or www.weekendtheater.org

1001 W. 7th St., LR, AR 72201 On the corner of 7th and Chester, across from Vino’s.

The SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS division of The Arkansas Times has a position open for a Publisher. If you have sales experience and enjoy the exciting and crazy world of advertising then we’d like to talk to you. We publish 4 publications: Savvy, AR Wild, Food & Farm and Shelter as well as corresponding websites and social media. What does all this translate to? A high-income potential for a hard working advertising executive. We have fun, but we work hard. Fast paced and self-motivated individuals are encouraged to apply. If you have a dynamic energetic personality, we’d like to talk to you. PLEASE SEND YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO ELIZABETH AT: ELIZABETHHAMAN@ARKTIMES.COM EOE.

Support for TWT is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the DAH, and the NEA.

www.arktimes.com

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Experience the

SPRING ROAD TRIP

on the Arkansas Times Art Bus

SATURDAY, APRIL 2 to

Join us for an art-filled day among the beauty inside Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and outside among the grounds and trails with our hosts, Dr. Gayle Seymour and Barclay McConnell. Walk the trails enjoying the breathtaking landscape and natural beauty surrounding Crystal Bridges

NEW THIS YEAR! TWO DEPARTURE LOCATIONS LITTLE ROCK & CONWAY!

Tour Frank Lloyd Wright’s newly opened Bachman-Wilson House

109

per person

See Two Special Exhibitions: Samuel F. B. Morse’s Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention & The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip

PRICE INCLUDES: Tickets into Special Exhibitions Boxed lunch en route Dinner at a NW Arkansas favorite Round-trip Bus Transportation

ARKANSAS TIMES

RESERVE YOUR SEAT BY CALLING 501.375.2985 OR EMAILING KELLY LYLES AT KELLYLYLES@ARKTIMES.COM

Bus Transportation by Arrow Coachlines

Dr. Gayle Seymour is an Associate Dean in the UCA College of Fine Arts and Communications and a Professor of Art History with the UCA Department of Art. Barclay McConnell is the director of the Baum Gallery of Fine Art at UCA a and Faculty Member of the UCA Department of Art. Admission into Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is free. Like our Bus Trips page for details, updates and other perks! facebook.com/arktimesbustrips 32

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

ARKANSAS TIMES

TIM HURSLEY

CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART