Arkansas Times

NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT / MARCH 28, 2013 / ARKTIMES.COM

MAIN STREET REVIVAL THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF MAIN IN LR AND NLR. PAGE 15

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COMMENT

The need for racial impact statements Arkansas needs the legislature to pass Senate Bill 1093, a bill requiring a racial impact statement for any legislation introduced that affects punishments for a crime. Why, some would ask? Well, we haven’t finished the work that we started when we ended convict leasing that allowed the punishment system to target African American men. And we have an increasing number of immigrants who are getting caught up in Arkansas’s criminal justice system.

Let’s focus here on who we choose to incarcerate. Currently, 42 percent of those incarcerated within the Arkansas Department of Corrections are black men and 60 percent of those on death row are black men. Black men comprise less than 8 percent of the Arkansas population. Even absent any evidence of discrimination in treatment within the punishment system, these statistics cry out for our attention.

However, there is evidence that this disparity is not due simply to the vestiges of racial targeting by the Arkansas criminal punishment system. A study produced in 2008 of the 8 and 8S judicial circuit (Lafayette, Miller, Nevada and Hempstead counties) revealed that in comparing white and black men who were charged with murder and had similar criminal histories and crimes, only black men were sentenced to death and only for the deaths of whites.

We want to encourage Arkansas legislators who are charged with representing the best interests of the state to take a lead in addressing these appalling statistics.

Legislators should have the information on the impact of criminal punishment bills on racial and ethnic minorities in the state — giving them an opportunity to determine whether there is a way to achieve their purpose of protecting the best interests of the state in a manner that does not disproportionately affect these communities.

As you may know, requiring impact data before voting on legislation is not new to Arkansas. Fiscal impact statements are required for virtually all legislation and for many bills an environmental impact statement is required as well. I know we all agree that the lives of racial minorities, a category defined in Arkansas statutes to include racial and ethnic groups such as African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos, are no less important than the financial costs to the state.

UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson, in his 2003 inaugural address, coined a phrase that Arkansas policy makers and residents need to adopt if we are committed to ending the racial and ethnic divides in Arkansas: “You have to face it to fix it.”

You can’t face it without data; you cannot fix it without caring about the lives 4

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

of all Arkansas residents: black, Native American, Latino and white.

Adjoa A. Aiyetoro Director of the Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System Research Project Little Rock

The people rule In a whistle-stop tour in 1910, renowned populist reformer and orator William Jennings Bryan campaigned with Arkansas Gov. George Donaghey to enact the initiative and referendum process in

the state of Arkansas. “I know of nothing that will do more than Initiative and Referenda to restore government to the hands of the people and keep it within their control,” Bryan said.

The voters of Arkansas adopted this tool in 1910 and for almost 70 years, Arkansas remained the only Southern state with a statewide initiative and referendum process.

Now a serious threat to the Arkansas voters’ ability to exercise our First Amendment right to petition through this initiative and referendum process looms on the horizon. For the last several weeks

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we have been following the progress of a restrictive bill known as SB 821.

SB 821 was introduced by Sen. Keith Ingram (D-West Memphis — coincidentally, the home of Southland Racetrack).

This legislation, drafted by the attorneys for Oaklawn Park, appears to be an effort hatched by Oaklawn and Southland gaming establishments to attempt to protect their gaming monopolies by making legislation originating from the people of Arkansas next to impossible. Their plan is to attack the initiative and referendum process — a process that Arkansans have enjoyed for well over 100 years and one that is ensconced in the Arkansas Constitution — by making the logistics of the process so onerous that it would be next to impossible to comply. This is the same tactic that was used successfully to keep black Southerners from voting for approximately 100 years after the end of the Civil War in the Jim Crow South. Blacks technically had the right to vote, but restrictions placed upon the ability to exercise that right essentially nullified it. Their ostensible argument is that the initiative process has become so corrupt, including the assumption that Arkansas is in an immediate state of emergency, that draconian measures in SB 821 are needed to ensure “preservation of the public peace, health and safety” of the state.

Indeed, there were instances of fraud and duplication in the collection of petition signatures in 2012. David Couch compiled known fraudulent petitions and a listing of individuals that signed the petitions numerous times and in accordance with existing law took these petitions to the Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney.

To our knowledge no action was taken.

Before making new laws, perhaps it should be best to enforce the ones currently on the books. Also it should be noted that none of these measures were certified for the ballot, so the safeguards currently in place worked!

Please contact your state legislatures to vote NO to SB 821.

The initiative and referendum processes distinguished Arkansas from other Southern states during most of the 20th century in our citizens’ belief that the people rule. We must remain ever vigilant at the outset of the 21st century that this intrinsic right is not ceded to special interests. The tools we have at our disposal are the ones that were used by William Jennings Bryan over a century ago: the public exchange of ideas and discourse in pursuit of an ideal — the ability of American citizens to direct their representatives to uphold government that is OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people.

Paul Spencer Co-chair, Regnat Populus Ballot Question Committee Little Rock

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EDITORIAL

EYE ON ARKANSAS

Liberty and UAMS

Looking good

T

he awful legislative session now raging may go into the history books as Beebe’s Finest Hour.

The governor wouldn’t like that — he’d rather be remembered for doing good things than for trying unsuccessfully to stop bad things — but sometimes it’s our response to adversity that most distinguishes us.

He’s vetoed unconstitutional abortion bills, and seen them passed over his vetoes. He’s vetoed a vindictive Voter ID bill that is intended to keep nonRepublicans from voting. He’s still trying, against the most unscrupulous opposition, to extend health care to a quarter of a million more Arkansans. It’s not a bad session’s work.

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MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

J

ust as every mass shooting in this country produces a counter-intuitive cry for more guns in circulation, so every showing of the harm done by merging religion and government drives Arkansas officials to pursue amalgamation more ardently.

The Arkansas legislature is ginning out one faithbased, anti-freedom bill after another, bound on putting women in their (inferior) place. Nationwide, Roman Catholic bishops and their fundamentalist allies have filed more than 40 cases challenging access to birth control. Everywhere, religious zealots strive to undermine the public schools by diverting public funds to sectarian purposes.

And what is the response to this in Little Rock?

Officials at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences continue to talk up the proposed alliance of their state-supported teaching hospital with St. Vincent Health System, a Catholic hospital whose policies are set by church officials in Rome. Under such an arrangement, taxpayers’ money could be used to advance religious beliefs with which most taxpayers disagree. And before long, there would not be even a pretense that freedom of religion exists in Arkansas higher education.

St. Vincent is surely pleased by the prospect of imposing church dogma on a public institution, and making taxpayers pick up the tab to boot. Will anyone take up for the taxpayers, and religious freedom? Not the current bunch of legislators, apparently. The antiabortion bills they’ve passed over the governor’s vetoes reveal their unwillingness to impede the mingling of church and state. Some of them are even taking public money to operate church-influenced schools that they own. Foxes pulling sentry duty, indeed.

The UA Board of Trustees still has a chance to thwart the merger scheme, and the trustees would do a great service to the university and the state by refusing to authorize creation of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Propagation of the Faith. If the Board fails, then litigation must follow. The First Amendment is worth a fight.

Public health policy should serve the public interest, not conform to the dictates of sectarian lobbies.

No Arkansan, no American, should be forced to follow the dictates of somebody else’s religion.

CAPITOL PROTEST: Around 500 gathered March 30 to protest the state legislature.

The floor to Gov. Beebe

G

ov. Mike Beebe on Monday vetoed the Republican vote suppression bill because it unnecessarily restricts the right to vote. It was courageous. There’s broad support among the electorate for a requirement to produce a photo ID at the polls. Or at least the support is strong among those WITH photo IDs and the means, such as cars, to get them. Republicans in moments of honesty have admitted that this legislation was passed in many states with the hopes of tamping down votes by poor, elderly and minority voters, who tend to favor Democratic candidates.

Beebe’s veto will likely be overridden by the majority Republican legislature. But his words are worth repeating: “...Section 2 [of the Arkansas Constitution] states that “no power civil or military, shall ever interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage; nor shall any law be enacted ... whereby the right to vote shall be impaired or forfeited, except for the commission of a felony ...

“The strength of the aforementioned language in Article 3 raises obvious concerns about the constitutionality of Senate Bill 2, either as an unconstitutional impairment of the right to vote, and/or as an invalid attempt to add additional qualifications. ...

“Legal concerns aside, given the importance of the right to vote, laws that would impair or make it more difficult to exercise that right should be justified by the most compelling of reasons. This is particularly so when the citizens, whose right to vote is most likely to be impaired, are those citizens who experience the most difficulty in voting in the first place: the elderly and the poor. A compelling justification should likewise be shown when the citizens most likely to be affected include minorities who have in the past been target of officially sanctioned efforts to bar or discourage them from participating in the electoral process.

“Senate Bill 2 is not supported by any demon-

strated need. While proponents of laws similar to Senate Bill 2 argue that they are necessary to combat ‘election fraud,’ the bill addresses only voter impersonation, and no credible study MAX of ‘election fraud’ supports the BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com notion that such voter impersonation is or has been common in Arkansas. In a recent editorial, the only example of widespread voter impersonation provided by the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 2 occurred not in Arkansas, but in New York State some 30 years ago. Other types of election irregularities that have occurred — such as irregularities in absentee ballots — are not addressed by Senate Bill 2 at all. Arkansas law already requires a voter to be asked for identification when casting a ballot, and, if the voter cannot or chooses not to provide such identification, the voter’s name may be submitted to proper authorities for investigation and, if warranted, prosecution for election fraud. There has been no demonstration that our current law is insufficient to deter and prevent voter impersonation.

“Senate Bill 2 is, then, an expensive solution in search of a problem. The Bureau of Legislative Research estimates that Senate Bill 2 will cost approximately $300,000 in tax dollars to implement; and that estimate does not take into account the ongoing costs that the taxpayers will continue to bear in future years. At a time when some argue for the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy and for reduced government spending, I find it ironic to be presented with a bill that increases government bureaucracy and increases government expenditures, all to address a need that has not been demonstrated.

I cannot approve such an unnecessary measure that would negatively impact one of our most precious rights as citizens.”

Amen.

OPINION

Obamacare, finally

T

he Patient Protection and Affordable Now, what Care Act, aka Obamacare, celebrated only a month ago its third birthday Saturday, and you seemed impossible get the feeling that the infant that was so — three-fourths of widely unwanted after its difficult birth is the legislature votgaining family adulation as it develops a ing to spend federal ERNEST personality and character. money to insure DUMAS Even diehard Republican legislators poor working men who demanded an abortion and then, after and women — may be in reach. HospiPresident Obama signed it into law, wanted tals, doctors, many employers, businessit euthanized are showing signs of accepting men who see a windfall in the huge federal the little girl as part of the family. stimulus and, yes, the insurance industry They aren’t saying so, mind you, but are thrilled. they are claiming to have imparted some Simply because they personally are benwinning personality to the creature them- efiting, tens of thousands of Arkansans have selves. They got Governor Beebe to go become converts since March 23, 2010, to Washington and talk the secretary of when Obama signed it and made a few prohealth and human services into having visions effective immediately. The rest will poor adults obtain coverage from private take effect on Jan. 1. insurance companies on the Obamacare Thanks to Obamacare, perhaps 20,000 exchange rather than through the state- young Arkansans through age 26 were operated direct Medicaid program, which added to their parents’ policies. Tens of must have been one of the easiest feats thousands of people have received at least any governor ever undertook. The federal one free preventive service, like a mamgovernment, i.e., taxpayers, will pay for mogram or a flu shot, because Obamacare it either way (quite a bit more under the guaranteed free preventive care. InsurRepublican plan), but 250,000 poor work- ance companies have been required for ing adults will for the first time be insured two years to cover children with pre-existagainst illness and accident, which was ing conditions, and the companies have all that presidential candidate Obama had had to send millions of dollars in rebates promised in 2007, when he outlined a plan to Arkansas policyholders because they for universal coverage. kept excessive profits from premiums last

The DREAM remains alive

W

ithin days, we will know whether the Arkansas DREAM Act, the legislation focused on providing in-state college tuition to undocumented young people who have been educated in the state’s high schools, has legs in this legislative session. Since the legislation’s close loss in the state Senate in 2005, an outcome brought about by thenAttorney General Mike Beebe’s advisory opinion questioning the legislation’s accordance with federal immigration law, the measure has lingered with little hope of passage. The fact that the legislation has renewed life is testament to the fortitude of state Sen. Joyce Elliott, the issue’s chief legislative advocate, and an increasingly visible and politically organized Latino presence in Arkansas.

With Gov. Mike Huckabee, Elliott, and advocates framing the DREAM Act as an education and economic development issue, the legislation roared out of the state House and seemed on its way to passage in 2005.

Then, the chief critic of the legislation (and of Huckabee), GOP state Sen. Jim Holt, asked for an advisory opinion from the attorney general’s office. Beebe’s opinion

that the Arkansas legislation would likely violate federal law had potency with undecided legisJAY lators and the bill BARTH came up just short in a final Senate vote. Since 2005, Elliott has reintroduced the legislation but it has gained little traction. With the change in control of the legislature, supporters of the legislation assumed that 2013 would produce even a worse environment for the DREAM Act. Instead, a glimmer of hope exists for the legislation. A combination of stability (in Elliott’s commitment) and change (in social attitudes about immigrants in Arkansas) explains why.

First, there would have been no hope for the legislation’s advancement without the passionate constancy of Elliott on the issue.

In the current session, Elliott’s passion has been tied to smart strategy. While stereotyped as a doctrinaire liberal by the editorial page of the statewide newspaper, Elliott has always been a pragmatic politician. In what has been a polarized legislative session,

year. The state has gotten money to expand community health centers. New retirees and their families have retained coverage from employer plans through Obamacare’s reinsurance program. The law stopped insurance companies from canceling the policies of people when they get sick.

The happiest of all should be those of us on Medicare. Obamacare already has provided prescription discounts to many beneficiaries. Most Medicare clients have had their payouts for drug coverage reduced by Obamacare, which will continue until the hated “doughnut hole” is closed in 2020.

Obamacare ended the lifetime limits on the amount of payout by private plans for any patient. After roaring through the Bush years, medical inflation has flattened, but no one can be sure how much Obamacare is responsible.

Hundreds of thousands of Arkansans who have been helped by all those and other changes may not know that Obamacare was responsible, but many do.

When Obamacare was enacted, it was unpopular in many parts because the chamber of commerce, some industry groups, the Republican Party and right-wing groups saturated the media with attacks that told people it was going to destroy Medicare, deny people their choice of a doctor and a hospital, and sentence old people to die if they got sick. None of those was even remotely true, but the propaganda worked.

If you attended one of the town-hall meetings conducted by congressmen in

2010 you heard people wailing about losing their Medicare, being required to go to a doctor they didn’t like or having treatment ended when they got to a certain age.

Can we review the political history briefly? All the Democratic candidates for president in 2008 promised to enact universal insurance quickly if they were elected, just as every Democratic candidate had for more than two decades. Polls showed overwhelming national and Arkansas support for it. Obama was the first to outline an actual plan, and it was based on Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts law and the Republican plan of 1993-94, which First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was in charge of her husband’s health initiative, had rejected.

Her plan and her intransigence were blamed for the Democratic Party’s losses in the 1994 elections, which brought the Republicans to power in Congress for the rest of her husband’s presidency.

Oh, that matter of how to treat the 250,000 poorest adults: Obama’s original plan, outlined in 2007, was to provide private coverage to the uninsured through federally regulated markets and to expand eligibility for Medicaid for those too poor to afford insurance. Medicaid permitted lowincome people to obtain coverage through private plans, though states rarely implemented it because private policies were expensive. That’s why the HHS secretary said “sure, no problem” when Beebe offered the Arkansas Republican plan.

It was true Obamacare.

Elliott has proved her ability to work across out on this issue. President Obama’s execupartisan lines with this incarnation of the tive order allowing those who entered the DREAM Act. Her chief co-sponsor of SB915 country illegally as children to remain and is the chair of the Education Committee work without fear of deportation has freed (which she vice-chairs), Sen. Johnny Key them to become more active in lobbying (R-Mountain Home). Moreover, Elliott legislators. Organizations old (like Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families) and her legislative allies have returned to the framing for the legislation that initially and new (like Arkansas United Commuworked so well; this version of the legisla- nity Coalition) have corralled the energy tion is titled “The Postsecondary Education of these DREAMers in their coalitional and Economic Development Act of 2013.” advocacy work on behalf of the legislation.

However, Elliott’s commitment to the As a sign of the changed environment issue and effective reframing would have on immigration, Gov. Beebe has vacated mattered little if not for the changing politi- his long-standing opposition to the notion. cal environment in Arkansas on immigra- While certainly not a full-throated endorsetion issues. As shown in the Winthrop ment, his chief spokesperson said late last Rockefeller Foundation’s recent report on week: “[I]f the state wants to have a debate the topic, there is clear evidence of the posi- and look to pass a DREAM Act on the state tive economic impact of Latinos’ presence level ... he’s not going to try to stop that.” in Arkansas. While data has some power in For the DREAM Act to become law, reshaping attitudes, it is personal contact however, it will take more than a changed that matters even more. In legislative dis- stance by the governor. It will take any tricts across the state, Latinos have become number of Republicans and Democrats a part of the community fabric in a way that alike casting a vote that still feels to them was simply not the case in 2005. Teachers like a bit of a risk. If they do, however, they in those communities know the sharp limi- will be deserving of the praise Mike Huckabee gave the state House in 2005: “They tations placed on smart young Latinos who presently have no hope of pursuing their took a stand that Arkansas can be proud of. dream of attending college. … [I]f we had taken a similar one in 1957, it Before last summer, these young would have made us proud for a long, long DREAMers faced personal risk by speaking time.” www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

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ARKANSAS TIMES

aseball, for all its puffed-up charm as a piece of Americana, is really a pretty fiendish oddity. At the collegiate level, it’s especially true.

One year, offensive production is deemed “too high” so an edict from on high for altered equipment is issued. The next year, teams that were pinging line drives and moon-shot homers are dropping down bad bunts and scrambling for runs. You can’t do a lot of projecting with the sport these days, and Arkansas is your archetype.

The Razorbacks made it all the way to the national semifinals last year, despite having a relatively punchless lineup and some spotty fielding. That deep pitching staff they rode to success in Omaha last summer was substantially intact for 2013, so naturally the Hogs got a fat target painted on them early with some preseason No. 1 rankings. And it appeared, after a few weeks of botched grounders and wasted outs, that they were going to revert to last year’s form and muddle through the nation’s most vicious baseball conference.

Still hard to figure how the Razorbacks will fare long-term, but after two conference weekends we know that they sit 17-7 overall, 4-2 in league play, and emboldened by a three-game sweep of South Carolina in Columbia. That, mind you, is the same Gamecock team that stubbed out Arkansas’s fine run last year with two bitterly close victories at the College World Series. And it came on the heels of a wild series loss to Ole Miss, where the Hogs were utterly flat in an opening-game loss, inspired in a Saturday rebound, and ultimately felled by miscues afield in the rubber match.

The Hogs are as mercurial as the sport right now, but the one thing they are doing obscenely well is firing strikes and therefore staying within striking distance in any game. That was what made them the chic pick of many publications this winter, and it has held up despite some missed opportunities in Arizona during a weird four-game whitewashing and a bad loss to Ole Miss in the series finale.

History has suggested that Dave Van Horn teams don’t manage moments of lofty expectation very well. When the Hogs scaled their way to an SEC title and a CWS bid in Van Horn’s second year, they were memorably cast as the unsung little engine that could and did, and that put them in the crosshairs for 2005. That team still made the NCAA tournament,

but floundered to a losing conference record and got ushered out of the national field pretty quickly.

BEAU The Hogs sucWILCOX ceeded mightily in 2007 on the strength of their hitting, but all the talk of a potentially deep tourney run washed away in the regional round in Fayetteville when Oklahoma State rudely killed the vibe.

Those were different days, though.

Modifications to bats have made for less engrossing but tighter contests, and the Razorbacks have generally excelled in spite of what damage it has wrought to the team’s batting average the past couple of years. Early in 2013, they will still run into outs here and there, and swing a little too freely for the tastes of most purists, but they remain very much in the context of national championship conversation due to that spectacular staff (team ERA is an unheard-of 1.74 after 24 games) Senior Randall Fant has evolved more than anyone, being robbed of a win in the South Carolina finale thanks to shoddy fielding, but clearly building on the terrific work he did in short starts last summer.

And the offense, surprisingly, has been more well rounded than anticipated. The team clip of .286 is modest but encouraging given that five regulars are above .300, and that doesn’t include Dominic Ficociello, the consensus best returning hitter who was limited by injury at the start of the year.

As he has been nudged back into form, so as not to cause more problems with his nagging oblique, redshirt freshman Tyler Spoon has basically thieved away anchor of status by knocking in 32 runs and smacking a team-leading three homers. Matt Vinson and Joe Serrano have come up with pivotal late-game hits, and Brian Anderson’s performance thus far has validated Pearls’ admiration of him last year as a versatile bedrock in an unsteady lineup.

The schedule, obviously, doesn’t get easier. And as we’ve seen each year, if the Hogs don’t let one bad weekend torpedo the next, they’re similarly capable of floundering in an unexpected fashion right on the heels of a magical weekend. Consistency escaped them last year even as they surged to the cusp of low-level immortality; in 2013, with the weight of these projections very much in place, the challenge now is to keep the whole thing on the rails for as long as feasible.

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With you on your journey

You can indeed assert things in your writings. You can also allege and purport. All three are proper, but some people don’t understand how to use them.

We’ve remarked before on sentences like “He was charged with allegedly stealing a horse.” No, he was not. Allegedly stealing a horse is not a crime. He was charged with stealing a horse. Whether he in fact stole it depends on the quality of his lawyer.

Usually, it’s journalists who are guilty of this nervous over-qualification, but a prosecutor recently was caught at it, if he was quoted correctly in the daily paper: “We are focused on finding fraudulent behavior wherever it occurs, and fraud occurs when someone purports to obtain money through a deception or concealment or misrepresentation, and that’s at the heart of what has been charged in this case.” If the law presumes that

fraud occurs when someone purports to obtain money through deception, concealment or misrepresentaDOUG tion, then the law SMITH is, as Dickens’ Mr. dougsmith@arktimes.com Bumble said, “a ass.” Fraud is the actual obtaining of money through deception, etc.

A confidence man who admitted to his intended victim that he was trying to get the mark’s money by deceiving, concealing and misrepresenting probably wouldn’t be very successful.

The defendant in this particular case sounds like he might be guilty of that sort of bad judgment. In a listing of “important dates,” the newspaper identified a number of large and questionable financial transactions occurring over a period of years. Toward the end of the list, the paper said that the defendant “earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.”

Anybody getting a journalism degree in the current job market is likely lacking in shrewdness. Especially if he’s planning to pay off some bankruptcies with a reporter’s paycheck.

WEEK THAT WAS

It was a good week for…

A VETO Gov. Mike Beebe vetoed a bill that would require Arkansas voters to present a photo ID. He said it would risk disenfranchising voters, calling it “an unnecessary measure that would negatively impact one of our most precious rights as citizens.” He further cited constitutional concerns, unnecessary cost and growth in bureaucracy as his reasons for the veto.

EXPANSION A new study from DHS suggested that the additional cost to the federal government of the “private option” of expanding health coverage to around 250,000 Arkansans could be much lower than anticipated. According to DHS, subsidizing the expansion population to purchase private insurance in the health care exchange may represent no additional cost at all compared with traditional Medicaid expansion. Given that the biggest critique of the “private option” was a higher federal price tag, this could help push expansion towards the three-fourths majority it needs to pass in the legislature.

8:30 am, 9 am, 11 am

firstunited methodistchurch

From a letter to the editor — “However, they did not accurately understand the truth and asserted ‘contradictories’ into their writings.”

Michael Klossner writes: “I guess ‘contradictories’ means contradictions. In any case, you can assert something in your writings, or insert something into your writings, but you can’t assert into.”

A TAX CUT Rep. Charlie Collins bill to change the income tax brackets and cut the top rate of 7 percent to 6.875 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers advanced from committee. The measure would disproportionately benefit wealthier taxpayers, while

providing little or no benefits to middle class and working poor. In his presentation before the committee, Collins noted that Arkansas’s top rate is higher than that in adjoining states (several of which enjoy higher property taxes, franchise fees equivalent to income tax and oil and gas tax revenue that Arkansas doesn’t enjoy.)

He said the reduction he proposes would be a “step in the right direction.”

A PROTEST A two-week grassroots campaign on social media brought around 500 people to the Capitol on a cold, rainy Saturday to protest the legislature’s attack on women’s medical rights. Speakers invoked a range of other liberty-infringing efforts by the legislature, from voting rights to tattoo-like body art.

It was a bad week for…

OLD FAVORITES FROM RETROGRADE LEGISLATORS The House has passed a resolution endorsing school prayer. Those constitutional oaths the legislators take? Who cares? Meanwhile, without any discussion or a roll call, a House committee approved a resolution reaffirming support for the Arkansas constitutional provision banning same-sex marriage and for the federal Defense of Marriage Act, currently facing a federal constitutional challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court.

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Born free THE OBSERVER SAW HIM while walking out of The Observatory the other day: a bright yellow parakeet, perched on a branch over the driveway. He was just sitting there, chilling with a wild robin, telling his Born Free cousin, no doubt, of the long nights he spent in the clink, where the only thing going was all the birdseed he could eat. Now he was a freebird, on a warm day when the forecast called soon for cold rain.

The Observer’s brother kept parakeets once upon a time. They’re cheerful little birds, but ill-suited to life in the cold, hard world, a bright-colored target for cats or bird-eating birds or mean little kids with BB guns. This was clearly someone’s pet, either set free by a lazy owner or having made a break for it, convinced that the open window looked better than life in a cage.

Trying to coax our visitor down from the tree, we stuck out a finger. He actually made a go for it, fluttering halfway between branch and digit, before chickening out and buzzing clumsily back to his branch. After that, no amount of cajoling would budge him. We got in the car and drove off, the fat splotch of yellow still huddled in the winter-naked branches of the tree over the driveway. While we were out, we thought to buy birdseed to lure him down, but by the time we got home he was nowhere to be found.

We hope you made it home, little guy, or at least to somewhere dry and warm.

You’re too beautiful for this world, and it’s hard out here on the pretty things.

THE OBSERVER MADE it up to St. Louis a few weekends back, our first trip to that fair metropolis since we came through there in a U-Haul truck bound from Iowa City to South Louisiana over 13 years ago. Our pal Brian Chilson, shutterbugin-residence for the Arkansas Times, is a proud son of St. Lou, and had given us the 411 on all the things to see, do, drink and eat while we were in town.

One of the places we went, on his recommendation, was a joint called Vintage Vinyl, a big ol’ record store of the kind we used to haunt as a lad, but which mostly went the way of the Dodo bird around the time Bush the First was in office.

Though we haven’t owned a turntable

in years, and don’t know if we buy the audiophiles’ claims about tunes on vinyl being a richer, fuller sound as compared to digital media like CDs and MP3s, we do miss the records of our youth. Ma and Pa always had a big console-style record player in the living room, walnut and dark as a coffin, along with a stack of records: Percy Sledge, The Temptations, Sonny and Cher, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Janis, Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson. Even then, their records were going on ancient, but The Lad Observer always loved that moment of dropping the needle, the gadgetness of the spinning turntable and the arm lowering to the disk, finding the groove, the sound coming on in those delicious crackles and pops, the act so much better than jabbing a button. And then, the music.

Oh, the music.

It was a simpler time, but God bless the records, even the ones The Observer’s parents gave to our hellion self to use as Frisbees after the last dead turntable went off to the dump. There is a deliberateness to vinyl. It takes some want-to to listen to a record, so fragile and quirky, the sound literally scratched in by a quivering stylus instead of encoded and compressed and reconstituted. Standing in Vintage Vinyl and thumbing through the stacks brought it all back to us: those records, the cardboard sleeves, the big double albums with the lyrics printed tiny inside and the long list of names where the band thanked everyone from The Good Lord to their Indian Guru to their Dutch Uncle.

All the bands from our troubled youth were there: Iggy Pop, Motley Crue, The Ramones, Ratt, The Who, Percy, Willie, Fleetwood Mac. Other vinylophiles wandered the aisles, flipping records to look at the backs, sometimes removing the sleeves from the clear plastic envelopes to look them over. Music played over a sound system — sweet R&B — and for a moment we were in the perfect place, surfing the time warp, back to the future at the point of a needle.

And then, the record playing on the hi-fi started to skip — hung up on a soulful croon, soulful croon, soulful croon, soulful croon. And simultaneously, everyone in the store shared a nostalgic, knowing chuckle, The Observer included.

STOP

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MARCH 28, 2013

11

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

Taco travails City Director Ken Richardson broached a hot culinary topic toward the end of last week’s City Board meeting.

He said he’d received complaints from Latino mobile food vendors (AKA taco trucks) that they’d been subjected to repeat city inspections despite being in compliance with permit requirements. He said the vendors had begun to feel “some form of discrimination” was at work.

City Manager Bruce Moore produced for the Times a list of violations dating back three years that showed only a handful of citations of Latino food vendors and none this year.

But he never did produce a requested list of inspections that did NOT result in a citation.

Richardson said he was reluctant to identify those who’d complained because they feared retaliation. And he declined to say who he believed might be responsible for attention to the vendors, except to say that he believed the complaints arose from another member of the city board.

He said city board members should stick to policy, not burden city staff with special requests for inspections.

For a variety of reasons, suspicion focused on City Director Joan Adcock, elected at-large but originally a power in Southwest Little Rock, once a working class white neighborhood but now heavily minority, home to many taco trucks and represented by Richardson.

She told the Times she was not responsible for the recent inspections. But she said she had raised concerns in the past.

“Last summer it was a big concern of SWLR United for Progress and there was discussion in several of the meetings in SWLR. One member who works for the State Health Dept. was concerned and I think she talked to them about it. I talked with Mr. Moore and Mr. [Bryan] Day and I think even the Mayor.

The discussions were not only on Mexican Vendors but also people selling shoes, purses, pictures and other things on the corners and vacant lots in SWLR. This was a big concern of the businesses in the area as well as the trash that was CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 12

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

SMITH ABROAD: But still thinks of Arkansas politics.

Long way from home Republican politico Princella Smith gains policy chops in Israel.

BY DAVID RAMSEY

W

hat follows is your typical story of a 6-foot-tall black female Republican who starts off in Wynne, Arkansas, and ends up in Israel, writing for a Zionist newspaper and studying counter-terrorism.

Princella Smith has always been a wild card. A high school and college basketball star who interned for thenLt. Gov. Win Rockefeller and in John Boozman’s congressional office, she first drew major attention on the political scene in 2004. As a 20-year-old Ouachita Baptist University student, she won MTV’s “Stand up and Holla” essay contest, earning her a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention. Her speech was fiery and fun, and led many to proclaim her as a rising political star.

After college, she bounced around a few political gigs, working for Maryland Republican Michael Steele’s unsuccessful Senate campaign and as a communications flack for Newt Gingrich and his PAC. In 2010, she ran for Arkansas’s 1st District congressional seat after the retirement of Blue Dog Democrat

Marion Berry. Despite the endorsements of her former mentor Gingrich and the Democrat-Gazette, the run was a dud — she fell to Rick Crawford in the Republican primary by a 78-22 margin.

This fall, Smith decided that she wanted to take a break from politics and focus on policy. She had always been interested in the Middle East and Israel, and started searching for programs with a focus in issues surrounding terrorism.

Turns out, it’s possible to get a graduate degree in counter-terrorism (they really need to get the word out — surely they’d have been overloaded with applicants with a little product placement on “Homeland”). Smith found one of the few schools in the world offering such a program, and was accepted into the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy in Herzliya, Israel, where she is now pursuing a master’s degree in counter-terrorism and homeland security studies.

Smith grew up a minister’s kid and had always been interested in Israel, but she was also drawn to the program by an earnest desire to gain some seri-

ous foreign-policy chops. “Most people when they think of me, they’re thinking of campaigns and stuff,” she says.

“I know that at some point in my life I want to be able to make a serious impact on the world and make some kind of imprint on the globe. I’m not a person that can sit back and watch things happen in the world and not try to make it better. I think you have to equip yourself. A large part of equipping yourself is educating yourself and in this particular instance, you go to a place like Israel — going to a place like this is the best place to learn. If you’re going to learn counter-terrorism, go learn it in a place where they’re doing it.”

What does a master’s in counterterrorism entail? In addition to general poli-sci courses, Smith has been taking classes and writing policy papers on various aspects of terrorism, from the role of the media to the roots of Islamic ideology. Packed into one year, the master’s program covers the “essence of counter-terrorism,” Smith says. “Knowing how to combat terrorism, knowing CONTINUED ON PAGE 70

LISTEN UP

THE

BIG PICTURE

OFF MAIN STREET

The cover story of this issue focuses on new development on Main Street both north and south of the Arkansas River. But off both cities’ Main Streets, there’s more news: the refurbishment of Robinson Center, the construction of the Arcade Building in the River Market district, a design contest for a third project, “Envision Little Rock,” and plans for a collaborative workspace in Argenta, The Silver Mine. Here’s more:

ROBINSON CENTER

The most ambitious construction project on the table in Little Rock today is the $64.5 million upgrade of the Robinson Auditorium and the other space that makes up the Robinson Center, the biggest investment in a public building since the construction of the Clinton Presidential Library. The Polk Stanley Wilcox architectural firm will design the renovation of the 1939 building. Financing will include private dollars and hamburger tax revenues to fund a bond issue once its current bonds on the convention center’s expansion beneath the Peabody Hotel are paid off in 2014. The refurbishment includes an upgrade of the lobby and acoustics in the theater, a ballroom overlooking the Arkansas River and new office space. A 2016 completion date is the target. The coneptual drawing above envisions the ballroom.

ENVISION LITTLE ROCK

In honor of the 100-year anniversary of famed designer John Nolen’s “Report on a Park System for Little Rock,” the architectural collaborative StudioMain, in partnership with the city, is hosting a contest for the redesign of the eastern end of Capitol Avenue. Nolen envisioned an eastern gateway to the city that would complement the avenue’s end at the Capitol building.

With the planned widening of Interstate 30 and the possibility that neighborhoods east of the interstate could be further cut off from the city, Envision is looking for designs that will “bridge the gap” and create an iconic entrance to the city. The contest has categories for public, professional and student competitors; the winner in each will receive $1,500. There will also be prizes for creating an icon, best connection and a wild card category; those winners will receive $250. An information meeting is set for Saturday at the Little Rock Visitors Center.

ARCADE BUILDING

The $17 million Arcade Building going up at the corner of President Clinton and River Market avenues is the latest mixed-use development in the River Market district. The joint project of Moses Tucker Real Estate and the Central Arkansas Library System will provide a home to the Little Rock Film Festival with its state-ofthe-art movie theater, a facility that will be shared with CALS for library events. The 60,000-square-foot Arcade will also house additional archive space for the library; Cache, a bar/restaurant headed up by Payne Hardin; the Meadors Adams and Lee insurance firm, AMR Architects and the Clinton School for Public Service. The Arcade will be open in fall.

THE SILVER MINE

TAGGART Architects are drawing up the plans for expansion of the Art Connection at 204 E. Fourth St. in North Little Rock to add a “co-work” space for start-up businesses, similar to the Iceberg in Fayetteville. John Gaudin, with the Argenta Arts Foundation and other supporters, established the Art Connection as a program for high school students to find arts-related jobs, modeled after a successful program in Boston. The rendering above is a conceptualization of the interior.

Tune in to the Times’ “Week In Review” podcast each Friday.

Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

INSIDER, CONT. left to blow into the streets and areas. I also asked that the ones on Asher and John Barrow be checked for permits and permission to be there.

There may have been some other areas. Several I think did not have city permits. The requirement to have a health department permit to get a city permit was changed I think about that time. I think I also requested that some of the zoning officers work on Sat. to help clean up this selling on vacant lots and parking lots of businesses that are closed on week ends.”

Said Richardson: “Specific targeting of Hispanic food vendors is a bad practice. I don’t want us to get in the bad habit of — or being perceived as — practicing discrimination.”

A sign of what’s to come The gun nuts are spoiling to go after U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.

No surprise. The gun nuts and Republicans have become one. But who knew that the politicking would go so ugly so fast?

An aide from Pryor’s office called the Times on Friday to say they’d gotten reports that someone in NW Arkansas was calling people’s homes and saying “I work for Mark Pryor, how many guns do you have in your home?”

Turn on a recorder and check the calling number origin if you get one of these calls. It’s fraud. And, unfortunately, only a small beginning of what’s sure to come.

Pryor aggressively took to Twitter on Friday, noting that callers were committing fraud and that he’s strong on the 2nd Amendment and a gun owner.

Twit of the week www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

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Live. Work. PLay. aND iNveST.

downtownlr.com

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T BLOCK 2 APARTMENTS

MADURO CIGAR BAR

WASABI

LAW OFFICE

STEPHENS MEDIA

NORTH E. MARKHAM STATEHOUSE CONVENTION CENTER

SOUTH

100 EAST

WHEN MAIN STREET WAS THE HEART OF THE CITY: A shot of Main in Little Rock in the early 20th century, facing south.

THE MAIN THING S ince the Arkansas Times is headquartered in downtown Little Rock and a stone’s throw from Argenta, we’ve long paid special attention to the area’s development. In the last decade, we’ve put out three publications focusing on downtown revitalization, filled with the visions and visionaries. A striking number of the plans we previewed came to pass. In that spirit, this week we again turn our attention to downtown with a special focus on Main Street.

In the pages that follow, we linger only briefly on the past — that story, of the ascendancy of Main Streets everywhere and the suburbanization and

SOUTH

urban renewal of cities that led to their decline, is a familiar one. Instead, we turn our attention to the present, to some of the businesses that have survived through moribund stretches, to the leaders and developers and property owners at the vanguard of revival efforts and to the people who’re drawn to live downtown. The Creative Corridor plan for Little Rock’s Main Street that we survey is decidedly aspirational, but many of the other future projects on both sides of the river that we feature have funding and target dates behind them; Mayor Mark Stodola likes to estimate new downtown investment at $60 million; a single investment group that includes

PRIVATE PARKING

John Gaudin and Harold Tenenbaum estimate the amount of dollars they’ve put into revitalization north of the river at $20 million. However much the numbers are, it’s starting to show.

To give you a sense of the street-level geography of Main Street, we’ve included sequential blockby-block photos of much of Main (like the one you see above) on strips along the outer edges of pages that follow. Read on to see photos and architectural drawings of some of the more prominent development.

We predict that even those skeptical of a true Main Street revival will find cause for optimism.

NORTH E. MARKHAM STATEHOUSE CONVENTION CENTER

100 WEST www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

Downtowners Community without the commute.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

T

here are many reasons downtowners give for settling

near the city’s heart: they like the parks, they like being close to where they work, they like the nightlife. The folks we interviewed come from all walks of life, but they intersect in what they like most about downtown: the feeling of community.

EVENT COORDINATOR, GARDENER

L

iz Sanders is the event coordinator for the Bernice Sculpture Garden at Daisy Bates and Main and her partner, Ryan Dunn, is an artist and a farmer, growing flowers and vegetables for the summer Farmer’s Market held there and the Root Cafe nearby. They moved in May to an apartment in a recently renovated 1890 Victorian at 2008 Scott St., now a duplex; their landlords allow them to use all of the empty quarter-acre lot next door for their large garden. A picket fence encompasses the lots, which soar above street level, the

kind of site that recalls 19th century coaches and coach steps and grand entrances. The two have lived downtown for a couple of years, first at 10th and Scott, attracted by the historic houses. Downtown, Sanders said, is a good place for people who have an “open mindset” — especially the under 30 set that she and Dunn fall into. She’s lived in Hillcrest and the Heights, and prefers the “authentic city neighborhood” presence of downtown. “It doesn’t feel like Little Rock,” but a more bustling place, one open to diversity and new opportunities.

PRIVATE PARKING

200 WEST 16

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Sanders said friends who live in other areas of the city have told her they “don’t go past Community Bakery” because they feel the area is dangerous, but “that’s a misrepresentation of what’s actually here,” she insists, a leftover from the “Bangin’ in Little Rock” documentary of gangs made in 1994.

Sanders and Dunn said they would have to think hard about leaving the community. Some day, of course, Dunn hopes to live in the country, where he can grow vegetables and have goats, which aren’t welcome on the 20th block of Scott Street.

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T CITY PARKING DECK

200 EAST

FINANCIAL PLANNER, PLANT MANAGER

S

arah Catherine Phillips Gutierrez got her master’s degree from the Kennedy School in Boston, and traveled to the Sudan on scholarship. Her husband Jorge was born in Colombia and studied in Chicago. So they’ve been around the block, as the saying goes. Now, however, their world is really just a few blocks, and that’s the way they like it. Their one-bedroom condo in the Capital Commerce Building is next door to I-30, which Jorge takes to get to his job as technical director and plant manager of Poloplaz Inc. in Jacksonville. It’s blocks from the Stephens Building, where Sarah Catherine runs her business, S.C. Phillips. Their baby, Marco, is close to his nanny, who lives just down the street. Before she married, Sarah Catherine — who is also a salsa teacher and who came home to work for Stephens Inc. as a security and defense researcher — lived in the Quapaw Tower, so she knew she wanted to stay downtown after she and Jorge married. (Yes, they met at her salsa classes.) Now, the spacious living room is Marco’s.

“It’s wonderful to have a small baby in a small environment,” Sarah Catherine said.

Parking is easy, the elevator makes getting out with Marco easy. Sarah Catherine strolls him on the Clinton Library grounds; she said she can’t wait until spring to take him there to play. One day, they’ll be able to walk to the Museum of Discovery and Riverfest. The couple invite friends to watch fireworks from their rooftop garden. Yes, they have to give friends who live out west directions to the condo when they invite them down, but one of her best friends lives on Louisiana. Yes, sometimes grocery shopping is a pain. But, she added, she can pick up milk and eggs across the street at Stratton’s Market at Dugan’s Pub, just across the street.

All they need in the world is there.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

S

helby Brewer, a media and communications manager for the Arkansas Arts Council, is “living the life I aways dreamed of. I always wanted to live in a high-rise.” For the Fort Smith native, that’s the 11th floor in the Quapaw Tower, where her one-bedroom apartment faces west “so I get to see the sun set every night.” She feels a sense of community downtown and says it’s “where all the action is,” with music, art receptions and other activities, and the convenience of not having to get stuck in traffic on the way to work — she works in the Tower Building three minutes from her apartment — counts for a lot. “I love the energy downtown. … I love being able to wake up on a Saturday morning and go to the Farmers Market and walk and look at the sculpture [in Riverfront park].” In summer, she walks to the Argenta neighborhood in downtown North Little Rock and hikes over the bridges that have given Little Rock new character. She also likes the atmosphere at Quapaw Tower, which feels safe and is “just a great place for somebody my age [in her 30s] to live.” Brewer is also a photographer, and finds plenty of “beautiful architecture” downtown to shoot, but the view she most loves is the one from her balcony. “Last night I watched the sleet and the rain,” she said. “I love my balcony.”

LAWYER AND LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF DOWNTOWN

E

ric Buchanan, 58, lives at 2022 S. Gaines St., the street he was raised on. In fact, six houses in the block are occupied by members of his family, including his mother, Willie Mae Milton, who feeds everybody on Sunday. You might have seen the house on the CBS evening news back in the day; it was on one of Bill Clinton’s running routes. A personal injury lawyer who graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C., Buchanan returned to Little Rock in the early 1990s. He chose to move in to the Craftsman house on Gaines because “it was comfortable. It was old. It was my style.” It beats the houses his friends in Chenal own, he says; theirs are of poor construction by comparison. He believes the home was built by a jeweler in Hot Springs; it has a marble fireplace. The neighborhood “has seen its low points and its high points. Now there’s a renaissance, a rejuvenation.” For example: “This prostitute used to hang out” down the street, he said.

“Now it’s a day spa or something.” (He was referring to the building at 14th and Main, which owner Cassie Toro is remodeling and is occupied by a fitness studio.)

The house is also a quick commute to his “office”: Community Bakery. “I haven’t paid Joe Fox rent in 14 years,” he laughed. And he’s among family. “We see each other almost too much,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

17

DECISIONS MADE HERE FOR OVER

100

Y E A R S

OUR COMMITMENT TO DOWNTOWN remains strong. Later this year, we are

moving to the Arcade Building in the River Market. When presented the opportunity to relocate our office, we never considered going anywhere else.

101 S. Spring Street • Little Rock • 501.372.5200 • www.meadorsadamslee.com

DOWNTOWNERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Riverside Bank.

We Live Downtown.

Riverside Bank is proud to help finance the future.

501-614-6161 • www.riversidebanc.com • Markham @ Chester

ARTIST AND FAMILY

T

he day in 2011 when Delita and Cedric Martin moved into their house at 1907 S. Gaines, a piece of molding fell from the wall. Her husband had a look of horror on his face. “We can put it back,” she assured him. So while her husband would “just as soon find something new and shiny” to live in, printmaker Delita Martin loves her 1920 Victorian. She loves it not just because of its high-ceilinged rooms, which she is renovating one at a time, or the fact that there’s a two-story building out back that she can use as her printmaking studio, but because it’s in a neighborhood full of friends who like to use her porch for socializing. “When someone hears a bottle open, the neighbors start coming to the porch.” They lived in the house a year before they began to remodel, making sure they knew what they wanted. Now, the living room is a deep crimson with fine wood moldings and hung with artwork of her own as well as others. A former teacher at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Martin now devotes her time to her woodcuts and her 9-year-old, who attends eStem downtown. Before moving downtown, the Martins lived in the Heights for a year, but then moved to an apartment at Spring and 17th Streets. Like many, they were warned of crime, “but we didn’t find that to be true.” Living in the Heights was “nice,” Martin said, but the family found downtown more neighborly — and they liked getting more house for the money. Another plus: Son Caleb’s best friend lives across the street, and Martin feels they’re safe playing outside.

*

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MARCH 28, 2013

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

MANN LOFTS: Renderings of what the apartments next to the Mann on Main office building will look like.

Mann on Main

324 Main St. (4th and Main) Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker in partnership with Doyle Rogers Co. have invested $20 million in the renovation of the 100,000-square-foot former Blass Department store, its annex next door and a 416-space parking lot behind the building on Louisiana Street. The Mann on Main will be leased by the state of Arkansas for the offices including the Pharmacy Board, the Crime Information Center and the Office of Child Support Enforcement. Bruno’s Italian Restaurant will occupy part of the ground floor of the Mann Lofts, which includes 19 apartments.

BRUNO’S NEW HOME: Ground floor of the loft annex next to Mann on Main.

MANN ON MAIN (GUS BLASS DEPARTMENT STORE)

MANN LOFTS (GUS BLASS DRY GOODS, 1890)

VACANT (FORMERLY NEWS MART)

VACANT (FORMERLY DUNDEE) BENNETT’S MILITARY SUPPLIES (FULK BUILDING, 1890)

300 WEST 20

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T DOWNTOWN WIG (KEMPNER BUILDING, 1875)

THE ROSE BUILDING (1901, VACANT)

MR. COOL (STANDARD LUGGAGE)

KLOFTS (GUS BLASS WHOLESALE, 1902)

300 EAST

Moses, Tucker and downtown Little Rock

KLofts

315 Main St.

Nearly synonymous.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

BRIAN CHILSON

R

ett Tucker’s grandfather, Robert M. Williams, had a terrier named Tim who took the streetcar from the stop close to the family home at Sixteenth and Arch streets to his grandfather’s insurance business in the Donaghey Building.

Jimmy Moses’ great-grandfather Herman Kahn built the Marion Hotel and his grandfather Grover Cleveland Moses started Moses Melody at Seventh and Main, which his father continued and where Jimmy Moses worked in his youth. Little Rock, Moses said, “is in my DNA.” The two realtor-developers have been the tenders of the flame, keeping whatever small spark that remained from the vibrant downtown their forebears knew alive and fanning it to the glowing success that is the River Market district. Moses Tucker does business nowhere else but downtown; they have an interest, financially or emotionally or both, in nearly every structure that signals the River Market revitalization, from the Museum Center in 1996 to the Arkansas Capital Commerce Center in 2002 to the highrise residences at 300 Third Street and River Market Tower in 2007 and 2009 and the Arcade set to open later this year — 12 properties altogether. They assembled the parcels for Heifer International and the Clinton Presidential Library and brought in investors like hotelier John McKibben, who’s put nearly $50 million in downtown. Public dollars contributed to Moses Tucker’s success as well, including the sales tax that helped build the River Market and renovate the old Terminal Warehouse building into the Museum Center, and the library millage that made it possible for Central Arkansas Library System

IT’S IN THEIR DNA: Tucker (left) and Moses have deep roots in Little Rock.

director Bobby Roberts to move the Main Library to its present location at 100 Rock St. Now Moses Tucker is working to ignite Main Street, joining up with the Doyle Rogers firm to restore the 1912 Gus Blass Building at Fourth and Main, now dubbed the Mann on Main after its architect George Mann, and turn adjoining property at 312 Main St. into the Mann Lofts. Ten of the 19 apartments in the Mann Lofts are already leased; June 1 is the scheduled completion date. They’re building a 416-space parking deck at Fourth and Louisiana streets to serve the Mann, which will house state offices, and the lofts. EStem charter schools on Third Street will also lease space in the parking deck. The dough will fly literally when Bruno’s Italian Restaurant, dormant for some years, comes back to life on the ground floor of the Mann.

The $20 million project, financed with conventional loans as well as historic and New Market tax credits, emerged from Moses Tucker’s decision

some years back to redevelop property the company owns at 400 E. Capital, the old Arkla Building. “We came up with the idea of moving the tenant at Arkla,” the Office of Child Support Enforcement, to the old Blass building, Tucker said, an idea that apparently convinced owner Doyle Rogers that the time was right to restore the seven-story structure for office space.

Moses and Tucker will likely demolish the three-story 1950s Arkla building and replace it with a mid-rise mixeduse development that will include residential and retail. That means Moses Tucker will have built residence and retail space on every block of River Market Avenue (Commerce) from Clinton to Fifth, where their Rainwater Flats are located. “Over the next five years we’ll see Main Street and the River Market emerge as a single neighborhood,” Tucker said.

Moses calls the Arcade Building, in which Moses Tucker is partnering with the Central Arkansas Library System to

Developer Scott Reed of Reed Realty Inc. of Oregon believes his rehabilitation of the 1910 Gus Blass Wholesale building into KLofts was the catalyst for rapidly following development on the ghost town that was Little Rock’s Main Street. Mayor Mark Stodola brokered the sale of the building to Reed from the Kumpuris family (hence the K in KLofts). Reed got a $275,000 loan from the Pulaski County Brownfield Revolving Loan fund to remediate the five-story building, and remodeled and installed utilities in the basement (which had standing water in it) and first and second floors; more than $1 million has been invested in the building to date, he said.

The 10,000-square-foot basement and ground floor’s first occupant, Porter’s Jazz Club, didn’t survive, but Montego Bay Cafe has taken its place and Reed is now planning on finishing out the upper stories as apartments. “Eighteen months ago, Main Street was where builders went to die,” Reed said.

“The banks weren’t interested.” That’s changed, Reed says. His plans: To put 30 onebedroom apartments on the top four floors and have another two livework spaces in the rear of the building.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

21

FROM “THE CREATIVE CORRIDOR: A MAIN STREET REVITALIZATION.”

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

THE VIEW FROM THE CENTER: An imagined amphitheater and LED screen alongside an imagined skyscraper on the corner of Capitol and Main.

LOW-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT: With raingardens and pervious pavers.

22

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

When buildings play movies The Creative Corridor plan for Main.

BY LINDSEY MILLAR

L

ast December, the city of Little Rock unveiled the Creative Corridor, a master plan to revitalize four blocks of Main Street.

Designed by Fayetteville architects Marlon Blackwell, who heads the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, and Steve Luoni, who directs the University of Arkansas Community Design Center, the plan calls for Main Street becoming the cultural heart of the city. A variety of arts organizations would join the Arkansas Repertory Theatre to form the Creative Corridor (the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has agreed to occupy the ground floor of what used to be the MM Cohn Building at 504 Main and the dance studio/performance space ReCreation Studio at 608 Main will host a grand opening April 6) in the 300 to 600 blocks of Main Street. Their presence, Blackwell and Luoni argue, would be enough to keep a steady, diverse flow

of people coming to Main at different times of the day — and inspire more consumer-focused businesses to fill in remaining real estate.

Beyond that underlying arts-focused concept, the design includes the sorts of things that make New Urbanists swoon — a pedestrian promenade, rain gardens, street furniture, LED lighting installations.

In May, the plan is up for an award at the Congress for the New Urbanism’s 2013 Charter Awards.

During a public presentation, Luoni said the plan was designed to be implemented incrementally as political will and private funding allows.

The first proposed phase is to “create gateways” that set the district off from the rest of Main Street and downtown, by using the likes of architectural pavement, special landscaping and unique lighting (one idea is to collect old city street lights into a “light garden” art installation).

The second is to “develop a center” at Capitol and Main streets with a large public plaza the architects imagine would include an outdoor amphitheater and a giant Times Square-style LED screen along the edge of a skyscraper they think should be the same size or larger than the Stephens Building and include a roof garden. Blackwell and Luoni place this skyscraper on the west side of the 400 block on property owned by Warren Stephens, who’s expressed disdain for projects like the Creative Corridor (see page 25).

The third phase involves “thickening the edge” of Main Street with trees, rain gardens and terraces and creating a pedestrian promenade.

The fourth is to create a transit district with a trolley route (per Metroplan’s scheduled trolley expansion plan) and designated bike “boulevards” on Louisiana and Scott.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 41

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

23

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Properties Moses Tucker has helped develop 1996: Museum Center, 500 President Clinton Ave. 1997: The Melton Building, 303 Clinton Ave. 1998: Market Row, 319 Clinton Ave. 1999: Tuf-Nut Lofts, 423 E. Third St. 2002: Arkansas Capital Commerce Center, 200 River Market Ave. 2004: First Security Center (includes Courtyard at the Marriott), Clinton Avenue and Sherman Street 2005: Rainwater Flats, 515 E. Capitol Ave. 2007: 300 Third Tower, 300 Third St. 2009: River Market Tower, 315 Rock St. 2013: Rainwater Apartments, 519 E. Capital 2013: Mann Building and Mann Lofts, 324 Main St. 2013: The Arcade Building, Clinton and River Market avenues 20??: Arkla redevelopment, 400 E. Capitol.

MOSESTUCKER

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21 build at the corner of Clinton and River Market, “one of the coolest” projects they’re involved in. When complete in late fall, the Arcade will include a movie theater and be the home of the Little Rock Film Festival. The $17 million development will also include a restaurant, Cache, to be operated by RH Cuisine, and the insurance agency Meadors & Lee, founded 103 years ago downtown.

“Little Rock is big enough to have the energy to be a dynamic city, but small enough that individuals can make a difference,” Tucker said. Little Rock could use more of those individuals, he says; the success of downtown isn’t assured despite all the activity on Main.

Just as the Downtown Little Rock Partnership envisioned years ago, Moses and Tucker want to see the city locate its Technology Park downtown to add depth to the area’s success. (The tech park board hasn’t jumped at the idea; forced to abandon plans to build in the residential area between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and UALR, it’s been loath to embrace alternatives.)

“We’re on thin ice,” Tucker said.

“If we step the wrong way, it can be really painful.” But to mix a metaphor, Moses added that no matter the risk, “I’m going to go down swinging.”

24

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

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BRIAN CHILSON

The three-story Exchange Building, designed by famed Arkansas architect Charles Thompson in 1920 for the Exchange Bank, got a $6 million overhaul last year by owner Stephens Inc. Its tenants are state offices.

Warren Stephens: All business Says Main Street needs private dollars to boom.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

T

here are 18 people tied for the 151st richest American, according to Forbes, and Warren Stephens of Little Rock, the CEO of the nation’s largest off-Wall Street investment house Stephens Inc. and worth $2.7 billion, is one of them. The company also owns much of the 100, 200 and 400 block of Main Street, along with the Stephens Building and the Capital Hotel.

Should Stephens decide that the

time was right to build on Main, the streetscape could change almost overnight. As it happens, Stephens changed the streetscape in a matter of weeks in 2009 when he decided to demolish all the buildings on the west side of the 400 block of Main. He caught a lot of flak for tearing down the buildings, which included the 1916 Kempner building, once a lovely Neoclassical structure that was covered up by an

Parking lot

West side of Main

Right now, a chain link fence and a half block of gravel are all that’s left of the buildings that used to line the west side of the 400 block of Main. Stephens Inc. tore the buildings down in 2009, prompting outcries from preservationists and a scramble by the city to create a redevelopment plan for Main that would preserve as much of its historic character as possible. The block will be used for parking, though Stephens surely has plans for a higher use in the future.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 29

PARKING LOT (UNDER DEVELOPMENT) DEMOLISHED: KEMPNER BROS. SHOE STORE, WOOLSWORTH CO. STORE, CHANDLER SHOE STORE, METZGER BUILDING

400 WEST

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25

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ere’s to the survivors, those stores that stay in an area in spite of market or mood. In city after city, those steadfast hangerson are inevitably the places that wind up celebrated after the tide turns and populations push back to the city core.

Once that happens, those shopkeepers who refused to let the flame of urban

shopping die are often the ones who come off looking like visionaries instead of cranks who didn’t have the sense to get out while the getting was good. On Main Street in North Little Rock and Little Rock, there are a few of those — businesses that stuck around when everybody else was hauling for the outskirts.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

ennett’s Military Supplies opened in 1870, which makes it unquestionably the oldest surviving retail shop in Little Rock.

The fact that Bennett’s still exists downtown is nothing short of a miracle, especially when you take into account that Bennett’s previous home, across Third Street from the current location on the site of the parking lot directly east of the old Arkansas

Gazette building, burned flat in the late 1960s.

Sheree Meyer is the owner of Bennett’s, having inherited the business from her father when he passed away in 2003. Her history is threaded through the store. She sold magic tricks from a case at Bennett’s when she was 12 years old. She said that the fire that destroyed their original store almost killed the business.

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BENNETT’S: “A comfortable place to be.”

“It was previously a two- or threestory building at the time. Bennett’s was on the first floor, and there was a candy company on the second floor. ... One of the [cooking] pots caught on fire, and it turned into a major fire. The whole building burned down. It was pretty devastating for my grandfather and father.”

After a move to a storefront in the Fulk Building at the corner of Third and Main, Bennett’s came back and has pretty much stayed the same down through the years, selling military surplus and camping gear. More recently, it’s expanded into police tactical items, biker leathers, and airsoft guns. Folks who have been going into Bennett’s since the days when Meyer’s father or grandfather ran the place will notice one significant change, however. After Meyer took over, her first official decision was that the store’s dusty window displays had to go.

“My grandfather and dad had a philosophy of, you put everything you sell out in the windows and you leave it there and it never moves,” she said.

“That was going to be my contribution to a new generation. ... I decided

that the interior of the store was pretty much going to stay the same, but those window displays had to be changed.”

After clearing out the windows for more modest displays “all hell broke loose,” Meyer said, with customers and reporters calling for several days to ask if Bennett’s was closing. The business is still there and will be for the foreseeable future. Meyer said that though they may have to relocate temporarily in coming years to renovate the building, “that’s kind of projected speculation right now,” and it depends on how Main Street revitalization goes.

Asked why Bennett’s has stayed on Main all these years even as other businesses left for the ’burbs or disappeared entirely, Meyer said the stories she hears every day from people with fond memories of the store are the reason.

“It’s where our roots are,” she said.

“It’s where our customers know we are.

It’s a comfortable place to be. There was a time when people fled Main Street, but my dad was such a proponent of Main Street and city progress. He really felt like it was where we needed to be.” www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

27

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T ARKANSAS BUILDING AUTHORITY (GOVERNMENT OFFICES)

THE FACADE OF THE BACK BUILDING (1925) IS PRESERVED.

500 EAST

Architect’s rendering of the Arkansas Building after renovation.

Main Lofts

The State Bank Building, Little Rock’s second skyscraper in 1909, more recently known as the Boyle Building.

BRIAN CHILSON

Scott Reed, Wooten Epes and Brian Corbell have taken on the ambitious redevelopment of all four buildings on the west side of the 500 block of Main Street for arts-based endeavors and apartments. They purchased the buildings for $1.5 million and received a $916,000 loan from the Pulaski County Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund for asbestos and lead remediation. The buildings are being restored in consultation with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and the National Parks Service so that new investors can earn historic tax credits.

The first phase of the project will cost $5.2 million, Epes said; he said Riverside Bank and Capital Bank will be lenders. The project has a high-profile tenant in the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, which expects to occupy what was once the ground floor of M.M. Cohn later this year. Last week, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre signed a letter of intent to occupy a total of 7,000 square feet above the Symphony space and to the south, in the annex building, for educational and black box space. Reed said Kent Walker, an artisan cheesemaker, will lease the basement of the Arkansas Building at 6th and Main, taking advantage of its naturally cool temperature. Artist studios will be available for lease on the first floor; Reed said artists Matt McLeod, Ariston Jacks and Keith Carter are likely tenants, along with Bella Vita jewelry by Brandy Thomason. The upper floors of all the buildings will be developed as the Main Lofts (not to be confused with the Mann Lofts). Rents will run $800-$1,000 a month. Part of the dream: A gymnasium, theater and virtual golf screen. Epes said the owners may sell the 12-story Boyle Building.

BRIAN CHILSON

The Arkansas Building, Arkansas annex, M.M. Cohn, the Boyle Building (originally the State Bank building)

Second floor of the Arkansas Building will be converted to apartments.

THE ARKANSAS BUILDING (OLD PFEIFER BROS. DEPARTMENT STORE, VACANT, UNDER DEVELOPMENT)

500 WEST 28

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

PFEIFER ANNEX (VACANT, UNDER DEVELOPMENT)

M.M. COHN BUILDING (VACANT, UNDER DEVELOPMENT) BOYLE BUILDING (VACANT, UNDER DEVELOPMENT)

BRIAN CHILSON

BRIAN CHILSON

STEPHENS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 ugly veneer of concrete panels after the 1950s.

But Stephens got much praise for the $6.1 million restoration of the Exchange Building at 423 Main, across the street from what is now being paved for a parking lot. Ghastly gold aluminum paneling that covered the National Historic Register building was removed, bronze double doors were added and damage to limestone architectural features was repaired. The building now houses the offices of the state Department of Higher Education. The west side of the street, now being paved for a parking lot, will serve the employees at the Exchange Building and an annex next door, should Stephens decide to restore it. (Stephens Inc.’s original building was just around the corner from the Exchange Building on Capitol, a 1920s structure that Warren Stephens has “vivid memories” of.)

So rather than preservationist, Stephens is a pragmatist. One of the Capital Hotel’s attractions is its historic beauty; Stephens preserved it.

He didn’t think redoing the Haverty’s building (next door to the Kempner Building) would pay off, obviously.

Stephens is no fan either of architectural studies of what could be (such as the Creative Corridor vision of Marlon Blackwell and Steve Luoni of the University of Arkansas), calling them a “complete waste of time and money.” He comes “unglued,” he said, at the city’s idea of “spending money on catching rainwater,” referring to a grant the city has gotten for a demonstration project to green up downtown.

Still, given how much property Stephens owns, it’s tempting to dream about what his money could build on Main. Though he’s leasing to the public sector, real revitalization depends on private commerce. “We need more people working downtown, preferably private sector employees.” He said tax dollars would be better spent on improvements like lighting rather than looks; he noted that Chattanooga has installed a citywide wireless network to appeal to business investment.

Downtown will never be a “retail hub” again, Stephens said, but it will be a place where people live and work, with a component of retail. “Whatever we do, it has got to be commercially viable. ... I think a lot of people lose sight of that.”

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MARCH 28, 2013

29

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

Stay fly Mr. Cool caters to adventurous dressers.

BY DAVID KOON

M A IN S T. SURV I VOR though he looks younger. “I am keeping myself very well,” he said. “Every day I’m taking exercise and eating vegetables.”

Choi said he gets customers of all kinds — black, white, Hispanic. The day we visited, two twenty-something girls were wading the narrow aisles, mining the racks for vintage gold.

Inside, Mr. Cool is a time warp, with trendy urban wear hung next to clothes that look like they were frozen in carbonite and shipped express postage from 1978. In one room is what might be the best selection of hats in Little Rock and maybe the state:

BRIAN CHILSON

M

r. Cool shouldn’t, by all rights, exist in this day and age. A general clothing store in a downtown core, it’s like something out of another era, with a rack of shoes arranged in the doorway and big glass show windows displaying wigs and boots and hats. The store’s orange, hanging sign — once lighted, but long since burned out and dark — is as much an icon of Main Street Little Rock as the big, carefully restored Cave’s Jewelers clock up the street, even if the ladies windowshopping with purses on their arms jilted Main for the mall 40 years ago.

Mr. Cool is owned by Tom Choi, a Korean immigrant who bought the store, which had previously been called Stein’s, in 1980. His grasp of English isn’t so hot, but he’s a likeable old guy — 82 years old, born in 1930,

MR. COOL HIMSELF: Owner Tom Choi.

homburgs and fedoras, porkpies and royal blue bowlers — serious, goingto-church hats — along with ladies’ hats in all colors, arrayed like birds of paradise roosted in puffs of chiffon.

On a rack in the other room, there’s a Joan Jett-grade leather motorcycle

jacket, size small, never worn, dripping chrome buckles and zippers, the ancient tag reading $49.95. There is a full denim suit. There is a brown fur coat, shaggy as a grizzly. A pair of go-go boots with straps running CONTINUED ON PAGE 34

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31

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The Rep, a true pioneer in the renovation of Main Street, moved to its location in a former department store on the southeast corner of Sixth and Main in 1989. It underwent a $6 million renovation starting in 2011 to upgrade and add seats to the theater and refurbish the lobby and party room. It is the main arts tenant now on the street, which Mayor Mark Stodola says will one day be considered an arts district.

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MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Camille Rule and Danny Kavanaugh host a grand opening April 6 for their dance studio/performance space ReCreation Studio at 608 N. Main.

Rule, who trained in ballet and has created a style of hoop dancing, said the studio will offer classes in that dance form as well as fire dancing, belly dancing, pilates, stilt walking and aerial silks. Rule hopes to partner with The Rep, just across the street, in the future. Classes and community events will take place on the ground and bottom floors of the building; the top floor is residential. Bob Oliver, owner of RAO Video, is the owner of the building. The April 6 celebration will include workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., a performance at 5 p.m. and music and dancing at 9 p.m.

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What is your first memory of Main Street?

That would have been when I arrived to work here at The Rep, and my first impression was how desolate Main Street was. I told someone that I felt like Charlton Heston in the film “The DONAGHEY PLAZA WEST (STATE OFFICES)

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Omega Man.” And The Rep seemed to be sort of an island on Main Street.

How have you seen it evolve over the years since then?

For the last, let’s say 13 of the last 14 CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

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MARCH 28, 2013

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MR. COOL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 from ankle to thigh. Round-domed car caps in black, brown and straw. A crooked line of wig forms. Tank-top undershirts with gold metallic trim.

Men’s shoes that span the color wheel, including a pair of bright-red patentleather loafers big enough to serve as small speedboats, size Frankenstein.

There’s a blue wool military coat, complete with gold buttons and epaulets.

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MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

700 WEST

sized for men whose asses are probably too large to ever warrant a pair of leather pants. Back in the dressing room, though, is the piece-de-resistance: a yellowed poster featuring dudes with Burt Reynolds mustaches modeling the hottest underwear styles of 1976, including a horrific pair of white, semi-transparent banana hangers that makes the dude’s junk look like an alien parasite, in utero.

It might be worth paying a visit to Mr. Cool just for that relic alone, though there are definitely some treasures to be had for those willing to dig.

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Within the past few years, a handful of serious establishments have opened on South Main Street and turned the whole scene around, so that SoMa is now a culinary destination for Little Rock and beyond.

1200 South Main St. (I-630 & Main)

Locally owned and operated, Community Bakery has been a Main Street institution for more than 60 years.

The bakery creates a wide variety of baked goods from original scratch recipes and its spacious cafe offers a sunny place to enjoy a quick meal or to linger over coffee with friends. Hours: Monday – Thursday: 6 am - 8 pm, Friday – Saturday: 6 am - 9 pm, Sunday: 7 am - 8 pm. communitybakery.com

1423 South Main St., Suite D The Green Corner Store has quality products that are healthier for people and pets and better for the planet. The store carries apparel and accessories for men, women and children; home and garden décor, kitchen, dining, bed and bath; cleaning, personal care and pet products; seasonal gifts, foods and hand crafted creations by local artisans. There are a wide range of products made in Arkansas.

The Green Corner Store Soda Fountain serves Loblolly Creamery handcrafted ice cream, baked in-house waffle cones, and seasonal sodas. The rotating selection of flavors feature local, fair trade, and organic ingredients served fresh daily. Menu offerings include milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, egg creams, ice cream floats, bottled-on-site herbal sodas, and other traditional soda fountain beverages.

There’s a flavor of locally-made ice cream here to please any taste. Hours: Monday – Friday: 11 am - 5 pm, Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm (Soda Fountain opens at 11 am), Closed Sunday. thegreencornerstore.com loblollycreamery.com

1701 South Main St. Edward’s Food Giant has great hot plate lunch specials, a sit down seating area, fine deli meats and cheeses, and a wide variety of fresh produce. They also have a full service floral department. Hours: Sunday – Saturday: 7 am - 9 pm . edwardsfoodgiant.com

1300 South Main St. The Oxford American magazine is proud to introduce South on Main as a Southern restaurant and cultural destination devoted not only to exceptional Southern cuisine and atmosphere, but also to preserving the culture of the region. In addition to great Southern food and drinks, South on Main hosts literary readings, musical performances, film screenings, culinary demonstrations, and other programming that brings Southern culture to life. The programming is broadcast internationally via live-streaming podcasts, videos, and partnerships with NPR and other networks. The Oxford American is the first magazine to ever have its own venue, which ensures that South on Main will put SoMa on the map as a cultural destination. oxfordamerican.org

1417 South Main St. Boulevard Bread Bakehouse & Market offers award-winning breads and pastries, as well as coffee, sandwiches, and salads.

They use local produce whenever possible. Stop in at this downtown location for coffee, pastries and lunch! Hours: Monday – Saturday: 7 am - 3 pm. boulevardbread.com

1401 South Main St. The Bernice Garden Farmers’ Market is a local neighbor-hood market, providing Arkansas growers with a creative and open space to sell fresh, locally grown, and sustainably raised food to the local Little Rock Community. The Market is open from Mid-Apr to Mid-Nov EVERY Sun from 10 am - 2 pm. thebernicegarden.org

1401 South Main St. The Bernice Garden is a small pocket sculpture garden in the heart of Little Rock’s SoMa neighborhood. The garden brings whimsy and creativity to the urban neighborhood setting, featuring native plants and a rotating selection of sculptures by Arkansas artists. The garden is open to the public but can be rented for any occasion, including weddings, receptions, graduations and more. thebernicegarden.org

1500 South Main St. The Root Cafe is a local foods cafe in the SoMa neighbor-hood of downtown Little Rock. Specializing in breakfast and lunch, they feature fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from small farms in the area. 100% of the meat and bread and most of the cheeses and vegetables they use are locally grown and produced. The Root Cafe is striving to make Little Rock a better place to live by creating a more just, sustainable and delicious food system for central Arkansas! Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 7 am - 2:30 pm, Saturday: 8 am - 3:30 pm, Sunday Brunch: 9 am to 2 pm. therootcafe.com

1316 South Main St. Midtown Billiards, your favorite local bar and late night hot spot since 1940. The best burgers in Little Rock after midnight! Hours: Monday – Sunday: 3 pm – 5 am. Grill open until 4:30 am. midtownar.com

The area of South Main St. from the 1300 block to East 16th St. The Annual Arkansas Cornbread Festival was developed to draw people throughout the state to the SoMa neighborhood of Little Rock. Focusing on the South’s culinary history and unequivical favorite dish, the festival brings local restaurants and amateur chefs to the table to cook up their favorite cornbread recipe to win cash, prizes, and Cornbread Glory! This yearly festival brings people of all ages from all over Arkansas together to enjoy delicious cornbread, local music and handmade crafts vendors the first Saturday of every November. arkansascornbreadfestival.com

For a map of SoMa, a complete list of businesses, and more information about the neighborhood please visit southsidemain.org.

BRIAN CHILSON

PARKING DECK

A&B REPROGRAPHICS (NOT IN BUSINESS BUT MAY REOPEN) VACANT (FORMERLY PEERLESS ENGRAVING, JUST SOLD)

BRIAN CHILSON

800 EAST

BOB OLIVER: “I’ll fight them until I’m dead.”

Kung-fu and porno Obscure titles and a well-stocked X-rated section have kept RAO video alive.

BY DAVID KOON

C

ould there be a greater anachronism these days than a video rental store? Didn’t somebody declare the idea of renting a movie from an actual person dead as a doornail about the time the Blockbuster leviathan went belly up some years back? And yet, there is the reality of Main Street’s RAO Video.

RAO was started by businessman Bob Oliver in 1977. The original store was a tiny 10-by-10-foot kiosk in the middle of Metrocentre Mall. The selection was limited in the early days. “I had 10 movies,” Oliver said. “Five X-rated and five Westerns.”

M A IN S T. SURV I VOR After outgrowing that space, RAO moved to the Donaghey Building, then to 615 Main St., before settling in 2001 at their current store at 609 Main.

Bob Oliver’s son, Victor, is the manager of RAO Video. He said that as a kid, he remembers going into the stores along Main Street and going to eat at the D&D Cafe. He said it was sad seeing most of the other tenants along Main Street disappear.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

PRIVATE PARKING

800 WEST www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

37

VACANT

VACANT

900 EAST

Eat, Drink & Be Literary!

It's Pub or Perish!

Poetry, fiction and memoir readings, live in the big room at Stickyz rock-n-roll Chicken Shack.

wiTh Justin Booth, amoja “MoMan” Sumler, randi romo, plus more great authors from the 2013 arkansas Literary Festival.

SaTurDaY, apriL 20 7 - 9 pM

BRIAN CHILSON

Our TenTh Year RAO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 “I’ve seen all the retail shops close,” he said. “When DHS built the new building, it definitely increased the flow of traffic on Main Street, but there are still tons of people down here who have no place to eat lunch — or nowhere close. It looks like it’s coming back through. We definitely support it and want to see it.”

Victor Oliver said diversification has been a big part of RAO’s survival. In addition to over 30,000 titles on DVD and Bluray — including a big selection of martial arts films and foreign pulp flicks, and a well-stocked adult section upstairs — one side of RAO has been subdivided into smaller shops, including a hair stylist, a computer repair shop, and an adult boutique/smoke shop. On the DVD rental side, Victor Oliver said that RAO has been able to stay in business even as competitors like Blockbuster and Movie Gallery died off because they’re able to adapt.

CAPITAL BUSINESS MACHINES

For more information, contact David Koon at (501) 375-2985 ext. 389, or david@arktimes.com.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

900 WEST

“They couldn’t make changes on the fly,” he said. “They couldn’t make changes that would reflect the demographics of that particular area. ... Since we’re family owned and operated, if we see something that needs to change, we can change it right then.”

Bob Oliver said a performing arts school, ReCreation Studio, has signed a lease on the building he owns across the street. Asked if he’s concerned that the city or new neighbors might begin giving him grief over his adult video rentals or the adult toy shop inside RAO as the street comes back to life, Oliver said that, as someone who believes in freedom, “I’ll fight them until I’m dead.”

“This is downtown Little Rock,” he said. “We’re a little more casual, and we do things a little differently than they do in West Little Rock. It does bother me that a bunch of West Little Rock people will move down here and try to tell me how to act. They’re going to have a fight on their hands, that’s all I can tell you.”

FULLER AND SON HARDWARE

HUPP

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

BRIAN CHILSON

years, it was some wonderful conversations about potential and some wonderful dreams about what Main Street could be. It was pretty much status quo. But then in the last two years the conversation has changed entirely, and for the first time in my time here I am genuinely optimistic about the future of Main Street and the revitalization of Main Street.

I know you guys just had a major remodeling project, but let’s say you could move The Rep to another part of town. Would you want to do that or would you want to stay on Main Street, and why?

No, I would always want us to stay on Main Street. I know the city has moved west in many ways, but Main Street in my opinion is still the heart of our community. The Rep’s identity since the mid-’80s has been directly tied to Main Street, and I really believe that this is where our city begins. This is still the psychological center of our city, and I think that this is where the arts should be and this is where The Rep should be.

How would you envision Main Street continuing to evolve, ideally?

What would be some specific things you’d like to see happen?

I think the idea of defining this portion of Main Street — that is to say the central portion — as an arts corridor is key. Because if you look around across cities around the country it’s the arts that revitalize neighborhoods. I also see this wonderful conversation about mixed-use activities on Main Street as being essential, in addition to arts and other forms of entertainment and restaurants and housing — affordable housing. I really feel strongly that the housing needs to be affordable so that artists and young people can afford to live in our downtown. That combination of the arts, of retail and other types of activities for the community, along with residents, people who can live here, really that’s where revitalization will happen.

And you can see that. You can see that in SoMa, you can see it in Argenta and here we are in the center of that corridor and now you’re starting to see it happen. So in my ideal vision, you’ve got a vibrant SoMa, you’ve got a vibrant arts corridor and you’ve got Argenta, so that Main Street has specific identities. www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

39

WAREHOUSE LIQUOR

BESSER HARDWARE

1000 EAST

Come be part

of the REB I RT H of Little Rock’s historic Main Street…

19 of Little Rock’s Coolest Loft Apartments

First Class Office Space

Bruno’s Little Italy

(Little Rock’s Oldest & Finest Italian Restaurant) opens summer 2013

BRIAN CHILSON

Retail Space Available in 1200 Foot Bays NEW DIGS: Program manager Estella Morris in the new Veterans Day Treatment Center.

Veterans Day Treatment Center 1000 S. Main

The Veterans drop-in clinic opened the first week of March on the site of the former Cook Jeep lot. The 12,000-square-foot day center and clinic replaces an old clinic a fourth its size on Ringo Street and helps veterans with housing, jobs and health care. It also marks the end of Main Street; South Main starts south of Interstate 630.

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION DAY CENTER

mosestucker.com 40

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Call Margaret Bell 501.231.7736 or Sarah Duke 501.539.1528

1000 WEST

BRIAN CHILSON

The Floating Lotus Yoga Studio and Day Spa is a full-service health and well-being facility conveniently located in midtown Little Rock.

Farm Tables

MASSAGE

Custom Built To Your Specifications

WAXING/BODY TREATMENTS

Oliver’s Antiques

FACIALS

501.982.0064 1101 Burman Dr. • Jacksonville Take Main St. Exit, East on Main, Right on S. Hospital & First Left to Burman.

tues-fri 10-5; sat 10-3 or by appointment

Estate Sale April 6th

EYELASH EXTENSIONS

Y O G A AND

MUCH,

MUCH

MORE.

Check our Facebook page for details.

VIEW FROM ABOVE: Of a light garden and a pedestrian promenade.

CREATIVE COORIDOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 In their presentation, Blackwell and Luoni conceded that some of what they’re proposing is abstract. Because it’s so reliant on private money, there’s no predicting how — or if — much of the plan will be implemented.

Caran Curry, the grants coordinator for the city who helped secure the $150,000 National Endowment of the Arts grant that funded the design of the Creative Corridor, likens the plan to a Ferrari. It’s elegant, futuristic looking, expensive — and the city would love for someone, or several someones, with deep pockets to pay for it. But in the near term, because of another grant, the city will be funding something significantly less sexy, but still trendy — call it a Prius.

In August, the city will begin construction on a low-impact development project on Main Street focused on the east sides of the 100 and 200 blocks and both sides of the 300 and 500 blocks. The cost is expected to be around $937,000. Last year, the city received a matching federal grant from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission via the Environmental Protection Agency. The city’s share of the match is $450,000, plus in-kind labor from city employees.

The grant money is for controlling rainwater quality and quantity, but the project will also likely address some of the parts of the Creative Corridor plan that focus on pedestrians. CrafCONTINUED ON PAGE 42

w w w. a m r- a r c h i t e c t s . c o m

501.375.0378

www.arktimes.com

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41

CREATIVE COORIDOR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 ton Tull and the University of Arkansas Community Design Center are drafting the plans for the development. Their designs aren’t complete, but last week, Crafton Tull’s Kyle Blakely and Brad Peterson explained that their goal is to catch runoff where it’s generated and treat and slow it down in a small area, using strategically placed pervious pavements (material through which water can flow) and rain gardens.

“In an urban area with the street, besides dirt and gravel, you’re going to have oils, trash and debris,” Peterson said. “The pervious pavement will help to catch some of that. The rain gardens will help collect a lot of that trash and debris. The plants and the soil will help filter out some of the nitrogen, phosphorus or heavy metals. So once all this water reaches the Arkansas River, it’s had some level of natural treatment.”

On the east side of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau parking deck on the 200 block, the city will install signs and possibly some outdoor mini-plaza-type areas that’ll serve as an outdoor classroom for nearby eStem, whose students, at all levels, will learn about low impact development.

Plans for the 100 and 300 blocks are more in flux. On the 500 block, the city is considering positioning rain gardens that extend into what’s currently space for parallel parking. Traffic lanes wouldn’t narrow, but putting a garden or a part of the sidewalk up against lanes would have the effect of slowing down traffic. Another option for the block is replacing parallel parking with angled parking that drivers reverse into. It’s supposed to be a safer method of parking than parallel.

Peterson said that throughout the project they’ll work with property owners.

“We’ve been as sensitive as we can to their needs and their desires while still keeping with the [water quality] grant and trying to fulfill this Creative Corridor project.”

Whether Little Rock gets further than a five-block water-quality demonstration project may depend on Congress getting its act together (sequestration doesn’t bode well for future federal grants to the city) and, more importantly, on the will of city power brokers.

“There will always be naysayers,” Luoni said at the end of a Creative Corridor presentation last year. “Real productivity in the world happens because of illogical people.”

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ARKANSAS TIMES

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T UNITED SYSTEMS OF ARKANSAS

1200 EAST

Community Bakery

BRIAN CHILSON

1200 S. Main St.

PIANO KRAFT

ROMCO DRUMS/ROSEN MUSIC

EPOCH CHURCH

CUSTOM TROPHY

Community Bakery is South Main’s Rock of Gibraltar.

The business began in 1947, moved to 14th and Main in 1952 and to the sunny corner of 12th and Main in 1993.

Owned by Joe Fox since 1983, the bakery anchors the sprightly, grass-roots development in SoMa, Southside Main Street, which has taken off in the past few years thanks to neighborhood boosters, the Downtown Little Rock Community Development Agency and private investment.

COMMUNITY BAKERY

1200 WEST

Building youR vision We’re proud to be part of the complete renovation of the historic 7-Story, 92,000 sF Mann on Main Building located at 4th & Main streets in downtown little rock.

Building Renovation and new PaRking deck clarkcontractors.net 501.868.3133 • 15825 Cantrell road

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

43

T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T EZ MART

1300 EAST

The Oxford American 1300 S. Main St.

The Oxford American magazine signed a five-year lease in 2011 on the building that formerly housed Juanita’s Restaurant for its business offices, a restaurant and special events programming. Chef Matthew Bell will serve, not surprisingly, Southern dishes in the restaurant, South on Main, though a February opening date has come and gone without even a bit of grits. OA publisher Warwick Sabin and new program director Ryan Harris have big ideas for the venue: a film series, musical events, readings and more in an urban chic setting.

1318 S. Main St., 1324 S. Main St.

BRIAN CHILSON

(former home of Pleazures, Job Corps Center)

Cassie Toro, a Jonesboro native who moved to Little Rock from Charlotte, N.C., three years ago, bought these properties last year from the Lendermon family; Lendermon Paint once occupied the corner building.

A total of 3,300 square feet in the back of 1324 Main is leased to fitness studio Krav Fit; Toro is not sure how she will develop the 3,000 or so square feet in the front of the building and the 7,000 square feet in the two-story 1318 building (once home to Community Bakery), which has tin ceilings and “lots of potential.” In removing the old facade of the building Toro discovered Art Deco glass tiles; she hopes to find more as the remainder of the facade is torn down.

HARRIS: New program director for the Oxford American’s South on Main.

1318 S. MAIN, 1324 S. MAIN

1300 WEST 44

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

MIDTOWN BILLIARDS CREATIVE GRAPHICS

STUCK ASSOCIATES OXFORD AMERICAN

Providing powerful fire protection to historic buildings throughout downtown Little Rock.

1-800-811-9776 arcomsys.com

THE OXFORD AMERICAN’S

ON SOUTH MAIN

GRAND OPENING SPRING 2013

With the support of a grant from ArtPlace, the Oxford American is transforming its new buildings in Little Rock’s burgeoning South Main Street (SOMA) district into a home for diverse arts programming where people can experience the variety of Southern culture that its award-winning magazine has documented since 1992.

The space will include a restaurant that will present the full breadth and depth of Southern cuisine.

Accompanying the food will be nightly cultural programming that will feature the best of Southern arts across a variety of formats including literature, music, film, drama and more. All of the programming will be broadcast through various media, allowing it to be viewed and appreciated by people all over the world.

For more information, visit oxfordamerican.org and artplaceamerica.org.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

WHY IS DOWNTOWN IMPORTANT ?

The density, diversity and walkability of downtowns provide opportunities for serendipitous interaction — the unplanned crosspollination of ideas that are critical to economic innovation.

Ĺ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? Ć‰ĆŒĹ˝Ç€Ĺ?ĚĞ ƚŚĞ ƾŜĹ?ĨLJĹ?ĹśĹ? Ä?ÄžĹśĆšÄžĆŒĆ? ƚŽ Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ Ć?Ć‰ĆŒÄ‚Ç ĹŻĹ?ĹśĹ? ĹľÄžĆšĆŒĹ˝Ć‰Ĺ˝ĹŻĹ?ƚĂŜ ÄžÄ?ŽŜŽžĹ?ÄžĆ? Íś Ä‚ ƉůĂÄ?Äž Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ä?ĆľĹŻĆšĆľĆŒÄ‚ĹŻ ĂžĞŜĹ?Ć&#x;ÄžĆ? Ć?Ĺ˝ Ĺ?ĹľĆ‰Ĺ˝ĆŒĆšÄ‚ĹśĆš ƚŽ ÄžÄ?ŽŜŽžĹ?Ä? ĚĞǀĞůŽƉžĞŜƚ LJĞƚ ƚŽŽ ĞdžƉĞŜĆ?Ĺ?ǀĞ ƚŽ ĆŒÄžĆ‰ĹŻĹ?Ä?ĂƚĞ Ĺ?Ĺś ÄžÇ€ÄžĆŒÇ‡ Ä?ŽžžƾŜĹ?ĆšÇ‡Í˜ dŚĞ ĚĞŜĆ?Ĺ?ƚLJ͕ ÄšĹ?Ç€ÄžĆŒĆ?Ĺ?ƚLJ ĂŜĚ “Simply put, there is no more Ç Ä‚ĹŻĹŹÄ‚Ä?Ĺ?ĹŻĹ?ƚLJ ŽĨ ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? Ć‰ĆŒĹ˝Ç€Ĺ?ĚĞ HĎžFLHQW ZD\ WR JHQHUDWH WD[ Ĺ˝Ć‰Ć‰Ĺ˝ĆŒĆšĆľĹśĹ?Ć&#x;ÄžĆ? Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ć?ÄžĆŒÄžĹśÄšĹ?ƉĹ?ƚŽƾĆ? Ĺ?ĹśĆšÄžĆŒÄ‚Ä?Ć&#x;ŽŜ Íś ƚŚĞ ƾŜƉůĂŜŜĞĚ Ä?ĆŒĹ˝Ć?Ć?Ͳ revenue than to develop the ƉŽůůĹ?ŜĂĆ&#x;ŽŜ ŽĨ Ĺ?ĚĞĂĆ? ƚŚĂƚ Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ä?ĆŒĹ?Ć&#x;Ä?Ä‚ĹŻ ƚŽ most valuable land in the city. ÄžÄ?ŽŜŽžĹ?Ä? Ĺ?ŜŜŽǀĂĆ&#x;Ĺ˝ĹśÍ˜ That land is downtown. Center city development decreases the tax burden on the suburbs WHY IT MATTERS: THE — not the other way around.â€?

BENEFITS OF WALKABILITY.

tÄž ĹŻĹ?ǀĞ Ĺ?Ĺś Ä‚ Ĺ?ĹŻĹ˝Ä?Ä‚ĹŻ ÄžÄ?ŽŜŽžLJ ĂŜĚ Ä‚ ĹľÄžĆšĆŒĹ˝Ć‰Ĺ˝ĹŻĹ?ƚĂŜ ŜĂĆ&#x;ŽŜ ͞ϴϹК ŽĨ ƚŚĞ h^ ƉŽƉƾůĂĆ&#x;ŽŜ ĹŻĹ?ÄžĆ? Ç Ĺ?ƚŚĹ?Ĺś ŽŜĞ ŽĨ Ĺ?ĆšĆ? ϯϲϭ ĹľÄžĆšĆŒĹ˝Ć‰Ĺ˝ĹŻĹ?ƚĂŜ Ä‚ĆŒÄžÄ‚Ć?ÍżÍ˜ &Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ć?Ĺ?džƚLJ Ç‡ÄžÄ‚ĆŒĆ?Í• Ç Äž ŚĂǀĞ Ć?Ć‰ĆŒÄ‚Ç ĹŻÄžÄš Žƾƚ Ĺ˝Ç€ÄžĆŒ ƚŚĞ Ä?Ĺ˝ĆľĹśĆšĆŒÇ‡Ć?Ĺ?ĚĞ͕ ÄšĆŒĹ?ǀĞŜ Ä?LJ ĂŜĚ ĚĞƉĞŜĚĞŜƚ ŽŜ Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ ‡ People in walkable — Hugh McColl, former chairman, ĂƾƚŽžŽÄ?Ĺ?ĹŻÄžĆ?͘ ^Ĺ˝ Ç ĹšÇ‡ Ä‚ĆŒÄž NationsBank/Bank of America neighborhoods ĆšĆŒÄ‚ÄšĹ?Ć&#x;ŽŜĂů ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? weigh 6-10 lbs less Ć?Ć&#x;ĹŻĹŻ Ć?Ĺ˝ Ĺ?ĹľĆ‰Ĺ˝ĆŒĆšÄ‚ĹśĆš Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ (See all the skinny ƚŚĞĹ?ĆŒ Ä?ŽžƉĂÄ?Ćš ĚĞǀĞůŽƉpeople below). žĞŜƚ͕ ƚŚĞĹ?ĆŒ Ć?Ĺ?ÄšÄžÇ Ä‚ĹŻĹŹĆ? ĂŜĚ ƚŚĞĹ?ĆŒ Ä‚Ä?Ä?ÄžĆ?Ć?Ĺ?Ä?Ĺ?ĹŻĹ?ƚLJ ƚŽ ƉƾÄ?ĹŻĹ?Ä? ‡ Walkable places transit? make you happier and Ć? DĆŒÍ˜ DÄ? Žůů ĂĚǀĹ?Ć?ĞĚ ͞ĂÄ?ŽǀĞͿ͕ ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ĺ˝ĹŒÄžĹś healthier. ƚŚĞ žŽĆ?Ćš ǀĂůƾĂÄ?ĹŻÄž ĆŒÄžÄ‚ĹŻ ÄžĆ?ƚĂƚĞ Ĺ?Ĺś Ä‚ ĹľÄžĆšĆŒĹ˝Ć‰Ĺ˝ĹŻĹ?ƚĂŜ Ä‚ĆŒÄžÄ‚Í˜ tĹ?ƚŚ ƚŚĞĹ?ĆŒ ĚĞŜĆ?Ĺ?ƚLJ ĂŜĚ ÄšĹ?Ç€ÄžĆŒĆ?Ĺ?ƚLJ͕ ƚŚĞLJ Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ä‚ĹŻĆ?Ĺ˝ ƚŚĞ žŽĆ?Ćš S k i n n y ‡ Your property is ÄžÄ?ŽŜŽžĹ?Ä?ĂůůLJ ĆŒÄžĆ?Ĺ?ĹŻĹ?ÄžĹśĆšÍ˜ dĹšÄžĆŒÄž Ĺ?Ć? ŜŽ Ć?ÄžÄ?ĆŒÄžĆš ƚŚĂƚ ĆšĆŒÄ‚ÄšĹ?Ć&#x;ŽŜĂů worth more in Jeans! walkable places. ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? ŚĂǀĞ ŚĂĚ Ä‚ ĆŒĹ˝ĆľĹ?Ĺš Ć&#x;žĞ ŽĨ Ĺ?Ćš ƚŚĹ?Ć? ĹŻÄ‚Ć?Ćš ŚĂůĨ Ä?ÄžĹśĆšĆľĆŒÇ‡ Ĺ?Ĺś ĚĞĂůĹ?ĹśĹ? Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ žĂĆ?Ć? Ć?ĆľÄ?ĆľĆŒÄ?Ä‚ĹśĹ?njĂĆ&#x;Ĺ˝ĹśÍ˜ ƾƚ ĞǀĞŜ ‡ Short commutes reduce Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚŽĆ?Äž ĆšĆŒÇ‡Ĺ?ĹśĹ? Ć&#x;žĞĆ?Í• ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆ? ŚĂǀĞ Ć?ĹšĹ˝Ç Ĺś žƾÄ?Ĺš stress and increase ĹľĹ˝ĆŒÄž ĆŒÄžĆ?Ĺ?ĹŻĹ?ĞŜÄ?Äž ƚŚĂŜ ƚŚĞ ÄŽĆŒĆ?ĆšÍ˛ĆŒĹ?ĹśĹ? Ć?ĆľÄ?ĆľĆŒÄ?Ć?Í• Ç ĹšĹ?Ä?Ĺš Ä‚ĆŒÄž community involvement. Ĺ˝ĹŒÄžĹś žŽŜŽͲÄ?ĆľĹŻĆšĆľĆŒÄžĆ? ĂŜĚ Ä‚ĆŒÄž Ĺ?Ĺś Ć?ƚĞĞƉ ĚĞÄ?ĹŻĹ?ŜĞ Ä‚ĆŒĹ˝ĆľĹśÄš ƚŚĞ Ä?Ĺ˝ĆľĹśĆšĆŒÇ‡Í˜ ^Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒÄ?Ğ͗ ĹšĆŠĆ‰Í—ÍŹÍŹÇ Ç Ç Í˜Ç Ä‚ĹŻĹŹĆ?Ä?Ĺ˝ĆŒÄžÍ˜Ä?Žž

TAKE A TEST WITH US Ç ÄžÄ?Ć?Ĺ?ƚĞ Ä?ĂůůĞĚ WalkScore.com rates ƉůĂÄ?ÄžĆ? ŽŜ ƚŚĞĹ?ĆŒ Ç Ä‚ĹŻĹŹÄ‚Ä?Ĺ?ĹŻĹ?ĆšÇ‡Í˜ dŚĞLJ Ä?Ĺ?ƚĞ ĆŒÄžĆ?ÄžÄ‚ĆŒÄ?Ĺš ͞LJŽƾ Ä?Ä‚Ĺś ĆŒÄžÄ‚Äš Ĺ?Ćš ŽŜ ƚŚĞ Ć?Ĺ?ƚĞͿ Ĺ?ŜĚĹ?Ä?Ä‚Ć&#x;ĹśĹ? ƚŚĂƚ ŚŽƾĆ?Ĺ?ĹśĹ? Ć‰ĆŒĹ?Ä?ÄžĆ? Ĺ?ĹśÄ?ĆŒÄžÄ‚Ć?Äž ƾƉ ƚŽ ΨϯϏϏϏ Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ ĞĂÄ?Ĺš ŽŜĞͲƉŽĹ?Ŝƚ Ĺ?ĹśÄ?ĆŒÄžÄ‚Ć?Äž Ĺ?Ĺś Ç Ä‚ĹŻĹŹ Ć?Ä?Ĺ˝ĆŒÄžÍ˜ ,ÄžĆŒÄžÍ›Ć? ƚŚĞ ƚĞĆ?ĆšÍ˜ &Ĺ?ŜĚ Ä‚ ĹšĹ?Ĺ?ĹšÄžĆŒ tÄ‚ĹŻĹŹ ^Ä?Ĺ˝ĆŒÄž ƚŚĂŜ ƚŚĞ Ä?Ĺ˝ĆŒĹśÄžĆŒ ŽĨ ĂƉĹ?ƚŽů ĂŜĚ DÄ‚Ĺ?Ĺś ͞ϾώͿ Ĺ?Ĺś ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç Ĺś >Ĺ?ĆŠĹŻÄž ZĹ˝Ä?ĹŹÍ˜ &ĞĞů Ä¨ĆŒÄžÄž ƚŽ ůŽŽŏ ĂŜLJƉůĂÄ?Äž Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚĞ Ä?ÄžĹśĆšĆŒÄ‚ĹŻ ĆŒĹŹÄ‚ĹśĆ?Ä‚Ć? Ä‚ĆŒÄžÄ‚Í• Ĺ˝ĆŒ Ä¨Ĺ˝ĆŒ ƚŚĂƚ ĹľÄ‚ĆŠÄžĆŒÍ• Ä‚ĹśÇ‡Ç ĹšÄžĆŒÄž Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚĞ Ć?ƚĂƚĞ ŽĨ ĆŒĹŹÄ‚ĹśĆ?Ä‚Ć?͘ >Ğƚ ĆľĆ? ĹŹĹśĹ˝Ç Ç ĹšÄ‚Ćš LJŽƾ ÄŽĹśÄšÍ˜

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WHAT MAKES A NEIGHBORHOOD WALKABLE? ‡ A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a center, whether it’s a main street or a public space. ‡ People: Enough people for businesses WR Ă RXULVK DQG IRU SXEOLF WUDQVLW WR UXQ frequently. ‡ 0L[HG LQFRPH PL[HG XVH $Ď?RUGDEOH housing located near businesses. ‡ Parks and public space: Plenty of public places to gather and play. ‡ Pedestrian design: Buildings are close to the street, parking lots are relegated to the back. ‡ Complete streets: Streets designed for SHGHVWULDQV Ă€UVW WKHQ FDUV 6WUHHWV designed for pedestrians are also friendly to transit and bicyclists.

ĆľĆŒĹ?ĹśĹ? Ĺ?ĆšĆ? ŚĞLJĚĂLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Ĺ?ĹśĆšÄžĆŒĆ?ÄžÄ?Ć&#x;ŽŜ ŽĨ ĂƉĹ?ƚŽů ĂŜĚ DÄ‚Ĺ?Ĺś Ç Ä‚Ć? ƚŚĞ ĹšÄžÄ‚ĆŒĆš ŽĨ ÄšĹ˝Ç ĹśĆšĹ˝Ç Ĺś ĂŜĚ ƚŚĞ Ä?Ĺ˝ĹľĹľÄžĆŒÄ?Ĺ?Ä‚ĹŻ Ä?ÄžĹśĆšÄžĆŒ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Ć?ĆšÄ‚ĆšÄžÍ˜ WŚŽƚŽ͗ dŚĞ >Ĺ?Ä?ĆŒÄ‚ĆŒÇ‡ ŽĨ ŽŜĹ?ĆŒÄžĆ?Ć?

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT FOR METROPLAN

MARCH 28, 2013

47

IMAGINE ...

DOWNTOWN AS A 24-HOUR CITY ... ͘​͘​͘Ă ƉůĂĐĞ ǁŚĞƌĞ ƐŽŵĞƚŚŝŶŐ ŝƐ ŚĂƉƉĞŶŝŶŐ Ϯϰ ŚŽƵƌƐ Ă ĚĂLJ͘ dŚĞƌĞ ĂƌĞŶ͛ƚ ŵĂŶLJ ŽĨ ƚŚĞŵ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ h^͘ dŚĞ hƌďĂŶ >ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƟƚƵƚĞ ůŝƐƚƐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞŵĞŶƚƐ ĨŽƌ Ă ϮϰͲŚŽƵƌ ĐŝƚLJͶϮϬ͕ϬϬϬ ĨƵůů ƟŵĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ŽŶĞͲŵŝůĞ ƌĂĚŝƵƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŝƚLJ ĐĞŶƚĞƌ͕ ƌĞƚĂŝů ƐĂůĞƐ ŽǀĞƌ ΨϮϬϬ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ƉĞƌ LJĞĂƌ ĂŶĚ ŽǀĞƌ ϯ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ƐƋƵĂƌĞ ĨĞĞƚ ŽĨ ŽĐĐƵƉŝĞĚ ůĂƐƐ ŽĸĐĞ ƐƉĂĐĞ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƚŚĂƚ ƐĂŵĞ ĂƌĞĂ͘ dŚĞƌĞ ĂƌĞ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ŽƚŚĞƌ ůĞƐƐĞƌ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞƐ͕ ďƵƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞŵ Ăůů͕ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ŝƐ ƚŚĞ ϮϬ͕ϬϬϬ ĨƵůů ƟŵĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ͘ ^ƵƌƉƌŝƐŝŶŐůLJ͕ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ĂŶĚ EŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ŶĞĂƌůLJ ŵĞƚ ƚŚĂƚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞ ŝŶ ϭϵϱϬ ǁŚĞŶ ƐŽŵĞ ϭϱ͕ϳϬϳ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ ůŝǀĞĚ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ŽŶĞͲŵŝůĞ ƌĂĚŝƵƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ KůĚ ^ƚĂƚĞ ,ŽƵƐĞ͘ Ƶƚ ďLJ ϭϵϵϬ͕ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ŚĂĚ ƐŚƌƵŶŬ ƚŽ ϯ͕ϲϬϰ͘ ŶĚ ĚĞƐƉŝƚĞ ĐŝƚLJ ůĞĂĚĞƌƐ͛ ďĞƐƚ ĞīŽƌƚƐ͕ DĂŝŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ĂůŽŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ŚŽƵƐŝŶŐ ƐƚŽĐŬ͘

The Resettlement of Downtown — Housing Returns

What happened? ĞůŝĞǀĞ ŝƚ Žƌ ŶŽƚ͕ ǁĞ ĚŝĚ ŝƚ ƚŽ ŽƵƌƐĞůǀĞƐ͘ dŚĞ ĞŶƚƌĂů >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ hƌďĂŶ ZĞŶĞǁĂů WƌŽũĞĐƚ ďĞĐĂŵĞ Ă ŶĂƟŽŶĂů ŵŽĚĞů ĨŽƌ ƵƌďĂŶ ƌĞǀŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ϭϵϲϬƐ ĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƐŝŶŐůĞ ůĂƌŐĞƐƚ ĚĞŵŽůŝƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ĐůĞĂƌĂŶĐĞ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ ĂŶLJǁŚĞƌĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽƵŶƚƌLJ͘ /Ŷ Ăůů͕ ĮŌĞĞŶ ƉĞƌĐĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŝƚLJ͛Ɛ ůĂŶĚ ĂƌĞĂ ƵŶĚĞƌǁĞŶƚ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ ƌĞŶĞǁĂů ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ͘ &ŝǀĞ ŚƵŶĚƌĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĞŝŐŚƚ ĂĐƌĞƐ ŽĨ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ǁĞƌĞ ĚĞŵŽůŝƐŚĞĚ͕ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ ϰϳϭ ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐƐ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĚŝƐƉůĂĐĞĚ Ϯϵϲ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ŽĨ ǀĂƌLJŝŶŐ ƐŝnjĞ͘ dŚĞ ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ ĚĞŶƐŝƚLJ ĚƌŽƉƉĞĚ ĚƌĂŵĂƟĐĂůůLJ͕ ĨƌŽŵ ĞŝŐŚƚĞĞŶ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ƉĞƌ ĂĐƌĞ ŝŶ ϭϵϲϬ ƚŽ ĮǀĞ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ƉĞƌ ĂĐƌĞ ŝŶ ϭϵϳϬ͘ /Ŷ ĞŶƐƵƐ dƌĂĐƚ ϴ ŶĞĂƌ WŚŝůĂŶĚĞƌ ^ŵŝƚŚ ŽůůĞŐĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ ĚƌŽƉƉĞĚ ϳϮй͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƌŝǀĞƌĨƌŽŶƚ ĚŝƐƚƌŝĐƚ ŝƚ ĚƌŽƉƉĞĚ ϲϮй͘ ŝƚLJ ůĞĂĚĞƌƐ ĐŽŶƐĐŝŽƵƐůLJ ǁĂŶƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŬĞ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƌǀĞ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ĂƵƚŽ ĂŐĞ͕ ƚŽ ĐŽŶƐŽůŝĚĂƚĞ ƐŵĂůů ƉĂƌĐĞůƐ ŝŶƚŽ ůĂƌŐĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŽ ďƵŝůĚ ŐŝĂŶƚ ĨƌĞĞǁĂLJƐ ƐƵƌƌŽƵŶĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ͘ /Ŷ ǁŚĂƚ ŝŶ ŚŝŶĚƐŝŐŚƚ ǁĂƐ ĂŶ ŽǀĞƌĂďƵŶĚĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ njĞĂů͕ ŐƌĞĂƚ ƐǁĂƚŚƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŝƚLJ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŽƌŶ ĚŽǁŶ͕ ƚŚƌŝǀŝŶŐ ƐŵĂůů ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ĚĞƐƚƌŽLJĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚƐ ĚŝƐƉůĂĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ĐŝƟĞƐ ǁĂŝƚĞĚ ĨŽƌ ŶĞǁ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ĐŽŵĞ͘ ŶĚ ƐŽŵĞ ĚŝĚ͕ ďƵƚ ŵŽƐƚ ǁĞŶƚ ǁĞƐƚ͘ dŚĞ ĐůĞĂƌĞĚ ůĂŶĚ ǁĂƐ ƚƵƌŶĞĚ ŝŶƚŽ ƐƵƌĨĂĐĞ ƉĂƌŬŝŶŐ ůŽƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŽŽ ŵƵĐŚ ŽĨ ŝƚ ƌĞŵĂŝŶƐ ƚŚĂƚ ǁĂLJ ĮŌLJ LJĞĂƌƐ ůĂƚĞƌ͘

dŚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ;ƐͿ ďŽƩŽŵĞĚ ŽƵƚ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ ϭϵϵϬ͕ ĂŶĚ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ŵĂŬŝŶŐ Ă ƐůŽǁ ĐŽŵĞďĂĐŬ ƐŝŶĐĞ ƚŚĞŶ͘ ZĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ƵŶŝƚƐ ŝŶ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ͛Ɛ ĞŶƚƌĂů ƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝƐƚƌŝĐƚ ; Ϳ ŚĂǀĞ ŶĞĂƌůLJ ĚŽƵďůĞĚ ƐŝŶĐĞ ϭϵϵϬ͕ ĂŶĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ EŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ŚĂǀĞ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ Ă ďŝƚ͘ tŚĂƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ŝƚ ƚĂŬĞ ƚŽ ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŽƵƌ ƐŚĂƌĞĚ ƵƌďĂŶ ĐŽƌĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŐůŽƌLJ ĚĂLJƐ ŽĨ ϭϵϱϬ ŝŶ ƚĞƌŵƐ ŽĨ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ƉŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ͍ ŚŝĐĂŐŽ͕ sĂŶĐŽƵǀĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƵƐƟŶ ĂƌĞ ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐ ŚŝŐŚͲƌŝƐĞ ƚŽǁĞƌƐ͘ ĂůůĂƐ͕ DĞŵƉŚŝƐ ĂŶĚ EĂƐŚǀŝůůĞ ĂƌĞ ƌĞĐůĂŝŵŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞƉƵƌƉŽƐŝŶŐ ŽůĚ ďƵŝůĚŝŶŐƐ ŝŶƚŽ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ůŽŌ ƐƉĂĐĞ ;ĂŶ ĂďŝůŝƚLJ ĚĞŶŝĞĚ ƵƐ ŝŶ ƐƵďƐƚĂŶƟĂů ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞ͕ ďƵƚ ŶŽƚ ĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞůLJ͕ ďLJ ƚŚĞ njĞĂů ŽĨ hƌďĂŶ ZĞŶĞǁĂůͿ͘ ^ƵďƵƌďĂŶ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉĞƌƐ ŬŶŽǁ ƚŚĂƚ ƌĞƚĂŝů ĨŽůůŽǁƐ ƌŽŽŌŽƉƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĂƚ ϭϬ͕ϬϬϬ ƌŽŽŌŽƉƐ ŝƐ Ă ŵĂŐŝĐ ŶƵŵďĞƌ͘ /ŵĂŐŝŶĞ͙ϭϬ͕ϬϬϬ ŶĞǁ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů

units in our magic 1-mile radius in the next ten years. What would it take to make that happen?

>ŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĞĂƐƚ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƚĞ ĂƉŝƚŽů͕ ŶŽƟĐĞ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌŚŽŽĚ ƐĞƌǀĞĚ ďLJ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ;ĨŽƌĞŐƌŽƵŶĚͿ͘ WŚŽƚŽ͗ ƵƚůĞƌ ĞŶƚĞƌ ĨŽƌ ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ ^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ

>ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬͲEŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ WŽƉƵůĂƟŽŶ tŝƚŚŝŶ ϭͲDŝůĞ ZĂĚŝƵƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ KůĚ ^ƚĂƚĞ ,ŽƵƐĞ 1950–2010 $

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ϮϬϭϯ ƐƵƌĨĂĐĞ ƉĂƌŬŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ Ă ϭͲŵŝůĞ ƌĂĚŝƵƐ ŽĨ dŚĞ KůĚ ^ƚĂƚĞ ,ŽƵƐĞ͘

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48 MARCH 28, 2013

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT FOR METROPLAN

Imagine 244 A 24-

O UR CIT Y HHOUR

A 24-hour city requires 20,000 full time residents within a one-mile radius.

Downtown Little Rock almost met that number in 1950.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE STREETCAR ^ƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌƐ ďĞŐĂŶ ŝŶ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ĂƐ ŚŽƌƐĞͲ Žƌ ŵƵůĞͲĚƌĂǁŶ ĂīĂŝƌƐ ŝŶ ϭϴϳϬ ǁŚĞŶ ƚŚĞ ĮƌƐƚ ĨƌĂŶĐŚŝƐĞ ǁĂƐ ŐƌĂŶƚĞĚ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ŝƚLJ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ ZĂŝůǁĂLJ Ž͘ At its height there ǁĞƌĞ ĂƉƉƌŽdžŝŵĂƚĞůLJ ϰϬ ŵŝůĞƐ ŽĨ ƚƌŽůůĞLJ ƌŽƵƚĞƐ ŝŶ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ĂŶĚ EŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ͘ /Ŷ ϭϵϮϳ͕ Ă ƚƌŽůůĞLJ ĐĂƌ ĂƌƌŝǀĞĚ Ăƚ ƐĐŚĞĚƵůĞĚ ƐƚŽƉƐ ĞǀĞƌLJ ϱͲϭϮ ŵŝŶƵƚĞƐ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƌŶŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞŶŝŶŐ ƉĞĂŬƐ͘ ůů ƚŚĞ ůŝŶĞƐ ƵƐĞĚ DĂŝŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ͘ dŚĞ ŵĂũŽƌ ƚƌĂŶƐĨĞƌ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ďĞƚǁĞĞŶ ůŝŶĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ Ăƚ DĂŝŶ ĂŶĚ tĞƐƚ DĂƌŬŚĂŵ ǁŚĞƌĞ ƉĂƐƐĞŶŐĞƌƐ ƐǁŝƚĐŚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ EŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ůŝŶĞƐ͕ ĂŶĚ Ăƚ DĂŝŶ ĂŶĚ ĂƉŝƚŽů͘ DĂŝŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚͶĐƌŽǁĚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌƐ͕ ƐŚŽƉƉĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ

ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐͶǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵŵĞƌĐŝĂů ŚƵď ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƚĞ͘ ŝĞƐĞů ďƵƐ ƌŽƵƚĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ ĂĚĚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ϭϵϮϬƐ ĂŶĚ ϯϬƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ďLJ ϭϵϰϬ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŝǀĂƚĞ ĂƵƚŽŵŽďŝůĞ ǁĂƐ ƉƵƫŶŐ Ă ĚĞŶƚ ŝŶ ƵƐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ͘ tŽƌůĚ tĂƌ // ƐƚĂůůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĞǀŝƚĂďůĞ͘ tĂƌƟŵĞ ƌĂƟŽŶŝŶŐ ŵĂĚĞ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ŝŶĚŝƐƉĞŶƐŝďůĞ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶŇŝĐƚ͕ ďƵƚ ĂŌĞƌǁĂƌĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƌĂƉŝĚůLJ ƌĞƉůĂĐĞĚ ďLJ ďƵƐĞƐ͘ dŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ƌĂŶ ŝŶ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ŽŶ ŚƌŝƐƚŵĂƐ ĂLJ ϭϵϰϳ͙ hEd/> ϮϬϬϱ ǁŚĞŶ ƚŚĞ ĮƌƐƚ ƌĞƉůŝĐĂ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŶĞǁ ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ůŝŶĞ ǁĂƐ ůĂƵŶĐŚĞĚ ďLJ ĞŶƚƌĂů ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ dƌĂŶƐŝƚ ƵƚŚŽƌŝƚLJ͘

River Rail & Redevelopment

ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů ŝŶ ƌŐĞŶƚĂ͕ EŽƌƚŚ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ͘ WŚŽƚŽ͗ d ͬ:ŽĞ ^ƚŽĐŬƐ

dŚĞ ŝŶŝƟĂů ƚǁŽ ƉŚĂƐĞƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ǁĞƌĞ ƉůĂŶŶĞĚ ƚŽ ƐĞƌǀĞ ƚŽƵƌŝƐƚ ĚĞƐƟŶĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ĂƌĞĂƐ͘ WŚĂƐĞ ϯ ŝƐ ƉůĂŶŶĞĚ ƚŽ ĞdžƚĞŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ůŝŶĞƐ ŶŽƌƚŚ ĂŶĚ ƐŽƵƚŚ ĂůŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ DĂŝŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ ƐƉŝŶĞ ŽŶ ďŽƚŚ ƐŝĚĞƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌŝǀĞƌ ƚŽ ƌĞĂƩĂĐŚ ƚŚĞ ŽůĚ ƐƚƌĞĞƚĐĂƌ ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌŚŽŽĚƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ĚŝƐƚƌŝĐƚƐ͘ Ɛ Ă ƚŽŽů ƚŽ ƐƟŵƵůĂƚĞ ƌĞĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ͕ ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů ŝƐ ĂŶ ŽƵƚƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐ͘ &Žƌ ĞǀĞƌLJ Ψϭ ŽĨ ůŽĐĂů ƚĂdž ĚŽůůĂƌ ŝŶǀĞƐƚĞĚ ŝŶ ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů͕ Ψϭϯϱ ŽĨ ŶĞǁ ĐĂƉŝƚĂů ŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚ ŚĂƐ ŽĐĐƵƌƌĞĚ͕ ĂŶĚ Ă ƚŽƚĂů ŽĨ ŶĞĂƌůLJ ΨϴϬϬ ŵŝůůŝŽŶ ŽĨ ŶĞǁ ĐĂƉŝƚĂů ŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚ ĂůŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƌŽƵƚĞ͘

DĂŝŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ͕ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ͕ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ŶŽƌƚŚ ĨƌŽŵ ϳth Street WŚŽƚŽ͗ ƵƚůĞƌ ĞŶƚĞƌ ĨŽƌ ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ ^ƚƵĚŝĞƐ

>ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ůĞĐƚƌŝĐ ZĂŝůǁĂLJ ZŽƵƚĞƐ ĐŝƌĐĂ ϭϵϮϳ ;ůĞŌͿ

Imagine ... Light Rail in the Rock dŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ũƵƐƚ ǁŚĂƚ ƌ͘ :ĂŵĞƐ ĞŶŶŝƐ͕ ǀŝĐĞͲƉƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ hŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ DĞĚŝĐĂů ĞŶƚĞƌ ;h D^Ϳ ĚŝĚ ŝŶ ϭϵϳϮ ǁŚĞŶ ŚĞ ƉƌŽƉŽƐĞĚ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƟŶŐ Ăůů ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŵĞĚŝĐĂů ŝŶƐƟƚƵƟŽŶƐ ĂůŽŶŐ /ͲϲϯϬ ǁŝƚŚ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ >ŝƩůĞ ZŽĐŬ ŝƌƉŽƌƚ͘ ĂƌůŝĞƌ ƚŚŝƐ LJĞĂƌ͕ DĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ ĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞĚ Ă ƉƌĞůŝŵŝŶĂƌLJ ĂůŝŐŶŵĞŶƚ ƐƚƵĚLJ ƐŽ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽǁŝŶŐ

ŝŶƐƟƚƵƟŽŶƐ ĂůŽŶŐ ƚŚĞ ƌŽƵƚĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƚĞ ,ŝŐŚǁĂLJ ĞƉĂƌƚŵĞŶƚ ŝŶ ƉůĂŶŶŝŶŐ ŝƚƐ ǁŽƌŬ ŽŶ /ͲϲϯϬ ĐŽƵůĚ ŬŶŽǁ ǁŚĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂƟŽŶƐ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ůŽĐĂƚĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĐŽƵůĚ ĂĐƚ ƚŽ ƉƌĞƐĞƌǀĞ ƚŚĞ ĂůŝŐŶŵĞŶƚ͘ dŚĞ ƉƌŽƉŽƐĞĚ ĂůŝŐŶŵĞŶƚ ǁŽƵůĚ ŝŶƚĞƌƐĞĐƚ ZŝǀĞƌ ZĂŝů Ăƚ ƐƚĂƟŽŶ Ăƚ ĂƉŝƚŽů ĂŶĚ DĂŝŶ͘

dŽ ǀŝĞǁ Ă ǀŝĚĞŽ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽƉŽƐĞĚ ůŝŐŚƚ ƌĂŝů ůŝŶĞ͕ ǀŝƐŝƚ ǁǁǁ͘ŵĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ͘ŽƌŐ͕ ƚŚĞŶ ůĞƚ ƵƐ ŬŶŽǁ ǁŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ƚŚŝŶŬ͘ /Ĩ ŽƵƌ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ŬĞĞƉƐ ƵƉ ŝƚƐ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĐ ƌĂƚĞ ŽĨ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ͕ ƐƵĐŚ Ă ƐLJƐƚĞŵ ĐŽƵůĚ ďĞ Ă ƌĞĂůŝƚLJ ŝŶ ƚǁĞŶƚLJ LJĞĂƌƐ͘ ZĂŝů ƌĞƚƵƌŶƐ ƚŽ ĂƉŝƚŽů ǀĞŶƵĞ ;ĂďŽǀĞͿ WƌĞůŝŵŝŶĂƌLJ ůŝŐŚƚƌĂŝů ƌŽƵƚĞ ;ůĞŌͿ

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT FOR METROPLAN

MARCH 28, 2013

49

IMAGINE CENTRAL ARKANSAS dŚĞ ůŝŶƚŽŶ WƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƟĂů “Your imagination is ĞŶƚĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ZŝǀĞƌ DĂƌŬĞƚ͕ ƚŚĞ your preview of life’s ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ ZŝǀĞƌ dƌĂŝů͕ sĞƌŝnjŽŶ coming attractions.” ƌĞŶĂ͕ ŝĐŬĞLJͲ^ƚĞƉŚĞŶƐ WĂƌŬ Ͷ Ăůů ĂƌĞ ĚŝƐƟŶĐƚ ůĂŶĚŵĂƌŬƐ Ͷ ůďĞƌƚ ŝŶƐƚĞŝŶ ĂŶĚ ƉůĂĐĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŵĂŬĞ ƵƉ ƚŚĞ ĨĂďƌŝĐ ŽĨ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ͘ Ƶƚ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ƚŚĞƐĞ ƉůĂĐĞƐ ĞdžŝƐƚĞĚ͕ ƐŽŵĞŽŶĞ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ŝŵĂŐŝŶĞ ƚŚĞŵ͘ ,Žǁ ĚŽ LJŽƵ ŝŵĂŐŝŶĞ ŽƵƌ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ĂŶĚ ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌůLJ ĚŽǁŶƚŽǁŶ ƚĞŶ͕ ƚǁĞŶƚLJ͕ Žƌ ƚŚŝƌƚLJ LJĞĂƌƐ ĨƌŽŵ ŶŽǁ͍ DĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ ŝŶǀŝƚĞƐ LJŽƵ ƚŽ Imagine Central Arkansas ǁŝƚŚ ƵƐ͘ /ŵĂŐŝŶĞ ĞŶƚƌĂů ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ ŝƐ Ă ƌĞŐŝŽŶĂů ĞīŽƌƚ ƚŽ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉ Ă ĐŽŵƉƌĞŚĞŶƐŝǀĞ ĂŶĚ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĂďůĞ ƉůĂŶ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐĞŶƚƌĂů ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ ŵŝĚĚůĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ϮϭƐƚ ĐĞŶƚƵƌLJ͘ dŚĞ ƉůĂŶ ǁŝůů ŚĂǀĞ ƐĞǀĞƌĂů ĨŽĐƵƐ ĂƌĞĂƐ͗ dƌĂŶƐƉŽƌƚĂƟŽŶ͕ ,ŽƵƐŝŶŐ͕ ƚŚĞ ŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ͕ ,ĞĂůƚŚ͕ ĐŽŶŽŵŝĐ ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ^ƵƐƚĂŝŶĂďůĞ >ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ͘ dŚĞ dƌĂŶƐƉŽƌƚĂƟŽŶ WůĂŶ ŝƐ ĚƵĞ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ĞŶĚ ŽĨ ϮϬϭϯ͕ ƐŽ ƚŚĂƚ͛Ɛ ƚŚĞ ĮƌƐƚ ĨŽĐƵƐ͘ tĞ͛ǀĞ ĂůƌĞĂĚLJ ƐƚĂƌƚĞĚ ĂƐŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝǀŝĚƵĂůƐ͕ ůŽĐĂů ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ͕ ĐŽůůĞŐĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƵŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƟĞƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŐƌŽƵƉƐ ŽĨ Ăůů ŬŝŶĚƐ ǁŚĂƚ ƚŚĞLJ ǁĂŶƚ ŽƵƌ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ ƚŽ ůŽŽŬ ůŝŬĞ ĂŶĚ ŚŽǁ ƚŚĞLJ ǁĂŶƚ ŝƚ ƚŽ ǁŽƌŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĨƵƚƵƌĞ͘

We Want You To Be Involved The best plans are made when the most people participate in making them. So this is what we want you to do.

1. Visit future.imaginecentralarkansas.org and tell us your priorities for the future.

2. Visit ImagineCentralArkansas.org for all updates and news items. While you’re there, sign up for the Imagine Central Arkansas newsletter.

3. We’ll let you know when the Scenarios are ready to review. Look them over and give us your feedback.

OR WE’LL COME TO YOU ZĞƋƵĞƐƚ Ă ƐƉĞĂŬĞƌ ĨƌŽŵ DĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ ƚŽ ĐŽŵĞ ƚŽ LJŽƵƌ ŽƌŐĂŶŝnjĂƟŽŶ͕ ŶĞŝŐŚďŽƌŚŽŽĚ ĂƐƐŽĐŝĂƟŽŶ͕ Žƌ ŐƌŽƵƉ ĂŶĚ ƐƉĞĂŬ ĂďŽƵƚ /ŵĂŐŝŶĞ ĞŶƚƌĂů ƌŬĂŶƐĂƐ͘ ŽŶƚĂĐƚ :ƵĚLJ tĂƩƐ Ăƚ ũǁĂƩƐΛŵĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ͘ŽƌŐ ĨŽƌ ŵŽƌĞ ĚĞƚĂŝůƐ͘

&K>>Kt h^ ΛDĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ

&ĂĐĞŬ͘ĐŽŵͬDĞƚƌŽƉůĂŶ

What’s Next Timeline: Imagine Central Arkansas Timeline: Imagine Central Arkansas ŚŽŝĐĞƐ ĨŽƌ KƵƌ &ƵƚƵƌĞ

ĞǀĞůŽƉ ^ĐĞŶĂƌŝŽƐ

WƵďůŝĐ &ĞĞĚďĂĐŬ

WƵďůŝĐ &ĞĞĚďĂĐŬ

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2013

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Green Corner Store 1423 S. Main St.

BRIAN CHILSON

The Green Corner Store, in the 1905 Lincoln Building, is literally on the corner, its front door facing the point where 15th and South Main meet. It’s green too, serving locally-made Loblolly ice cream from the soda fountain that operated there for 60 years and selling Arkansas-made T-shirts, clothing and jewelry. It opened in 2009 and for years was catercornered to the empty Sweden Creme burger joint. No more. Now you can go straight from the store to the Root Cafe (or vice versa) at 1500 S. Main St.

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T BOULEVARD BREAD CO.

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Project Main Street 1100 to 2500

Sometime in early summer, the city plans to resurface and restripe South Main from I-630 to Roosevelt. The restriping will see the main traffic lanes drop from four to two. One of the old lanes will become a turning lane, and the space the other occupied will be split between two designated bike lanes. The estimated cost is $460,000. Ninety percent of that will be funded through the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department’s State Aid Street Program. The city will pay for the remaining cost. Ed Sergeant, an architect with Polk Stanley Wilcox, conceived Project Main Street, pro bono, after the SoMa group asked him to consider it. Sergeant said that the typical way to make a street more pedestrian friendly involves moving curbs closer to traffic lanes or adding speed tables. Those sorts of measures also cost a lot. Instead, Sergeant drew inspiration from Madison Avenue in Memphis, which implemented a similar scheme in 2011. It’s a relatively quick and easy method for making roads more pedestrian and bike friendly that he hopes the city will use in other areas as well.

Bernice Sculpture Garden 14th and Daisy Bates

Anita Davis is a SoMa angel investor who has brought the east side of the 1400 block of South Main to life. One of her first projects was to turn an empty lot where a fast-food restaurant once stood into the Bernice Sculpture Garden in 2008; she hosts a sculpture competition every year for the public (but privately owned) garden. The Bernice also hosts a Farmer’s Market on Sundays in summer, the annual Cornbread Festival, artisan markets and other special events.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Boulevard Bread Co.

1417 S. Main St. Boulevard, the bakery-charcuterie-cheese-coffee shop born in the Heights, moved its baking operation to SoMa in 2011 and opened a storefront there.

StudioMain

1423 S. Main St. Architects created StudioMain in 2011 as a place to share ideas with one another and related professions like engineering and construction. StudioMain was the sponsor of the PopUp Main Street event last fall that made small alterations to South Main — like creating a middle lane lined with trees — to show new, green and pedestrian-friendly ideas for urban planning.

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The Root Cafe 1504 S. Main St.

Jack and Corri Bristow Sundell opened The Root Cafe in 2011, and since then it has not only brought fame and the hungry to SoMa but has made a national splash as well in Garden & Gun magazine as THE place to eat in Arkansas. The Sundells labored for years to get their business plan just right, so it’s no wonder it’s a smash hit. It’s tiny too, adding a bit of suspense and excitement to the city’s prime, genuine locavore locale: Will we be able to eat inside? Will we get a table outside? Will it be OK to eat the Root’s fabulous hamburgers and fit in a homemade ice cream sandwich at the Green Corner Store across the way?

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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Anita Davis, 67, has built a sculpture garden in SoMa, like Dean Kumpuris in Riverfront Park. She has brought restaurants to SoMa, like Moses Tucker in the River Market. Davis has brought the first Green Business Network-certified store to SoMa, like no one else. She is remodeling a building for an iconoclastic purse museum that will use the hand-

bag to tell a story of women’s lives through time.

“I saw this could be viewed as the feminine part of Little Rock,” Davis said. By that she doesn’t mean feminine to the exclusivity of men, but a nurturing community, open to many ideas.

Before she got busy with South Main, Davis was an assemblage artist and on the shy side. She’s still on the shy side. But Davis feels she’s bloomed

BRIAN CHILSON

ake LL iquor

Open ApRiL 30 along with the Southside Main Street neighborhood. Until she bought the Bernice Building at 1417 S. Main in 2004 and the empty lot at 1401 S. Main in 2005, she had “never been civic minded.” But with the purchase of the lot, and her involvement in the the Main Street organization there in 2005, that changed. Now, she says, “I love this stint in my life. It makes me happy.”

It was in 2005 that Davis, at a meeting of the National Main Street group in Seattle, learned about “placemaking,” the design of public spaces that reflects the character and assets of a community. In SoMa, those assets, she said, are loyalty to place, a bit of rebelliousness, openness to diversity and an interest in art: She looked at South Main and saw “huge opportunity.”

And maybe, there at the corner of Fourteenth and Main Street, the forces that made the Little Rock Inn such a hot spot in the middle of the 20th century endowed the Bernice Sculpture Garden there now with the same gathering-place feel. Davis landscaped the lot in native plants, installed benches, built a sheltering structure of wood beams and has an annual competition for sculptors to compete for a year-long spot in the open-to the-public, but privatelyowned, art garden. “I could see,” Davis said, “that if we were going to have a garden we might as well have events.”

Now the garden hosts the annual Cornbread Festival (attendance 3,300 last year) and a summer Farmers Market and other special events as well as contemporary sculpture.

In 2006, Davis bought the Lincoln Building at the corner of 15th and Main, where the Green Corner Store is now located, and in 2007 she bought the Sweden Creme property catercornered to the Lincoln, where The Root Cafe now thrives. (“Jack [Sundell] was perfect” for the spot, Davis said.) In 2011, she bought a building next door to the Root for her purse museum. StudioMain and Boulevard Bread occupied the storefronts in the Bernice and Lincoln Buildings. Now, people outside SoMa have a reason to drive south of Thirteenth Street, rather than stopping at Community Bakery, the neighborhood’s Atlas.

Mayor Mark Stodola, a former downtown resident and president of the Quapaw Quarter Association, called Davis “a godsend to South Main.”

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St. John Baptist Church, which owns property on all four corners of the intersection of South Main and Roosevelt and is located on the southeast corner, is in the early planning stages for a project called The Gateway, a development that would tie in with SoMa design and include retail, live-work space and a park with bandstand. It’s all in the conceptual stage now; TAGGART Architects is helping with the design.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

WHAT COULD BE: TAGGART Architects’ rendering of possible developemnt at Main and Roosevelt, “The Gateway.”

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orth Little Rock’s Main Street revitalization got a head start on Little Rock’s, thanks to Argenta Community Development Corp., whose work to restore 100 houses in the historic neighborhood starting in 1993 and create a more stable residential area was a catalyst for Main Street improvements. The first floor of John Chandler’s handsome 19th century building at 425 Main St. — once condemned — became Ristorante Capeo in 2003; Greg Thompson Fine Art opened on the second floor in 2009. Thanks to the vision (and investment) of John

Gaudin, Harold Tenenbaum and Greg Nabholz, the awakening on Main Street got a big boost in 2007, with the purchase of property that was to become Argenta Place restaurant and office building on the northwest corner of West Broadway and Main, the first new commercial/residential construction in eons. Gaudin and Tenenbaum, who own multiple parcels in Argenta, live on the upper floors of Argenta Place (“When I committed to Argenta, I committed,” Tenenbaum said.) Like dominoes, other Gaudin-Tenenbaum properties on Main got face lifts and new tenants: the THEA Foun-

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ARKANSAS TIMES

dation at 401 Main St. in 2008, Starving Artist Cafe in 2009, the Argenta Market in 2010, the Argenta Community Theater at 405 Main in 2011. Scott and Sonja Miller opened the Victorian-era Baker House as a bed and breakfast in 2007. Off Main, the Gaudin group built the City Grove Townhomes, a $3 million investment, and purchased the old Mountaire Feed factory property, whose offices they have refurbished for Art Connection, a program that helps place young artists in jobs. The Gaudin group developments represent an investment of around $18 million, with more planned.

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The role of art

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ending the historic fabric of the Argenta neighborhood, the restoration of its 19th and early 20th century properties, played an important role in its revitalization. Architectural preservation provided a backdrop for the creation of the Argenta arts district, which has played a large role in the stabilization and growth of the downtown economy.

Galleries include the THEA Center of the THEA Foundation, founded by Paul and Linda Leopoulos in honor of their daughter to promote the arts in school as the way to success; Greg Thompson Fine Art, which handles fine regional art as well as work by Arkansas artists; the Paint Box Gallery, successor to Ketz Gallery, and Art Connection, which provides lessons in art and art business to high school students. The Art Connection is part of the Argenta Downtown Council and the Argenta Arts Foundation’s Moon Shot project, based on the CEOs for Cities “talent dividend� idea that suggests every one percent increase in college graduation equates to a new investment of $763 per capita in a city. The Moon Shot hopes to partner with the Arkansas A+ artsinfused education model promoted by THEA and City Year to boost graduation and college attainment rates.

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T ARGENTA DRUG

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301 Main St. It’s a coffee shop. It’s a 105seat comedy theater, with its own three-man company called “The Main Thing.” It’s an improv venue. It’s got jazz on Tuesdays and wine-tastings and the Funkanites. All thanks to the funny Farrells, Vicki and Steve, who moved their Houston comedy club to 301 Main St. in 2012.

Argenta Drug is living history.

BY DAVID KOON

I

M A IN S T. SURV I VOR BRIAN CHILSON

t’s hard to imagine a better example of a Main Street survivor — or a survivor anywhere, for that matter — than Argenta Drug at 324 Main St. in North Little Rock. Solon Humphries, whose partner C.J. Lincoln opened a drug store in Little Rock that is now the Green Corner Store, opened a pharmacy in 1882 at Broadway and Maple. The business, under a variety of owners and at a couple of locations, ended up at its current address in 1887; pharmacist David Chu bought it in 1986. (There is a sign and a story that the drug store opened in 1880, but history proves otherwise.)

Other than a soda fountain that was torn out during a remodeling in the 1950s, the drug store looks pretty much exactly as it has for decades: a long, bowling alley of a building with a painted Coca-Cola advertisement on the side, a flaking neon sign out front over a banner that says “Filling Prescriptions is our Business” and a green and white awning. From the street, the place looks like a set from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a building ripped from a bygone age, with the patina of many summers.

Inside, it’s about as old-school as it gets, with lighted signs in 1950s font

JOY NOBLE: People on Main “all the time.”

that mark off each area of sales, none of them followed by whoever is doing the stocking these days: Cough and Cold, Gift Wrap, Medicinals, Insecticides, Home Remedies, Film, Perfume, Body Powder. Near the doors at the front is a long, empty pipe rack bearing a sign that once said, “For pleasure, contentment and solid comfort, give a man a pipe he can smoke” before a few letters went missing. On a high shelf is a large, ornate apothecary jar, half-full of

colored liquid. The pharmacist’s roost is at the back, below a sign informing customers that the store is the oldest in Arkansas, the sales counter dominated by an ancient cash register. Standing inside the drugstore with a Coke in your hand, it’s easy to imagine yourself transported back in time, especially when the streetcar rumbles past the big windows that look out on Main Street.

Joy Noble is Chu’s wife. She said that though Argenta Drug is the oldest

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continuously operating drugstore in the state, a drugstore in Marked Tree may be older, though it once closed for a time during its history. Noble said that while their business has always been good, when her husband bought the store in 1986, Argenta was a much different place than it is today. “Downtown has really changed a lot,” she said.

“It was once or twice a year [that] the window was busted or some kind of vandalism. It wasn’t safe to walk the streets at night.”

Since the revitalization efforts in Argenta, Noble said the streets are much safer. “Now you see people out here all the time,” she said. “They have the art walk and you really feel safe.”

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MARCH 28, 2013

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T OLD POST OFFICE (NEW LAMAN LIBRARY)

UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR NEW OFFICE BUILDING

CAPITOL DENTAL CENTER

400 EAST

William F. Laman Public Library System Argenta Branch 420 Main St.

406 Main

406 Main St. TAGGART Architects have drawn up plans for a new three-story, 24,000-square-foot office building next door to the Old Post Office, the future home of the Laman Public Library’s Argenta Branch. If the project comes to pass, the architectural firm would occupy the second floor.

The Argenta Community Theater 405 Main St.

This $3 million project at 405 Main St., founded by Judy Tenenbaum and Vince Insalaco, brings Shakespeare, film, collaborations with The Rep and more to downtown North Little Rock. Harold Tenenbaum donated the building to the theater and contributed to the renovation. It opened in February 2011 next door to the arts-education promoting THEA Foundation, 401 Main, located there since 2008.

ARGENTA COMMUNITY THEATER

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Laman Library is planning to move its Argenta branch from the renovated former fire station it now occupies at 506 Main St. to a larger historic structure a block away.

Laman executive director Jeff Baskin said he hopes heavy construction on the library’s renovation of the approximately 15,000-square-foot former Argenta Post Office, built in 1932, begins in April and concludes in time for the new branch to open by January 2014.

New features include a 135-seat auditorium in the basement, where Baskin said the library will host lectures, movies, plays and author discussions; an exhibit hall; a coffee shop; a computer lab with around 25 public terminals, and a large children’s department. Official cost estimates won’t be known until April, Baskin said, but he suspects it will run at least $2.5 million.

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T FUTURE MARKET SQUARE

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500 block of Main Argenta Downtown Council’s Market Square will transform the shadeless gravel lot that serves the Farmers Market on the 500 block of Main into a landscaped plaza with a stage, film screen, a splash area for kids and other amenities. It will create a shadier and more park-like space for the April-October market and the year-round special events that take place there now. The Argenta Arts Foundation will manage the park for the city, which swapped property on Fourth Street for the land in an arrangement with owner Harold Tenenbaum. The ADC will raise private funds to build the square; total cost is estimated at $500,000 to $700,000. ADC director Donna Hardcastle said she’d like to see the plaza built within the next 12 months.

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T H E R E V I TA L I Z AT I O N O F M A I N S T R E E T

Downtown draw The Baker House’s Scott Miller on the appeal of Argenta.

BY DAVID KOON

M

ain Street in Argenta wasn’t always a refined place of restaurants, art walks and community theater. But it has always been a place with good bones.

One of those who recognized the potential of the area before almost anyone else was Scott Miller. An engineer who now owns Baker House Bed and Breakfast at Fifth and Main with his wife, Miller said he started thinking about moving to Argenta long before it began the transformation into a gentrified urban neighborhood. Though they lived in comfortable suburbia in West Little Rock at the time, the Millers wanted a simpler life that could potentially be lived without cars.

“We consciously moved from the place you’re supposed to move — the suburban area — to where we wanted to live, which is downtown, on an urban street, in a walkable environment,” he said.

After purchasing a vacant lot a block and a half off Main Street, Miller took out one of the first building permits for a single family home that had been issued for the Argenta area in years, then built a combined office and loft.

“I knew it was a core area,” he said.

“I knew all the bus routes came within a block of where I was going to build

my office. I knew you couldn’t do much going through [North Little Rock] without coming within a block and half of my office.” Two years after moving in, they bought Baker House to run as a B&B. Miller said living in Argenta has more than lived up to his expectations, though the construction of the trolley line — which runs about 70 feet from his home — was a challenge. “We were shaking with the jackhammers when they were jackhammering up the road,” he said. “All the pictures

on the walls would re-arrange themselves.”

Though progress took a breather between 2008 and 2010 during the economic downturn, things are speeding up again, Miller said. These days, Baker House runs at 60 to 70 percent booked year-round. He said they use the trolley as a selling point, giving guests free passes so they can ride to restaurants and attractions on both 800 sides of the river. Miller said he hopes that in the next phase, the trolley line will be pushed up Main to the foot of Park Hill, near where the North Little Rock School District has plans to build a new $100 million high school ALTURA with a 1,000-seat auditorium and 400GRAPHICS seat black box theater — development which, Miller said, “will hopefully extend development up Main Street.” PAINT BOX Main Street Argenta, Miller said, is GALLERY on track to have a different vibe than the River Market in Little Rock, with a better mix of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, arts venues and stores. “I think it’s going to be more of a social, ARGENTA gallery/restaurant area,” he said. “It BEAD CO. won’t be a Friday night thing. I think it’s going to be a seven nights a week thing.”

Ongoing development of Argenta, PRIDDY HOLIFIELD Miller said, has become the largest selling point for Baker House, and has resulted in the walkable neighborEGP PLLC hood that he and his wife envisioned when they moved there.

“Are there problems living in a downtown area? Absolutely,” he said. “But those are far outweighed by the benefits, the walkability and the access. I’ve lived in subdivisions. You don’t get out and know your neighbors like I do.”

THE REST OF MAIN IN ARGENTA

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Little Rock, AR (501) 225-7779 Fayetteville, AR (479) 571-3334 68

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

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A P R I LF UN!

Celebrity Attractions presents SPAMALOT, the 2005 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. Based on the classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, SPAMALOT tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail. The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Robinson Center Music Hall in Little Rock.

Tickets are $25-$65 and available at www. celebrityattractions.com.

APRIL 4

Hillcrest merchants stay open late for the monthly Shop and Sip on the first Thursday of every month.

Gallery 26 will be open until 8 p.m. Stop in to see the latest exhibit, the works of Stephen Cefalo.

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APRIL 5-7

Ballet Arkansas presents “Spring into Motion” at the Arkansas Repertory

Theatre. This performance combines the pure artistry of classical ballet and the raw energy of modern dance to The Rep’s Main Stage.

Tickets are $30-$35. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Purchase tickets online at www.therep.org or by phone at 501-378-0405.

APRIL 6

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre hosts Artworks XXV for which Arkansas’ most notable artists have donated pieces of their work to be sold at this lively auction benefitting The Rep. Tickets are $50 and include light hors d’oeuvres, libations and live music beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by the silent art auction and then the live auction. For tickets, call 501-3780405. For more info, visit www.therep.org.

Gallery 221 hosts its first anniversary show from 4-8 p.m. The works

Springtime marks in the return of the Bernice Garden Farmers Market on South Main in downtown Little Rock. The opening of the market will bring back your favorite farmers and artisans as well as introduce you to many new vendors. Travis McConnell, chef and butcher at Capital Bar and Grill, will be serving plate lunches from his outdoor grill. Boulevard Bread will be open from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sundays. Follow the Bernice Garden on Facebook for the latest news.

APRIL 24-28

See How They Run opens at

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. This wild romp, which takes place in a sleepy English village and chronicles the arrival of an American actress, is a hilarious comedy that’s not to be missed. The show runs through May 13.

For show times and tickets, visit www. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

an all-new live production featuring all of your favorite Disney characters.

Show times are 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday; and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are $15.75-$45.75 and available at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will speak at the Arkansas School of Math Science and the Arts Open book Celebration on Thurs, Apr 25, 2013, 6 p.m. The event will be held at the Clinton Presidential Center as an opportunity to celebrate the mission of the school — developing the talents of students through preparatory studies in mathematics, sciences and technology. Tickets are $150 per person. For more information on the Open Book Celebration contact Vicki Hinz, ASMSA development specialist, at (501) 622-5110 or email hinzv@asmsa.org.

APRIL 30

APRIL 27

every Tuesday and Saturday from April 30 through October 26. The market’s two open-air pavilions will be filled with fresh produce, homemade jams and jellies, handcrafted art and an array of items from local vendors. Learn more at www. rivermarket.info.

party at the Little Rock Zoo from 6-9 p.m. The event includes a special tour of the zoo with zookeeper chats on the world of animal mating. Guests will also enjoy food, drinks, music and a silent auction. All proceeds benefit the Arkansas Zoological Foundation and the Little Rock Chapter of the American Associates of Zookeepers. Tickets are $35 and available by phone at 501-661-7212. Visit www.littlerockzoo. com for more info.

The River Market Farmers Market opens from 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

APRIL 18-21

Now in its 10th year, the

Arkansas Literary Festival is the premier gathering

of readers and writers and includes more than 80 presentations in venues in Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Authors include Da Chen, C.D. Wright, Kevin Brockmeier, Dave Abrams, Ben Fountain, Padgett Powell, Richard Ford, Sylvia Day and many more.

Most events are free and open to the public. In addition to workshops, panels and book signings, there are several opportunities to meet authors at festival parties and special events, including “Pub or Perish” on Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at Stickyz. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

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The annual Jewish Food Festival takes place in the River Market Pavilions in downtown Little Rock. Get a head start on the festivities with a classic Jewish breakfast of lox, bagels and cream cheese plus blintzes and kugel at 8:30 a.m. The festival officially takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Enjoy delicious corned beef, Israeli kabobs, rugelach and more. Admission is free.

on Ice: Dare to Dream,”

APRIL 16

April 25

Verizon Arena hosts “Disney

of internationally recognized artist and Gallery 221 representative Tino Hollander will be featured; the gallery will also unveil its art collectors’ gallery showcasing the works of artists’ own private collections, and the decorative arts and gifts room will be open. Libations and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Gallery 221 is located at 221 W. 2nd Street, Suite 102, in downtown Little Rock. Follow Gallery 221 on Facebook to keep up with all of the happenings.

APRIL 28

live at Verizon Arena on the Cowboy Rides Away Tour with special guest Martina McBride.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $86 and $108.50 and available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

APRIL 14

APRIL 20

APRIL 12

George Strait performs

The 6th annual Designers Choice Fashion Preview takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Clear Channel Metroplex. Hosted by actor Lamman Rucker, Korto Momolu of Project Runway fame and Heather Brown from Alice 107.7, the event showcases the best fashion designers in Little Rock. General admission is $35. VIP seating is $55 and includes a media mixer with an open bar and hors d’oeuvres plus a meet-and-greet with designers and hosts. Purchase tickets online at www.dcfplr2013.eventbrite. com or locally at Jeante, Vogue Visage, Box Turtle, Butler Furniture Depot and Uncle T’s.

APRIL 13

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APRIL 1-2

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

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terrorism finance, knowing about the root, like — where are these terrorists getting their money from? What’s the root cause? What makes a person want to be a suicide bomber? What’s the essence of this conflict?”

In addition to her coursework, Smith is also writing for Israel Hayom, the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel. Gingrich helped connect her with the paper; Israel Hayom is run by Sheldon Adelson, the single biggest financial backer of Gingrich’s run for president. (Smith said she has only met Adelson once but is a friend of his wife Miriam, an Israeli physician.)

Israel Hayom (which translates to “Israel Today”) is handed out free along public transportation routes. Critics in Israel complain that Adelson has used this strategy and low advertising rates to put other papers out of business. The harshest criticism about the paper, though, has to do with its content. Echoing criticism of Fox News during the Bush years in the U.S., many Israelis believe that the paper is essentially a mouthpiece for conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Whatever the paper is doing, it’s working — it controls about 40 percent of the market.

“The paper is a Zionist newspaper, they’re not shying away from being Zionist, but I would not call this a Netanyahu paper,” Smith said, adding that the editorial staff operates independently. “I think they give a good perspective. That’s one reason why it’s the most widely read. ... I think it’s a pretty brilliant business model.

It’s a free newspaper, they’re giving it out on every street corner.”

Smith writes mostly about the American political scene for the English-language version of the paper, with articles like “Guns are not the problem” and “Americans heart Israel.”

She’s also involved in the marketing end, attempting to try to expand the audience for the English-language version of the website in America.

Smith also occasionally writes about Israeli politics. Her own perspective on the Middle East seems to fall about where you’d expect, anchored in the mainstream of the U.S. Republican Party.

“Israel is a haven of democracy in the Middle East and coming over here it reminds you that it really is,” she said.

“It’s free — you can feel the difference.”

“Being in a place, you just immerse yourself in it,” she said. “Getting away from the U.S. is good for someone my age. It’s good to get a serious life educa-

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tion. There are things I get from being here in Israel that I would never get from studying in another university.”

Of course, there’s still been a little bit of culture shock, as she gets used to kosher food and tries (not always successfully) to stay off Facebook and Twitter on shabbat. “My friends laugh at me because I’m going crazy,” she said. “I’m like, ‘man, the weekend is when I run all my errands.’ Y’all want me to pack school and work and errands and everything into my week.”

The most difficult adjustment has been living in a place that remains under threat of violence. Last November a bus bombing in Tel Aviv injured 27. Smith takes the bus to work in Tel Aviv, and for several weeks she was too scared to ride.

“The people of Israel are resilient, they say ‘this is our land, we’re not moving, we’re not going to be afraid, we’re not going to be scared off our territory.’ I just could not live like this on a permanent basis. They’re brave and I say God bless them.”

What’s next for Smith? Once she graduates this summer, she’s hoping to be able to use her degree in a government policy role in the U.S. But serving as an elected official back home in Arkansas remains a dream.

“I would love to run,” she said. “The thing is, it’s just timing, you gotta figure out — is it the right time, is it the right position?”

If Smith clearly has the political bug, it also seems that part of her interest in going back to school is rooted in a desire for more substance in the political arena.

“I’ve become quite annoyed with

D.C. politics,” she says. “I spent about four years there. I love politics, I love the competition, I’m a conservative Republican and I’ve never tried to hide or shy away from it. I love that. But I get annoyed when people are holding up pieces of legislation on foolishness or when people are spouting talking points from their different political parties that aren’t substantial, that don’t even make any sense. I’m like, ‘do any of y’all even know what you’re talking about?’ You wanna ask them.”

For political journalists, the return of Smith would certainly provide great copy. She remains almost too quotable for her own good, popping out gems like, “like Newt Gingrich told me, Republicans really need to start knowing things.” Her Twitter account is always entertaining, whether she’s talking politics (on Dustin McDaniel: “No way he could survive an affair and a dead body”) or current events (on Manti Te’o: “Can’t love online only”).

For now, she’s keeping her toes in the water of Arkansas politics. Earlier this year she helped craft a response for Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Bigelow) in the wake of a scandal (when an old video surfaced of Rapert saying “we’re not going to allow minorities to run roughshod over what you people believe in.”). She is serving on the exploratory committee for Dennis Mil-

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ligan’s run for state treasurer and will play a consulting role in Ken Yang’s

bid for state auditor as well.

As for striking out on her own, Smith said, “It’s not a secret; I think most people know I want to run for something. I just don’t know when.”

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MARCH 28, 2013

71

Arts Entertainment AND

NEDDY

WORLD TOUR: Ferocious, left, and Epiphany at Anoska Village in Mauritius.

BY ROBERT BELL

O BRINGING GLOBAL KIDS TO LITTLE ROCK Local rapper spearheads effort.

72

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

ld saw though it might be, it’s nonetheless true that travel broadens one’s horizons.

Even the most scripted travel-group trip can get you out of your comfort zone and serve as a reminder that there’s a big old world out there outside of our fishbowls.

Little Rock hip-hop mainstay Chane “Epiphany” Morrow had traveled outside the states before last summer.

But it was on a U.S. Embassy-sponsored teaching visit with producer Dondrae “Ferocious” Vinson to The Gambia in West Africa last July that the big-old-world-outthere thing really hit home for him. The two have since visited Mauritius and The Seychelles on similar trips.

“I’m a firm believer that when you do a non-touristy overseas trip you come back impacted, and usually that impact makes you want to have a positive effect on the rest of the world, your immediate surroundings and yourself,” Morrow said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 82

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

A&E NEWS ALL YOU “LIFE OF BRIAN”-QUOTING GEEKS OUT THERE are likely already aware that “Monty Python’s Spamalot” will be at Robinson Center Music Hall April 1-2. It’s probably a safe bet too that there are a couplethree of y’all out there who wouldn’t mind winning two tickets to see the musical comedy in person.

Well pardners, five of you are in luck: The Times will be giving away five pairs of tickets for the April 1 performance. “Spamalot” on April Fool’s Day? Does it get any better than that?

No, it does not.

All you have to do is correctly identify where in Arkansas The Holy Grail is located in five of six photographs at arktimes.com/spamalot and you’ll be entered. Email your answers to tiffany@arktimes.com with “FIND THE GRAIL” in the subject line. The deadline for entry is Friday, March 29 by noon. Winners will be drawn and contacted that day.

Oh yeah, one thing: DON’T WRITE THE ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS. YOU WON’T BE ENTERED IN THE CONTEST AND ALSO IT KINDA MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE YOU CAN’T READ INSTRUCTIONS. Cool? Thanks.

MAGIC SPRINGS UNVEILED ITS 2013 CONCERT LINEUP RECENTLY. It’s a mix of established acts and newer ones, with pop, rock, country and gospel represented. The Aug. 3 slot is still TBA. As in years past, the concerts at Timberwood Amphitheater are free with a season pass or general admission ticket, though for $5-$10 extra you can reserve a seat.

Kicking off the season is bubblegrunge favorite Collective Soul on May 25. Take a look under the passenger seat in your ‘92 Accord and you might just find a cassingle copy of the band’s megahit “Shine.” On June 1, you can get a dose of ‘80s nostalgia with Night Ranger and Firehouse.

“A Little More Country Than That” singer Easton Corbin is on the slate for June 8, while June 14-15 will be a praise-filled weekend, with Dove Award winners Building 429 and DC Talk alum and Christian rap pioneer TobyMac. Country quartet Little Big Town brings their vocal harmonies and slick pop-informed hits on June 22, followed by the Fogerty-less sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revisited June 29. On July 6, Lynyrd Skynyrd rolls into town, though our own Jim Harris was less than impressed with the band’s performance last year at Riverfest. Maybe it was just an off night.

Other highlights include Canadian rockers Theory of a Deadman on July 27, CCM up-and-comers Needtobreathe on Aug. 10 and Radio Disney star Coco Jones.

ARKANSAS TIMES READERS ARE THE LIFE OF THE “PARTIES”

OUR READERS VOTED AS A IN THE PAST YEAR. 30.8% OFDEMOCRAT OUR READERS VOTED AS AN IN THE PAST YEAR. 31.2% OFINDEPENDENT OUR READERS VOTED AS A IN THE PAST YEAR. 18.6% OFREPUBLICAN

SOURCE: THE MEDIA AUDIT, JAN. 2012

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73

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL

FRIDAY 3/29

COSBY, THE COO COO BIRDS

9 p.m. Stickyz. $5.

Just FYI — if one of your buddies asks you this week if you’re going to the Cosby show, he or she is (probably) not having a stroke or a flashback or something. There’s a new band called Cosby, formed by local vets Mitch Vanhoose and Chad Conder. They’ve got three tunes up on their bandcamp that sound very promising. Probably my fave so far is “I Think You’re Cool,” which kicks off with a vintage Kinks-kinda guitar riff followed shortly by a twisted gnarl of tortured guitar, which pops up later on in the tune. On first blush, the song comes off like a garage rock number, but other elements begin to weave in and out and that original riff gradually gets slowed down as the song falls apart. It’s a fresh and creative take on an established sound, and I think it points to more good stuff to come from these dudes. They recently added some more members to the live lineup, including Ryan Hitt, Isaac Alexander and Jordan Trotter, so you know it’s gonna sound good live. Headlining are The Coo Coo Birds out of San Francisco. They’ve got the reverb-soaked garage rock vibe down heavy and speaking of heavy, check this: Steve MacKay played sax on one of their tunes. If you’re not familiar with him, you need to get your mitts on a copy of an album called “Funhouse” by a little rock ’n’ roll combo called The Stooges.

COSBY SHOW: Cosby plays at Stickyz Friday night.

FRIDAY 3/29

ROUXSTER

9 p.m. The Afterthought. $7.

Here’s a heads-up for fans of earnest, honest Americana that’s a bit on the darker side: Rouxster will be playing an album release show Friday at The Afterthought. The band features Wade Derden and Mark Wyers on guitar and vocals, Chris Michaels on guitar, Dane Clement on bass and Dave Hoffpauir on drums and vocals. The album is called “Hardpan” and it was produced by Jason

FRIDAY 3/29 Weinheimer. I checked out a few of the tracks and they hit all kinds of country-rock sweet spots: twangy guitars, world-weary singing, a lively mandolin, some killer guit-solos, a perfectsounding snare drum. “Gone Away” is particularly good, with some very good harp-blowing and that mandolin rising to the surface occasionally. The album cover (by Isaac Alexander) is also excellent. They got this rooster to smoke a cigarette, which in my experience is a very tough thing to arrange.

ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

You’ve probably heard by now that Robinson Center Music Hall will be undergoing some pretty major renovations throughout next year. In addition to hosting a variety of other programming, Robinson is home to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Of course, the ASO will need to find another suitable venue

for its next season, thus this free test run for the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center. The ASO wants to find out what audiences think of the building and how the symphony sounds in there. To that end, they’ve put together a diverse array of music, including Rossini’s “Barber of Seville Overture,” Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite,” and Strauss’ “The Blue Danube,” among several others. It’s free, but you need to RSVP to kparker@arkansassymphony. org or call 501-666-1761 ext. 114.

identical (among others, no dogs without people or vice versa; clean up after the dogs; updated shots and tags; no children younger than 10; no aggressive dogs; no pit bulls or other “dangerous breeds and mixes” and so forth). Also on Saturday at MacArthur Park, there’s going to be The 8th Annual Dog-Gone Easter Egg Hunt, an Easter egg hunt

specifically for canines. Registration starts at noon and there will be more than 5,000 treat- or prize-filled eggs stashed in the area around MacArthur Park Pavilion. There’s going to be a dog parade (so dress up your furry friend), contests, prizes, food, photos and music from — who else? — the great country band The Salty Dogs.

7:30 p.m. Statehouse Convention Center. Free.

SATURDAY 3/30

MACARTHUR UNLEASHED GRAND OPENING

12:40 p.m. MacArthur Park. Free.

Is there anything the people love more than their dogs? Maybe … . Actually, no, there’s probably nothing the people love more than their dogs. That’s why pet care is like a multi-gazilliondollar industry and there are entire 74

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

parks just for dogs to run around in and frolic with other dogs and so forth.

This weekend, Saturday to be specific, we’ll see the opening of MacArthur Unleashed, a new dog park situated in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park downtown. If you’ve been to the Murray Park dog park, you dog owners know what to expect, as the rules are pretty much

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 3/28

SUNDAY 3/31

25TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE

7 a.m. Riverfest Amphitheatre. Free.

WOODIE WINNER: Machine Gun Kelly performs at Juanita’s Sunday.

SUNDAY 3/31

MACHINE GUN KELLY

8 p.m. Juanita’s. $20.

Machine Gun Kelly is the handle of Ohiobased rapper Colson Baker. He goes by MGK for those into the whole brevity thing. He recently won the MTVU Woodie of the Year Award, which is a thing. Last year, MGK was the Breaking Woodie winner. There’s a video game that you can play on MGK’s website. It’s called “Nun Puncher,” and the player controls a pixelated version of MGK

as he helps nuns feed and clothe the poor.

Just kidding, in the video game the nuns are trying to kill MGK and so he has to punch nun after knife-wielding nun (really, though, shouldn’t they be wielding nunchucks?).

You might have seen MGK about a year ago, when he played with Tech N9ne at Juanita’s.

He seems to be on the verge of blowing up big-time, though, so if you want to see him perform in a smaller venue, better take this opportunity. Also on the bill are Worldplay, T.Jay and Flint Eastwood.

For 25 years now, people in Central Arkansas have been gathering together in Riverfront Park to observe Easter at sunrise. The service is ecumenical, which means it’s open to all branches of Christianity. Participants will include news anchor Donna Terrell, Gov. Mike Beebe, former Miss Arkansas Sharon Bale, former Razorback football player Anthony Lucas and singers from Philander Smith College, Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church and North Little Rock High School. Offerings will be collected and the money will go toward the University of Arkansas for Medical Science’s Cord Blood Bank of Arkansas. People are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets.

WEDNESDAY 4/3

HOT 8 BRASS BAND

UALR hosts its 10th Annual Racial Attitudes Conference at Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed design of the Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas Transit Association, 4 p.m. The P-47s bring the raucous rockabilly to The Joint, 9 p.m., $5. The New Music Test is back at Revolution for another all-ages showcase of new bands with Open Fields, Sumokem and Bombay Harambee, which features personnel from The Tricks, 9 p.m., $5 for 21 and older, $10 for 20 and younger. Butterfly with Irie Soul performs at Stickyz, 9 p.m. In conjunction with the ongoing “JFK: 50 Years Later” exhibit in Argenta, the Argenta Film Series will screen Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” Argenta Community Theater, 7 p.m., free.

This is the final weekend to catch the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s “Treasure Island,” 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday.

FRIDAY 3/29 In Fayetteville, veteran singer/ songwriter James McMurtry plays at George’s Majestic Lounge, 9:30 p.m., $15. Bluesboy Jag & the Juke Joint Zombies bring the swampy, retro-fied blues to Reno’s Argenta Cafe, 10 p.m. Memphis rock ’n’ roll perfectionists John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives play at White Water Tavern, 10 p.m., $7. Check out the comedy “Rex’s Exes” at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6 p.m.

Tue.-Sat. and 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, $15-$35. Ed Bowman keeps the hits coming long into the wee hours at Midtown, 12:30 a.m., $5.

9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern. $15.

SATURDAY 3/30

Ask a music lover from New Orleans about the city’s best brass bands, and in addition to Rebirth, Stooges, Dirty Dozen and probably a few others, you’ll undoubtedly hear about how great The Hot 8 Brass Band is. I’ve not had the pleasure of watching those other bands, but in summer of 2006 I did get to see the Hot 8 absolutely smoke a roomful of people, many of whom just could not seem to figure out how to dance to that beat. That might be because it was at a convention for public radio fundraisers. But they were having a blast trying anyway. As has been pointed out by many others, The Hot 8 have faced a great deal of adversity since the band was founded by Bennie Pete in 1995.

Trombonist Demond Dorsey died of a heart attack. Trumpeter Jacob Johnson was found shot in his home in 1996.

In 2004, trombone player Joseph Williams was shot by police in disputed cir-

If you’ve got an ear for sophisticated, edgy pop, check out Collin vs. Adam at The Joint, 9 p.m. Dance music fans, you’ve been notified: DJ Luminox will play two gigs Saturday. The first is an all-ages show at Downtown Music Hall, with Sniq, Travis Germz, Hulsey, Wht Grlz, Domewrekka, Mr. Napalm and Canvis, 6 p.m., $10 adv., $15 day of. The next set will be a late-night affair at Discovery, with Lawler, Wolf-e-Wolf and Platinumb, as well as Playboy Steve, Dominique Sanchez & The Discovery Dolls and a Salsa party with DJ Mr. Suave, 9 p.m.-5 a.m., $10.

HOT SOUND: The Hot 8 Brass Band plays at White Water Tavern Wednesday.

cumstances. In 2006, trumpeter Terrell “Burger” Batiste nearly died in a car accident, which cost him the use of both legs.

Snare drummer Dinerral Shavers, who was interviewed in Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke,” was murdered in December 2006. But the

band has kept at it, touring the world and releasing albums on the U.K. label Tru Thoughts. In addition to the band, Joshua, of Velvet Kente, will do DJ sets.

This show will probably go down as one of the most raucous nights in White Water Tavern history, so don’t skip it.

TUESDAY 4/2 Arkansas’s finest psych/garage/ country shredders The Frontier Circus play White Water Tavern, with The Rolling Blackouts, 10 p.m., $5. CCM/pop crossover giant Amy Grant plays at UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m., $30-$40.

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

75

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

THURSDAY, MARCH 28

MUSIC

Adrenaline (headliner), Alex Summerlin (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Ben Robbins, Amanda Leigh Avery. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www. maxinespub.com.

Butterfly with Irie Soul. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m. 107 Commerce St. 501372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Country Karaoke and Line Dance Lessons with Ron Powell. W.T. Bubba’s Country Tavern, 9 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-244-2528.

Garrison Keillor: A Brand-New Retrospective.

Walton Arts Center, 7 p.m., $38-$76. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

“Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

Jim Dickerson. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Jocko Deal. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m., free. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Karaoke. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m. 1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444.

Karaoke night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m.

314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com.

Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. MacDaddy’s Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 314 N. Maple St., NLR. Karaoke with Larry the Table Guy. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Kirk Gone Acoustic. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www. thirst-n-howl.com.

Krush Thursdays with DJ Kavaleer. Club Climax, free before 11 p.m. 824 W. Capitol.

501-554-3437.

Michael Eubanks. Newk’s Express Cafe, 6:30 p.m. 4317 Warden Road, NLR. 501-753-8826. newks.com.

New Music Test. All-ages, with Open Fields, Sumokem, Bombay Harambee. Revolution, 9 p.m., $5 21 and older, $10 20 and younger.

THE KNIGHTS WHO SAY ‘NI’: The Tony-winning musical comedy Monty Python’s Spamalot will be rolling into Robinson Center Music Hall on Monday and Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., $27-$64.

300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Open jam with The Port Arthur Band. Parrot Beach Cafe, 9 p.m. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

The P-47s. The Joint, 9 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.

COMEDY

Will Marfori. The Loony Bin, 7:30 p.m.; through March 30, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

EVENTS

10th Annual Racial Attitudes Conference.

UALR, Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. 2801 S. University Ave. 501569-8932.

Broadway Bridge Design Hearing. The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department will conduct a Design Public Hearing on the Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock. Arkansas Transit Association, 4 p.m. 620 W. Broadway, NLR. 501-569-2379.

Neighborhoods USA Golf Tournament.

Four person scramble, all proceeds will benefit Neighborhoods USA. Rebsamen Golf Course, 8:30 a.m., $56-$260. 3400 Rebsamen Park Rd. 501-371-6811.

UCA’s Green Week. Sustainability event, featuring booths, speakers, documentary films and more. University of Central Arkansas, through March 29, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

and 6 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca.edu.

FILM

Argenta Film Series: “JFK.” Argenta Community Theater, 7 p.m., free. 405 Main St., NLR. 501-353-1443. argentacommunitytheater.org.

SPORTS

Live horse racing. Thu.-Sun. every week until April 13, plus Memorial Day. Oaklawn, $2.

2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-6234411. www.oaklawn.com.

BOOKS

Carla Killough McClafferty. Reading from the author of “The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Icon.”

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MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

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TASTE IS INTRODUCING A NEW SHADE OF AMBER

EVENTS

Civil Air Patrol yard sale. Arkansas Transit Association, March 29, noon-5 p.m.; March 30, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. 620 W. Broadway, NLR. Emmett Carson. The president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation will discuss “Racial Healing and Equity in the American South.” Clinton Presidential Center, noon., free.

1200 President Clinton Ave. 370-8000. www. clintonpresidentialcenter.org.

JFK 50 Years Later walking tour. The Joint, 5:30 p.m. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group.

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 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. 800 Scott St., 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Table for Two: Seared Veal Chop. Cooking class, includes meal, overnight stay and continental breakfast. Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, $200 (couple). 1 Rockefeller Drive, Morrilton.

727-5435. www.uawri.org.

UCA’s Green Week. Sustainability event, featuring booths, speakers, documentary films and more. University of Central Arkansas, through, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca.edu.

SPORTS

Live horse racing. See March 28.

SATURDAY, MARCH 30

MUSIC

The 1 Oz. Jig. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m., $5.

301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com.

Arkansas Super Jam Party. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

“Beats by Day.” With music from DJs Klassik and Monkey. Next Bistro & Bar, 2 p.m. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-6398.

Ben Miller Band. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Brown Soul Shoes (headliner), Audrey Dean Kelley (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road.

501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Chris Henry. Flying Saucer, 9 p.m., $3. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www. beerknurd.com/stores/littlerock.

Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. See March 29.

Collin vs. Adam. The Joint, 9 p.m. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Cupcake Jazz Brunch. With Rodney Block & The CONTINUED ON PAGE 78

flavor. Tasted, chosen and handpicked by the loud, the savvy and the famous,

SHOP LOCAL

at bars and festivals across the nation. And then, dressed in black.

#TASTEIS

Publication: Arkansas times

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. RSVP required, call 501-666-1761 ext. 114. Statehouse Convention Center, 7:15 p.m., Free. 7 Statehouse Plaza.

Ben Coulter. W.T. Bubba’s Country Tavern, 9 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-244-2528.

Blue Collard Greens. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 9 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Bluesboy Jag & the Juke Joint Zombies. Reno’s Argenta Cafe, 10 p.m. 312 N. Main St., NLR. 501-376-2900. www.renosargentacafe.com.

Boom Kinetic. 18-and-older. Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. revroom.com.

Brian Nahlen. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens. com.

Brother Oz. Sway, 7 p.m., $5. 412 Louisiana.

501-907-2582.

Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. Dance night, with DJs, drink specials and bar menu, until 2 a.m.

1620 Savoy, 10 p.m. 1620 Market St. 501-2211620. www.1620savoy.com.

Code Blue. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl. com.

Cosby, Coo Coo Birds. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Crowned by Fire, Red Devil Lies, At Wars End, Sychosys. Downtown Music Hall, 8 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Ed Bowman. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5.

1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com.

Friday night at Sway. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana.

501-907-2582.

James McMurtry. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9:30 p.m., $15. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.

479-442-4226.

John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m., $7. 2500 W 7th St. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Liquid Kitty. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Mondo Boogie (headliner), Richie Johnson (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Pop Pistol, The Sound of the Mountain.

Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com.

Rouxster. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Synergy, DJ Sleepy Genius. Montego Cafe, 8:30 p.m. 315 Main St. 501-372-1555. www. montegocafe.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, March 29, 7 p.m.; March 30, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

“YOLO.” Featuring four DJs and beach volleyball, 18-and-older. Flying DD, $5. 4601 S. University. 501-773-9990. flyingdd.com.

The Main Thing: “The Last Night at Orabella’s.”

Original two-act comedic play about the residents of tiny, fictional Dumpster, Ark. The Joint, through April 27: 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Tim Sullivan. UARK Bowl, 8 and 10:30 p.m., $7.

644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. www.uarkballroom.com.

Will Marfori. The Loony Bin, through March 30, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

with toasted caramel malt and beechwood finished for a smooth and distinctive

Trim: 2.125x5.875 Bleed: none Live: 1.875x5.625

MUSIC

COMEDY

Closing Date: 3.21.13 QC: CS

FRIDAY, MARCH 29

Meet the new Budweiser Black Crown, a 6% alc./vol. golden amber lager brewed

Brand: Bud Black Crown Item #: PBD201310413 Job/Order #: 248887

Pulaski Technical College, 6 p.m., free. 3000 W. Scenic Drive, NLR.

©2013 A-B, Budweiser® Black Crown Lager, St. Louis, MO

tHe king biscuit blues FestivAl presents

Jimmy Hall & Wet Willie

Saturday, april 6th At the Malco theater in historic downtown Helena, Arkansas.

With special guest

the Jack rowell Jr. Band doors Open at 6pm

Seating iS limited.

AdvAnce tickets:

kingbiscuitfestival.com Produced by sonny boy blues society www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

77

AFTER DARK, CONT. Real Music Lovers. Brown Sugar Bakeshop, 11 a.m., free. 419 E. 3rd St. 501-372-4009. brownsugarbakeshop.com.

Jason Greenlaw and The Groove. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Jeff Kearney. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 9 p.m., free.

301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Karaoke. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 6929 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. revroom.com.

Katmandu. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 CantrellRoad.501-379-8189.www.thirst-n-howl.com.

K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana.

501-492-9802.

“Larger than Life.” With Kwestion. Utopia Restaurant and Lounge, 9 p.m., $7-$10. 521 Center St. 501-413-2182.

Little Rock Ruff Ryders with DJ Most1ted.

Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8:30 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Luke Williams Band. W.T. Bubba’s Country Tavern, 9 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501244-2528.

Luminox, Lawler, Wolf-e-Wolf, Platinumb. With Playboy Steve, Dominique Sanchez & The Disco Dolls at 12:30 a.m. and Salsa Dance Party with DJ Mr. Suave at 1:30 a.m. Museum of Discovery, 9 p.m., $10. 500 Clinton Ave. 396-7050, 1-800880-6475. www.amod.org.

Luminox, Sniq, Travis Germz, Hulsey, Wht Grlz, Domewrekka, Mr. Napalm, Canvis. Allages show. Downtown Music Hall, 6 p.m., $10 adv., $15 day of. 211 W. Capitol. 501-376-1819. downtownmusichall.com.

Michael Eubanks. Newk’s Express Cafe, 6:30 p.m. 1412 Higdon Ferry Road, Hot Springs.

501-321-4221. www.newkscafe.com.

New York City Queens. Bear’s Den Pizza, 9:30 p.m., free. 235 Farris Road, Conway. 501-3285556. www.bearsdenpizza.com.

Opportunist, Burnt, The Inner Party. Maxine’s, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com.

The P-47s, Monkhouse. Reno’s Argenta Cafe, 9

p.m. 312 N. Main St., NLR. 501-376-2900. www. renosargentacafe.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.

Singer/Songwriters Showcase. Parrot Beach Cafe, 2-7 p.m., free. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

Strange Deranger. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Thomas East. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

COMEDY

Will Marfori. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Circa. Walton Arts Center, 8 p.m., $10-$25. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-443-5600.

Little Rock West Coast Dance Club. Dance lessons. Singles welcome. Ernie Biggs, 7 p.m., $2. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-247-5240. www. arstreetswing.com.

EVENTS

10,000 Egg Hunt Extravaganza. Featuring emcee Donna Terrell, as well as food trucks, a petting zoo, inflatables, face painting, firetrucks and much more. Wakefield Park, 10 a.m. p.m.

7401 Woodson Road.

5th Annual Seed Swap. Faulkner County Library, 1 p.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

8th Annual Dog-Gone Easter Egg Hunt. Easteregg hunt for dogs, plus a parade, contests, prizes, live music from The Salty Dogs and more.

MacArthur Park, noon, $10. 503 E. Ninth St. 501-541-1057.

Antique Fishing Tackle Roadshow. Members of the National Fishing Tackle Collectors Club will be on site to offer free identification and evaluation of old fishing tackle items. The Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, 10 a.m. p.m. 602 President Clinton Ave. 501-9070636. www.centralarkansasnaturecenter.com.

Civil Air Patrol yard sale. Arkansas Transit Association, 7 a.m. p.m. 620 W. Broadway, NLR. “Confederate Heritage Day.” Arkansas State

Capitol, 11 a.m. 5th and Woodlane.

Couponing Secrets. Maumelle Library, 11 a.m.

10 Lake Point Drive, Maumelle, Maumelle. 501851-2551.

Easter Egg Hunt. Sponsored by Support Our Sistahs and Housing Activities Council, with food, games, inflatables, a visit from the Easter Bunny, face painting, dunking booth, at the UALR Residence Hall Grounds & Commons Building. UALR, 10:30 a.m.:30 p.m., free. 2801 S. University Ave. 501-681-8210.

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.

Health Care for Homeless Veterans Golf Tournament. Three-person scramble sponsored by Scipio A. Jones National Alumni Association, NLR Chapter. Burns Park, 8 a.m., $210-$255. 2700 Willow St., NLR. 501-835-6809.

Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-noon. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd.

JFK 50 Years Later: “Shooting JFK: A Conversation Continued,” with photographer Willie Allen. The Joint, 4 p.m. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

MacArthur Dog Park grand opening. Grand opening of the new dog park near UALR’s Bowen School of Law. MacArthur Park, 12:40 p.m. 503 E. Ninth St. Made from Scratch: Modern Latin Cuisine.

Cooking class with Mark Abernathy. Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, 10 a.m., $80. 1 Rockefeller Drive, Morrilton. 727-5435. www.uawri.org.

Meet the Easter Bunny. Have breakfast or lunch with the Easter Bunny. Call for reservations Little Rock Zoo, March 30, 9:30-11 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m.; March 31, 1-2:30 p.m., $17$26. 1 Jonesboro Drive. 501-661-7218. www. littlerockzoo.com.

FILM

Live horse racing. See March 28.

BOOKS

SUNDAY, MARCH 31

MUSIC

Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot.

501-982-1939 ‎.

Machine Gun Kelly. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $20. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

Michael Eubanks. Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, 7 p.m. 10901 N Rodney Parham Road.

501-227-8898. www.lonestarsteakhouse.com.

Successful Sunday. Featuring live music and DJs. Montego Cafe, 7 p.m. 315 Main St. 501372-1555. www.montegocafe.com.

Sunday Jazz Brunch with Ted Ludwig and Joe Cripps. Vieux Carre, 11 a.m. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.vieuxcarrecafe.com.

EVENTS

25th Annual Community Easter Sunrise Service. Bring lawn chairs and blankets.

Participants include Gov. Mike Beebe, TV news anchor Donna Terrell and more. Riverfest Amphitheatre, 7 a.m. 400 President Clinton Ave. “Live from the Back Room.” Spoken word event. Vino’s, 7 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-3758466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

Meet the Easter Bunny. See March 30.

SPORTS

Live horse racing. See March 28.

2013 Reel Women Festival. Includes screenings, panel discussions and more. Royal Theatre, 11 a.m. p.m., $10 adv., $15 door. 111 S. Market St., Benton.

UCA Digital Filmmaking graduate screening.

Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA, 7:30 p.m., free. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

SPORTS

Jeff Glasbrenner. Book signing with the Paralympics and Ironman champion. Go! Running, noon. 1819 N. Grant St. 501-663-6800. gorunning.com.

Peg Loyd. Book signing with the author of “The Path: Songs and Stories to Quiet the Mind, Calm the Heart & Inspire the Soul.” WordsWorth Books & Co., 1:30 p.m. 5920 R St. 501-663-9198. www.wordsworthbooks.org.

MONDAY, APRIL 1

MUSIC

Jazz at The Afterthought: Gerald Johnson.

The Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

TUESDAY, APRIL 2

MUSIC

Amy Grant. Reynolds Performance Hall, UCA,

Omelet Station • Waffles • Boiled Shrimp • Pasta Salads • Prime Rib Carving Station and More...

Join us for our All New New Featured items Every Sunday!

Sundays

10:00 am - 3:00 pm

501-312-1616 78

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Shackleford Crossing, Shackleford & I-430

www.copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com

AFTER DARK, CONT. 7:30 p.m. 350 S. Donaghey, Conway.

Arkansas River Blues Society Blues Jam Fundraiser. Thirst n’ Howl, through May 28: 7:30 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Bradley Hathaway. Bear’s Den Pizza, 8:30 p.m., free. 235 Farris Road, Conway. 501-328-5556. www.bearsdenpizza.com.

Eye Empire, At War’s End. All-ages. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8 adv., $10 day of. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

The Frontier Circus, Rolling Blackouts. White Water Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 2500 W 7th St. 501375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month.

120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Karaoke Night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m.

314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub. com.

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Kool & The Gang. Walton Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., $75. 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479443-5600.

Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s Restaurant of Little Rock, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road.

501-312-1616. www.copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com.

Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www. ferneaurestaurant.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-8230090. www.revroom.com.

EVENTS

Tales from the South. Authors tell true stories; schedule available on website. Dinner served 5-6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Call for reservations.

Starving Artist Cafe, 5 p.m. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net.

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

FILM

“The Island President.” Laman Library, 6:30 p.m., free. 2801 Orange St., NLR. 501-758-1720. www. lamanlibrary.org.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbar.com.

Brian & Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, through April 24: 5 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month.

120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. The Hot 8 Brass Band. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $15. 2500 W 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

Joey Farr & The Fuggins Wheat Band. 18-andolder. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, through April 24: 8:30 p.m., $4. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Karaoke Extravaganza. Includes drink and food specials and cash prizes. Montego Cafe, 9 p.m.,

$5. 315 Main St. 501-372-1555. www.montegocafe.com.

Karaoke with Big John Miller. Denton’s Trotline, 8 p.m. 2150 Congo Road, Benton. 501-315-1717.

Lake Street Dive. Concert in Worsham Performance Hall, no tickets required. Hendrix College, 8 p.m., free. 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. www.hendrix.edu.

Live Karaoke and Dueling Pianos. Featuring Dell Smith and William Staggers. Montego Cafe, 9 p.m. 315 Main St. 501-372-1555. www. montegocafe.com.

Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www. ferneaurestaurant.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 5 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.

COMEDY

Janet “The Tennessee Tramp” Williams, Chris Dubail, Velly Vel. The Loony Bin, April 3-4, 7:30 p.m.; April 5, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-228-5555. www. loonybincomedy.com.

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Standup Open Mic Night. Hosted by local come­di­ans of the com­edy col­lec­tive Come­di­ ans of NWA. UARK Bowl, 9 p.m., free. 644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. uarkbowl.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 & Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

ozark foothills

12th ANNUAL OZARK FOOTHILLS FILMFEST www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org | (870) 251-1189

ARKANSAS TIMES READERS ARE GIVERS.

OUR READERS CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN

TO CHARITIES AND NON-PROFIT ORGINIZATIONS LAST YEAR. SOURCE: THE MEDIA AUDIT, JAN. 2012

EVENTS

Legacies & Lunch: Susan Young. Young presents “Down in the Holler: A Lesson in Ozark Folk Speech.” Bring your own lunch, drinks and dessert provided. Main Library, noon, free. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals.lib.ar.us.

Political Animals Club: Brenda Blagg. The veteran journalist recently published “Political Magic: The Travels, Trials and Triumphs of the Clintons’ Arkansas Travelers.” Governor’s Mansion, 11:30 a.m., $20 (includes lunch). 1800 Center St. 501-378-0843.

FILM

12th Annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest. Film festival at several venues in Batesville. University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, April 3-7, $3-$25. 2005 White Drive, Batesville.

870-251-1189. www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org/.

“Pray the Devil Back to Hell.” Screening of the award-winning documentary. Main Library, 6:30 p.m., free. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals.lib.ar.us.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show.

Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows. html.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

Monty Python’s “Spamalot.” The Tony- and Grammy-winning musical comedy from the Monty Python creative team. Robinson Center Music Hall, April 1-2, 7:30 p.m., $27-$64.

Markham and Broadway. 501-244-8800. www. littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.

“Rex’s Exes.” Comedy in which the Verdeen cousins of Sweetgum, Texas — Gaynelle, Peaches and Jimmy Wyvette — teeter on the brink of disaster again. Murry’s Dinner CONTINUED ON PAGE 80

www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

79

AFTER DARK, CONT. Playhouse, through April 7: Tue.-Sat., 6 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., $15-$35. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

“Treasure Island.” World premiere of a new musical version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through March 31: Wed., Thu., Sun., 7 p.m.; Fri., Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. 601 Main St. 501378-0405. www.therep.org.

“The Vagina Monologues.” Performances of Eve Ensler’s work will be hosted in Burdick Hall Room 205. University of Central Arkansas, through March 29, 7 p.m., $5. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www.uca.edu.

GALLEREIS, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS

More art listings can be found in the calendar at www.arktimes.com ARGENTA ARTS DISTRICT: “JFK 50 Years Later,” archival photography exhibition by Rogers Photo Archives and Argenta Images, through March 30, Art Connection Gallery, Argenta Community Theater, Greg Thompson Fine Art Gallery, Starving Artist, Pennington Photo Studio, The Joint, THEA Foundation and the Paint Box Gallery; screening of “JFK,” 7 p.m.

March 28 at ACT; talk by photographer Willie Allen, “Shooting JFK,” 4 p.m. March 30 at the Joint, 301 Main St.; walking tour with John Rogers 2 p.m. March 30, 301 Main St. 225-5600.

L&L BECK, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Spring Flowers,” paintings by Louis Beck, through April. Giclee giveaway drawing 7 p.m. April 18. 660-4006.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “Annual Student Competitive,” 140 works from

students in all disciplines, through May 3, Gallery I, reception 12:15 p.m. April 2; “A Table of Elements,” ceramics and wood by Sandy Simon and Robert Brady, through April 3, Gallery II, gallery talk 2 p.m. April 4. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-8977.

BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “Views on “American Chronicles,” talk by curator Kevin Murphy on the exhibition of Norman Rockwell paintings and covers, 1-1:45 p.m. March 28. 479-418-5700.

FAYETTEVILLE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, Fine Arts Center: Lecture by art historian Dr. Leslie King-Hammond (rescheduled) of the Maryland Institute of Art, 5:30 p.m. April 4, Stella Boyle Smith Auditorium; Reilly and Kelly DickensHoffman collaborative sculpture project, Anne Kittrell Gallery, April 3-16, closing reception 6:30 p.m. April 16, lecture 6:30 p.m. April 18; MFA exhibitions by Dilenia Garcia, April 1-5, Fine Arts Center Gallery, “Submerged: A Solo Exhibition of Photographic Works by Kendra North,” Fine Arts Center Gallery, through March 29; closing reception and lecture by the artist 6 p.m. March 28. 479-575-7987.

FORT SMITH FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM: “Bridging the Past, Present and Future: Recent Works by Sandra Ramos,” prints, video and objects by Cuban artist, opens with reception 5-7 p.m. March 28, show through July 7; “The Secrets of the Mona Lisa”; “Mona Lisa’s Daughters: Portraits of Women from the Arkansas Arts Center Collection,” works by

10th Annual

31 artists, including Milton Avery, Will Barnett, Chuck Close, Naomi Fisher, Norman Rockwell, Byron Browne and Alex Katz. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Thu.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479-784-2787.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT FORT SMITH, 5210 Grand Ave: “2013 Small Works on Paper,” April 1-30. 479-788 -7000.

RUSSELLVILLE ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY: “2013 Senior Fine Art Exhibit,” work by 10 graduating seniors, reception 6-8 p.m. March 30, show through April 14, Norman Gallery. 479-968-0244.

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Thea Foundation, 401 Main St., North Little Rock, is taking submissions for its 11th annual scholarship competitions for high school seniors. Submission for filmmaking scholarship due April 5. For more information, go to the theafoundation.org/scholarships or call 379-9512.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Ron Meyers: A Potter’s Menagerie,” 100 ceramic pieces in various forms and drawings, through May 5; “52nd Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition,” art by Arkansas students K-12, through May 5, awards ceremony noon-3 p.m. April 7; “Wendy Maruyama: Tag Project/ Executive Order 9066,” work inspired by the internment, through April 21; “Edward Weston: Leaves of Grass,” 53 gelatin-silver prints, through April 21. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

BOSWELL-MOUROT FINE ART, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Looking Out,” pastels and paintings by Robin Hazard-Bishop and Hans

Feyerabend, through April 13. 664-0030.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “No I’m Not, He Is: A Flying Snake and Oyyo Comic Retrospective,” cartoons by Michael Jukes; “1st Annual Membership Exhibition” by the Arkansas Society of Printmakers, through April 27. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5700.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Structures II,” paintings by Daniel Coston, through April 27. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 2241335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “Mid-Southern Watercolorists Spring 2013 Juried Exhibition,” through April.

CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sat. 664-0880.

COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: “Bridging the Burden: In Their Shoes,” boots of Arkansas soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, through April 27. 918-3086.

ELLEN GOLDEN ANTIQUES, 5701 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by Barry Thomas and Arden Boyce. 664-7746.

GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: “Highlights of Spring,” work by Sean LeCrone. 801-0211.

GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “The World is Flat,” recent paintings by Stephen Cefalo, through May 11. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.Sat. 664-8996.

GALLERY 360, 900 S. Rodney Parham: “Yosemite: Images from the Past,” prints from early 20th-century glass plates by unknown photographer, through March 30.

GORRELL GALLERY OF FINE ART, 201 W. 4th St.: Work by established and emerging artists, including Doug Gorrell. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri.,

author readings workshops

panel discussions performances

children’s events book signings

teens-only events 80

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

AFTER DARK, CONT.

SHOP ‘N’ SIP First thursday each month shop ’til 8pm and enjoy dining in one of the many area restaurants.

HILLCREST SHOPPING & DINING

NEW AT CRYSTAL BRIDGES: This 1977 acrylic and silkscreen image of communism by Andy Warhol, “Hammer and Sickle,” now hangs at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The work was one of five acquisitions announced last week. The others are Donald Judd’s 1989 copper and red Plexiglas sculpture “Untitled 1989 (Bernstein 89-24),” Max Weber’s 1909 oil “Burlesque No. 1,” Agnes Pelton’s 1932 oil “Sand Storm,” and Marvin Dorwart Cone’s 1936 oil “Stone City Landscape.” noon-4 p.m. Sat. 607-2225.

HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “The Struggle Continues … History Unfolds,” paintings and mixed media by Frank Frazier, through April 8. 372-6822.

M2GALLERY, 11525 Cantrell: “Holiday Show,” work by Dan Holland, Suzanne Koett, Charles Henry James, Dan Thornhill and Jason Gammel.

10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 225-6257.

PAINT BOX GALLERY AND FRAME SHOP, 705 Main St., NLR: New paintings by Mike Spain. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10-3 p.m. Sat. 374-2848.

SEQUOYAH NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER, UALR University Plaza Suite 500: “Contemporary Art of the Osages,” J.W. Wiggins Gallery, through March 29.

BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell,” 50 paintings and 323 Saturday Evening Post covers from the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., through May 28, $12 non-members ages 19 and up; “Abstractions on Paper: From Abstract Expressionism to Post Minimalism,” through April 29, works from the collection of the Arkansas Arts Center by Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly and others; permanent collection of American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mon., Thu., Sat.-Sun.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed.-Fri. 479-418-5700.

CONWAY UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: Annual “Student Competitive Exhibition,” through March 28, Baum Gallery. 501-450-5793.

FAYETTEVILLE WALTON ARTS CENTER, 495 W. Dickson St.: “Tectonics,” sculpture by Scott Carroll, through April 14. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., noon-4 p.m.

Sat. 479-443-5600.

JONESBORO ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “2013 Small Works on Paper,” through March 29, Fine Arts

Farmer’s Market Every Thursday

Are You Ready for the Pretty Weather?

Come See Everything That’s NEW!

4523 WoodlaWn (Historic Hillcrest) 501.666.3600

2616 Kavanaugh • 661-1167 M-F 10-6, SAT 10-5

Center Gallery. 870-972-3053.

PERRYVILLE SUDS GALLERY, Courthouse Square: Paintings

by Dottie Morrissey, Alma Gipson, Al Garrett Jr., Phyllis Loftin, Alene Otts, Mauretta Frantz, Raylene Finkbeiner, Kathy Williams and Evelyn Garrett. Noon-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri, noon-4 p.m.

Sat. 501-766-7584.

PINE BLUFF ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER, 701 Main St.: “Women to Watch,” Arkansas chapter of National Museum of Women in the Arts’ exhibition of textiles by Louise M. Halsey, Barbara Cade, Jennifer Libby Fay, Jane Hartfield and Deborah Kuster, through April 13. 870-536-3375.

ONGOING MUSEUM EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Jazz: Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard,” more than 40 original black and white images by photographer Herman Leonard, who documented the evolution of jazz form from the 1940s through post-Hurricane Katrina, with photographs of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald, through July 21. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Hidden Arkansas,” photographs by 11 members of the Blue Eyed Knocker Photo Club, through May 5; “Treasures of Arkansas Freemasons, 1838-2013,” study gallery, through July 12; “Phenomena of Change: Lee Cowan, Mary Ann Stafford and Maria Botti Villegas,” through May 5; “Perfect Balance,” paintings CONTINUED ON PAGE 82

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What’s NEXT? Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-7pm $2 Domestic Beer $3 Wines • $4 Wells $5 Martinis

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www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

81

Community Photo Project At The New Children’s Library!

4800 West 10th st • little rock

Exhibit open Now thru April 6 meet the young photographers on saturday, april 6 • 3-5pm Please join us in celebrating the hard work of these talented young photographers.

They’ll be on hand to answer your questions about their photographs.

Why a youth photo exhibit?

Arkansas Voices, a non-profit organization working with children left behind by incarceration or the loss of a guardian, has partnered with Clinton School student Maggie Carroll to facilitate a youth photography project. The children and teenagers have learned to use cameras, take photos on the topic of their choice, and most importantly…take ownership and pride in their work.

www.arkansasvoices.org 6th AnnuAl

sAturdAy, APril 6

show stArts At 7:30Pm ViP mixer beGins At 6:30Pm Benefiting the timmons Arts foundAtion

metroPlex eVent Center 10800 Colonel Glenn roAd For more info, contact info@timmonsarts.org or 501-221-1792 GenerAl Admission $35 • ViP $55

hosted by Actor Lamman Rucker Designer Korto Momolu Heather Brown of Alice 107.7

sPonsored by

Butler Furniture Depot

FeAtured desiGners Erik Sellers Shannon Jeffery Hope Smith Darby Logan Katya Aksenuk Shonda Stroud Ali-Shamaa Chavon Sewell Abby Alba Tamara Rudley Drake Smith Aalyiah Fisher

Tickets can be purchased at Jeante’ One of One, Vogue Visage, Box Turtle, Butler Furniture Depot, Uncle T’s, and online at www.dcfplr2013.eventbrite.com 82

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

AFTER DARK, CONT.

by Marty Smith; “A Collective Vision,” recent acquisitions, through March. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, MacArthur Park: “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese-American Soldiers in World War II,” through August. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: “The Inauguration of Hope,” life-sized sculpture of the First Family

by Ed Dwight; “Forty Years of Fortitude,” exhibit on Arkansas’s African-American legislators of the modern era. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat. 683-3593.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Grossology: The Impolite Science of the Human Body,” through May 26; “GPS Adventures,” ages 6 to adult, through April 1; “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. every Tue., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Battle Colors of Arkansas,” 18 Civil War flags; “Things You Need to Hear: Memories of Growing up in Arkansas from 1890 to 1980,” oral histories about community, family, work, school and leisure. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

GLOBAL KIDS, CONT. When he and Vinson got back to Arkansas, he knew he wanted to help other people have similar experiences, particularly underprivileged youths who might not otherwise get such a chance.

“Ferocious, it was his first time overseas,” Morrow said. “We spoke many times over there about how his eyes were opened and it was life-changing for him. I think he tried to avoid the superlatives or cliches, but he was like, ‘Once you come back, it’s not the same.

You look at yourself and the world differently.’ ” Morrow was discussing all of this with Kimberly McClure, a friend and classmate from Stanford University who works for the United Nations.

McClure mentioned Global Kids, an educational program for high school students that teaches them about international relations and sends some of them overseas for hands-on learning and collaboration with other students and foreign governments. The program was started in New York City in 1989 and has since worked with hundreds of thousands of students in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas. McClure spearheaded the fundraising effort to bring the program to D.C. and sits on the board of directors for the organization.

Morrow and several other collaborators will be fundraising from April 15-28 to help bring Global Kids to Little Rock. They’ll need to raise something in the neighborhood of $100,000 for a group of 12 students and their chaperones. It’s a group effort that will involve input from several different artists and organizations. The team is seeking corporate and nonprofit foundation sponsorships and will put together a three-on-three basketball tournament, a scavenger hunt and various other events, concerts, parties and such. Epiphany, Arkansas Bo and other musicians will contribute songs for exclusive download, with proceeds benefiting the project.

“I think this will be the first time

trying something like this,” said Evie Hantzopolous, executive director of Global Kids. Epiphany is “so motivated and determined to make it happen that we’re willing to experiment and see whether or not we can raise the money that we need to provide this program for young people in Little Rock.”

The program would be a fourweek course in July, with two weeks of classes, lectures and field trips in Little Rock and then two weeks in the Dominican Republic, Haiti or Costa Rica. Instructors from Global Kids would come to Arkansas to lead the classes and also travel with the students overseas, along with local chaperones.

“The students learn about different world issues often through a humanrights framework,” Hantzopolous said.

“We expose them to things like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties and use those as a way to examine issues going on not only in the world but also in their own communities.”

The students also receive training in leadership, problem solving, digital media, public speaking and many other tools that will help them thrive in whatever avenues they pursue in college and beyond.

“If they’re going to look at an issue like gun violence, they’re not just going to learn about gun violence in New York and D.C., but how it ties into domestic policy and the international small arms treaty and all sorts of things,” she said.

“So there’s a real broadening of their perspective on what this issue means.”

Even if the entire amount isn’t raised by the deadline, the money will go toward an effort to bring Global Kids to Little Rock next year, Hantzopolous said. But Morrow said he and the rest of the team are confident about hitting their fundraising goal and are motivated by the challenge.

The Times will have all the details about the fundraising events in the coming weeks.

12 whole hogs!

12 chefs! live music all day!

Saturday, may 4th

Argenta Farmers Market Plaza 6th & Main St., Downtown North Little Rock (across from the Argenta Market)

SCHEDULE — 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. — Food Serving ­— 3:30 — Celebrity Judges will choose the winner based on style, flavor and presentation.

LIVE MUSIC ALL DAY Dine on 12 pit roasted, whole, heritage breed hogs Saturday May 4th beginning at 3 p.m. Doors open at noon with craft beers and wine available.

headlining:

BEER & WINE GARDEN

Lost Bayou Ramblers

Gated festival area selling Beer & Wine ($5 each)

Grammy Nominated Cajun band from South Louisiana

beginning at Noon and closing at 10 p.m.

also

The Sound of the Mountain Winner of the Arkansas Times Musican Showcase

Ticket Supply Limited!

ALL-Day Tickets - $25

($30 day of) Includes roast hog, sides and live music

Argenta Market

Café Bossa Nova

Capital Hotel

Argenta Market Team

Bossa Nova Porcaos

The Capital Chefs

The Roasted Roots

Local Lime The Porkshank Redemption

MUSIC-ONLY Tickets - $10 (Admission after 7 p.m.)

Purchase Now at ARKTIMES.COM/HERITAGEHOGroaST

presenting resaurants

The Root

— 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. — $10 entrance allowed after 7 p.m. for Live Music and Beer & Wine Garden.

Country Club of Little Rock Country Club of Little Rock

Fantastic China

Lulav italian kitchen

TBD

The Italian Stallions

Maddie’s Place

Reno’s Ristorante Argenta café Capeo

Maddie’s Men

Reno’s Pit Crew

Hog Time BBQ

St. Jude United Methodist Hospital The Farmer & the Chef

MOVIE LISTINGS

Frances Flower Shop, Inc. Located in beautiful downtown Little Rock two blocks from the Arkansas State Capitol building.

We send flowers worldwide through Teleflora.

Proudly serving the Greater Little Rock area since 1950.

1222 West Capitol • little RoCk, aR 72201 501.372.2203 • WWW.fRanCesfloWeRshop.Com

wmichaelabstract.com W. Michael Spain art is available at

705 Main St. • Downtown Argenta 374.2848

drivers Please be aWare, it’s arkansas state laW: Use of bicycles or animals

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.

yoUr cycling friends thank yoU! http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ Go to “Arkansas Code,” search “bicycle” 84

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

MARCH 29-30

Market Street Cinema times at or after 9 p.m. are for Friday and Saturday only. Rave showtimes are for Friday only. Showtimes for Lakewood 8, McCain Mall and Riverdale were not available by press deadline. Find up-to-date listings at arktimes.com.

NEW MOVIES G.I. Joe: Retaliation (PG-13) — Sequel to the movie based on the ’80s cartoon and line of toys, which were based on a line of toys from the ’60s and ’70s. Breckenridge: 1:10, 4:40, 7:40, 10:15 (2D), 12:30, 4:00, 7:00, 9:45 (3D). Chenal 9: 11:35 a.m., 2:00, 7:30, 10:15 (2D), 4:45 (3D), 11:05 a.m., 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45 (IMAX 3D). Rave: 11:45 a.m., 1:00, 2:30, 5:15, 6:30, 8:00, 10:45, midnight (2D), 10:15 a.m., 3:45, 9:15 (3D), 11:00 a.m., 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 (3D eXtreme).

The Host (PG-13) — “Twilight” goes sci-fi, from the author of “Twilight.” Breckenridge: 12:15, 4:05, 7:15, 10:00. Chenal 9: 11:00 a.m., 1:40, 4:25, 7:20, 10:00. Rave: 10:25 a.m., 1:40, 4:40, 7:45, 10:50, midnight.

Like Someone in Love (NR) — A beautiful Japanese student with a sideline in prostitution becomes involved with an older gentleman, though not in the way she expected. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:00, 9:15.

Tyler Perry’s Temptation (PG-13) — The latest product to plop off the end of the factory line at Tyler Perry Co. stars an almost convincingly human hologram called “Kim Kardashian.”

Breckenridge: 12:20, 3:45, 4:30, 7:05, 7:45, 9:40, 10:20. Chenal 9: 11:10 a.m., 1:35, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40. Rave: 10:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., noon, 1:15, 2:00, 2:45, 4:00, 4:45, 5:30, 6:45, 7:30, 8:15, 9:30, 10:15, 11:00, 11:30.

Upside Down (PG-13) — Some kind of extendedmetaphor sci-fi romance with Kirsten Dunst.

The tagline is: “What if love was stronger than gravity?” Yes, really. Market Street: 2:00, 4:20, 7:00, 9:15.

RETURNING THIS WEEK Admission (PG-13) — Tina Fey is an admissions officer at Princeton in this First World-problems comedy. Breckenridge: 1:15, 4:10, 7:20, 9:55.

Rave: 11:40 a.m., 2:25, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30.

Argo (R) — Americans in revolutionary Iran make an improbable escape, based on actual events, from director Ben Affleck. Movies 10: 12:40, 4:00, 7:10, 10:15.

Beautiful Creatures (PG-13) — Basically “Twilight” but with witches instead of whatever it was “Twilight” had. Oh, and bad Southern accents. It’s got those, too. Movies 10: 12:45, 4:10, 7:05, 9:50.

The Call (R) — 911 operator (Halle Berry) takes a call from an adopted girl (Abigail Breslin) and ends up in danger. Breckenridge: 1:15, 4:45, 7:50, 10:05. Chenal 9: 11:20 a.m., 1:30, 4:10, 7:10, 9:55. Rave: 10:45 a.m., 1:10, 3:30, 5:55, 8:30, 10:55.

The Croods (PG) — Animated story of a cavefamily that must venture into uncharted realms.

Breckenridge: 1:00, 4:05, 7:30, 9:50 (2D), 12:25, 3:30, 7:00, 9:20. Chenal 9:11:05 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:20, 1:50, 4:30, 7:00 (2D), 4:00, 9:30 (3D). Rave: 11:05 a.m., 12:05, 1:35, 2:35, 4:05, 5:05, 6:35, 7:35, 9:05, 10:05 (2D), 11:35 a.m., 12:35, 2:05, 3:05, 4:35, 5:35, 7:05, 8:05, 9:35, 10:35 (3D).

Django Unchained (R) — Another revenge flick from Quentin Tarantino, with Jamie Foxx and the guy from “Titanic.” Movies 10: 1:00, 4:30, 8:00.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (R) — They’re

GO JOE?: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.” just running out of ideas, aren’t they? Starring Jeremy Renner. Movies 10: 12:20, 2:45, 4:55, 7:20, 9:45.

The Hobbit (PG-13) — Slate’s headline: “Bored of the Rings – The Hobbit looks like Teletubbies and is way too long.” Ooh … burn. Whatever, it’ll probably gross bajillions. Movies 10: Noon, 6:40.

Identity Thief (R) — Yeah, real cute Hollywood.

We’ll see how funny it is when somebody steals your debit card number and uses it to buy a bunch of iPads. Rave: 11:15 p.m.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (PG-13) — Las Vegas superstar magicians (Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi) secretly hate each other but have to pair up to fight competition from a street magician. Rave: 10:40 p.m.

Jack the Giant Slayer (PG-13) — Basically, it’s “Jack and the Beanstalk” with a bunch of CGI monsters and Ewan McGregor. Breckenridge: 12:35. Rave: 10:00 a.m. (3D).

Life of Pi (PG) — Based on the smash-hit book of the same name, from director Ang Lee. Market Street: 1:45, 6:45. Movies 10:12:35, 4:05, 7:00, 9:55.

Lincoln (PG-13) — Steven Spielberg’s biopic about Abraham Lincoln, with Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field. Movies 10: 3:30, 10:10.

Olympus Has Fallen (R) — Terrorists overtake the White House and kidnap the president in this not-at-all-utterly-implausible movie with Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman. Breckenridge: 12:45, 4:15, 7:10, 9:45. Chenal 9: 11:15 a.m., 2:00, 4:35, 7:30, 10:05. Rave: 10:05 a.m., 10:50 a.m., 1:05, 1:55, 4:10, 4:55, 7:00, 7:40, 9:55.

Oz the Great and Powerful (PG) — How the Wizard of Oz got that way. Breckenridge: 1:05, 7:15 (2D), 4:20, 10:10 (3D). Chenal 9: 4:30 (2D), 11:00 a.m., 1:50, 7:15, 10:05 (3D). Rave: 10:00 a.m., 12:55p, 3:55, 6:55, 9:50 (2D), 10:50 a.m., 1:50, 4:50, 8:10 (3D).

Parental Guidance (PG) — Boomer grandparents Billy Crystal and Bette Midler are outmatched by their bratty post-millennial grandkids. Movies 10: 12:15, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10:05.

Quartet (PG-13) — Bunch of retired British sing-

ers in an old folks home have to get the band back together to save the orphanage, er, sorry, the old folks home. Market Street: 2:15, 4:15, 7:15, 9:15.

Rise of the Guardians (PG) — Animated adventure story about a group of heroes who protect the imaginations of children from an evil spirit who wants to take over the world. Movies 10: 12:10, 2:25, 4:45, 7:15, 9:30 Safe Haven (PG-13) — Sorry dude, but you are definitely going to have to take your girlfriend to see this soft-focus yawn-fest. Breckenridge: 12:40, 4:35, 7:25, 10:10.

Silver Linings Playbook (R) — Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star as two dysfunctional yet charming weirdoes who are just trying to make their way in this crazy world, OK? Jeez!

Chenal 9: 7:05, 9:40. Market Street: 4:15, 9:15.

Spring Breakers (R) — Sex-drugs-and-dubstep skeeze-fest from director Harmony Korine, starring James Franco and his cornrows, grill and terrible Southern accent. Rave: 10:20 a.m., 12:50, 3:25, 5:50, 8:45, 11:10.

West of Memphis (R) — Acclaimed new documentary about the West Memphis Three case, from director Amy Berg. Market Street: 1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:30.

Wreck-It Ralph (PG) — Animated movie about a video game character. Movies 10: 1:20, 3:50, 6:20, 8:50 (2D), 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:35, 10:00.

Chenal 9 IMAX Theatre: 17825 Chenal Parkway, 821-2616, www.dtmovies.com.

Cinemark Tandy 10: 4188 E. McCain Blvd., 9457400, www.cinemark.com.

Cinematown Riverdale 10: Riverdale Shopping Center, 296-9955, www.riverdale10.com.

Lakewood 8: 2939 Lakewood Village Drive, 7585354, www.fandango.com.

Market Street Cinema: 1521 Merrill Drive, 3128900, www.marketstreetcinema.net.

Rave Colonel Glenn 18: 18 Colonel Glenn Plaza, 687-0499, www.ravemotionpictures.com.

Regal Breckenridge Village 12: 1-430 and Rodney Parham, 224-0990, www.fandango.com.

Regal McCain Mall 12: 3929 McCain Blvd., 7531380, www.regmovies.com.

MOVIE REVIEW

THE LITTLE ROCK FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS

ARGENTA FILM SERIES

‘OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN’: Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart star.

‘Die Hard’ in D.C., but dumber

AN OLIVER STONE FILM

‘Olympus Has Fallen’ has 15-year-old boys in its sights.

BY SAM EIFLING

I

f 15-year-old boys took business trips and mowed through paperbacks in airport bookstores, they’d make the novelization of “Olympus Has Fallen” a runaway success. It’s like a Tom Clancy story for gents who have to shave only once a week. It’s not particularly smart, but it does generate a sense of unbridled, gravity-free plotting and action, as if it were written under the influence of Mountain Dew Code Red and Fox News, in a tree house, the night before it was due. The script and ensuing play-acting are just a vehicle to answer this bong-hit-ilicious question: How could terrorists take over the White House and kidnap the president? Or, more to the point, how can that scenario be proffered without inspiring the audience to laugh popcorn out their noses?

You will laugh at “Olympus Has Fallen,” if only at its audacity. Here’s what happens.

The president is Aaron Eckhart. He has an accident that leads to the dismissal of his best Secret Service agent, Gerard Butler.

(Shots of flags being lowered, sounds of shrill brass and snare drums.) Time passes.

The news is on. North Korea has a big army! Then, a South Korean delegation visits the White House. There’s an attack on Washington, and everyone in the Oval Office scrambles into a deep bunker. The attack gets so intense that pretty soon a bunch of Korean commando-terrorists have killed practically every single person in the White House except for — our man Gerard Butler! He learns that in the bunker one of the Koreans is in fact a bad guy (Rick Yune) who’s using his hostages to leverage many bad guy plans. Over at the Pentagon, Speaker of the House Morgan Freeman has been appointed acting president. He believes in agent Gerard Butler, who has

to do a great deal of running and shooting and neck-breaking on behalf of America.

Getting through the whole bloody, explosiony mess will require a heavy dose of “sure, why the hell not.” You wish it were “Die Hard.” It wishes it were “Die Hard.” Director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) can’t quite pull off that much verisimilitude, but he steers right along the edge of groanworthy camp without ever capsizing. (Unless you count one overindulgent recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by a delirious secretary of defense. It’s like having liquid George Washington poured into your ears.) In some ways, you have to credit “Olympus” for the mistakes it didn’t make. There’s a subplot involving a child that wraps early instead of becoming uncomfortably manipulative. Butler and Eckhart play heroes with the right note of fear. At two hours, it’s actually long enough to let the story breathe some.

It also carries an oddly classic vibe, one that harks to the Cold War shoot-’em-ups of the ’80s. Almost 12 years after a truly horrific set of terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, we can once again support escapist entertainment that features a plane flown by suicide pilots, a terroristic takedown of a major government building, a crumbling landmark — and no mention whatsoever of 9/11 or al Qaeda.

We’ve reverted to a state of quasi-comfort that only comes with distance and a sense of steady, if permeable, safety. For as many times as it was repeated, usually with a dollop of irony, during the past decade?

The terrorists did not win. We know this because we still put them in our movies and let them think they’re winning just before we break their necks, all for Saturday matinee kicks.

MARCH 28

JFK

7pm Argenta Community Theater

Screening is part of the JFK 50 Years Later exhibit in the Argenta Arts District Admission FREE courtesy of William Laman Library

Seating is limited, RSVP at lrff.eventbrite.com

Single Parent Scholarship Fund (SPSF)

3rd Annual Perfect Gift Campaign No more flowers, and not another tie. This year, honor your parent and help another parent.

When you make a contribution of $50 or more, your name and the name of your honoree(s) will appear in the May edition of Soirée (for Mom) and the June 10th edition of Arkansas Business (for Dad).

All honorees will receive a card from SPSF acknowledging your contribution. All donors who sponsor scholarships will receive a letter from a student recipient.

Your gift provides scholarships and support services to high achieving, single-parent students in Pulaski County.

“When you bring single parents out of poverty, they bring their children with them.”

Order online at SPSFPulaski.org www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

85

hearsay ➥ Easter is almost here, and BOX TURTLE has great clothes, shoes and accessories to make sure you’re dressed in your spring best. ➥ L&L BECK GALLERY’S April exhibit is “Spring Flowers”, and will run through the month of April. The giclée giveaway of the month is titled, “Ladybug”, and the drawing will be at 7 p.m. April 18 at the gallery, located in the Heights. ➥ Need a laugh? Then head over to the LOONY BIN to see headliner Janet Williams, “The Tennessee Tramp”, perform April 3-6. Williams is a nationally touring comedian who has also done several USO tours including Japan, Korea, Guam, and Germany.

Shows are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; admission is $8. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.; admission is $12. Call 501-228-5555 for reservations or buy tickets online at loonybincomedy.com. ➥ Do a little spring cleaning and get rid of personal documents the safe way by attending DELTA TRUST AND BANK’S community shred it day, scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon April 27 at the Delta Trust Walton Heights branch.

Delta Trust has partnered with Shred-it, the premier, secure, on-site document destruction company, to offer residents a way to destroy confidential documents in a safe way that reduces your environmental impact and improves your security. Call 501-907-0333 for more information. ➥ Support PATHFINDER, INC., at its Wine & Cheese Gala fund-raiser, scheduled for 6-8 p.m. April 25 at the Governor’s Mansion. Pathfinder is dedicated to the development and implementation of individualized strategies designed to enable citizens with developmental disabilities and/or behavioral health needs total access to community life. For more information, email marketing@pathfinderinc.org.

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MARCH 28, 2013

View of downtown Little Rock from a River Market Tower unit.

MARCH 28, 2013

doorstep

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

The world at your

p

BY JANIE GINOCCHIO

I

The Riviera Condominiums

’m a big fan of not having to drive everywhere, which is why I would live downtown if I didn’t have considerations such as school zones and backyards for the rugrat to play in that factor into my housing choices.

And there are many who agree with me. In the last couple of decades, scores of Little Rock residents have enjoyed the conveniences of living within walking distance of some of the city’s major attractions, cultural resources and best restaurants.

Daniel Lilly, a Block 2 resident for 13 years and known as “Daniel the Dog Walker”, has had a front-row seat to watch downtown’s residential growth. “[I watched] this neighborhood go from ‘it’ll never work — NO ONE will live downtown’ to today’s it’s THE neighborhood to live in ALL Arkansas, and among the best in the United States,” he wrote on Apartmentratings.com.

“Our greatest amenity is our fantastic location,” Leslie Walraven of Block 2 Lofts said. “Living here, you will be steps away from the Statehouse Convention Center, courthouse and the finest bars and restaurants in the River Market District. Whether you want to enjoy the nightlife of Little Rock, shop at the Farmer’s Market, stroll or bike through parks, take in the theater, or attend concerts and events at Verizon Arena, you are just a walk or trolley ride away.”

But it’s not just about the great location, which also includes amazing views of the Arkansas River for a lot of residents. There’s a diversity in the type of space available, whether you prefer the more industrial feel of Block 2’s lofts or the more traditional style condos in buildings like Moses Tucker’s 300 Third Tower and River Market Tower.

“We think the simplicity of living downtown is the major selling feature – no lawns to mow, leaves to rake or roofs to repair – all of our buildings have some form of security which is greatly valued, as well,” real estate developer Jimmy Moses said of the properties he and business partner Rhett Tucker have developed. “Many of our buildings have food and beverage operations in them, including delivery, which is also a big plus.”

Moses Tucker’s latest project is The Mann Lofts, a joint venture with the Doyle Rogers Company, and the first residences for the Main Street commercial area. Located at 317 Main St., the lofts will all have very contemporary finishes, with 12- to 13-foot ceiling heights, large windows and secure parking, Moses said.

Most downtown residential developments also offer amenities like fitness facilities, party rooms, security systems and package acceptance, which makes life that much more convenient.

Lafayette Square in the historic Lafayette Building is a 10-story mixeduse development with 30 upscale condominiums located on the sixth through 10th floors. These one- and two-bedroom units are available for sale or rent. The building features an elegant grand lobby restored to its former glory, along with an evening doorman, a state-of-the-art security system, controlled entry access, video surveillance, gated parking, a 24-hour fitness facility, a gated dog walking area and storage units.

There is also a ballroom that is used as an event center and is a popular location for weddings. The condominium features include hardwood cabinetry in the kitchen, ceramic tile floors, granite tile kitchen counters, stainless steel appliances, cultured marble bathroom counters,a garden-style jetted tub and walk-in shower.

“Across the state, and especially in Little Rock, condo living is rapidly growing in popularity,” Nina DuBois, of Riviera Condominiums, located in Riverdale, said. “Condominium ownership a perfect fit for busy, active people who a carefree after-work existence, close to the action.”

Just steps from a number of award-winning restaurants, some of the South’s most sought-after designers and a network of Arkansas River trails that connect the River Market, the Riviera is an 11-story building in the heart of the Riverdale design district. Just down Cantrell Road from downtown, living at the Riviera is close to the River Market district, as well as to the Heights and Hillcrest.

Living downtown is the perfect blend of urban convenience without the big city hassles, and whether you like your space to be industrial and hip or sophisticated and polished, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

A unit at the Mann Lofts.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

MARCH 28, 2013

87

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’ THE BENNETT FAMILY has sold Vieux Carre and the Afterthought, the Hillcrest bistro and jazz club they’ve owned for seven and a half years, to local businessman Joe Gillespie, according to Linda Bennett. Her son, chef David Bennett, “is looking forward to spending more time with his family and hopes to find a spot where he can cook, be creative and not be tied down 7 days a week managing bar and restaurant,” she said in an email. Gillespie did not return a phone call from the Times before press time. According to Bennett, he takes control of the business April 1.

The Hive

21c Museum Hotel 200 N.E. A St. Bentonville 72712 479-286-6575 QUICK BITE If you’re there on a weekend, reserve a table. But the bar is so glamorous that you might want to work in a cocktail before the seating. The chef describes the menu as “High South,” with offerings like pimento cheese, “Arkansas Trail Mix” of pecans, soybeans, black walnuts and cheddar straws, grits, etc. You must have the frisee, egg or no. The pork chop is great.

HOURS Breakfast 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 11:30 Saturday and Sunday; dinner 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The bar is open 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

4 SQUARE CAFE AND GIFTS Vegetarian salads, soups, wraps and paninis and a broad selection of smoothies in an Arkansas products gift shop. 405 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-244-2622. BLD daily.

ALL AMERICAN WINGS The downtown location of a small chain of wing shops that feature 13 flavors of wings, from hot to not. 801 W. Markham. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-0000. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. 7706 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-223-3355. Serving LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. ARGENTA MARKET The Argenta District’s neighborhood grocery store offers a deli featuring a daily selection of big sandwiches along with fresh fish and meats and salads. Emphasis here is on Arkansas-farmed foods and organic products. 521 N. Main St. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-379-9980. L daily, D Mon.-Sat., B Sat., BR Sun. ARKANSAS BURGER CO. Good burgers, fries and shakes, plus salads and other entrees. Try the cheese dip. 7410 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-6630600. LD Tue.-Sat. ASHLEY’S The premier fine dining restaurant in Little Rock marries Southern traditionalism and haute cuisine. The menu is often daring and always delicious. 111 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-3747474. BLD Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. BELWOOD DINER Traditional breakfasts and plate lunch specials are the norm at this lost-in-time hole in the wall. 3815 MacArthur Drive. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-753-1012. BL Mon.-Fri. BEV & GUY’S FISH & CHICKEN Seating is limited to eight, so customers might want to consider the carry-out option. This restaurant specializes in fried catfish fillets and chicken and all the trimmings. 3319 John Barrow Road. No alcohol, No CC. $.

501-224-2981. L Fri.-Sat. D Thu., Sat., Sun. BONEFISH GRILL A half-dozen or more types of fresh fish filets are offered daily

88

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

PLEASING PIG: The Hive’s brined pork chop.

Getting a buzz on at the Hive Penguins and pork chops stand out.

W

e missed Drew Barrymore and Harrison Ford by a day, sadly, but the company of a large green penguin more than made up for that. The 21c Museum Hotel is star-studded in its own right, with its check-in smack dab in the middle of an art gallery, one among four on the ground floor exhibiting installation art, video art and, for the time being, a show called “Hybridity: The New Frontier,” that explores uncomfortable combinations of animals with animals and animals with humans.

Then there’s the Hive, the hotel’s restaurant, all glass walls and swanky white banquettes and shiny floors watched over by an elk’s head fashioned of high-heeled shoes. The bar is equally swell, and, the night we visited, there was hockey on television and the place was packed with 30-somethings.

“This is [expletive deleted] Bentonville?” That’s what our friend, who used to report on Wal-Mart in the 1980s and remembered the town as a small, sad

place, exclaimed as we entered the restaurant for our 8:30 p.m. (the earliest we could get) seating.

Who could blame her for her astounded oath? There’s nothing quite like 21c anywhere else in Arkansas, but then there’s nothing that quite compares with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, either. The hotel, which opened in February, is owned by art collectors, and is a luxe spot situated just across the road from the Compton Gardens entrance to the museum.

The kitchen, on the other hand, can’t claim supremacy over other fine dining spots. On the night we dined there were some bumps in the otherwise elegant road.

But first, the brined pork chop. This expertly made entree lived up to the high expectations that are set by dining among high art. The kitchen, with Matthew McClure at its helm, butchers its own Berkshire pigs so that the chops are oversized. Ours was tender and juicy and the best thing that came

MORE INFO Lunch will be served starting sometime in April. Full bar, all credit cards.

Green penguins may accompany you at your table.

to the table with the exception of the salad that accompanied the 25 Minute Egg. Glad you asked about the egg: This, our effervescent long-black-apron-clad waitress explained, is an egg cooked at a low temperature for 25 minutes to produce the perfect texture, with a soft yolk that would not run. They are cooked beforehand, somehow, so you don’t have to wait 25 minutes for one, she said.

This was bump no. 1. The yolk ran like crazy, which didn’t bother this eater but would discomfit people who have a past with runny eggs. Nevertheless, the egg was atop an extraordinarily delicious salad of frisee (a type of chicory) dressed in truffle oil and bacon. It was the best salad in the whole wide world, even if the 25 minute egg on top was shy about 20 minutes. We also had a tasty, if a bit precious, little go-before of ricotta-stuffed cavatelli served with wild mushrooms, edamame beans and little shavings of pecorino cheese.

Bump 2 was a bit more serious. The Aleppo Pepper Panisse, chickpea cakes served with roasted root vegetables and fennel, sounded delicious to our more daring diner, and the vegetables were fine. But the proportion of chickpea to salt was roughly 1 pea to 3 T salt. So was

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.

the second brought to the table after the first was sent back. We thought it best to alert someone in the kitchen that perhaps more than one cook had thought it his job to add salt to the batch and a nice man who identified himself later as the manager swiftly returned the second chickpea dish back to the kitchen. Just as quickly he came back to our table to say the line chef had had a bite and spit it out, so now his sincere apology became a super sincere apology and the dish was comped, as was its substitute, roasted locally-raised chicken.

Our other dining partner chose the Chatham cod, fine but nothing to write home about. Does anyone ever write home about cod? It was a wee bit overcooked.

Delicious purees accompanied the cod and chop; carrots with the cod and sweet potato with the chop. The braised greens that came with the chop were delicious. A minor flaw: the bread was served after the first course.

One of the high points of the experience was the solid green plastic penguin that joined us at our table at the request of the chickpea chooser. Our penguin made us happy. We had our pictures made with (we assume) him.

We kept patting his head. He had such presence! These tall plastic penguins are a Hotel 21 c shtick; they’re scattered about the hotel, in our case able to turn a party of three into a party of four. There are penguins of various colors at all 21c hotels (Louisville [red], Cincinnati [yellow] and, soon, Lexington, Ky. [to be determined]); one of the 15 people who came to our table to check that we’d been properly attended to said the staff had chosen the color.

They are designed by the Cracking Art Group, named for “the chemical reaction that occurs when converting raw crude oil into plastic, or the moment when the natural becomes artificial,” according to the website.

Wine, it should be noted, isn’t cheap, but it isn’t big city prices either: Our glass of Sonoma-Cutrer was $10; a bottle of Lai Lai pinot noir was $36. One is made to think the wine by the glass is a bargain because it is served in an amount the hotel calls a “quartine” – a glass plus a tiny carafe.

Oh, about Barrymore and Ford.

They were up for a Walmart meeting.

All in Bentonville!

BELLY UP

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

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

at this upscale chain. 11525 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-228-0356. D Mon.-Fri., LD Fri.-Sat., BR Sun. BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT The food’s great, portions huge, prices reasonable. Diners can look into the open kitchen and watch the culinary geniuses at work slicing and dicing and sauteeing. It’s great fun, and the fish is special.

2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-2677. LD Mon.-Fri. D Sat. BRAY GOURMET DELI AND CATERING Turkey spreads in four flavors — original, jalapeno, cajun and dill — and the homemade pimiento cheese are the signature items at Chris Bray’s delicatessen, which serves sandwiches, wraps, soups, stuffed potatoes and

salads and sells the turkey spreads to go.

Arkansas Fresh Breads supplies the bread; the olive oil sourdough is an exclusive. You can buy loaves, too. Petit Jean supplies the ham and peppered beef. Breakfast features cinnamon rolls and muffins. 323 Center St. Suite 150. No alcohol, All CC. 501-353-1045. BL Mon.-Fri.

BY THE GLASS A broad but not ridiculously large wine list is studded with interesting, diverse selections, and prices are uniformly reasonable. The food focus is on high-end items that pair well with wine — olives, hummus, cheese, bread, and some meats and sausages. Happy hour daily from 4-6 p.m.

5713 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-663-9463. D Mon.-Sat.

FRESH • HANDMADE • DELICIOUS

NORTHERN AND COASTAL ITALIAN CUISINE

C A S U A L

•

E C L E C T I C

•

F U N

Lunch M-F 11-2 • Dinner M-TH 5-9 • Dinner Fri-Sat 5-10 • Bar Open: Until Located in the Historic Mathis Building • 220 West 6th Street • Downtown Little Rock 501.374.5100

Private events in the LULAV LOFT for 20-300

GOOD FRIENDS • FINE SPIRITS • GREAT TASTE Martini / Wine Bar • Piano Bar 35 wines by the glass 335 Wine SeLeCtionS Fine SPiritS FroM around the WorLd (SCotCh LiSt FroM every region oF SCotLand) 6 SingLe-BarreL BourBonS Private CorPorate LunCheS

best steAk 2005-2012

Now BookiNg Holiday ReseRvatioNs 500 Pres. Clinton Avenue (river MArket DistriCt) reservAtions (501) 324-2999

FREE VALET PARKING

CAPITAL BAR AND GRILL Big hearty sandwiches, daily lunch specials and fine evening dining all rolled up into one at this landing spot downtown. Surprisingly inexpensive with a great bar staff and a good selection of unique desserts. 111 Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-7474. LD daily.

CAPITOL BISTRO Serving breakfast and lunch items, including quiche, sandwiches, coffees and the like. 1401 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-371-9575. BL Mon.-Fri. CATERING TO YOU Painstakingly prepared entrees and great appetizers in this gourmetto-go location, attached to a gift shop. Caters everything from family dinners to weddings and large corporate events. 8121 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-614-9030.

Serving meals to go: LD Mon.-Sat. CATFISH HOLE Downhome place for wellcooked catfish and tasty hushpuppies. 603 E. Spriggs. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-758-3516.

D Tue.-Sat. CIAO BACI The focus is on fine dining in this casually elegant Hillcrest bungalow, though excellent tapas are out of this world. The treeshaded, light-strung deck is a popular destination. 605 N. Beechwood St. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-603-0238. D Mon.-Sat. CRAZEE’S COOL CAFE Good burgers, daily plate specials and bar food amid pool tables and TVs. 7626 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-221-9696. LD Mon.-Sat. CUPCAKES ON KAVANAUGH Gourmet cupcakes and coffee, indoor seating. 5625 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-664-2253. LD Mon.-Sat. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-2253.

LD Tue.-Sat. DEMPSEY BAKERY Bakery with sit down area, serving coffee and specializing in gluten-, nutand soy-free baked goods. 323 Cross St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-2257. Serving BL Tue.-Sat. DIXON ROAD BLUES CAFE Sandwiches, burgers and salads. 1505 W. Dixon Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-888-2233. BLD Mon.-Sat. DOE’S EAT PLACE A skid-row dive turned power brokers’ watering hole with huge steaks, great tamales and broiled shrimp, and killer burgers at lunch. 1023 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-1195. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. EJ’S EATS AND DRINKS The friendly neighborhood hoagie shop downtown serves at a handful of tables and by delivery. The sandwiches are generous, the soup homemade and the salads cold. Vegetarians can craft any number of acceptable meals from the flexible menu. The housemade potato chips are da bomb. 523 Center St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$.

501-666-3700. LD Mon.-Fri. FILIBUSTER’S BISTRO & LOUNGE Sandwiches, salads in the Legacy Hotel. 625 W. Capitol Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-3740100. D Mon.-Fri. FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES Nationwide burger chain with emphasis on freshly made fries and patties and over 15 toppings for you to create your own burger. 13000 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-2251100. LD daily.; 2923 Lakewood Village Dr. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-246-5295.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 90

sonnywilliamssteakroom.com www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

89

CROSSWORD

DINING CAPSULES, CONT.

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

ACROSS

31

1 Dust

Bowl phenomenon 8 Word with oyster or rose 11 Chatter 14 “Verrry interesting!”

15 Facebook co- founder Saverin 17 Total 18 Shades, e.g.

19 Travel option 20 “Grand, ungodly, godlike man” of fiction 22 Latin lover’s whisper 23 It might avoid a collar 24 “No ___!”

26 Biblical hunter 27 Last Pope Paolo, numerically 29 Goose : gaggle :: ___ : knot 30 Hotel room option

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Be off Press Hierarchical level: Abbr.

Charmin and others, for short Started Hi-___ Move like a 29-Across Stipend source “Bewitched” wife, familiarly Norway’s patron saint Skedaddles Spin-heavy shot Spin-o -___ (360° hockey maneuver) Commercial snack cakes Unbelievable, say A satellite may be kept in it

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE R E F E R S

S H A B B A T

E L I C I T

P A R A D E

L A P A L M A

E U R O C O I N

O N E S S H E E L E V L E E D G A K S U S N E G S

O R B B E L I D E D U S E T R A E F V A T E A R B A R B T A G E O S L F

L A T C Y E P E B O R E R N O T E P E E G R O

R A S H A D

O T T O

S O L V E E F N O C A R T C S T O C T A P O N D O A L S E

E Y E E X A M

S A Y N O T O

R E L O A N

M A O R I S

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First name in the 2012 Republican primary Enterprise counselor Private performances?

Discuss in detail Pull in the driveway, say Orchestrate Suffers from What cats and waves do Seafloor features

1

2

3

4

DOWN

brew

3 Radio format 4 Howl 5 Econ. stat 6 ___ blazes 7 ___ wonder

(Tone Loc or Crowded House, e.g.)

8 Apiarist’s facial display 9 Big name in ice cream 10 Offenbach’s “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour,” e.g.

11 Like frying vis-à-vis baking 12 Unwillingness to yield 13 New York City composition 16 Every seven days 21 See 32-Down 25 See 32-Down

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

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PUZZLE BY PAUL HUNSBERGER

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“Carmina Burana” composer With 21- and 25-Down, lacking refinement … like this puzzle’s grid?

Cracker topper

36 37

38 40 45

Leaving no stone unturned One is named for the explorer James Ross Mass junk mailers Worker’s advocate “The Bad News Bears” actor

47 49 51 52 53 56 59 63 65

Islam, e.g.

“Who cares?”

Unisex wrap Shed, with “off” In groups “Octopus’s Garden” singer Utility belt item Actress Thurman Sign of a hit

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

THIS MODERN WORLD

90

5

LD daily.

FLYING FISH The fried seafood is fresh and crunchy and there are plenty of raw, boiled and grilled offerings, too. The hamburgers are a hit, too.

It’s self-service; wander on through the screen door and you’ll find a slick team of cooks and servers doing a creditable job of serving big crowds.

511 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-375-3474. LD daily.

THE GRAND CAFE Typical hotel restaurant fare from this Hilton cafe. 925 South University Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-664-5020. BLD daily.

GRUMPY’S TOO Music venue and sports bar with lots of TVs, pub grub and regular drink specials. 1801 Green Mountain Drive. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-3768. LD Mon.-Sat. HOMER’S Great vegetables, huge yeast rolls and killer cobblers. Follow the mobs. 2001 E. Roosevelt Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-1400.

BL Mon.-Fri. 9700 N Rodney Parham. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-6637.

LD Mon.-Sat. THE HOUSE A comfortable gastropub in Hillcrest, where you’ll find traditional fare like burgers and fish and chips alongside Thai green curry and gumbo. 722 N. Palm St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4500. D daily, BR, L Sat.-Sun. IRONHORSE SALOON Bar and grill offering juicy hamburgers and cheeseburgers. 9125 Mann Road. Full bar, All CC. $. 501-562-4464. LD daily.

JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES Consistently fine sandwiches, side orders and desserts for 30 years. Chicken salad’s among the best in town, and there are fun specialty sandwiches such as Thai One On and The. Garden Get there early for lunch. 5116 W. Markham St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-666-3354. L Mon.-Sat., D Mon.-Sat. (drive-through only).

KRAZY MIKE’S Po’Boys, catfish and shrimp and other fishes, fried chicken wings and all the expected sides served up fresh and hot to order on demand. 200 N. Bowman Road. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-907-6453. LD daily.

LOCA LUNA Grilled meats, seafood and pasta dishes that never stray far from country roots, whether Italian, Spanish or Arkie. “Gourmet plate lunches” are good, as is Sunday brunch. 3519 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-4666. BR Sun., LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. LULAV Comfortably chic downtown bistro with continental and Asian fare.

220 A W. 6th St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-374-5100. L Mon.-Fri., D daily.

MILFORD TRACK Healthy and tasty are the key words at this deli/grill that serves breakfast and lunch. Hot entrees change daily and there are soups, sandwiches, salads and killer desserts. Bread is baked in-house, and there are several veggie options. 10809 Executive Center Dr., Searcy Building.

No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-223-2257. BL Mon.-Sat. OYSTER BAR Gumbo, red beans and rice (all you can eat on Mondays), peel-and-eat shrimp, oysters on the half shell, addictive po’ boys. Killer jukebox. 3003 W. Markham St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-7100.

LD Mon.-Sat. OZARK COUNTRY RESTAURANT A long-standing favorite with many Little Rock residents, the eatery specializes in big country breakfasts and pancakes plus sandwiches and several meat-and-two options for lunch and dinner. Try the pancakes and don’t leave without some sort of smoked meat. 202 Keightley Drive. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-7319. B daily, L Mon.-Fri., D Thu.-Sat. PLAYTIME PIZZA Tons of fun isn’t rained out by lackluster eats at the new Playtime Pizza, the $11 million, 65,000 square foot kidtopia near the Rave theater. While the buffet is only so-so, features like indoor mini-golf, laser tag, go karts, arcade games and bumper cars make it a winner for both kids and adults. 600 Colonel Glenn Plaza Loop. All CC. $-$$. 501-227-7529.

D Mon.-Wed., LD Thu.-Sun. PURPLE COW DINER 1950s fare — cheeseburgers, chili dogs, thick milk shakes — in a ‘50s setting at today’s prices. Also at 11602 Chenal Parkway. 8026 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-221-3555. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 11602 Chenal Pkwy. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-4433. LD daily, BR Sat.-Sun. 1419 Higden Ferry Road. Hot Springs. Beer, All CC. $$. 501-625-7999. LD daily, B Sun. THE RELAY This grill offers a short menu, which includes chicken strips, French fries, hamburgers, jalapeno poppers and cheese sticks. 12225 Stagecoach Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-455-9919. LD daily.

THE ROOT CAFE Homey, local foods-focused cafe. With tasty burgers, homemade bratwurst, banh mi and a number of vegan and veggie options. Breakfast and Sunday brunch, too. 1500 S. Main St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. BL Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. SALUT BISTRO This bistro/late-night hangout does upscale Italian for dinner and pub grub until the wee hours. But there’s no late-night food on Wednesday! 1501 N. University. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-660-4200.

L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. SANDY’S HOMEPLACE CAFE Specializing in home style buffet, with two meats and seven vegetables to choose from. It’s all-you-can-eat. 1710 E 15th St. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-375-3216. L Mon.-Fri. SCALLIONS Reliably good food, great desserts, pleasant atmosphere, able servers — a solid lunch spot. 5110 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-6468. L Mon.-Sat. SHAKE’S FROZEN CUSTARD Frozen custards, concretes, sundaes. 12011 CONTINUED ON PAGE 92

Ride the Arkansas Times Bus To OUT 6, 2013 Saturday,SOLD april

Saturday, MAY 18, 2013

99

$

TIM HURSLEY

LAST CHANCE TO SEE ROCKWELL EXHIBIT!

per person

HOSTED BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK, FINE ART EDITOR Join us on our journey to see a vast collection of masterworks in a masterfully designed museum, set into 100 acres of beautiful trail-threaded woodland. Museum founder Alice Walton has assembled one of the most important collections of American art in the country, including paintings, drawings and sculpture from America’s colonial period to the present, from Peale’s famed portrait of George Washington to Mark Rothko’s brilliant abstraction in orange. Moshe Safdie’s design for the museum incorporates areas for contemplation and study with views of the spring-fed ponds that give the museum its name and the Ozarks.

Norman Rockwell traveling exhibition at Crystal Bridges One of the most popular American artists of the past century, Norman Rockewell was a keen observer of human nature and a gifted storyteller. This exhibition features 50 original paintings and 323 Saturday Evening Post covers. Timed, reserved tickets will be required to view this exhibition.

Price Includes: • round trip tour bus transportation • lunch & dinner • museum admission is free

Bus leaves at 8:30 am from Main Street parking deck at 2nd and Main. buses provided by arrow coach lines

Charge By Phone: (all major credit cards)

501-375-2985

Or mail check or money-order to Arkansas Times Crystal Bridges Bus PO Box 34010 • Little Rock, AR • 72203 At the museum in April: Special exhibits “Art Under Pressure,” etchings, engravings and other prints made between 1925 and 1945 by Thomas Hart Benton, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Edward Hopper and others, much of it addressing social issues, and “Abstractions on Paper,” work from the Arkansas Arts Center that complements Crystal Bridges’ modern works.

ARKANSAS TIMES

www.arktimes.com

A South MAin inStitution For More thAn 60 YeArS Little Rock’s Down-Home Neighborhood Bar 7th & Thayer · Little Rock · (501) 375-8400

Since 1952

Friday, March 29

John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives (Memphis, TN)

continually evolving ...changing ...improving — along with South Main!

Tuesday, april 2

Frontier Circus w/ Rolling Blackout

Wednesday, april 3

A community gathering place.

The Hot 8 Brass Band!!!

(New Orleans)

Thursday, april 4 Adam Faucett

check out additional shows at

1200 Main Street, 375-6418 • 270 S Shackleford, 224-1656

coMMunitybakery.coM

whitewatertavern.com

STATE OF MINORITY H E A LT H a r k a n S a S m i n o r i t y H e a lt H c o m m i S S i o n ’ S

in arkanSaS

Thursday april 11, 2013

Health Priorities The Impact on YOU

5:30 to 7:00 pm

immediately followed by a reception

liberty Hill baptist CHurCH 1215 South Schiller

•

little rock, ArkAnSAS f eatu r i n g

gov. miKe beebe

rep. fred love rep. reginald State representative, murdoCK district 29 State representative, district 48

sen. stepHanie flowers State Senator, district 5

andy allison director, arkansas division of medical Services

naomi Cottoms executive director, tri-county rural Health network, inc.

sandra CooK consumer assistance Specialist, arkansas insurance department

to register for tHis free event Your Health. Our Priority.

Call (501) 686-2720 or email anwan middleton at anwan.middleton@arKansas.gov

arminorityHealth.com please join us for tHe arKansas minority HealtH Commission’s state of minority HealtH in arKansas.

92

MARCH 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Art Direction: The Design Group 501.492.4900 • designgroupmarketing.com

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. Westhaven Dr. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-2240150. LD daily.

SHIPLEY DO-NUTS With locations just about everywhere in Central Arkansas, it’s hard to miss Shipley’s. Their signature smooth glazed doughnuts and dozen or so varieties of fills are well known. 7514 Cantrell Rd. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-664-5353. B daily.

SHORTY SMALL’S Land of big, juicy burgers, massive cheese logs, smoky barbecue platters and the signature onion loaf. 1100 N. Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-2243344. LD daily.

SONNY WILLIAMS’ STEAK ROOM Steaks, chicken and seafood in a wonderful setting in the River Market. Steak gets pricey, though.

Menu is seasonal, changes every few months.

500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$$.

501-324-2999. D Mon.-Sat. STAGECOACH GROCERY AND DELI Fine po’ boys and muffalettas — and cheap. 6024 Stagecoach Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$.

501-455-4157. BLD Mon.-Fri., BL Sat.-Sun. TERRI-LYNN’S BAR-B-Q AND DELI Highquality meats served on large sandwiches and good tamales served with chili or without (the better bargain). 10102 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-227-6371.

BL Tue.-Fri., BLD Sat. (close at 5pm).

WEST END SMOKEHOUSE AND TAVERN Its primary focus is a sports bar with 50-plus TVs, but the dinner entrees (grilled chicken, steaks and such) are plentiful and the bar food is upper quality. 215 N. Shackleford. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-7665. L Fri.-Sun., D daily.

WINGSTOP It’s all about wings. The joint features ten flavors of chicken flappers for almost any palate, including mild, hot, Cajun and atomic, as well as specialty flavors like lemon pepper, teriyaki, Garlic parmesan and Hawaiian. 11321 West Markham St. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-9464. LD daily.

ASIAN

A.W. LIN’S ASIAN CUISINE Excellent panAsian with wonderful service. 17717 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-5398.

LD daily.

CHINA INN Massive Chinese buffet overflows with meaty and fresh dishes, augmented at dinner by boiled shrimp, oysters on the half shell and snow crab legs, all you want cheap.

2629 Lakewood Village Place. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-771-2288. LD daily.

CHINA PLUS BUFFET Large Chinese buffet.

6211 Colonel Glenn Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-1688. LD daily.

CURRY IN A HURRY Home-style Indian food with a focus on fresh ingredients and spices.

11121 North Rodney Parham. Beer, Wine, No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-4567. LD Mon., Wed.-Sun. HANAROO SUSHI BAR One of the few spots in downtown Little Rock to serve sushi. With an expansive menu, featuring largely Japanese fare. Try the popular Tuna Tatari bento box.

205 W. Capitol Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-301-7900. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat. LEMONGRASS ASIA BISTRO Fairly solid Thai bistro. Try the Tom Kha Kai and white wine alligator. They don’t have a full bar, but you can order beer, wine and sake. 4629 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-945-4638.

LD Mon.-Sun. MR. CHEN’S ASIAN SUPERMARKET AND RESTAURANT A combination Asian restaurant and grocery with cheap, tasty and exotic offerings. 3901 S. University Ave. $. 501-5627900. LD daily.

NEW CHINA A burgeoning line of massive buffets, with hibachi grill, sushi, mounds of Chinese food and soft serve ice cream. 4617

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-8988. LD daily. 2104 Harkrider.

Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-7641888. LD Mon.-Sun. PHO THANH MY It says “Vietnamese noodle soup” on the sign out front, and that’s what you should order. The pho comes in outrageously large portions with bean sprouts and fresh herbs. Traditional pork dishes, spring rolls and bubble tea also available. 302 N. Shackleford Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-312-7498. LD Mon, Wed.-Sun. ROYAL BUFFET A big buffet of Chinese fare, with other Asian tastes as well. 109 E. Pershing.

NLR. Beer, All CC. 501-753-8885. LD daily.

SEKISUI Fresh-tasting sushi chain with fun hibachi grill and an overwhelming assortment of traditional entrees. Nice wine selection, also serves sake and specialty drinks. 219 N. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$.

501-221-7070. LD daily.

SHOGUN JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE The chefs will dazzle you, as will the variety of tasty stir-fry combinations and the sushi bar. Usually crowded at night. 2815 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-666-7070. D daily.

TOKYO HOUSE Defying stereotypes, this Japanese buffet serves up a broad range of fresh, slightly exotic fare — grilled calamari, octopus salad, dozens of varieties of fresh sushi — as well as more standard shrimp and steak options. 11 Shackleford Dr. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-219-4286. LD daily.

WASABI Downtown sushi and Japanese cuisine. For lunch, there’s quick and hearty sushi samplers. 101 Main St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-0777. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat.

BARBECUE

CHIP’S BARBECUE Tasty, if a little pricey, barbecue piled high on sandwiches generously doused with the original tangy sauce or one of five other sauces. Better known for the incredible family recipe pies and cheesecakes, which come tall and wide. 9801 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-225-4346. LD Mon.-Sat. DIXIE PIG Pig salad is tough to beat. It comes with loads of chopped pork atop crisp iceberg, doused with that wonderful vinegar-based sauce. The sandwiches are basic, and the sweet, thick sauce is fine. Serving Little Rock since 1923. 900 West 35th St. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-9650. LD Mon.-Sat.

PIT STOP BAR AND GRILL A working-man’s bar and grill, with barbecue, burgers, breakfast and bologna sandwiches, plus live music on Friday and Saturday nights. 5506 Baseline Road. Full bar, No CC. $$. 501-562-9635. BLD daily.

ITALIAN

CAFE PREGO Dependable entrees of pasta, pork, seafood, steak and the like, plus great sauces, fresh mixed greens and delicious dressings, crisp-crunchy-cold gazpacho and tempting desserts in a comfy bistro setting.

Little Rock standard for 18 years. 5510 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-5355. LD Mon.-Sat. CIAO ITALIAN RESTAURANT Don’t forget about this casual yet elegant bistro tucked into a downtown storefront. The fine pasta and seafood dishes, ambiance and overall charm combine to make it a relaxing, enjoyable, affordable choice. 405 W. Seventh St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-0238. L Mon.-Fri., D Thu.-Sat. GRADY’S PIZZA AND SUBS Pizza features a pleasing blend of cheeses rather than straight mozzarella. The grinder is a classic, the chef’s salad huge and tasty. 6801 W. 12th St., Suite C. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-1918. LD daily.

IRIANA’S PIZZA Unbelievably generous handtossed New York style pizza with unmatched zest. Good salads, too; grinders are great, particularly the Italian sausage. 201 E. Markham St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-374-3656. LD Mon.-Sat. PIERRE’S GOURMET PIZZA CO. EXPRESS KITCHEN Chef/owner Michael Ayers has reinvented his pizzeria, once located on JFK in North Little Rock, as the first RV entry into mobile food truck scene. With a broad menu of pizza, calzones, salads and subs. 760 C Edgewood Drive. No alcohol, No CC. $$.

501-410-0377. L Mon.-Fri. ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL A chain restaurant with a large menu of pasta, chicken, beef, fish, unusual dishes like Italian nachos, and special dishes with a corporate bent.

11100 W Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-221-3150. LD daily.

U.S. PIZZA AND SALAD EXPRESS A downtown offshoot off the original with a distilled menu that includes pizza, salad and sandwiches. Call in pizza orders ahead of arrival.

402 S. Louisiana St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-374-5561. L Mon.-Fri. U.S. PIZZA Crispy thin-crust pizzas, frosty beers and heaping salads drowned in creamy dressing. 2710 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-2198. LD daily. 5524

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

CREGEEN’S IRISH PUB Irish-themed pub with a large selection of on-tap and bottled British beers and ales, an Irish inspired menu and lots of nooks and crannies to meet in. Specialties include fish ‘n’ chips and Guinness beef stew.

Live music on weekends and $5 cover on Saturdays. 301 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-376-7468. LD daily.

ISTANBUL MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE This Turkish eatery offers decent kebabs and great starters. The red pepper hummus is a winner.

So are Cigar Pastries. Possibly the best Turkish coffee in Central Arkansas. 11525 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-2239332. LD daily.

LAYLA’S GYROS AND PIZZERIA Delicious Mediterranean fare — gyros, falafel, shawarma, kabobs, hummus and babaganush — that has a devoted following. All meat is slaughtered according to Islamic dietary law. 9501 N Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-227-7272. LD daily (close 5 p.m. on Sun.).

L E O ’ S G R E E K C A S T L E Wonderful Mediterranean food — gyro sandwiches or platters, falafel and tabouleh — plus dependable hamburgers, ham sandwiches, steak platters and BLTs. Breakfast offerings are expanded with gyro meat, pitas and triple berry pancakes.

2925 Kavanaugh Blvd. No alcohol, CC. $-$$.

501-666-7414. BLD Mon.-Sat., BL Sun. (close at 4 p.m.).

NEXT BISTRO & BAR Mediterranean food and drinks. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. 501-663-6398. D Tue.-Thu., Sat. SILVEK’S EUROPEAN BAKERY Fine pastries, chocolate creations, breads and cakes done in the classical European style. Drop by for a whole cake or a slice or any of the dozens of single serving treats in the big case. 1900 Polk St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-661-9699. BLD daily.

TAZIKI’S GREEK FARE Fast casual chain that offers gyros, grilled meats and veggies, hummus and pimento cheese. 12800 Chenal Parkway. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-225-1829.

LD daily.

Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-664-7071. LD daily. 9300 North Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-224-6300. LD daily. 3307 Fair Park Blvd.

Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-565-6580. LD daily. 650 Edgewood Drive. Maumelle. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-851-0880. LD daily.

3324 Pike Avenue. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-758-5997. LD daily. 4001 McCain Park Drive. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-753-2900. LD daily. 5524 John F Kennedy Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-9755524. LD daily.

ZAFFINO’S BY NORI A high-quality Italian dining experience. Pastas, entrees (don’t miss the veal marsala) and salads are all outstanding.

2001 E. Kiehl Ave. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. 501-834-7530. D Tue.-Sat.

LATINO

BROWNING’S MEXICAN GRILL New rendition of a 65-year institution in Little Rock is a totally different experience. Large, renovated space is a Heights hangout with a huge bar, sports on TV and live music on weekends.

Some holdover items in name only but recast fresher and tastier. Large menu with some hits and some misses. 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-9956. LD daily, BR Sat-Sun. CANON GRILL Tex-Mex, pasta, sandwiches and salads. Creative appetizers come in huge quantities, and the varied main-course menu rarely disappoints, though it’s not as spicy as competitors’. 2811 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-664-2068. LD daily.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL Burritos, burrito bowls, tacos and salads are the four main courses of choice — and there are four meats and several other options for filling them. Sizes are uniformly massive, quality is uniformly strong, and prices are uniformly low. 11525 Cantrell Road. All CC. $-$$. 501-221-0018. LD daily.

COTIJA’S A branch off the famed La Hacienda family tree downtown, with a massive menu of tasty lunch and dinner specials, the familiar white cheese dip and sweet red and fieryhot green salsas, and friendly service. 406 S. Louisiana St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-244-0733.

L Mon.-Fri. EL CHICO Hearty, standard Mexican served in huge portions. 8409 Interstate 30. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-3762. LD daily.

Holy Week Easter

PULASKI HEIGHTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

March 28 - MAUNDY THURSDAY

12 noon & 6 pm, Sanctuary

March 29 - GOOD FRIDAY - “Stations of the Cross”

12 noon & 6 pm, Sanctuary

March 30 - EASTER EGG HUNT - 10:30 am - 12 noon

Allsopp Park, 3700 Cedar Hill Rd., Little Rock For 2nd grade & under

In case of rain, location will be at PHUMC - Great Hall

&

Services

March 31, EASTER SUNDAY      

 www.arktimes.com

MARCH 28, 2013

93

Youth Home’s

Eggshibition 2013

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Tickets $50

immigration Michel Leidermann Moderator

Thursday, March 28 at 10:30 PM Broadcast in Spanish with English subtitles

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YH Eggshibition AR Times - 1/4 page - 4.5” x 5.875”

ARKANSAS TIMES CLASSIFIEDS

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A V I AT I O N G E N E R A L M a n a g e r, machining, sheet metal, electronics, assembly, supervisory experience, growing small manufacturer, excellent growth potential, fax resume 931-5376495.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

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Programmer Analyst

PROTECH SOLUTIONS INC., Nationwide Innovative IT solutions Provider has several immediate opportunities in Little Rock AR. Responsibilities include: Development and testing of Software Applications, which includes analyzing and converting program specifications and procedures to detailed logical flow diagrams, coding, testing and documenting applications using one or more of the following: JAVA, JSP, J2EE, Servlets, EJB, JDBC, Struts, Spring, XML, Javascript, Perl, AJAX, Web Services, HTML, UML, WebSphere, WSAD, JUNIT,Oracle, DB2, J2EE, Design Patterns, MQ Series, Oracle Developer Suite, ASP, VB, VB.NET, SQL Server, Business Intelligence Reports, Web Services, Rational Suite and FileNet Applications.

Master degree and two years of experience required. We also accept the degree equivalent in education and experience. Excellent Compensation offered.

Send resumes to HR, Protech Solutions Inc. 303 W. Capitol Ste #330 Little Rock AR 72201 or HRSuppport@ProtechSolutions.com

Network Administrator

PROTECH SOLUTIONS INC., Nationwide Innovative IT solutions Provider has several immediate opportunities in Little Rock AR. Responsibilities include: Install, configure, test and maintain computer servers, peripherals, software and hardware upgrades, LAN, WAN and VPN networks; maintain system performance by system monitoring and analysis, and performance tuning; troubleshooting system hardware, software, networks and operating and system management systems; designing and running system load/ stress testing; escalating application problems to vendor; Establish and maintain user accounts, profiles, file sharing, access privileges and security; perform daily server tape backups; research, analyze, monitor, troubleshoot and resolve server or data network problems; Analyze and troubleshoot the network logs and track the nature and resolution of problems; monitor usage to ensure security of data and access privileges; provide support and administration for Windows 2008R2/Windows 2008/Windows 2003 server infrastructure/Exchange 2012/EMC application Xtender document management system/EMC CX-380 SAN storage infrastructure/VM ware infrastructure; perform restoration of services including power cycles, critical time bound restores from backups and recovery after server crash; facilitate disaster recovery exercises and VLS management; Network management (switching/routing/ firewalls). Master degree and two years of experience required. We also accept the degree equivalent in education and experience. Excellent Compensation offered.

Send resumes to HR, Protech Solutions Inc. 303 W. Capitol Ste #330 Little Rock AR 72201 or HRSuppport@ProtechSolutions.com

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ADVERTISING SALES The Arkansas Times has one position open in Advertising Sales. If you have sales experience and enjoy the exciting and crazy world of advertising-then we’d like to talk to you.

In addition to our popular weekly issue, we also publish our “over the top” website and blogs. Annually we have special focus issues that cover everything from education and careers to dining and entertainment. What does all this translate to? A high income potential for a hard working advertising executive. We have fun, but we work hard.

If you have a dynamic energetic personality, please send your resume and cover letter to Phyllis Britton, phyllis@arktimes.com

ARKANSAS TIMES

Border Collie/ English shepherd mix

4males and 3 females Both parents wking stock, good calm and easy workers Price $550

Rachel at 501-519-0978

It’s happening right now on

Arkansas Blog www.arktimes.com www.arktimes.com March 28, 2013 95

Building Arkansas for 40 Years

War Memorial Stadium

Little Rock National Airport Parking Deck

Landers Toyota - Little Rock

Pavilion in the Park

Calvary Baptist

Fox 16

For nearly four decades, Kinco Constructors has provided professional construction services to Arkansas and has grown to become one of Arkansas’s leading construction firms. Our philosophy is simple yet enduring: customer satisfaction through quality and value. Kinco exists to provide its clients with the best value in construction services; to protect the client’s financial interests at all times; to earn the trust and respect of every client, designer, and subcontractor; and to deliver the highest quality construction projects…..Building Excellence.

12600 Lawson Road | Little Rock | 501.225.7606 3803 kelley Avenue | Springdale | 479.751.8606 kincoconstructors.com