Arkansas Times - January 29, 2015

NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD / JANUARY 29, 2015 / ARKTIMES.COM

STRETCHED

THIN The head of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission says he needs at least 46 more attorneys to represent indigent clients in Arkansas. Have we passed the tipping point when monster caseloads begin chipping away at effective counsel?

by David Koon

ARKANSAS TIMES

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JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

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COMMENT

Against drone legislation Arkansas Rep. Justin Harris is sponsoring HB1079, a bill that criminalizes the use of drones to capture “images” by anyone other than law enforcement agencies. While the intent of the bill would seem noble on its face — the protection of privacy and all that — my question is whose privacy is it really protecting? That of individual citizens or of corporate agriculture? I suspect the latter.

In the last assembly, a bill was introduced that criminalized the undercover use of cameras to expose animal cruelty inside factory farms. I don’t know if it was passed and signed into law, but I believe a similar law was passed in another state and then struck down in a court case as a violation of freedom of expression.

Just recently, footage from a privately owned drone exposed a factory farm in North Carolina that had a “lagoon” of pig feces and urine. This open cesspool was the size of four football fields! And it was just one of over 2,000 factory farms in that state alone.

Rep. Harris is the owner of Growing God’s Kingdom Inc., an evangelical preschool program that, as of 2005, had received over a million dollars from the state of Arkansas to teach his brand of religion to kids along with their education.

I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Harris, being such a loyal evangelical Christian and Republican, is affiliated with the American Legislative Exchange Council, and if his proposed bill is nothing more than the latest cookie-cutter legislation handed down to him by this corporate bill mill.

If such is the case, then Arkansans should be made aware that our rights as citizens are being slowly and systematically eradicated, bill by bill, by the corporate state.

Brad Bailey Fayetteville

Crime in midtown I have become increasingly concerned about the crime in Little Rock’s midtown. I own several houses and my daughter lives in the area. I am a member of the Hall High Neighborhood Association and am receiving multiple reports daily now about crimes, specifically burglaries, being committed in the area. It’s out of control in my opinion. Offenders 4

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

need to be put directly in jail and prosecuted to the fullest. The offenders seem to be becoming more brazen in that they are now breaking in when residents are home. It’s simply a matter of time until this turns deadly. Little Rock police need to take this much more seriously and flood the area with patrol cars during the day. Not only do I fear for safety of residents, but property values in an upcoming Little Rock neighborhood will eventually suffer. Please LRPD, do something NOW! Michelle Snyder Maumelle

From the web In response to an Arkansas Blog post about Monday’s gathering of parents, teachers, board members and students who oppose a state takeover of the Little Rock School District: I love hearing all the passion for education. However I do believe that this is all political. Improving our educational system could be done with a few small but very significant changes that require funding those impoverished schools equally as well as the more affluent areas. 1) A teacher should have no more than 10-15 students. As a mother and former substitute, it is a challenge to give appropriate attention and care to two or more children. 2) Our teachers must have assistants … teachers’ aides.

Our teachers wear way too many titles to allow for true focus on the curriculum. 3) Our students and teach-

ers must feel safe, from disgruntled employees, students, and outsiders.

Safety is always a distraction especially in impoverished schools. 4) Give our students and teachers stability and stop moving them all around; real learning and growing requires a relationship. As soon as our students and teachers become familiar with styles of [teaching] they are transferred, moved around. This gives a very inaccurate measure of progress for all parties. 5) Give incentives and pay our teachers what they are worth.

My children’s education is priority, and those who are dedicated to educating our greatest assets should be rightly compensated. These minor alterations will require funding, BUT isn’t it worth so much more. amadden In response to Max Brantley’s observation that Little Rock School Board member Leslie Fisken doesn’t represent anyone but herself: Patently untrue, Max. She represents the Chamber of Commerce and the carpetbaggers that want to privatize education for profit.

After reading how much the Koch brothers intend to pour into the 2016 election, Leslie Fisken will hardly be the only elected official who answers not to those who elected her, but those that paid for her.

And once again, has the state given any clue as to what their plan is to “improve” LRSD? The options given by [school board member Jim] Ross

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In the Victory Bldg 1401 W. Capitol 246-8266

seem to be logical first steps. If the state doesn’t have a better plan ready to go, we’re removing local control on the assumption that the state can do better. This is a dangerously slippery slope ... and a dangerous precedent. What state department will next decide that a locally elected government isn’t doing things quite right and decide to eliminate a legally elected local entity and take over? inthetrenches In response to David Koon’s Jan. 15 report on Arkansas’s criminalization of the eviction process, a law ruled unconstitutional by Pulaski Circuit Judge Herb Wright Jan. 20: I am a landlord. I find this appalling. First off, the taxpayers do not come out of pocket to pay for MY evictions like that litigator would have everybody believe. Not only do non-paying tenants cost me money in the courts, all the while not receiving rent from a deadbeat who stays in MY asset, I have to pay the sheriff to do the actual eviction, plus pay a bond called a double indemnity so that if the tenant sues the sheriff, then he is covered. This is BS. … Here is another way to look at it. Say I own a liquor store. A guy comes in and robs me. He tells the judge, “Well yer honor ... I just didn’t have enough money this month.” Just a guess, boys and girls, but I think the judge will put him in jail. What’s the difference between that and the same guy not paying my rent. Oh, well, that was a public place ... you are a private landlord. Now wait a second, guys and gals, if I OWN the liquor store the justice system will help me put a crook away for acting irresponsibly, but if I OWN a house the justice system won’t? Seems to me stealing is stealing.

HughMann Hugh, say you own a liquor store.

Say you let a customer run a tab for a month and at the end of the month he fails to pay. Has he stolen from you? Arguably. Would you expect the prosecutor to file charges?

Collecting rent and evicting tenants is a cost of doing business as a landlord. If you want to avoid it, pick better tenants. Why should you expect a taxpayer like me to increase your profits by paying your cost of doing business?

Silverback66

Oxford American and Landers FIAT of Benton present Local Live at South on Main. All shows are FREE and begin at 7:30 p.m.

2/4 MESHUGGA KLEZMER BAND 2/11 THE ACOUSTICATZ 2/18 HIRED GUNS FEATURING BRUCE JOHNSON, TYNDALL JACKSON AND CLIFF AARON 2/25 SEA NANNERS Also this month the Oxford American brings jazz sensations Peter Martin and Romero Lubambo (Jan. 29); Americana duo The Lowest Pair (Feb. 14); Blake Tyson and the UCA Percussion Group (Feb. 17); and guitar and banjo virtuoso Tony Furtado with guest Smokey & the Mirror (Feb. 26) to South on Main.

RIVERDALE 10 presents STAR TREK WRATH OF KAHN at 7 p.m. as part of their monthly Classic Movie Series. Tickets are only $5. Beer and wine are available.

THROUGH FEB 15

FEBRUARY FUN!

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s FEB 2

The “LOVE AND ROMANCE OF ART” exhibit opens at GALLERY 221 featuring select works from private collections.

Free to the public, a meet-andgreet artist reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres will be held on Friday, February 13 from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery located in Pyramid Place at 221 West 2nd Street, Suite 102.

Tony Furtado

FEB 10

Hey, do this!

FEB 10 - MAR 7

MURRY’S DINNER PLAYHOUSE presents ALONE TOGETHER, a play about a middle-aged couple whose children have finally left the nest and they are finally alone together but not for long. All three sons come charging back home after experiencing some hard knocks in the real world, and Mom and Dad have quite the time pushing them out again. For tickets and show times, visit www.murrysdp.com.

Art in the Park at Wildwood Performing Arts Center features recent work by 39 exhibiting artists including faculty, students and alumni of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Art Department. Art may be viewed weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 12-4 p.m. For more information, visit www.wildwoodpark.org.

Join us as UCA Public Appearances welcomes Jessica Fellowes, author of the #1 bestseller THE WORLD OF DOWNTON ABBEY and its followup THE CHRONCLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY at 7:30 at REYNOLDS PERFORMANCE HALL on the UCA campus. Tickets are $15 and available online at www.uca.edu/publicappearances. n Your favorite HILLCREST shops and galleries are open after hours until 9 p.m. with live music, nibbles and drinks for SHOP ‘N SIP held on the every first Thursday of the month.

FEB 11

PHILANDER SMITH’S BLESS THE MIC presents ELAINE BROWN, an American prison activist, writer, singer and former Black Panther party chairman will give a free lecture at 7 p.m. in the M. L. Harris Auditorium at 900 Daisy Bates Drive in Little Rock. Seating is first come, first served.

FEB 19

STEVE MILLER BAND performs live at CHOCTAW CASINO in Durant, Okla., at 8 p.m.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $45 and $75 and are on sale now at www.ticketmaster. com or by phone at 800-745-3000. For a complete schedule of events at Choctaw Casinos in several locations in Oklahoma, visit www. choctawcasinos.com. n Don’t miss HEIGHTS HAPPY HOUR from 5-8 p.m. Local restaurants, shops and galleries offer discounts and free samples of food and drinks. This event takes place every third Thursday of the month.

FEB 21

VERIZON ARENA brings PBR BULLRIDING to North Little Rock.

The BlueDEF Velocity Tour showcases the world’s best cowboys as they battle the baddest bucking bulls. It’s man vs. beast wrapped in the glitz and glamour that only the PBR can provide. Modeled after the elite Built Ford Tough Series, this show will be an action packed event with pyrotechnics, sound and video elements.

Viewers from around the world will watch the action unfold via live streaming. Tickets are $12.50-$52.50 and are available online at www. ticketmaster.com.

FEB 5

FEB 20

FEB 12

The second Thursday of each month enjoy the fantastic food and shops in RIVERDALE at DESIGN AND DINE. Hop on the free shuttle service to get from place to place in the neighborhood.

ARGENTA ART WALK takes place from 5-8 p.m. as dozens of local artists display and sell their work along Main Street in NORTH LITTLE ROCK’S ARGENTA district.

For more information on participating venues, visit www. argentaartwalk.com.

THROUGH FEB 8

An extraordinary tale of loyalty, deceit and deliverance, THE WHIPPING MAN is now playing at the ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRE. The dramatic award-winning play takes place on Passover 1865 as the Civil War has just ended and the annual celebration of freedom from bondage is being observed in Jewish homes across the country. One of these homes sits in ruins. As Jewish confederate officer Caleb DeLeon returns from the war, badly wounded, to find his family missing and only two former slaves remaining, Simon and John, the two men are forced to care for him.

Performance times are Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. For tickets and special events, visit www.therep.org.

FEB 13

2ND FRIDAY ART NIGHT is a once-a-month event in the heart of DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK. River Market shops, restaurants, museums and galleries stay open until 8 p.m. Enjoy free parking at 3rd and Cumberland and behind the River Market Pavilions as well as free trolley rides.

FEB 22

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION, WOLFE STREET CENTER’S annual Academy Awards Gala, takes place at Chenal Country Club. Tickets to the black-tie event are still available. All proceeds benefit the Wolfe Street Foundation which helps provide recovery to those who need it. For tickets to the event and more information, visit www.wolfestreet.org.

THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE FOLLOWING:

JAN 31-FEB 1 Vladmir Verbitsky, guest conductor, and Randall Goosby, violin, for “Tchaikovsky & Mozart Festival” at Maumelle Performing Arts Center. Performances are on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Tickets are $19-$58 and available online at www.arkansassymphony.org.

FEB 8 ASO/ASYO Side by Side concert, a showcase of the youth ensembles program where the winners of the 2014 Stella Boyle Smith Concerto Competition will be announced and featured with the ASO, then the ASYO will join the ASO on stage to play side-by-side. General admission is $10. Students are free. Order tickets online at www. arkansassymphony.org.

FEB 27

It’s a big night for country music as MIRANDA LAMBERT performs live at VERIZON ARENA at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Justin Moore opens the show with appearances by RaeLynna and Jukebox Mafia. Tickets are $52.50 and $69.50 and available via Ticketmaster online at www. ticketmaster.com beginning this Friday, January 30.

FEB 25

FEB 13-15

Recount the time-honored legend of King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table in an enchanting fable of chivalry, majesty and brotherhood in the four-time Tony Award-winning production of CAMELOT. The performance will take place at the MAUMELLE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER at 100 Victory Lane in Maumelle with shows at 8 p.m. Friday evening; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $42-$68.50 and available online at www.celebrityattractions.com.

PHILANDER SMITH’S BLESS THE MIC “Chopped and Screwed “series presents DR. DORINDA CLARK-COLE will lead the free discussion at 7 p.m. in the M. L. Harris Auditorium at 900 Daisy Bates Drive in Little Rock. For more information, call 501-3705354. No tickets or RSVPs required. Seating is first come, first served.

SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 18, 2015 EVENT: The Arkansas Times Presents: Rivergrass Revival featuring Dr. Ralph Stanley with family & friends.

At Juanita’s - expect a full block party all day and night.

TIME: 12PM NOON doors open PRICE: $40 advance

ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE:

JAN 29 The 2015 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase is on. How it works: Semifinalists will compete on Thursday nights at Stickyz this month. The winner from each round will then face off in the finals at Rev Room on Friday, March 6. All ages are welcome. The cover is $5 for ages 21-and-up and $10 for the under-21 crowd. Round 1 is this Thursday night with Secondhand Cannons at 9 p.m.; Open Fields at 10 p.m.; Redefined Reflection at 11 p.m.; and Consumers at 12 a.m.

FEB 5 Round 2 of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase takes place at Stickyz with Big Still River at 9 p.m., The Federalist at 10 p.m., Ghost Bones at 11 p.m., and Black Horse at 12 a.m.

FEB 10 Mozart’s “Gran Partita” Serenade at the Clinton Presidential Center at 7 p.m. Tickets are $23 and available online at www. arkansassymphony.org.

FEB 12 Round 3 of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase: Brother Sprouts 9 p.m., Landrest 10 p.m., Becoming Elephants 11 p.m., and Young Gods of America12 a.m.

FEB 14-15 “Dancing & Romancing” at Connor Performing Arts Center at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $19-$58 and available online at www. arkansassymphony.org.

FEB 19 For the 4th round of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase: Space Mother at 9 p.m., The Casual Pleasures at 10 p.m., High Lonesome at 11 p.m., and American Lions at 12 a.m.

FEB 28-MARCH 1 Schubert’s “Unfinished” is the highlight of this program at Maumelle Performing Arts Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $19-$58 and available online at www. arkansassymphonyorchestra.org.

FEB 26 Stickyz hosts the last round of the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase with Katie Johnson 9 p.m., Comfortable Brother 10 p.m., Arkansas Bo11 p.m., and Enchiridion 12 a.m., facing off onstage.

www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

5

EYE ON ARKANSAS

WEEK THAT WAS

Quote of the week, part 1 “So hear me clearly. We’re going to continue the private option through 2016 and create a health reform task force that will make recommendations for the future.”

— Gov. Asa Hutchinson in a longawaited announcement on the health care policy now providing insurance to over 210,000 low-income Arkansans.

Despite some opposition from the far right wing of his party, the Republican governor will push the legislature to keep the private option in place for at least another two years … although he plans to call it something other than “the private option,” since the name has become “politically toxic.”

beginning of the year, Robin Wynne and Rhonda Wood.

The court has been delaying its decision for far too long. It first heard oral arguments on the case Nov. 19; a decision was reached in conference and a justice was assigned to write the majority opinion. Two months later, we’ve still heard nothing. What’s the holdup?

Quote of the week, part 2 “Gov. Hutchinson’s decision to end the private option and to embark upon comprehensive Medicaid reform is exactly the right approach.”

— Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, getting with the rebranding program in a press release immediately following the announcement above.

All washed up?

Boxer Jermain Taylor threatened a family at Little Rock’s MLK Day Parade last week, firing several shots near a man’s head after the man’s 5-yearold son dropped one of Taylor’s championship belts on the ground.

The next day, Taylor posted a Facebook video delivered from his bathtub in which he gave a rambling apology to his fans and complained about the lack of candy for the children at the parade.

Strange, sad stuff, and only the latest in a series of violent episodes involving the middleweight champion. A judge committed him to the State Hospital for a mental evaluation on Tuesday.

Cold feet Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced last week she’d asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to hold a second round of oral arguments on the same-sex marriage case currently before it. The unusual request is in light of the court’s changed composition, said the AG. Two new justices have been seated on the court since the 6

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

Election? What election?

Speaking of Rutledge, the Arkansas Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint against her concerning an election season TV ad aired by an independent conservative group. Such groups aren’t supposed to collaborate in any way with the candidates they support, yet Rutledge herself appears on screen in this commercial to say, “I will stand up to Obama and fight for Arkansas values.” This is permissible, said the Commission, because it never actually tells the viewer to vote for Rutledge and therefore doesn’t count as a campaign ad. It doesn’t even count as a campaign contribution, somehow.

That’s right. A $400,000 ad buy in late September featuring a candidate plugging herself is not a part of her campaign. Remember all those hours of political ads you complained about last fall? Don’t worry. They weren’t actually political ads at all.

For whom the Bell trolls Whether he’s tilting at federal windmills with states-rights legislation or slinging provocative pro-gun tweets, Rep. Nate Bell (R-Mena) is not typically our favorite legislator.

But he’s pushing buttons on the right side of the issue of “Robert E. Lee Day,” which embarrassingly enough is still labeled a state holiday alongside Martin Luther King Day. Bell has filed a bill that would remove recognition of R.E. Lee in January, earning him the online venom of white supremacists. The KKK issued a press release (seriously) saying it was “disappointed” in the bill.

“PEACE”: Colorado sculptor Lori Alcott’s bronze sculpture at Second and Main was donated to the city by the Sculpture at the River Market Committee, which paid $60,000 for the edition of Alcott’s “Peace” series.

Asa’s tax cuts, by the numbers The new governor’s top priority is cutting taxes, par for the Republican course. To his credit, the cuts mostly benefit the middle class, and they’re relatively fiscally responsible. Still, they conspicuously avoid helping the poorest Arkansans. The numbers that follow are still fluid.

40

$80 million

The percentage of income tax filers in Arkansas who make under $21,000 and thus will see no relief under the plan.

The net cost to the state should the package pass the House as currently written.

$1,336

3

The average expected increase in taxes for the top 1 percent of earners, due to a proposed repeal of a previous capital gains tax decrease. This amendment was added to the tax plan to help offset the cost of the middle class cut, but some fiscal conservatives are fighting it.

The number of senators, out of 35, who voted not to approve the cuts. Lowering taxes is popular, turns out.

OPINION

AsaCare and more good news

T

he best part so far of the Republican takeover of Arkansas government is Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

He’s no liberal. He took a prominent spot in front of the annual march against abortion in Little Rock. He’s worked for the NRA. He betrays a feeling that government assistance goes too much to undeserving.

But he’s living up to his reputation as someone who listens to others, who moves carefully and who is willing to let practical considerations outweigh ideological fervor.

Some events worth noting.

LEADERSHIP: He put a veteran former state agency director, Larry Walther, at the top of Finance amd Administration on Richard Weiss’ retirement, but left Weiss’ capable top assistants in place. Many in Hutchinson’s party had wanted former legislator Ted Thomas in that job.

Thomas is a hyper-partisan political consultant whose sometimes prickly personal interactions, including with some Republi-

cans, suggested he’d be a sharp contrast with the smooth Weiss. Thomas’ political acuity was revealed when MAX he told a reporter BRANTLEY he’d wanted DFA maxbrantley@arktimes.com and PSC, but it was Hutchinson’s choice which he got. Not smooth. The appropriate comment was his humble pleasure to serve the new governor.

He’s a lawyer with PSC experience and well placed in the thicket of utility regulation.

TAXES: Yes, Hutchinson followed through with his promised “middle class tax cut.” It has structural flaws. It creates four separate graduated income tax rate scales, rather than one. It includes bracket cliffs at various income points where $1 more in income can cost hundreds in taxes.

It gives a fat tax break to two-income middle income families over a single-income

Like Huckabee, Hutchinson pro-health

O

ne fine day in 1999, Gov. Mike Huckabee, with his earnest but sometimes zany public health director at his side, announced that before he left office he intended to see that everyone in Arkansas had health insurance.

Huckabee had discovered the health issue soon after taking office and decided he was going to be the Health Governor.

He still deserves the honorific, for more than any other governor in Arkansas history he talked about public health and undertook more health initiatives, a few substantive like arranging federal insurance for children and pushing smokers out of most workplaces.

But when he left office the state was only a little closer to the goal of universal insurance than that euphoric day in 1999. Huckabee had deplored the fact that Arkansas was the third unhealthiest state in the country, behind West Virginia and Mississippi, and suffered economically as a result of it. By his exit in 2007, Arkansas was still at the bottom, and more of its people were uninsured than almost any other state.

Here’s the irony: Asa Hutchinson,

his one-time quiet nemesis in the Republican Party, is apt to be the governor who actually achieves the goal ERNEST of insured mediDUMAS cal care for nearly everyone except undocumented immigrants. The 1999 model of Huckabee would have wanted to insure them, too.

When Hutchinson announced last week that he wanted to continue unchanged the big Medicaid expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, at least through 2016, he virtually assured himself of attaining Huckabee’s goal. He will have done it by the grace of the widely despised Obamacare, but that should not detract from the achievement. He will have done it against odds that both Huckabee and Mike Beebe would have found insurmountable.

More about that in a moment, but first let’s be sure to give Huckabee his day.

He’s about to run for president again and this time he is apt to leave out the best part of his record because it is anathema

family with the same gross income.

Its biggest flaw — and here again you may see a hint of a view about the undeserving — is providing no help for people making less than $21,000 a year, a category that represents 40 percent of all Arkansas wage earners.

But … it does add some needed progressivity to the income tax tables in the middle ranges. It does delay a small tax break for top income earners (from 7 to 6.9 percent of the top rate.) And, wonder of wonders, Hutchinson backed a repeal of the 2013 capital gains tax break, both the discount given to most capital gains and the unbelievable total exemption given gains of more than $10 million. The Senate passed the bill in this form but the House is resisting and wants to reinstate favors to the 1 percent who benefit from the majority of capital gains. Some of the Hutchinson repeal may go away, but he presented a budget Tuesday based on the expectation that the money wouldn’t be lost. Still Hutchinson deserves some credit for balance, particularly when you consider the overwhelmingly Republican legislature it must pass. Will he hold the line against other Republican desires for still more tax cuts?

ASACARE: It is not fair merely to credit budget necessities for Hutchinson’s decision to continue the private option expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare for two years.

His budget needs the federal money, no doubt. But he also stripped some ineffective and expensive measures to stick copays and enforced savings accounts on the poorest private option recipients. These were pointless additions, mostly for show, to appeal to the meanness that lurks in the hearts of the hardest opponents of government health care. Hutchinson evinced, too, some sympathy now and in future versions of health care in Arkansas — even if dramatically restructured — for the more than 200,000 who now have health insurance; for the hospitals whose uncompensated costs are down; and for the savings we are seeing from improvements in the health care system under the Beebe administration.

Hutchinson listens. He demonstrates an ability to adapt. He won’t be a Huckabeestyle quote machine, with a hyperbole for every occasion. He’s also more likely to be effective. He may even prove a touch more populist than liberal Democrats ever dared hope.

Good start.

to his party’s right wing.

Only weeks in office in 1996, Huckabee assembled people to talk about things he could do in his first legislative session.

Amy Rossi of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families suggested exercising the option under Medicaid to cover infants and youngsters under 19 whose parents could not afford insurance. We insured the elderly, disabled, pregnant women, kids in foster care and certain others with medical needs, like women with breast or cervical cancer, but no governor had advocated the costly program of insuring virtually all kids. The state would bear about 25 percent of the cost. Huckabee jumped on it, state Sen. Mike Beebe sponsored the bill and the legislature passed it.

Medicaid now insures 495,000 Arkansas children and pays for about 65 percent of all births. People under 20 account for two-thirds of Arkansans on Medicaid and 45 percent of all payments.

The state picks up nearly 30 percent of the costs, the feds 70 percent. The state, by the way, will never pay more than 10 percent of the Obamacare/Beebe/ Hutchinson expansion.

His proudest achievement, Huckabee called it.

But he did more. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences told him he had diabetes, which set him on a crusade to improve his own health and that

of all Arkansas’s fat people. He dieted and furiously ran himself into the 2008 presidential race. He began programs to educate people on healthy lifestyles, got changes in school nutrition services to emphasize healthy food, beat back the legislature to direct millions in tobaccosettlement funds into smoking cessation and other health services. Eventually, he overcame his own addiction to tobacco money — the industry was a big political donor and Philip Morris set his table with fine new china — and signed the Clean Indoor Health Act in 2006, which ran smokers from most workplaces. Unable to come up with a way to insure everyone, he got a waiver from the feds in 2006 to put low-income small-business employees on Medicaid.

In his final crazy days in office, Huckabee took $2 million in grants to universities and tried to give it to UAMS — $800,000 to the doctor who crafted his diabetes program for an endowed chair that would do obesity research and $1.2 million for a cancer research center for the day when another governor found the many millions to match it, after which they would no doubt name the center for Huckabee. Advised by state fiscal officials that it would be an illegal appropriation, UAMS said it couldn’t take it. The angry governor took the money back and gave all $2 million to his friend Lu Hardin, whom he had installed as president of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

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Blowing up the Super Bowl

F

inally, a reason to pay attention to the Super Bowl, America’s most stultifying TV sporting event.

To this non-NFL fan, the uproar over the New England Patriots’ underinflated footballs is reminiscent of long-ago prorasslin’ broadcasts from Sunnyside Gardens in Queens. I used to watch with my grandfather Connors, who’d get worked up and throw empty Pabst Blue Ribbon cans at his black-and-white TV. A retired railroad worker and brawler, the Old Man nevertheless found it believable that Dr. Jerry Graham could whack somebody upside the head with a folding chair and that guy could jump up executing flying dropkicks. Me, I cheered the villains — especially the Graham Brothers, bleached blondes who strutted, sneered and cheated their way to tag-team victory.

“Dr.” Jerry Graham claimed a Ph.D. from Arizona State, which in pre-Google days could have been the dark side of the moon. An announcer once asked their manager, also handy with balsa-wood chairs, what kind of doctor?

“A tree surgeon,” he said.

So what’s this NFL brouhaha all about?

I was amused to read a political columnist’s sneering reference to “evil genius Bill Belichick and pretty boy Tom Brady’s New England Patriots” in my local newspaper — a phrase revealing more about its author than his subjects.

An “evil” football coach?

People, it’s a game played with an inflated leather ball, as the sporting world now knows in excruciating detail.

And that’s about all they really know.

Otherwise, it’s the Good Guys vs. Bad Guys in the world’s best-publicized morality play.

See, New England played the first half of the AFC Championship with footballs below the mandated 13.5 to 12.5 psi range, supposedly making them easier to throw and catch. This gave them a tainted 17-7 lead. Forced by vigilant referees to use properly inflated balls, New England outscored the Colts 28-0 in the second half.

So you can see what a crucial difference “about two pounds” of pressure — the most precise figure yet offered — made to the outcome.

But that’s not the point. It’s not the SEX, it’s the lying! said everybody back in 1998 when Bill Clinton ... (insert juvenile word play here).

Anyway, that’s what the sterner sports pundits are saying now. It’s not the score;

it’s the sanctity of the game.

See, because this is their big opportunity to star in America’s real GENE national sport: the LYONS Dionysian rite of celebrity sacrifice, a 21st century pagan ritual for the Internet age. We build them up so we can tear them down!

So is Golden Boy Tom Brady a cheater?

The New Yorker’s Ian Crouch got it exactly right describing the quarterback’s first befuddled press conference — the one in the goofy wool cap. “[T]he real purpose, the joy of the matter for the reporters, was to prod the handsome millionaire along through the familiar ritual of humiliation on national television. If he wasn’t going to provide Deflategate’s dramatic final act, then he could at least provide a little wish fulfillment, by making himself abject, or else ridiculous.”

Because nobody really loves a Golden Boy, do they? Anyway, this is basically how our national political press corps works.

So why not ESPN and the rest?

As a former playground basketball player, I also know that cold temperatures make inflated balls go flat. In the NFL, each team brings its own. So if Tom Brady wanted footballs softer than 12.5 psi, all he’d need to do on a chilly, rainy day would be to follow the rules as written: Inflate them to the minimum in a warm room, and then take them outside.

The Boston Globe has reported about a Pittsburgh research lab that tested 12 “authentic NFL footballs” under game conditions. “[O]n average, footballs dropped 1.8 psi when being exposed to dropping temperatures and wet conditions.”

Anyway, what has the NFL really found? According to an article in Pro Football Talk quoting an anonymous source, “the football intercepted by Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was roughly two pounds under the 12.5 PSI minimum. The other 10 balls that reportedly were two pounds under may have been, as the source explained it, closer to one pound below 12.5 PSI.” In short, much ado about damn-near nothing.

But if you’re wondering, yeah, it definitely worked.

This year I’m watching the Super Bowl.

Landlord-tenant laws need change

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sion of the General Assembly. As has been reported previously, while the compromise-filled report issued by JAY the Commission BARTH was unanimously adopted, the work of the Commission was pulled off track after several prolandlord members later issued a “letter of clarification” that the final report — for which they had voted — did not accurately state their views. No action on the issue has yet to occur in the legislature.

While Wright promoted fairness in setting the stage for elimination of the embarrassing law, the end of “criminal eviction” does not solve all the problems in a state that Vice News has called “the worst place to rent in America.” As the 2012 report clearly notes, the landlordtenant laws of Arkansas are thoroughly broken. First, because there is no affordable and efficient civil law process for removing scofflaw tenants through district courts, landlords are left without a clean process for regaining their property. Out of frustration, some engage in so-called “self-help” evictions such as changing locks or moving tenants’ belongings onto the street, a practice illegal in all but a few states. On the other hand, because there is no implied warranty of habitability laid out in the state’s laws, there is no duty for landlords to maintain the basic safety of their properties. If a heating system goes out in the winter or plumbing becomes unusable, the tenant is still expected to pay rent even if a landlord refuses to act. While the vast majority of landlords work hard to maintain their properties and positive rapport with tenants, renters have no protection against those (often absentee) landlords who do not.

Following the expression of fundamental fairness by Judge Wright in his ruling, it is now time for the Arkansas General Assembly to move forward with remedying both these major problems with Arkansas landlord-tenant law with an overhaul of the law. To do so would be a continuation of the sort of Arkansas pragmatism — meeting the problems facing the public with balanced approaches that supersede ideology — that we saw again in Gov. Hutchinson’s support for the continuation of the Medicaid expansion.

Foto por Brian

T

he big political news of last week was, of course, the speech by new Gov. Asa Hutchinson in which he supported continuation of the unique Arkansas private option Medicaid expansion plan for at least two additional years. The Hutchinson speech, monster news in Arkansas, was also a major national story because of its potential implications for health care policy in other conservative states still seeking a path to Medicaid expansion. As the Washington Post noted, most surprising was how Gov. Hutchinson framed the issue. Yes, continuing the program is about dollars and cents — for the state budget and for hospitals, like the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he spoke — but it is also about creating fairness for over 200,000 Arkansans, as Hutchinson emphasized in telling the stories of individuals now relying on the program. Moreover, for now the Arkansas tradition of non-ideological pragmatism remains alive in state government despite the dramatic change in partisan makeup of the state’s political leaders.

Overshadowed by the “AsaCare” speech was a Tuesday decision by a circuit court judge in Little Rock that also promotes fundamental fairness.

Judge Herb Wright shot down the 1901 Arkansas statute criminalizing a tenant’s “failure to vacate” a landlord’s property without paying rent. As landlord-tenant law is properly an aspect of civil law, the Arkansas “criminal eviction” statute was unique in the United States. In a case brought by Central Arkansas Legal Services on behalf of a tenant, Wright quadruple-punched the archaic law in ruling it simultaneously violated the constitutional principles of due process, equal protections and cruel and unusual punishment as well as the Arkansas Constitution’s bar against debtors’ prisons. While Judge Wright was clear in his analysis of the law, until the state Supreme Court rules on the issue the constitutionality of the law in other judicial circuits across the state remains up in the air.

Correcting the warped playing field for Arkansas’s tenants and landlords is something I became passionate about through service on a state Commission for the Study of Landlord-Tenant Laws in 2012. That task force’s job was to evaluate the laws of the state and to recommend legislation for the 2013 ses-

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9

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ARKANSAS TIMES

es, yes, tacking a “Blame Mike Anderson” headline on last week’s Pearls was incendiary but don’t read too much into it. There wasn’t any shameless advocacy for firing the guy. I don’t want that, but calling his methods into question isn’t out of bounds.

This is what blogosphere/message board fervor is: the most starkly black or white factionalism you can envision.

You cannot be the gray area guy because, well, it’s unbecoming. If our political gulf is ever widening, so goes the one separating fan and hater. You’re either with Mike Anderson or against him, and

by God, take your pick and stick by it.

I’m firmly in the verboten gray area with regard to Anderson. The uptick in the program’s success from the garbage monster that John Pelphrey created is there, but it’s scant and strange. When the Hogs get into the Top 25 for the first time in years, they languish and drop two, then do a basic repeat of that stunt when conference play begins.

Arkansas basketball, though, in the end analysis, is a better thing now than it was four years prior. That was the baseline litmus test for Anderson to pass, and he’s done so. Again, last week’s column was not the hellfire-and-brimstone pitch for his dismissal, because circumstances do not warrant it. He’s won more than he’s lost, built some excitement back into the program, and made this year’s squad a viable Sweet 16 type of team by enhancing the depth, purging the program of the space-wasters that Pelphrey hoarded, and coaxing advances from players who once looked like utter projects. Michael Qualls, to put it lightly, has matured and developed in a way that I never thought possible, so count that among Mike’s most authoritative wins.

Qualls threw in a career-best 30 points in the overtime home win against Alabama that snapped the Hogs’ twogame skid. He was everywhere and anywhere he needed to be, sinking free throws, grabbing rebounds, terrorizing the Tide’s appreciable backcourt talent on defense when called upon, and slashing to the hoop. Now he’s developed a highly competent long-range shot and a very good court sense: You never seem to see the junior swingman playing out of control, which is a rarity for the kind of athleticism he exhibits.

Bobby Portis had a frustrating night

against the Tide, but was vindicated with his tip-in winner at the buzzer. The momentum from BEAU that victory carWILCOX ried Arkansas to a one-point win at Missouri on Saturday, with less than 48 hours between games, and it proved that Arkansas can win sluggish ones. Mizzou is a laughable shell of what it has been, and Kim Anderson’s rebuilding job there is about as daunting as the one Mike faced here, but the Tigers have been competitive in spite of their shortcomings and try to make opponents play left-handed as much as possible. It was evident in the Arkansas offensive attack that day, too: But for Alandise Harris coming through with some big shots, Qualls and Portis’ off games would have normally spelled far more trouble. Instead, Ky Madden gathered himself in the late stages for some clutch points, and most importantly, luck smiled on the Razorbacks when the Tigers’ Wes Clark bricked two free throws with three seconds left that would’ve sent Arkansas to 3-3 purgatory in the league standings.

So here are the Hogs, mercurial as ever, but very much in the “good enough” category with a coach who, for better or worse, has helmed winning programs before. It’s by no means the ideal scenario but it’s also the earliest juncture of the season for the Hogs to be at the 15-win mark since the turn of the century. Anderson is doing what he’s done at Missouri and at UAB, which is basically be something less than sexy and something more than mediocre. It’s probably been about as bad as it will get under his watch, but it also may not get much better, either, especially if Portis and Qualls leave after this season. People will celebrate Madden’s and Harris’ graduations, but it would be a mistake, because next year will essentially be a team commandeered by some really green players, and it’s arguable whether any of them can replace the kind of production that the guys on the floor currently bring.

Expect this kind of thing to persist for a decade or so. Anderson’s still not that old, and he’s gotten the needle moved just enough to keep outright anarchy from setting in.

THE OBSERVER NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

The secret museum

T

he Observer loves museums, so full as they are of time and history and the residue of the far-distant past.

The offspring of a pair of history buffs, Yours Truly was dragged past every velvet rope in nine or 10 states as a lad, where we learned to love yesterday, along with the two rules of most museums: See with your eyes, not your hands, and — while we’re on the subject of hands — keep your sticky paws off the glass cases, lest the museum guides scowl at you while fetching the Windex and a rag.

Human beings may pass away, but their stuff remains, and the tendency to want to stick that stuff in a special room with a neat paper label that says when, where and why it mattered is one of the things that show we care. Somewhere, Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hat sits in a box or case, only touched with reverent, white-gloved fingertips.

There’s something like a prayer in that.

In The Observer’s office overlooking the crossroads at Scott and Main, we’ve got a little museum of our own on the wide old windowsill. The Observer is a romantic sort, but — if you can believe it from someone so besotted by the past — we have problems with memory.

While some brains are an alphabetized card catalog of high def newsreels, The Observer’s past tends to haze over after a year or so.

And so, we keep things to kick-start our cloudy old memory. There’s not a lot of stuff on our windowsill, but there’s some, most of it related to stories The Observer has worked on over the past 13 years, and all of it connected to something that still moves us, instructs on how we should live: A note that we received after writing a story, our first story in fact, about the last fight of the late Hurlon Ray, who helped write the Clean Water Act before coming back to Arkansas in his 70s to find the river where he’d swam in as a boy clogged with treated sewage from the gated community upstream.

The blade of a cardboard fan bearing a portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., found stuffed into the hymnal slot on the back pew of a church over in East

Little Rock, the cardboard folded and worried and cracked by, no doubt, some desperate sinner’s hands.

A single brass arcade token bearing the phrase “No Cash Value” that once belonged to the late businessman and philanthropist Jennings Osborne, who pissed off a multitude but died almost broke after doing good works all over the state.

A chunk of storm-colored granite taken from the rim of a flooded quarry near Sweet Home, where the body of a young woman named Paty Guardado was found in 2011. Her killer has never been found.

A CD of music by a young soldier, who killed himself up in Fayetteville after working for years to save others from the same darkness.

A pinecone, picked up in a cemetery down in Hot Springs where a brave young woman once buried the ashes of over three dozen people whose families didn’t want them because they had died of AIDS. A delicate curl of ash — a perfect cosmic spiral, so thin that light shines through it — peeled from a forming chair leg by a master chair maker near Mountain View.

An invitation to the inauguration of the president of the United States, folded and stuffed into a pocket with frigid hands as The Observer walked three miles through the dawn to the National Mall.

A dried holly leaf, plucked in the hell of August from a bush outside the home of a man who spent a decade in prison for a crime he almost surely didn’t commit.

A single dried pepper given to me by a colleague, a man who covered the cartel wars in Juarez as a reporter for El Norte and, unlike many of his friends, lived to tell the tale.

A soapstone rhinoceros, bought at a zoo on The Observer’s 40th birthday, facing off against a plastic triceratops that was Junior’s favorite as a boy.

A tiny windmill, waiting on its ragged knight to appear and tilt at it. Or perhaps he is already here.

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JANUARY 29, 2015

11

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

It takes less annual income to be in the top 1 percent in Arkansas than any other state — $228,000 — according to a report from The New Republic. So elitism is within reach.

The downside, of course, is our overall poor ranking. Remember that 40 percent of Arkansas income tax filers make less than $21,000. Gov. Asa Hutchinson apparently views them as lucky ducks. He hasn’t included them in his proposed income tax bill, focusing instead on people making $21,000 to $75,000. To Hutchinson’s credit, he is taking away a top bracket tax cut and capital gains cut for the highestpaid taxpayers.

More good news for Arkansas 1 percenters from the report: “The remaining states in which the top 1 percent captured half or more of income growth between 2009 and 2012 include Alabama (where 98.9 percent of all income growth was captured by the top 1 percent), Illinois (97.2 percent), Texas (86.8 percent), Arkansas (83.7 percent), Michigan (82.0 percent), New Jersey (80.5 percent), Maryland (80.5 percent), Nebraska (74.9 percent), Kansas (74.4 percent), Ohio (71.9 percent), Wisconsin (69.6 percent), Oklahoma (69.2 percent), Tennessee (68.5 percent), Iowa (65.0 percent), Georgia (63.6 percent), New Hampshire (59.5 percent), Arizona (59.0 percent), Maine (58.3 percent), Oregon (57.3 percent), Utah (56.6 percent), Minnesota (56.0 percent), and South Dakota (53.4 percent).”

Noted: The average income of the top 1 percent in Arkansas was $895,844.

The average income of the remaining 99 percent of taxpayers is $34,179. Arkansas ranked 13th in inequality, with the average for 1 percenters 26.2 times that of the bottom 99 percent.

More fun with Arkansas numbers: The top tenth of 1 percent income earners all make more than $6.7 million, with their average income about $30.8 million.

With 1.2 million taxpayers, that means about 1,200 people in Arkansas are making more than $6.7 million a year.

From 1979 to 2007, Arkansas’s real income grew 35 percent. But income in the top 1 percent grew by 121.6 percent, while it grew only 25.6 percent for the bottom 99 percent. The 1 percent captured 34 percent of all income growth.

Bottom line: Income inequality has reached a point it hasn’t seen since the 1920s.

BRIAN CHILSON

The 1 percent in Arkansas

HUTCHINSON: Wants the legislature to keep the private option “as is” for two years while a legislative task force works on altering the plan.

Introducing AsaCare

The new GOP governor proposes saving the private option, with an eye toward future reforms.

BY DAVID RAMSEY

G

ov. Asa Hutchinson finally has an official position on Arkansas’s private option health care: The newly elected Republican governor is asking the legislature to fund the program for two more years.

He is also requesting the formation of a legislative task force to make recommendations for an overhaul of the state’s health care system in 2017 and beyond. That overhaul will likely include reform ideas popular

with conservatives — such as programs to encourage employment among beneficiaries — but the task force will also aim to continue the coverage expansion to provide care for those currently eligible for the private option.

The private option — the state’s unique plan using Medicaid funds available via the federal Affordable Care Act to purchase health insurance for low-income Arkansans — must be

reauthorized by three-fourths of both the state House and Senate. Bipartisan supermajorities cleared that difficult 75 percent threshold in 2013 and again in 2014, but with just a handful of votes to spare. The issue split the state Republican Party: Several GOP lawmakers acted as key architects of what they dubbed an innovative, conservative form of Medicaid expansion, while Tea Party diehards viewed the private option as surrendering to Obamacare. The policy appeared to be in real trouble after the November elections, with Republicans dramatically increasing their majority, including a wave of new lawmakers who campaigned explicitly against the private option.

Hutchinson’s announcement, after months of hedging on the issue, throughout the campaign and after the election, came at a speech last Thursday at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. “[I]t is time to close this chapter and to start a new one,” he said. Hutchinson said that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

THE

BIG PICTURE

34 years of Readers Choice Since 1981, the Arkansas Times has asked its readers to vote for the best restaurants in the state. This year, we’ve split the voting into two rounds: one for nominating restaurants and another for selecting among the top four vote-getters and last years winners in each category.

We’re at the tail end of the nomination process. The poll officially closes on Friday, Jan. 30, but if you follow this special link — arktimes.com/restaurants15 — you can add your nominations until Monday morning. The final round of voting runs Feb. 16 through March 6. Below, check out all of the winners in our Best Overall and Best New categories throughout the years.

BEST OVERALL

BEST NEW

1981

Restaurant Jacques and Suzanne

Black-Eyed Pea

1982

Restaurant Jacques and Suzanne

Shorty Small's, The Blue Plate Special (tie)

1983

Cajun's Wharf

Shogun

1984

Restaurant Jacques and Suzanne

Packet House

1985

Restaurant Jacques and Suzanne

Ashley's

1986

Restaurant Jacques and Suzanne

Graffiti's

1987

Coy's

Juanita's

1988

Ashley's

A'lan's

1989

Coy's

Gabriel's

1990

Coy's

Lucky’s Paradise Seafood Grille, Purple Cow (tie)

1991

Graffiti's

Regas Grill

1992

Regas Grill

Tia's Tex and Mex Grill

1993

Blue Mesa

Brave New Restaurant

1994

Brave New Restaurant

Romano's Macaroni Grill

1995

Brave New Restaurant

Romano's Macaroni Grill

1996

Brave New Restaurant

Spaule

1997

Trio's

Loca Luna

1998

Brave New Restaurant

Capers

1999

Trio's

St. Pascual's Kitchen

2000

Brave New Restaurant

Vermillion Bistro

2001

Trio's

Whole Hog Cafe

2002

Brave New Restaurant

Trio's River Market

2003

Trio's

Lily's Dim Sum Then Some

2004

Brave New Restaurant

Boscos

2005

Brave New Restaurant

On the Border

2006

Brave New Restaurant

Ferneau

2007

Brave New Restaurant

SO Restaurant Bar

2008

Brave New Restaurant

Bill Valentine's Ballpark Restaurant

2009

Trio's

ZaZa

2010

Brave New Restaurant

Capi's

2011

Trio's

Dugan's Pub

2012

Brave New Restaurant

Big Orange

2013

Brave New Restaurant

Local Lime

2014

The Pantry

South on Main

LISTEN UP

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

Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

INSIDER, CONT.

Hint at what’s to come Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the Arkansas Times received a draft of a new report prepared for the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace (AHIM) that examines potential options for the state under 1332 waivers, a feature of the federal Affordable Care Act that becomes available in 2017 and would allow states to waive certain rules or requirements of the federal health care law.

The use of 1332 waivers could be a key component of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s plan for the future of health care in Arkansas, outlined in a speech at UAMS last week (see adjacent story). Hutchinson proposed continuing the private option for two years through the end of 2016, and creating a legislative task force to look at alternative coverage options in 2017 and beyond. The task force may well aim to make use of 1332 waivers, which could impact the private options’ coverage expansion, but could also lead to eliminating or modifying the individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance, eliminating or modifying the employer mandate requiring large businesses to offer full affordable coverage to full-time employees, making changes to the benefits and subsidies available on the exchange, making changes to the types of plans that can be offered to the exchange and other alterations. One review of 1332 waivers in the Journal of Health, Politics and Law referred to them as “state innovation on steroids.”

The AHIM draft report offers some initial clues about what options Hutchinson’s health care task force would have on the table. One scenario would use the existing private option model but make changes to the Marketplace to make the program more streamlined and comprehensive. Rather than Medicaid purchasing private plans available on the exchange, the program would negotiate with the Marketplace for plans specifically designed to fit the private option, tailored to be more costeffective and more suited to serve the needs of the private option population.

Another scenario would use 1332s to pursue “consumer-driven reform.” The medically needy would stay in traditional Medicaid, but everyone else in the current private option population would purchase their own private plans directly, rather than having Medicaid purchase the plans for them.

www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

13

BRIAN CHILSON

PARRISH: Defender Commission could use 100 more lawyers.

INDEFENSIBLE

The public defender system in Arkansas is stretched to the point of breaking. Will it take a federal lawsuit to get the state to pony up for more attorneys?

BY DAVID KOON

I

t’s a measure of the potential peril awaiting criminal defendants in American courtrooms that every person arrested in this country is supposed to have some version of the following statement read to them as the cuffs go on: “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at no cost.”

Though the promise of a trained defender for every indigent defen14

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

dant is both noble and necessary for the legal system to truly mete out justice, in practice, the reality of providing those defenders has long been a net stretched to the breaking point in most states, including Arkansas.

In Pulaski County, for example, the managing public defender said that his office is representing between 85 and 90 percent of all criminal defendants, with most of his attorneys jug-

gling the cases of between 90 and 120 defendants at any given time. For rural public defenders, some of whom cover courts in up to six counties, the challenge of simple geography is added to the mix. One public defender said that in addition to representing hundreds of defendants in five different counties, she drives two-and-a-half hours, one way, over winding mountain roads to confer with clients in the furthestflung jail and courthouse from her office. Another public defender in South Arkansas said that, in addition to covering district courts, juvenile courts and more in six counties, he and the four other full-time attorneys in his office handle an average of 400 to 450 felony cases per year. That’s not in total. That’s each. The same public defender told us he can’t even afford a secretary to answer the phone at his county office in Magnolia.

If that sounds to you like a system in crisis, you’re probably right. If you think the state is taking stories like these as a call to action, that remains to be seen, though it hasn’t worked in the past. Last October, Gregg Parrish, executive director of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, appeared before the Joint Budget Committee of the Arkansas Legislative Council and requested a budget increase that would allow him to hire 46 additional attorneys and 10 support staff. Parrish noted that data generated by his office showed an average of 537 clients per public defender in the state last year — far above the American Bar Association’s recommendation that attorneys handle no more than 200 misdemeanors or 150 felonies per year. The 2016 budget for the commission proposed by former Gov. Mike Beebe, meanwhile, recommended funding for only three additional public defender positions.

On Tuesday, new Gov. Asa Hutchinson released his own comprehensive proposal for the state budget; it makes no change to the public defender appropriation recommended by his predecessor. Additions to the budget are still possible between now and the end of the legislative session, however.

Several states are being sued in federal court over inadequate representation due to overwhelmed public defenders. Some in Arkansas fear a similar lawsuit may already be inevi-

table here, especially if the legislature doesn’t do something to bring caseloads down to a manageable level. That will cost money, however, and in a poor state — one that has historically given notoriously short budgetary shrift to those accused or convicted of crimes — the question is: Will we pay to fix the problem now, or will we be forced to pay to fix it later?

Though assistance of counsel for a person who stands accused is guaranteed in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, that didn’t always mean the government had to pay for a lawyer for an indigent defendant. Free representation for the poor wasn’t enshrined into constitutional law until 1962, when the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that defendants had a right to counsel even if they couldn’t afford it. “In our adversary system of criminal justice,” Justice Hugo Black wrote, “any person hauled into court who is too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems an obvious truth.”

The view of that obvious truth from the front lines of public defense in Arkansas is undoubtedly somewhat different from the view from that lofty bench. Robert Jeffrey is the managing public defender in South Arkansas’s 13th Judicial District, which covers Calhoun, Columbia, Cleveland, Dallas, Ouachita and Union counties. A public defender since before the state Public Defender Commission was created in 1998, Jeffrey said his office handles at least 90 percent of criminal defense cases in those six counties, a caseload that falls on the shoulders of a staff of five full-time attorneys (including him), one part-time attorney, one full-time secretary and one part-time secretary.

On plea and arraignment days, Jeffrey said, it’s not uncommon to have 50 to 60 clients in the courtroom, though he has represented as many as 80 in a single session. Asked how he lugs all the files needed for that many cases to the courthouse, he laughed before saying, “You make two trips to the car.” He often brings a secretary to court with him to work as a client liaison, handing out notices about the next court date to those defendants Jeffrey doesn’t abso-

BRIAN CHILSON

On the assembly line

HOUSE: Joint Budget Committee will study the problem.

lutely need to see that day. He said his work as a public defender has made him very efficient.

“I hate to use this phrase,” Jeffrey said, “but a lot of times, it’s just the assembly-line practice of law. If you have big volume, you learn not to waste time. ... I’ve developed a routine on how to interview them, unless it is a very complicated case. But [with] the less-serious felonies, I can get what I need to know in 15 or 20 minutes.”

Right now, Jeffrey said, he doesn’t have a secretary for an office he hopes to open soon in Magnolia (one of several county offices he runs), because the county refused to fund one. Budgets for public defender offices are split, with payroll coming from the state while the budget for support staff comes from the counties.

“I’m trying to rent an office there so people will know where we are,” he said, “but on most days, that office will be locked because I’ll be somewhere else. There will be nobody to answer the phone or meet with people if they come by.”

The playing field between prosecutors and public defenders is lopsided all

over the state, Jeffrey said, something he learned quickly starting out, when the prosecution in one of his early trials was able to send an alleged murder weapon off to FBI headquarters for analysis. “Even with the [Public Defender] Commission, where we can get access to experts, we can’t do that,” he said. “[Prosecutors] have county sheriff’s offices and maybe one or more police departments, depending on their jurisdiction, to assist them. Those departments have investigators. They have victim-witness people to coordinate their witnesses and help them meet with victims and victims’ families. They have support, before you even get into the funding aspect.”

As a former state legislator who served in the House from 2003 to 2008, Jeffrey said he understands the budgetary constraints the state is under. “I was on the budget committee for four years,” he said. “I understand how hard it is for the state to spend more money in a particular area. But it’s kind of like the [Lake View] school thing. When you neglect something, problems come up.”

While Jeffrey spends hours on the road every week, the problem of geogCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

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JANUARY 29, 2015

15

BRIAN CHILSON BRIAN CHILSON

PAST TIPPING POINT: John Walker believes the state’s public defender situation is “ripe for a lawsuit.”

FEELING THE CRUSH: Bill Simpson says his office in Little Rock has the bare minimum of lawyers and staff to cover the caseload.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

raphy is even more acute for Tammy Harris, the managing public defender of the 16th Judicial District, which covers Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard and Stone counties in North-Central Arkansas. Her office, which includes two full-time attorneys and one parttime attorney, is in Heber Springs, but her jurisdiction stretches all the way to the Missouri state line.

“From my office to our most northern county is a two to two-and-a-halfhour drive, just to get to court,” she said.

“That’s a five-hour commute to and from our office.”

Like Jeffrey, Harris said that prosecutors in her district have an obvious advantage in terms of staff and budget. That adds up to prosecutors having more time to prepare their cases. “We tried to get the counties in my district to pay for some support staff when they did our budgets for 2015, and the counties would not do that,” Harris said. “They felt it was the responsibility of the state.”

Harris said she hopes that bias against those accused of crimes doesn’t have anything to do with the seeming reluctance of the state and counties to provide adequate funds for public defenders. “I think everybody wants to be tough on crime,” she said. “That’s the politically correct thing. But the constitution requires that everyone have their day in court and they be represented by an attorney who is effective. I don’t think we can be effective unless the playing field is equal and adequate.”

In Central Arkansas’s 6th District, which includes Pulaski and Perry counties, Bill Simpson is the chief public defender. Even though the volume of Pulaski County courts means Simpson’s office is larger and has more staff than most other public defender offices around the state, Simpson still feels the crush of heavy caseloads. Right now, Simpson said, every attorney on his staff has between 90 and 110 felony cases in circuit court. There are 24 full-time public defenders for the 6th District, plus part-time attorneys and a “conflict office” that handles cases in which a public defender must recuse for some reason. In addition to covering the circuit and district courts in Little Rock, the office is responsible for representing defendants in the juvenile courts in both counties, plus the district courts in Jacksonville, Maumelle, Perry County and North Little Rock. Simpson said his office has the bare minimum to cover

the courts at this point.

“What I worry about on the way to work is not the murder trial,” he said.

“It’s, ‘Will we have enough people in every court today?’ We have enough people for every court, if everyone is there. If someone takes a vacation or blows a tire, though, we’re scrambling.”

When he started as a public defender fresh out of law school in 1976, Simpson said, the office represented around 75 percent of criminal defendants in Pulaski and Perry counties. He estimates that number has grown to over 90 percent in recent years. While Simpson said the attorneys in his office provide excellent representation, he hopes the legislature will work to find funding to ease the pressure.

“You can’t prepare 110 cases for a jury trial,” he said, “talk to all the witnesses, subpoena all the witnesses. You just can’t do it. So these people who work here are experts at deciding what’s going to trial [and] what’s going to be worked out as far as a plea bargain.”

Simpson’s counterpart in the 6th District is Prosecutor Larry Jegley, who also serves as the president of the state Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Jegley appreciates the work done by public defenders, but said it’s an oversimplification to say that just because there may be more prosecutors than public defenders in a given district, public defenders are outmanned and outgunned. He said that idea has been oversold.

“As far as the numbers go, I think there has to be a more valid and analytical way of looking at it, rather than just throwing up the bogeyman of: ‘Oh, gosh, the big, bad state has all these people and they’re just piling on us and throwing people in jail for inordinate amounts of time,” he said. “I think a thoughtful analysis of it will show that’s not the case.”

Jegley said that though his office has 45 attorneys on staff, fewer than 30 are assigned full time to circuit court.

Those attorneys, he notes, handle 100 percent of the criminal prosecutions in Pulaski and Perry counties, in addition to serving as what Jegley calls “the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system” by reviewing every criminal case file submitted by law enforcement. He said his office also handles over 10,000 citizen complaints per year, consults with police on “multiple rearrest issues,” and covers the district court and juvenile court dockets in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville, Maumelle and Perry

County. The jobs of the prosecutor and the public defender aren’t equivalent, Jegley said. He believes simple numbers shouldn’t be taken as proof of an advantage for prosecutors.

“I think it’s an illegitimate comparison to equate the job of the prosecuting attorney to the job of the public defender,” he said. “I fully support having competent, adequately compensated and sufficient numbers of public defenders, don’t get me wrong. But to just simply say, ‘Well, there’s this many prosecutors and there’s only this many public defenders’ is based on a wrong and illegitimate premise.’ ” Like many attorneys in the state, Jegley has been keeping an eye on the efforts to secure more funding and staff for the public defender’s office.

He believes more funding without a thorough analysis of the issues at hand may be premature.

“I think you’re just throwing money at the problem and seeing if it’ll stick,” he said. “What needs to happen is there needs to be a thoughtful evaluation of it.”

Counting noses

Public Defender Commission Director Parrish has seen life as a public defender from the bottom up. The former managing public defender for the 13th District in South Arkansas said there were times when the pressure of juggling so many cases in six counties was “a nightmare.”

“I knew most of the judges’ cell phone numbers by heart,” he said. “I could call them and say, ‘Judge, I’m coming. I just left this judge, and now I’m coming to see you.’ But I’ve made three counties in one day, from judge to judge to judge. That doesn’t take into consideration that if I’ve got court down there, I’ve got to go see those people in the jail at some point in preparation for court. Even if it’s the first time I’ve seen them, I’ve got to go see them. There’s a whole day. If you’re going to see five or 10 clients, that’s a day. I know for a fact that my public defender has been sitting in the jail until 8 o’clock at night seeing clients. That’s not uncommon.”

Statewide, Parrish estimates, public defenders are handling between 90 and 95 percent of all felony cases. In some of the poorest counties of East Arkansas, he said, the figure approaches 100 percent. They’ve got a saying in public defenders’ offices, Parrish said. They call it “counting noses,” and it’s how every

“…a lot of times, it’s just the assemblyline practice of law. If you have big volume, you learn not to waste time.”

managing public defender in the state starts his or her day.

“You’re running, and you’re gunning,” he said. “You’ve got to have a nose in that courtroom somewhere. If the judge wants a public defender to be there, we’ve got to be there.”

When Parrish became the director of the commission in September 2013, he directed his staff to put together statistical data on caseloads for comparison to caseload guidelines established by the American Bar Association. The ABA guidelines say that full-time defense attorneys working 2,080 hours per year should handle no more than either 150 felonies or 200 misdemeanors during a given year. Under those guidelines, an attorney working 150 felonies a year would have a 100 percent “utilization rate.” When his staff totaled up the number of hours worked by public defenders in each of Arkansas’s 23 judicial districts, factoring in only the hours they worked on cases, Parrish said, there wasn’t a single district in the state that was coming close to the smaller numbers in the ABA guidelines.

“We didn’t factor in vacation time that they might take. We didn’t factor in that they might be out for [Continuing Legal Education] training, or travel from one county to the next,” he said.

“We just took actual numbers, and we don’t have a utilization rate that’s below 100 percent. ... We have some districts that are approaching 400 to 500 percent utilization numbers, without figuring in travel or anything else. Those numbers were astounding.”

To get the caseloads down to the levels recommended by the ABA, Parrish said, he’d need an additional 100 to 150 more attorneys, plus support staff — numbers he knows aren’t reasonable given the budgetary constraints on the state. While preparing his budget pro-

posal for 2016, Parrish said he thought hard about what to ask for before settling on a request for $29.7 million, the figure he presented to a legislative committee. Parrish’s proposal would be $5.5 million north of the budget proposed for the Arkansas Public Defender Commission by former Gov. Beebe. Besides the additional 46 attorneys, the extra money would allow the hiring of five secretaries and five investigators to do legwork, like locating witnesses and serving subpoenas.

“I knew that if I came in there and asked for the positions we actually need, I’d give the impression that there’s a new director who just doesn’t get it,” Parrish said. “That [46] is a realistic number.

Two per district. I would say every one of the managing and chief public defenders in this state would say they could use two more positions.”

The Sword of Damocles hanging over the state’s lawmakers is the threat of a state or federal lawsuit claiming that Arkansas’s public defenders are so overwhelmed that they are unable to provide effective counsel to poor defendants.

Currently, Parrish notes, there are lawsuits over caseload-related ineffective counsel of indigent defendants pending or settled in at least three states.

“New York just settled one back in October of last year involving five counties,” Parrish said. “That lawsuit lingered for seven years. The legal fees involved were $5.7 million. That’s by consent. One of the attorneys was quoted as saying it’s going to cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars over the long run. Georgia just had a lawsuit filed in January of last year, a 60-to-75 page lawsuit. They sued everybody — numerous defendants — and they’re seeking class [action] status.”

Little Rock civil rights attorney and Democratic state Rep. John Walker says that the tipping point where poor defendants are unable to receive effective counsel from public defenders was reached some time ago in Arkansas.

While Walker said he has “plenty on his plate” at the moment, he called the situation in Arkansas “ripe for a lawsuit.”

“You have situations, as we’ve explored and discovered, where public defenders meet their clients for the first time right before a plea and get them to enter a plea right at that moment in exchange for no time,” Walker said. “They become criminals at that point, without any investigation into whether there was a crime comCONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Public defenders, by the numbers

Data provided by the Arkansas Public Defender Commission.

Public defenders in the state Total funded positions: 160 Vacant positions: 3 Current full time: 106 Current part time (or “job share,” with two attorneys sharing the load of one public defender position): 108

Total cases handled by public defenders statewide between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2014 District court cases: 35,773 Circuit court cases: Misdemeanors: 1,005 C & D felonies: 17,002 A&B felonies: 5,261 Class Y felonies: 1,558 Capital crimes: 41 Other circuit court: 3,674 Appeals: 96 Defendants seeking post-conviction relief: 6 Probation revocations: 7,562 Juvenile cases: 13,195 Total cases: 86,173

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JANUARY 29, 2015

17

mitted or whether or not the accused did it. They don’t get equal representation to begin with. There’s no possibility that a person who could afford to pay would have so little attention given to his or her problems without the attorney being subject to a malpractice claim.”

While Walker said he hopes Hutchinson will take the lead in addressing the public defender shortage in the state, he said that several House members, including him, plan to present legislation this session to try and increase the

budget for public defenders.

Rep. Doug House (R-North Little Rock) is a member of the legislative Joint Budget committee, which controls the purse strings of the state. A lawyer for over 30 years, House said that most of the other lawyers in the legislature understand and support the idea that the state’s public defenders need additional resources. He senses an ill wind blowing from the judiciary on the matter as well.

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judges are giving us a heads up and fair warning that a motion for post-conviction relief might be entertained for ineffective assistance of counsel,” House said. In other words, that means a court could toss out a conviction if the defendant’s attorney didn’t do an adequate job.

Even worse for the state, House said, would be a lawsuit in federal court. “Then we’d have the federal courts supervising the public defender system in Arkansas,” he said. “It’s not a very pleasant experience to have the federal courts telling you what to do. I don’t want the people of Arkansas to have to go through that, and I don’t want them to have to pay for it when we can head it off.”

House said the Public Defender Commission’s budget appropriation request is currently on hold while the committee gathers information on caseloads, how cases are counted in each jurisdiction, and how staff is utilized. Parrish used “cases per attorney” during his appearance before the committee last year, but House is more interested in “clients per attorney,” which he said would be a better metric to judge caseloads. As an example, House gave the scenario of a policeman who pulls over a car for no tags and eventually arrests the person inside for DUI, possession of a handgun by a felon, possession of a stolen handgun and possession of a controlled substance.

“You’re looking at five or six cases for one individual,” he said. “Now, what we don’t know yet is, are they [the Public Defender Commission] counting cases per individual, or are they counting individual defendants?”

Asked for a clarification to address House’s question, Parrish said the commission counts the number of defendants per attorney.

House said the committee would also like to see more data on to whom cases are being assigned. “You have an entry-level position, and then you’ve got a grade one, a grade two and a grade three,” he said. “Some of the folks — and it’s my impression, I could be wrong — but my impression is that some of the folks gain the grade three or level three just by longevity. They may be sitting out at a podunk district court handling DUIs and speeding tickets all day long. Top-level attorneys ought to be handling the class Y felonies and the capital cases. So I’ve asked them to look at their workload to rebalance their force.”

But Parrish said he knows of no toplevel public defenders in the state who handle lower-level cases like DUIs. “Our more experienced lawyers are the ones expected to handle the more complicated cases,” he said. “That helps us avoid allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel.”

Part of that rebalancing of force, House said, could come in the form of shuffling attorneys from one jurisdiction to another, where the need is greater. “There’s nothing to keep, say, an attorney from Fort Smith or El Dorado from handling a class Y felony in Jonesboro or Mountain View,” House said. “Then on the other hand, with the grade one and grade two positions, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be handing the class D and class C felonies. You ought to be paid based on your experience, and the more experienced you are and the more you’re paid, the more difficult the cases you should be handling. I’ve asked them to look at that, and they say they are.”

Parrish said that while he has explored the idea of moving positions from district to district, he hasn’t figured out how to do it without upsetting the already precarious applecart. “We’ve

tried to look at that and see if we can do it, and I don’t know how we can move a position, based on numbers, from one district to another,” Parrish said. “I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I can’t figure out how to do it, as far as telling one district, ‘You’re one person short.’

If I came over to Bill Simpson at the Pulaski County office and told him, ‘I’m taking three of your positions and I’m moving them,’ [he’d say] ‘Why? You can’t do this to us.’ ” Currently, House said he’s thinking in the range of around “16 new entry level positions, plus a few investigators” for the Public Defender Commission. While it’s a broad leap between Gov. Beebe’s three, House’s 16, and Parrish’s 46 plus 10 staff, House said he believes there’s room in the legislature for compromise on the issue. He said the personnel subcommittee of the budget committee will consider the issue after they’ve collected the facts they need, and will then make a recommendation to the full budget committee.

“I think conservatives, liberals and everybody in between understands the problem,” House said. “The question is going to be, ‘What can we afford, and what do we have to have?’ ”

The Arkansas Times & the Root Café proudly present Little Rock’s

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Arts Entertainment

BRIAN CHILSON

AND

MAD ABOUT THEM: Judges and the crowd were all about last year’s Showcase winner, Mad Nomad.

THE 2015 MUSICIANS SHOWCASE BEGINS

Secondhand Cannons, Open Fields, Redefined Reflection and Consumers battle in round one.

BY WILL STEPHENSON

A

t long last, the 2015 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase kicks off this Thursday, Jan. 29, at Stickyz, and will continue every Thursday night throughout February. The deal is this: Four bands perform in front of a panel of judges, and the audience gets a vote, too. The winners of each round then go on to perform at the finals in March.

This year’s esteemed panel of judges includes local artists and musicians Mitchell Crisp, Derek Brooks, Shayne Gray and Joe Holland (representing the 20

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

winning band from last year’s showcase, Mad Nomad).

Each week will also feature a distinguished local luminary as a guest judge, including Spero, Maxwell George, Bijoux, John Willis, Matt White and Sean Fresh.

In addition, there will be hosts from all your favorite shows on KABF-FM, 88.3, who are partnering with us for the first time this year to make the showcase great.

The prize package includes cash, a Riverfest set on the main stage, a spot at Valley of the Vapors, a set at the 2015

Arkansas State Fair, four hours recording time at Blue Chair Studio, a $350 gift certificate to Jacksonville Guitar, a T-shirt package from States of Mind Clothing, a gift certificate to Trio’s Restaurant, and a celebration party (and drink named after you) courtesy of Stickyz and Revolution.

Past winners range from Ho Hum and The Big Cats to 607 and Velvet Kente.

The show on Thursday starts at 9 p.m. and admission is $5.

Here are your first-round semifinalists:

Secondhand Cannons

Little Rock alt-rock five-piece Secondhand Cannons, who play confident, three-chord power pop in the tradition of The Cars, were all set to play last year’s showcase when their plans were sidelined by a last-minute medical emergency. They dropped out, but the incident has apparently only strengthened their resolve. They’ve been scheduled first this year, appropriately, and will start things off as they should’ve been able to this time last year.

Open Fields

Open Fields make hypnotic, slowbuilding psych-rock filtered through prismatic layers of reverb and delay.

In their own words, they “are green

places without fences, the pull between magnets of opposite poles, blank spaces waiting for you to tell what you know, the energy around people whose minds are ready to change and grow.”

Redefined Reflection

“What started as a group of three friends dreaming about making music and touring nationally is now becoming a reality,” Redefined Reflection claim on their website. The band’s influences, they write, include Metallica, Sublime, Led Zeppelin, Pantera, Black Sabbath and, maybe most tellingly, Evanescence.

They found their singer, Brittney Waddle, on Facebook a couple of years ago and have gone on to fund their first EP on Kickstarter and to produce a bleak but highly professional music video for a song called “Violent.”

Consumers

Sherwood band Consumers make Ozzfest-ready alt-metal heavy on riffs and Incubus-style esotericism. They wear fake moustaches in press photos and have a song called “We Exist!”

On their Facebook page they recently relayed the accurate assessment of a stranger that they sounded “like Mars Volta with Geddy Lee singing.” To this, they say, “Too cool!!!!”

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

A&E NEWS AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE Ron Robinson Theater last week, Arkansas Literary Festival chair Brad Mooy announced the lineup for the 2015 event, to be held April 23-26. The list includes filmmaker and author John Waters, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg, Ya-Ya Sisterhood series author Rebecca Wells, novelists Megan Abbott, Benjamin Percy, Brock Clarke and Jamaica Kincaid and “Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl” creator Issa Rae. Local writers Hope Coulter, Kevin Brockmeier, Jessica Jacobs, Frank H. Thurmond, Nickole Brown, Guy Lancaster and Sandy Longhorn will be presenting, as will Oxford American magazine contributors Amanda Petrusich, Thomas Pierce and Preston Lauterbach, Arkansas photographer Maxine Payne, James Beard Award nominee Morgan Murphy, Gen. Wesley Clark, essayist Kent Russell and children’s book illustrator Bryan Collier. Check the festival’s website (arkansasliteraryfestival.org) for more information and future announcements.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD REPORTS THAT Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Edge of Tomorrow”) are “in talks” to make the film “Mena,” based on a script by Gary Spinelli.

Last year we reported that Ron Howard was to direct the film, which will focus on the notorious drug smuggler Barry Seal, best known for his role in importing billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine into the U.S. on behalf of Colombian drug lords (for which he earned between $60 million and $100 million, according to his own testimony). The Mena airport was used in the operation.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Mary Steenburgen has joined the cast of a new Fox series called “The Last Man on Earth,” created by and starring former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Will Forte. The show, a single-camera postapocalyptic comedy about the survivor of a “viral epidemic,” also stars Kristen Schall, Mel Rodriguez and January Jones, and will be directed and produced by writer-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (“The Lego Movie,” “21 Jump Street”).

WAKARUSA ORGANIZERS, WHO previously announced The Roots, STS9, Young the Giant and others for the 2015 festival, set to be held June 4-7 at Mulberry Mountain, announced more of the lineup last week: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Chance the Rapper, Major Lazer, Thievery Corporation, Umphrey’s McGee, Slightly Stoopid, Portugal. The Man and many more. Tickets are on sale now at wakarusa.com.

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JANUARY 29, 2015

21

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY WILL STEPHENSON

THURSDAY 1/29

MAXWELL BLADE

8 p.m. The Joint, Argenta. $20.

Maxwell Blade is 53 years old and since 1996 has been performing in downtown Hot Springs as a “Master of Illusion.” He operates a 112-seat theater on Central Avenue with enormous playing cards on the walls. He does closeup magic, far-off magic, spectacle magic, comedy magic, prop magic, magic involving cups and balls and cards and confetti and doves and fire and, on some nights, a guillotine. He wears a black blazer, black shirts and black sunglasses, and has

THURSDAY 1/29 a shock of wild white hair. From a distance, he looks a little like the filmmaker Jim Jarmusch. Earlier this year he performed in Las Vegas, and alerted the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, beforehand, that his colleagues Chriss Angel and Penn and Teller had “promised to attend.”

Next-door to his theater, last year, he opened the Maxwell Blade Odditorium and Curiosities Museum.

Inside are model ships, skulls, odd figurines, jars filled with bizarre and unidentifiable objects, exotic masks, mummified animals and other magical implements.

ROMERO LUBAMBO AND PETER MARTIN 8 p.m. South on Main. $20.

One of the indigestible problems of bossa nova guitar-playing is the difficultly of translating samba rhythms while simultaneously playing fluid jazz chords, an unpredictable bass note and a melody. For anyone who thinks linearly or who isn’t accidentally brilliant, it’s a migraine-inducing puzzle. They say Joao Gilberto used to lock himself in the bathroom playing only one chord for hours at a time. Usually that’s phrased as an inspirational anecdote, but it’s also

possible he was just losing his mind.

Romero Lubambo makes it look embarrassingly easy. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he came to the United States in 1985 and has performed and recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Al Jarreau, Harry Belafonte, Astrud Gilberto and Yo Yo Ma. Thursday night, as part of the Oxford American Jazz Series, he’ll perform with fellow jazz luminary Peter Martin. Martin, a pianist who has recorded with Wynton Marsalis and played at the White House (and in a George Clooney film) returns to South on Main after a great and memorable set last year.

FRIDAY 1/30

SHOVELS AND ROPE

9 p.m. Revolution. $17 adv., $20 day of.

THE DEVIL IS ALL AROUND: Shovels and Rope play at Revolution 9 p.m. Friday, $17 adv., $20 day of.

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JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

“We love what we do, but when we’re not out playing music we’d rather be mowing the grass,” Michael Trent said to Rolling Stone not long ago. Trent is one half, along with Cary Ann Hearst, of the husband-wife folk duo Shovels and Rope, who hail from Charleston, S.C., and have become fairly successful in recent years, playing late-night talk shows and climbing the Billboard charts and speaking candidly to Rolling Stone magazine about mowing the grass. In the same article, we learn further that the couple “recently purchased a rideon lawnmower for the expansive yard at their home in Johns Island, South Carolina.” They raise chickens. They have a hound dog named Townes, and used to tour around in a Winnebago, passing the guitar and tambourine back and forth and wowing audiences with Deep South imagery (“The Devil Is All Around” was last year’s single) and the kind of organic harmonies that could only come as the result of marriage and arduous practice.

They claim to have been influenced by “Smithsonian recordings … of Gullah Gospel.” In their own category, however, the world of roots Americana and alt-country and gritty, earthy authenticity, they do not attempt to push the envelope so much as to revive, embrace and celebrate the envelope. And they do it all while raising chickens, looking after their hound and, occasionally, mowing the grass.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 1/29

FRIDAY 1/30

ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART 9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.

Alvin Youngblood Hart grew up in Oakland, Los Angeles, Ohio, Mississippi and Chicago. His earliest musical memory, he claimed in one interview, is a Bugs Bunny ukulele he used to lug around: He broke all the strings off and replaced them with rubber bands. Since then, he has won a Grammy, toured with Bo Diddley, tutored Samuel L. Jackson and made a record with Jim Dickinson. On the one hand, he is the iconic, idealized, spitting image of “The Blues,” having performed in Martin Scorsese’s PBS series of the same name over

black-and-white footage of the old South.

He appeared, also, in a Denzel Washington movie credited as “Juke Joint Musician No. 1,” has been celebrated by the likes of Living Blues magazine and frequently covers Charley Patton. His blues credibility has been abundantly established, is what I mean. On the other hand, if his interviews are any indication, he’d rather be listening to Thin Lizzy. He’s a thrilling guitarist with a sense of humor and spontaneity that always comes through. “I think if you get too serious it starts scaring the kids off,” he said once, referring to “The Blues,” and so he never gets too serious.

REVOLUTION: The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi are at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, $25.

SATURDAY 1/31

WHIRLING DERVISHES OF RUMI

6:30 p.m. Albert Pike Memorial Temple. $25.

“It is scientifically recognized that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no being or object which does not revolve, because all beings are comprised of revolving electrons, protons and neutrons in atoms. Everything revolves, and the human being lives by means of the revolution of these particles, by the revolution of the blood in his body, and by the revolution of the stages of his life, by his coming from the earth and his returning to it.” That is the expla-

nation given by the Order of the Whirling Dervishes for their famous Sama ritual, inspired by Rumi, the 13th century Sufi mystic and poet who believed that music could offer a route to the resurrection of the soul. The Sama is the simplest dance imaginable: You turn around in circles. You meditate and give thanks to the Prophet, moving steadily if indiscernibly toward perfection. The performers request, kindly, that we do not applaud. As the 10th-century Persian poet Abu Said ibn Abil-Khair once explained, “What’s in your head — throw it away! What’s in your hand — give it up! Whatever happens — don’t turn away from it.”

SATURDAY 1/31SUNDAY 2/1

RANDALL GOOSBY AND THE ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

7:30 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Maumelle Performing Arts Center. $19-$58.

When he was 9 years old, Randall Goosby made his solo orchestral debut w it h t he Jacksonv ille Symphony Orchestra in Florida. Af ter that, in short order, came the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic.

His family moved to Memphis, but Goosby commuted to Juilliard so that he could continue studying with Itzhak Perlman.

He played Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He was featured on NPR. In 2010, at age 13, he won the prestigious Sphynx competition and, in an online interview about the prize, said, “I like to hang out with my friends, checking Myspace and playing outside with my younger brother & Dad.” In concert, as a 14-year-old, he played a 16th century violin built by Giovanni Paolo Maggini, on personal loan from the Stradivarius Society of Chicago. Goosby comes to Little Rock this weekend as g uest violinist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, performing in two concerts with a program featuring two pieces by Tchaikovsky and Mozart’s “Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major.”

He’ll also appear at the Mosaic Templars Cultural center at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 29.

Cris Slaymaker gives a lecture on Little Rock’s Union School at Old State House Museum, noon.

Comedian Midnight Swinger is at the Loony Bin through Saturday, Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m. (with shows at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday), $10. Altrock singer Sean Danielsen plays at Juanita’s at 8 p.m., $8. Austin songwriters Graham Wilkinson and Shawn Nelson are at White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. The Afterthought presents a Comedy Night at 9 p.m., $5. The 2015 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase kicks off at Stickyz at 9 p.m., $5.

FRIDAY 1/30 Comedy troupe The Main Thing performs their original production, “Frost Bite Me!” Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., $22. Rapper Big Smo is at Juanita’s with Haden Carpenter and Orig the DJ, 9 p.m., $15-$50. My Brother My Friend plays at Vino’s with Charon Creek, Paul Sammons, Taylor Nealy and Andrew Raines, 9 p.m., $5. Saboor Salaam performs at Afrodesia Studio with Jeron Isbell, Butterfly, Soul Centric and others, 9 p.m., $10. Roger Creager is at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of.

That Arkansas Weather plays at The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

SATURDAY 1/31 Blackwitch Pudding plays at Vino’s with Chronic Ritual, Seahag, Crankbait and Feeble, 8 p.m., $8.

The Casual Pleasures are at The Lightbulb Club in Fayetteville, with Landrest, Maness Brothers and Ghost Hollers, 9 p.m. Country singer Frank Foster is at Revolution at 9 p.m., $16 adv., $20 day of. Swampbird play an album release show at Stickyz with Dead Soldiers and Blackwater, 9 p.m., $7. Actress and singer-songwriter Kate Voegele is at Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $12. Duckstronaut plays an album release show at White Water Tavern with Sea Nanners and Collin Vs. Adam, 9:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 2/4 The panel discussion “Legacies and Lunch: Black History Month” is at the Ron Robinson Theater at noon.

Vulgar Display performs alongside Sold Short, Pulled Under, Jungle Juice and Mean Ends at Vino’s, 7 p.m., $8. Sway hosts “Drag-eoke” with Chi Chi Valdez, which will continue every Wednesday night. The Meshugga Klezmer Band plays at South on Main at 7:30 p.m., free, as part of their Local Live Series.

www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

23

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

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-370-7013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com.

That Arkansas Weather. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

THURSDAY, JAN. 29

“Frost Bite Me!” An original comedy by The Main Thing. The Joint, through March 14: 8 p.m., $22.

301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

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

COMEDY

MUSIC

Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. With Secondhand Cannons, Open Fields, Redefined Reflection and Consumers. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Fire and Brimstone (headliner), Even Odds (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m.

2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Graham Wilkinson, Shawn Nelson. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

“Inferno.” DJs play pop, electro, house and more, plus drink specials and $1 cover before 11 p.m.

Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana. 501-907-2582.

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

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

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Open Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 8 p.m. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

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

Peter Martin and Romero Lubambo. Oxford American Jazz Series. South on Main, 8 p.m., $20.

1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain.com.

RockUsaurus. Senor Tequila, 7-9 p.m. 10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-224-5505.

Sean Danielsen. Juanita’s, 8 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www. juanitas.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-370-7013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com.

COMEDY

Comedy Night. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 9 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www. afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

Midnight Swinger. The Loony Bin, through Jan. 31, 7:30 p.m., $7. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road.

501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

“Salsa Night.” Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

‘HOW TO KILL’: Painter and illustrator Robert Andrew Parker began his series of World War II-themed watercolors in the 1970s inspired by the poems of Keith Douglas, who was killed in 1944 during the invasion of Normandy. Over 100 of these works will be exhibited by the Arkansas Arts Center beginning Tuesday, Feb. 3, and running through March 8.

Alvin Youngblood Hart. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www. whitewatertavern.com.

Big Smo, Haden Carpenter, Orig the DJ. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $15-$50. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

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.

Gas Station Disco. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-224-7665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Josh Green. Another Round Pub, 9 p.m. 12111 West Markham. 501-313-2612. www.anotherroundpub.com.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

My Brother My Friend, Charon Creek, Taylor Nealy and Andrew Raines, Paul Sammons.

Vino’s, 9 p.m., $5. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466.

www.vinosbrewpub.com.

Richie Johnson (headliner), Katmandu (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com.

Roger Creager. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Route 66. Agora Conference and Special Event Center, 6:30 p.m., $5. 705 E. Siebenmorgan, Conway.

Saboor Salaam, Jeron Isbell, Butterly, Soul Centric, TP and the Feel, Candy Soul.

Afrodesia Studio, 9 p.m., $10. 9700 Rodney Parham Road.

Shovels and Rope, Caroline Rose. Revolution, 9 p.m., $17 adv., $20 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/ new.

Swampbird, Peace of the Sea. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479444-6100.

EVENTS

Maxwell Blade. The Joint, 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

The

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR

LECTURES

7pm March 5

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture: The Union School in Arkansas. A lecture by Cris Slaymaker. Old State House Museum, noon. 500 Clinton Ave. 501-324-9685. www.oldstatehouse.com.

$

FRIDAY, JAN. 30

*RESERVED PARKING, LOUNGE & PRE-SHOW RECEPTION

MUSIC

All In Fridays. Club Elevations. 7200 Colonel Glenn Road. 501-562-3317.

24

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

35

RESERVED SEATING

ORDER ONLINE AT 75 VIP* WILDWOODPARK.ORG

$

OR CALL 501- 821-7275

20919 Denny Road, Little Rock

LGBTQ/SGL weekly meeting. Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group, 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St.

SATURDAY, JAN. 31

MUSIC

Alex Summerlin (headliner), White Chocolate (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m.

2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky and Mozart Festival. Maumelle High School, Jan. 31, 7 p.m.; Feb. 1, 3 p.m., $19-$58. 100 Victory Drive. 501-851-5350.

Blackwitch Pudding, Chronic Ritual, Seahag, Crankbait, Feeble. Vino’s, 8 p.m., $8. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

The Casual Pleasures, Landrest, Maness Brothers, Ghost Hollers. The Lightbulb Club, 9 p.m. 21 N. Block Ave., Fayetteville. 479-444-6100.

Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. See Jan. 30.

Duckstronaut, Sea Nanners, Collin Vs. Adam.

White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Frank Foster. Revolution, 9 p.m., $16 adv., $20 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new.

Gas Station Disco. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, through, $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

James and The Ultrasounds. Maxine’s, 9 p.m., $5. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. www.maxinespub.com.

Jet 420. Another Round Pub, 9 p.m. 12111 West Markham. 501-313-2612. www.anotherroundpub.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. 7111 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876. Zack’s Place, 8 p.m., free.

1400 S. University Ave. 501-664-6444.

Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All-ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. www.rumbarevolution.com/new.

Kate Voegele. Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $12. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.juanitas.com.

K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress

code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana.

501-492-9802.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

Randall Goosby. The violin prodigy, presented by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 10 a.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-683-3593. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.

Randall Shreve and The Sideshow, Benjamin Del Shreve, Me Like Bees, Surf de Soleil.

George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $10. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226.

Swampbird (album release), Dead Soldiers, Blackwater. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $7. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-370-7013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com.

The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi. Albert Pike Memorial Temple, 6:30 p.m., $25. 712 Scott St. 501-375-5587. www.littlerockscottishrite.org.

COMEDY

“Frost Bite Me!” An original comedy by The Main Thing. The Joint, through March 14: 8 p.m., $22. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-3720205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

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

DANCE

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

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

Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

SUNDAY, FEB. 1

MUSIC

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky and Mozart Festival. Maumelle High School, 3 p.m., $19-$58. 100 Victory Drive. 501-851-5350.

Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, first and third Sunday of every month, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com.

Karaoke. Shorty Small’s, 6-9 p.m. 1475 Hogan Lane, Conway. 501-764-0604. www.shortysmalls.com.

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

501-982-1939.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. lit-

tlerock.erniebiggs.com.

EVENTS

“Live from the Back Room.” Spoken word event.

Vino’s, first Sunday of every month, 7 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

NO SKINNY STEAKS!

MONDAY, FEB. 2

MUSIC

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Monday Night Jazz. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., $5. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

Open Mic. The Lobby Bar. Studio Theatre, 8 p.m. 320 W. 7th St. Richie Johnson. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf. com.

All American Food & Great Place to Watch Your Favorite Event

–Sat

Piano Bar Tue e Bar Martini & Win

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LECTURES

“The Civil Rights of the Whole Child for a Whole Education.” A lecture by Lily Eskelsen García, president of National Education Association.

Sturgis Hall, 6 p.m. 1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5200. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

TUESDAY, FEB. 3

MUSIC

Brian and Nick. Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 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. Jeff Ling. Khalil’s Pub, 6 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

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

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550. willydspianobar.com/prost-2.

Karaoke Tuesdays. On the patio. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., free. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Music Jam. Hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton.

Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

COMEDY

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

DANCE

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

EVENTS

It’s in the Bag: Lunch ‘n Learn Series. Featuring the cast of “The Whipping Man.” Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 11:30 a.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-683-3593. www.mosaictemplarscen-

In The River Market District 501.324.2999 sonnywilliamssteakroom.com

Free Valet Parking

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” www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

25

AFTER DARK, CONT. ter.com.

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

LECTURES

“Black History ... You Gotta Love It!.” North Little Rock NAACP, 6 p.m. 1418 Main Street, NLR.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. Afterthought Bistro & Bar, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbistroandbar.com.

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

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

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

Karaoke. MUSE Ultra Lounge, 8:30 p.m., free. 2611 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-6398.

Live music. No cover charge Sun.-Tue. and Thu. Ernie Biggs. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-372-4782. littlerock.erniebiggs.com.

Meshugga Klezmer Band. Local Live. South on Main, 7:30 p.m., free. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. southonmain.com.

A Night of Jazz. Studio Theatre, 7 p.m., $100.

320 W. 7th St. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-370-7013. www.capitalbarandgrill.com.

Vulgar Display, Sold Short, Pulled Under, Jungle Juice, Mean Ends. Vino’s, 7 p.m., $8. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

Whiskey Myers, John D. Hale. George’s Majestic Lounge, 9 p.m., $12. 519 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-442-4226.

COMEDY

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

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th & Cleveland

streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

EVENTS

Agnostic and Athiests Meeting. Main Library, 6:30 p.m. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals.lib.ar.us.

LECTURES

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture: Little Rock Cyclist Major Taylor. A lecture by Shelia Freeman McDonald. Old State House Museum, noon.

500 Clinton Ave. 501-324-9685. www.oldstatehouse.com.

“Legacies and Lunch: Black History Month.” Ron Robinson Theater, noon. 1 Pulaski Way. 501-3205703. www.cals.lib.ar.us/ron-robinson-theater.aspx.

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JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

“The benefits of the private option “are facts that we cannot deny, should not deny, and should rejoice in.”

— Asa Hutchinson

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.

ARTS

THEATER

“No Exit.” Adapted from the play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The Weekend Theater, through Jan. 31: Fri., Sat., 7:30 p.m., $16. 1001 W. 7th St. 501-3743761. www.weekendtheater.org.

“Rumpelstiltskin.” Arkansas Arts Center, through Feb. 8: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., Sun., 2 p.m., $12.50. 501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

“The Whipping Man.” Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Feb. 8: 7 p.m. Wed.Thu. and Sun., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., $35.

601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

NEW GALLERY EXHIBITS, EVENTS ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “How to Kill,” war images in watercolor by Robert Andrew Parker, Feb. 3-March 8; “William Beckman: Drawings 1967-2013,” through Feb. 1; “Color, an Artist’s Tale: Paintings by Virmarie DePoyster,” through Feb. 15, Museum School Gallery. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

GALLERY 221, Pyramid Place, Second and Center streets: “Love and Romance of Art,” works by Tyler Arnold, Kathi Couch, Jennifer “Emile” Freeman, Brenda Fowler, Greg Lahti, Sean LeCrone, Elizabeth Nevins, Mary Ann Stafford, Gino Hollander, Siri Hollander, Fire Flies Metal Art and Rae Ann Bayless, Feb. 2-15, reception 5-8 p.m. Feb. 13. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. gallery221@gmail.com.

DUMAS, CONT. University of Central Arkansas, which had an appropriation to cover it. Hardin spent the $2 million before he was removed from office 20 months later and convicted of wire fraud and money laundering.

The big question, of course, is whether Asa Hutchinson can preserve the Medicaid coverage when the sizable Tea Party faction of his party wants to destroy it and some want to go further and undo the big payment reforms (encouraged by Obamacare) that former Gov. Beebe counts as his greatest legacy. I think he can. What was most

INTRODUCING ASACARE, CONT.

impressive about his health care message at UAMS last week, in which he acknowledged the political troubles of Obamacare, was the candid recognition that the first consideration in the battle had to be the health of people who are covered and are about to be covered under Medicaid and the individual and employer insurance markets, not the politics or the budget. He knows, if the Tea Party doesn’t, that the financial advantages of the insurance reforms more than pay for the state share, even after it reaches 10 percent. He’s Mike Huckabee, with judgment.

phrase “private option” had become “politically toxic,” and he wanted to “broaden the debate to the larger Medicaid budget.” He said that concerns about future costs were wise but also acknowledged the policy’s successes, helping cut the state’s uninsured rate in half and putting hospitals in the state on more solid financial footing. “Those two benefits are facts that we cannot deny, should not deny, and should rejoice in,” he said.

The speech represents good news for more than 200,000 Arkansans who have gained health insurance via the expansion, which covers adults who make less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level (that’s around $16,000 for an individual or $33,000 for a family of four), and hospitals who have reported dramatic savings in payments for uncompensated care since the policy went into effect — around $80 million in the first half of 2014 alone. Because the private option is fully federally funded through 2016 (the state will have to start chipping in 5 percent in 2017, gradually rising to 10 percent in 2020 and beyond), it has also meant billions in federal dollars flowing into Arkansas and nearly $90 million in savings to the state budget in 2015.

While Hutchinson’s support was probably a prerequisite to the survival of the private option, he still has to convince enough right-wing legislators to come aboard to get his plan over the supermajority hump. Another protracted drama in the General Assembly could be in store.

Rep. Kelley Linck (R-Yellville), chair of the House Public Health committee, said he believed the necessary votes would be there in his caucus to move forward with Hutchinson’s plan. “I believe they will be,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to love this; I don’t think anybody’s going to hate it. If all sides are not happy, then we’ll probably have a consensus.”

At least a few legislators previously in opposition to the private option have been positive about Hutchinson’s proposal. “I’m going to support it,” said Rep. Joe Farrer (R-Austin), who voted against the private option in 2013 and 2014 and has been one of the program’s most outspoken critics.

“I think it’s the right thing to do.” He said he believed continuance of the private option would pass. “I don’t think you’re going to have the fight over it that we had last time.”

Others remain firmly in the “Hell, no” caucus. Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest) said Hutchinson’s proposal was just “kicking the can down the road.”

“I’m opposed to keeping the program going,” King said. “I’ve always been opposed to the private option.

We didn’t know what it was going to do when it was passed. It was just a bunch of promises and it’s all failed, except for providing health care to a certain segment of the population.”

King said he wasn’t sure how things would play out in the General Assembly, but expressed concerns that fellow Republicans would follow the new governor’s lead. If the private option stays in place for another two years, he predicted that the coverage expansion to Arkansans would continue after that, even if it had another name.

“I’ve got a better chance of starting for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 than anybody [thinking that] Obamacare expansion’s not going to come back,” he said. King is not alone: A number of lawmakers who campaigned explicitly against the private option said they were unhappy with Hutchinson’s approach. Earlier this week, Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocohontas) and Rep. Donnie Copeland (R-Sherwood) filed bills to immediately repeal the private option.

The afternoon after Hutchinson’s speech, nephew Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Gravette) — previously a diehard

MOVIE REVIEW opponent of continuing the private option — filed a bill to enact the governor’s proposal. The bill would create a task force made up of 16 legislators, as well as new state Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe as a nonvoting member.

(Bledsoe is the son of Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, an outspoken opponent of the private option who sounded positive notes about the governor’s proposal, stating after his speech, “I think people are excited.”)

One surprise about Hutchinson’s plan: Most observers expected that he would demand some immediate wrinkles to the policy that could be sold as “conservative reforms.” Hutchinson, along with Linck, Hendren and Greg Bledsoe, met with federal officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the week before Hutchinson’s speech to discuss whether the feds would give the state additional flexibility to tailor its own coverage expansion program. The feds have drawn a line in the sand and are not allowing states to impose work requirements as a condition of Medicaid coverage, but HHS has been open to programs that would encourage or incentivize work or work-training programs. Many predicted that Hutchinson would pursue something related to work training, or perhaps a wellness program, as other red states have negotiated in Medicaid deals.

Instead, Hutchinson said that he was recommending that the legislature fund the private option “as is” through the end of 2016. He made note of a letter from HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, which expressed general openness to working with the state going forward. However, Hutchinson said, any major changes to the program should come out of the broader overhaul of the Medicaid program that his task force would aim to implement in 2017, rather than tweaks to the existing program. In fact, the only changes in Hendren’s bill actually remove policy wrinkles pushed by GOP backers of the private option: A program to begin imposing cost-sharing and savings accounts on beneficiaries below the poverty line would be nixed, and a future plan to move kids and very poor parents from the traditional Medicaid program to the private option would also be scrapped. According to state officials, the purpose of subtracting these policy twists was to reduce short-term costs and to put the focus on the task force recommendations and long-term reforms, rather than

implementing incremental changes now.

What might those task force recommendations look like? Hutchinson said the purpose of the task force was to find “an alternative health coverage model” that includes a “compassionate and reasonable costeffective response for care of those currently on the private option.” In short, Hutchinson is signaling that AsaCare (or whatever it’s called by 2017) will aim to offer coverage to the category of low-income Arkansans who gained insurance via the expansion, but in the context of a Republican-friendly rethinking of the state’s health care system as a whole. For now, that’s a picture short on details, though Hutchinson mentioned lots of GOP talking points — some feasible, some probably not: block grants, encouraging employment, wellness programs and “market-driven” solutions.

The start date of task force recommendations was no accident. Beginning in 2017, Obamacare makes a new set of waivers available that could potentially give the state much more flexibility in terms of crafting a plan both for the Medicaid program as well as making changes to the entire Health Insurance Marketplace, the regulated health insurance exchange in the state created through Obamacare. There will also be a new presidential administration in place, so the negotiating terms may evolve. (Worth noting, too, is that 2017 is the first year that Arkansas has to start contributing a small share of the cost of expansion, so Hutchinson is merely proposing that the state continue the private option while the feds are footing the entire bill.)

While divisions remain within the GOP, Democrats were pleased with last week’s developments. Rep. Joe Jett (D-Success) said lawmakers in his caucus were “pleasantly surprised.”

“I think he’s taking a real pragmatic approach,” said Rep. Stephen Magie (D-Conway), an ophthalmologist. “He understands the needs of Arkansans.”

Just what AsaCare might look like in 2017 is anyone’s guess, but for now eyes will turn to the legislature. The immediate future of the private option will come down to wrangling enough votes for yet another supermajority, with billions in federal money, the future financial health of the state’s hospitals, and health insurance for 200,000 Arkansans at stake.

‘MORTDECAI’: Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Depp star.

A strange failure ‘Mortdecai’ flops.

BY SAM EIFLING

T

he wonderful fact of watching “Mortdecai,” a runaway tomato truck of a movie, is that it will compel you to wonder throughout, Who the hell thought this was a good idea?

And unlike asking that in so many other areas of life, the answer arrives immediately: Oh! These people on screen, is who! Johnny Depp, who accepted this role as a poncy art dealer with a weird criminal streak. Gwyneth Paltrow, his missus, repulsed by Mortdecai’s foray into moustache-growing but otherwise supportive and clever. Ewan McGregor, an MI5 agent who comes to Mortdecai in need of intel to track a stolen painting.

David Koepp directed and then put his name among the credits. Eric Aronson wrote the screenplay off Kyril Bonfiglioli’s novel. Bonfiglioli wasn’t around to see this: The “art dealer, actor, sciencefiction editor, champion swordsman and comic novelist,” as Wikipedia eulogizes him, died 30 years ago. This all may be partly his doing, then, but it can hardly be considered his fault.

Actually it helps to know that this farce began as a jouncy English comic novel, because otherwise it’s difficult to convey the strangeness of its very existence. Part romp, part flop, the sources and successes of the laughs are painfully uneven. One minute, you’re not laughing; in the next minute, you’re still not laughing. Later, in a distant minute, you find yourself amused. You realize this movie is trying far too hard. Then out of nowhere a throwaway line will tickle a laugh out of you, unexpected and solid, like a basketball that flies into the stands at a game and knocks your beer into your lap. It doesn’t arrive as a complete shock, but still, who saw that coming?

At its best, “Mortdecai” works like

the best moments of “Austin Powers” movies, down to the chipper mod soundtrack. At its worst, it feels like just about everything else Mike Myers has done since. At least Depp genuinely is debonair, playing a character who, for all his general slapdashery, also knows his way around an art library. Mortdecai also gets the brilliant addition of a brutish, oversexed manservant named Jock (Paul Bettany in pure muscle mode); the pair evince more on-screen chemistry than do Depp and Paltrow. And some of the action is funny? And later on we get to see Jeff Goldblum and Olivia Munn?

That’s what’s so strange about this entire escapade. It has genuinely bright moments, and overall, it’s not an unlikable movie. You sort of root for it — it’s just not a good film. Maybe this owes to Depp, forever the up-andcoming prospect we hope will one day tap his full talents, flouncing about like Bugs Bunny crossed with Basil Fawlty.

Truly it’s hard to stay mad at him, even as his career devolves into ever-stranger choices of projects. It’s getting to the point where, if you saw him at a party, you might only nod, pleasantly, hoping not to be seen talking to him for too long.

Maybe this didn’t have to be so pitiable. As a send-up of drawing-room upper-crusters, this could’ve found a following among “Downton Abbey” fans if no one else. The “Mortdecai” novels, as a series, might’ve spawned sequels. Instead, audiences saw the smoke billowing off this wreckage from weeks away and, inspired perhaps by the smell of burning tires, avoided it in favor of more “American Sniper.” Likely this installment of “Mortdecai” will be your only chance to see the character on the big screen, and that for a short time only. www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

27

’

what s Bubbling in

the Spa City

R acing season is here again and brings with it a

high energy atmosphere and a whole lot of fun that has crowds from all over flocking to the beautiful Spa City. But the races form only a small fraction of what Hot Springs has to offer. So take a break, and venture outside the park for a bit and take in award winning food and entertainment this one-of-a-kind town offers up.

Revitalizing retreats and palate pleasers in the Spa City!

The Arlington

We start this year’s section off with what some consider the heart of Hot Springs; The Arlington is a self-contained resort with all of the ambiance and hospitality of a traditional, grand old Southern hotel. Established in 1875, it features full spa service, which was recently named in the top 100 Spas in the country by Healthy Living and Travel and some outstanding restaurants with award winning Sunday brunch and a Friday Night Seafood Feast. The Arlington’s Lobby Bar was recently rated in the top 15 bars of the world (#6) by Refinery 29 and has live entertainment Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights. The hotel Veranda is a perfect place to relax with your favorite cocktail. During the racing season, a handicapper will review the day’s races every Saturday morning in the Lobby for hotel guests. Guests may swim year-round in the twin cascading pools or relax in the hot tub on the mountainside pool deck. 239 Central Ave., (501) 623-7771.

1

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JANUARY 29, 2015 JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES ARKANSAS TIMES

REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR US IN THIS YEAR’S READERS CHOICE AWARDS!

BEST DELI/GOURMET TO GO AROUND THE STATE

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2

BEST MEXICAN AROUND THE STATE

BEST RESTAURANT HOT SPRINGS

The Austin Convention Hotel & Spa

The Austin Hotel and Convention Center combines accommodations with exceptional service. Their 200 guest rooms rise 14 stories over lovely Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas and offer guests a beautiful view of downtown Hot Springs and the Ouachita Mountains. From the moment you arrive, you’ll receive warm, personal attention from the friendly hotel staff.

Conveniently located next to the Hot Springs Convention Center, within walking distance to historic downtown Hot Springs and the famous Bathouse Row, and only minutes from Oaklawn Racing Track and Magic Springs Amusement Park, the Austin Hotel is your best bet! While staying at the Austin, be sure to take time to relax in their full service Spa, featuring discreet, private baths in the soothing Hot Springs thermal waters as well as therapeutic massages at surprisingly affordable prices at the Spa in the Park. 305 Malvern Avenue., (501) 623-6600.

Mardi Costume Ball & Contest MardiGrasGras Costume Ball HOT SPRINGS JAZZ SOCIETY’S ONLY FUNDRAISER

Saturday, February 7 • 6 PM

Costume Contest with $1,000 in cash prizes!

The Austin Convention Hotel And Spa 305 Malvern Avenue • Hot Springs

Taco Mama

Just across the way from CafÊ 1217 you’ll find Taco o Ma Mama, M ma, one of the tastiest Mexican restaurants in the area. Voted Best Mexican in the state in 2014 by the readers of the Arkansas Times, all the food at Taco Mama is hand prepared and made daily. Head there to enjoy daily happy hour drink specials with some of the coldest margaritas and draft beer in town.

Lunch and dinner. 1209 Malvern Ave., (501) 624-6262.  Â

Get Your Tickets Now!

Tickets Online At hsjazzSociety.org 501-627-2425 $60 Per Person • $600 For Table Of 10

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29 29

Revitalizing retreats and palate pleasers in the Spa City!

Rolando’s, R olanndo Mexican Restaurant

Bleu M Bl Monkey k Grill G ill

The Bleu Monkey Grill offers diners one of the most diverse menus found anywhere in the country serving up anything from burgers and fries to the highest quality, hand prepared Salmon cooked to perfection.

Co founders Joey and Ozzy, scoured the country in search of great dishes to add to their menu and have crafted one that caters to each and every age and palette. The Monkey Nacho’s, the Kobe Burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions and the Napa Chicken are must tries. So stop by!

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Roland Rolando’s do’s cuisine c is authentic Latin Fusion at its fin nest. Chef Rolando’s recipes, include nest handmade handm made tamales, traditional Cuban black beans and rice with pulled pork, and their most popular popu dish, the tantalizing Pescado p de Mesias ((fish of Jesus)— grilled tilapia on a bed of white rice with pureed mango and a buttery caper sauce served with black beans. You’ll come for the food, but you’ll linger for the atmosphere. Adding to the ambiance, there’s live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Rolando’s also caters events and offers a wide variety of dishes, including items not listed on the menu. Lunch and dinner. 210 Central Ave., (501) 318-6054.

Just above Rolando’s and fitting for the history of Hot Springs comes a new bar by the owners of Rolando’s. Rolando’s Speak Easy, as the name implies is a prohibition era bar with a themed drink menu, and servers in flapper dresses on weekends, which will make patrons feel like they have entered a 1920’s time capsule.

BEST RESTAURANT IN HOT SPRINGS

We Have The #1 Customers In The State!

BEST OTHER ETHNIC AROUND THE STATE

Open Daily at 11am 7 Days A Week 210 Central Avenue Hot Springs 501.318.6054 rolandosrestaurante.com

JANUARY 29, 2015 JANUARY 29, 2015

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Stubby’s Bar-b-que

Stubbys has been creating fantastic barbecue and the tastiest sauce since 1952 when founder Richard Stubblefield Sr. first fired up his BBQ slow cooking ribs, beef, pork and chicken over fragrantly smoldering logs. Originally located on Park Ave. in Hot Springs, Stubblefields BBQ Sauce quickly became the mainstay in this tourist mecca, rivaling barbeque operations large and small in several other states.

Through the years, Stubby’s has gained a following of devotees not only from the south, but from across the nation. Stubby’s has also been recognized by many food critics, and boasts write-ups in top food guides and in national publications such as“Food and Wine” magazine, “Restaurant Business”,“Restaurants and Institutions” and even books like “Road Food, Good Food“. Whether you are looking for a bbq restaurant, a unique catering experience, the awesomest bbq sauce or just a stop along the way, Stubby’s is always the right choice. 3024 Central Ave in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (501) 624-1552.

Café 1217

Winner of Best Deli Gourmet togoinArkansasTimes2014 Reader’s Choice Awards.

Café 1217 prides itself on the fact that anything that comes from their kitchen is created from scratch, using only the freshest, finest ingredients. In this spirit, the café’s menu is changed monthly. However, the café still has its base of customer favorites, such as the Southwest Cobb Salad, Shrimp and Crawfish Cakes and a wide variety of homey desserts.

Café 1217 offers catering services in Hot Springs and the surrounding areas.

Lunch and dinner. 1217 Malvern Ave. #B, (501) 318-1094.

Full Bar With A Ful TThrowback Drink Menu D Live Entertainment 210 10 Ce Central Cent ent Ave • Hot Springs Above Ab ve Rolando’s R Nuevo Latino Restaurante

Amuse and indulge yourself!

The Spa City Sweethearts Burlesque Revue

Stephens Jewelers

When you are looking for exquisite, fine jewelry, let me personally invite you to Stephens Jewelers in Hot Springs, conveniently located just north of the Oaklawn Race Track.

Our jewelry is elegant, stylish and, best of all, affordable. We have been offering diamonds, gemstones, estate jewelry, and pearls for over 40 years …..the perfect jewelry for every occasion or just because.

We consider our jewelry to be of heirloom quality, perfect for passing down to future generations.

Each piece meets the test of time; beautiful with lots of personality and all the bling you are looking for.

If you wish to have a custom selection made, we offer the creativity and knowledge to produce an individual piece just for you. We provide exceptional craftsmanship along with a pleasant buying experience. We also offer jewelry repair at affordable pricing and will gladly assist you with insurance or personal appraisals. Come by anytime to have your jewelry cleaned and polished!

We make purchasing fine jewelry a memorable experience at Stephens Jewelers! Call us, stop by for a visit or browse our website. We are located at 2200 Central Avenue, Hot Springs, open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

(800) 364-3093, www.stephensjewelers.com

Your

Best

The art of burlesque, with roots extending to the late 1800’s, is enjoying a revival in modern day America. Hot Springs is no exception to the current fascination with classical, theatrical strip tease. Beautiful women, in elaborate costumes, often hand-made are timeless high entertainment. “The Spa City Sweethearts Burlesque Revue,” features over two dozen performers, who performed to sold out audiences at Low Key Arts in 2011, 2012, 2013 & 2014, making it the largest annual fundraiser for The Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival. Expect to see the sultry sauntering of Ms. Ruby Lead, Doris Night, Rosa Lee Bloom, Violet D’Vine, Darla Beauregarde and so many more! The Spa City Sweethearts Revue returns to Low Key Arts on February 13 and 14, the popularity of the show necessitating an additional performance. Doors open on both nights at 7:30PM, Show at 8PM. Tickets are $10 in advance ($15 day of show) and are available on-line at www.prekindle.com. For more information contact Low Key Arts, 118 Arbor in Hot Springs at (501) 282-9056. For ages 18 and up only.

Bet Open 7 Days a Week 11am-8pm

3024 Centrall A Ave., H Hot S Springs i

Just Walking Distance From Oaklawn 2200 Central Avenue, Hot Springs Monday – Saturday 9am-5pm 501-624-4667 www.stephensjewelry.com

501-624-1552 • 1-800-36-SAUCE Sauce Shipped Around the World! www.stubbysbbq.com

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Amuse and indulge yourself!

Arkkannsas D AArkansas Department eppartmentt of Parks & Tourism

Hot Springs is a popular destination in Arkansas, and it’s no wonder. The beautiful spa city has a little bit of something for everyone. Exciting adventures for families, romantic retreats for couples and spa weekends for the girls are all found in one city.

So grab your suitcase and spend some time getting to know one of the state’s most beloved cities.

SUPERIOR BATHHOUSE BREWERY AND DISTILLERY Historic becomes hip at the new brewery in town. Superior has turned a classic bathhouse into a craft microbrewery, giving it the distinction of being the only one located inside a national park. To add to its bragging rights, Superior is also the only brewery or distillery to use thermal spring water, which enters the Superior at close to 150 degrees.

The food menu is eclectic pub fare and includes vegetarian and gluten-free options, as well as locally grown produce and handmade products. Not to be overshadowed, the gelato counter offers a bit of Italian dessert heaven to conclude an already special experience.

Hot Springs Jazz Festival Second Annual Mardi Gras Party

The Party of the Year will happen on Saturday, February 7th in the Austin Convention Hotel Ballroom from 6:00p-11:30pm. For tickets go to HSJazzSociety. org and check out pictures from last year’s party while you’re there. You’ll find all the glamour of New Orleans when you arrive, starting with the Spa City Stompers playing Dixie Land to get the party kicked off. New Orleans Specialty Drinks and Food will be available for purchase the entire night. Costumes will be amazing and contest winners will share the $1,000.00 cash prize. After the King & Queen are brought in during the Second Line Dance, Dizzy 7 (the wildly successful opening act of the “Jazz in the Streets� concert during the 23rd JazzFest), will perform dancing music throughout the evening’s festivities. While Costumes are not required, Get one and have some fun! A photographer will be on hand to take pictures of you in your Mardi Gras splendor. One of Hot Springs most elite Silent Auctions will be available for you to win.  The Mardi Gras Costume Ball is the only fundraising event presented by the Hot Springs Jazz Society. Proceeds from the evening will go toward the year-round educational and concert programming. For tickets or information visit HSJazzSociety.org or email HSJazzSociety@gmail.com or call (501) 627-2425.

The Heart of Historic Hot Springs National Park

Race to The Arlington Racing, Gaming & Thermal Bathing

Thermal baths and spa A national park outside any door.

Venetian Dining Room and Lobby Lounge with weekend entertainment.

Private beauty and facial salon Championship golf courses.

Make The Arlington your home for thoroughbred racing season.

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Calendar of events JAN 15-APR 11 111TH ANNUAL LIVE RACING AT OAKLAWN LOCATION: Oaklawn Racetrack FEB 1 11TH ANNUAL CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL LOCATION: Embassy Suites Hot Springs Hotel & Spa, 1PM3PM FEB 7 HOT SPRINGS JAZZ SOCIETY MARDI GRAS COSTUME BALL & CONTEST LOCATION: The Austin Convention Hotel Ballroom, 6PM For tickets and more information go to HSJazzSociety.org FEB 13-14 THE SPA CITY SWEETHEARTS BURLESQUE REVUE The Spa City Sweethearts Revue returns to Low Key Arts, 118 Arbor on February 13 and 14, the popularity of the show necessitating an additional performance. Doors open on both nights at 7:30PM, Show at 8PM. Tickets are $10 in advance ($15 day of show) and are available online at www. prekindle.com. For more information contact Low Key Arts at 501-282-9056. For ages 18 and up only.

FEB 14 AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION HEART BALL LOCATION: Hot Springs Convention Center FEB 15 & MAR 15 STARDUST BIG BAND LOCATION: The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa, 3PM FEB 27-MAR 1 HOT SPRINGS BOAT, TACKLE & RV SHOW LOCATION:Hot Springs Convention Center

MAR 7 REOPENING OF THE MID-AMERICA SCIENCE MUSEUM LOCATION: Mid-America Science Museum MAR 12-14 ARKANSAS HIGH SCHOOL STATE BASKETBALL FINALS LOCATION: Bank of the Ozarks Arena MAR 14-15 THE MUSES PRESENT “CELTIC SPRING” LOCATION: The Muses Cultural Center/Garvan Woodland Gardens MAR 17 FIRST EVER 12TH ANNUAL WORLD’S SHORTEST SAINT PATRICK’S DAY PARADE LOCATION: Downtown Hot Springs MAR 20-24 VALLEY OF THE VAPORS INDEPENDENT MUSIC FESTIVAL The 11th Annual Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival will take place March 20-24, 2015 at various venues in downtown Hot Springs. The VOV is a small venue festival featuring the music, workshops and visual art of today’s artistic innovators. All events are all ages, smoke free and handicap accessible. For information about the VOV, please contact bill@valleyofthevapors.com MAR 21-22 JAMFEST NATIONALS LOCATION: Bank of the Ozarks Arena

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JANUARY 29, 2015 JANUARY 29, 2015

33 33

Dining

Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

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

WHAT’S COOKIN’ AFTER NEARLY A YEAR OF SEARCHING, Flyway Brewing Co. has found a space to open Central Arkansas’s first mid-sized brewery — significantly bigger than the likes of Stone’s Throw and Vino’s, but smaller than big dogs like Lost Forty and Diamond Bear. It’s moving into a 5,000-square-foot building at 314 Maple St. in North Little Rock, the former location of a Safeway grocery store, a tire shop and, more recently, Arena Billiards Bar & Grill and Mac Daddy’s.

Construction should begin in February, which would likely put opening in late May or June, according to Matt Foster, who founded the brewery in 2013 after homebrewing for nearly a dozen years.

The time spent searching for a location wasn’t wasted, Foster said: “Because we had delays and roadblocks, we continued to get more prepared.” Foster’s longtime friend Jess McMullen moved from North Carolina to Little Rock with his family last summer to become a partner in the brewery and head up operations (Foster teaches English at Central High and isn’t planning on quitting his job anytime soon).

Together, with an assist from the Arkansas Capitol Corp., McMullen and Foster fine-tuned their business plan. And they kept brewing beer, supplying enough for special events and to cover a tap or two at South on Main.

The new brewery is a significant scale-up. It’ll be equipped to brew 1,000 barrels (or 45,000 gallons) in the first year. McMullen said the brewery needs to supply around 100 taps in the area to meet sales and distribution goals. Flyway will have four year-round beers: Early Bird IPA, Free Range Brown Ale, Migrate Pale Ale and Shadowhands Stout.

It will regularly mix in specials like Lord God Triple Chocolate or Nine Killer IPA (the latter named for the loggerhead shrike, also known as the Southern Nine Killer, a bird that impales its prey on barbed wire or thorns or whatever other pointy thing it can find; Nine Killer is currently on tap at South on Main).

McMullen said Flyway will have a large tap room with outdoor seating and the ability to open sliding doors when the weather is nice.

Foster’s Arkansas Native Beer CONTINUED ON PAGE 35 34

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

FRESH BREAKFAST: Day starts nicely with a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.

Arkansas Fresh makes Bryant a destination Bakery Cafe a standout.

A

rkansas Fresh Bakery is a name that’s familiar to many in Central Arkansas, because it crops up on a lot of menus here in Little Rock. Not wanting to compete with the restaurants he sells his bread to in the capital city, Arkansas Fresh owner Ashton Woodward decided to open his cafe in Bryant, just a few blocks from his bakery, in an area not particularly known for great food — until now. The cafe is a destination restaurant in a town with precious few of them.

We stepped into the bright, clean space for the first time with breakfast

jam ($6), a decadent mix of the creamy cheese with apricot preserves topped with sliced almonds, savory and sweet on tangy sourdough toast. For those who balk at Brie for breakfast, go for the avocado toast ($6), a simple affair of avocado whip, lemon juice and a touch of salt and pepper.

We returned for lunch and found ourselves in a conundrum: Which time of day is better to eat at Arkansas Fresh? Our breakfast had been stellar, but the lunch sandwiches made their case quite convincingly. First up, the Dunwich ($8.50), chef Jonathan Wilkins’ play on the classic Reuben. Lean, moist house-smoked corned beef is the star of this sandwich, with a jalapeno slaw piled on top providing a pleasant crunch. The Dunwich is served on two slices of excellent marbled rye.

The sandwich we predict will become Arkansas Fresh’s best seller is the smoked turkey and bacon ($9.50). This gigantic pile of smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, green apple, bacon, field greens and red onion mayo is everything we could ever want out of a turkey sandwich. We’ve always considered turkey to be the bland wallflower of deli meats, but not in this sandwich.

Arkansas Fresh Bakery Cafe has a lot going for it beyond the food. Ashton Woodward and his bakery team are passionate about what they do, and a person would have to try awfully hard not to get caught up in that energy. The kitchen staff is friendly and dedicated, and under the guidance of Wilkins is learning what it takes to make something as humble as sandwiches into menu items that people will travel to enjoy.

Arkansas Fresh Bakery Cafe on our mind, and after grabbing a cup of Westrock coffee, we ordered the bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich ($7), a massive and beautiful tower of thickcut bacon, raw milk cheddar, field greens, tomato and perfectly fried eggs, all held together by a brioche bun. It’s hearty without being heavy, and it kept us going until the early afternoon, full and happy.

As a lighter option, we decided to try a couple of French-style open-faced sandwiches (tartines), and it was hard to settle on just which two we wanted to try. We finally hit upon the Brie and

304 N. Reynolds Road, Suite 5 Bryant 501-240-5059 arkansasfreshbakery.com

QUICK BITE In addition to its prepared food menu, the cafe is also a one-stop shop for Arkansas Fresh’s signature breads, gourmet food products like balsamic vinegar, tahini and Little Rock’s own Bonta Toscana garlic sauce. Arkansas Fresh owner Ashton Woodward’s excellent Cocoa Rouge chocolates are also available, in several sizes.

HOURS 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

OTHER INFO All major credit cards, no alcohol.

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

T

H

E

DED R FA OS R E S TA U R A N T E

arktimes.com

Project, an effort to grow all of the ingredients involved in beermaking in Arkansas, is making strides, too, he said. Last year’s test barley crop was mostly lost due to a long stretch of rain, but Foster has farmers who are trying again, and he’s working with engineering students at the University of Arkansas at Little

Rock to build a system for malting the barley.

Meanwhile, Foster and McMullen already have their first employee (he’s an investor, too): Tim Berkley, a student of Foster’s years ago. “He’s a talented brewer, builder, troubleshooter, critical thinker and jack of all trades,” Foster said.

DINING CAPSULES

AMERICAN

1515 CAFE This bustling, business-suit filled breakfast and lunch spot, just across from the state Capitol, features old-fashioned, buffetstyle home cookin’ for a song. Inexpensive lunch entrées, too. 1515 W 7th St. No alcohol. $-$$. 501-376-1434. L Wed.-Fri., D Mon-Sat. 4 SQUARE CAFE AND GIFTS Vegetarian salads, soups, wraps and paninis and a broad selection of smoothies in an Arkansas products gift shop. 405 President Clinton Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-244-2622. BLD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. ANOTHER ROUND PUB Tasty pub grub. 12111 West Markham. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-313-2612.

D Mon.-Thu., LD Fri.-Sun. APPLE SPICE JUNCTION A chain sandwich and salad spot with sit-down lunch space and a vibrant box lunch catering business. With a wide range of options and quick service. Order online via applespice.com. 2000 S. University Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-663-7008. L Mon.-Fri. (10 a.m.-3 p.m.).

ARKANSAS BURGER CO. Good burgers, fries and shakes, plus salads and other entrees. Try the cheese dip. 7410 Cantrell Road. Beer and wine, CC. $-$$. 501-663-0600. LD Tue.-Sat. BELLWOOD DINER Traditional breakfasts and plate lunch specials are the norm at this lostin-time hole in the wall. 3815 MacArthur Drive.

NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-753-1012. BL Mon.-Fri. THE BLIND PIG Tasty bar food, including Zweigle’s brand hot dogs. 6015 Chenonceau Blvd. Full bar, CC. $-$$. 501-868-8194. D Wed-Fri., LD Sat. BONEFISH GRILL A half-dozen or more types of fresh fish filets are offered daily at this upscale chain. 11525 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$.

501-228-0356. D Mon.-Fri., LD Sat-Sun. BRAVE NEW RESTAURANT Chef/owner Peter Brave was doing “farm to table” before most of us knew the term. His focus is on fresh, highquality ingredients prepared elegantly but simply. Ordering the fish special is never a bad choice. His chocolate crème brulee sets the pace. 2300 Cottondale Lane. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-2677. LD Mon.-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 sand-

wiches, wraps, soups, stuffed potatoes and salads, and sells the turkey spreads to go. 323 Center St. Suite 150. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-353-1045. BL Mon.-Fri. BUFFALO WILD WINGS A sports bar on steroids with numerous humongous TVs and a menu full of thirst-inducing items. The wings, which can be slathered with one of 14 sauces, are the starring attraction and will undoubtedly have fans. 14800 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-868-5279. LD daily.

BUTCHER & PUBLIC Sandwich and butcher shop featuring meats from animals locally raised and butchered/processed/transformed

by Travis McConnell. 521 Main Street. NLR. No alcohol, CC. $-$$. 501-410-7783. L 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 and wine, All CC. $$. 501-663-9463. D Mon.-Sat. CAFE BRUNELLE Coffee shop and cafe serving sweets, tasty sandwiches and Loblolly ice cream.

17819 Chenal Parkway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-448-2687. BLD daily.

CAFE@HEIFER Serving fresh pastries, omelets, soups, salads, sandwiches and pizzas. Located inside Heifer Village. 1 World Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-907-8801. BL Mon.-Fri. 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. $$-$$$. 501-370-7013. 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. CATCH BAR AND GRILL Fish, shrimp, chicken and burgers, live music, drinks, flat screens TVs, pool tables and V.I.P room. 1407 John Barrow Road. Full bar. 501-224-1615.

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.

the

real deal

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LITTLE ROCK’S MOST AWARD WINNING RESTAURANT 1619 Rebsamen Rd. 501-663-9734

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1.75L SPIRITS

Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch Reg $81.99 ................... Sale $69.99 Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Reg $47.99................... Sale $42.99 Ketel One Vodka Reg $48.99 .................. Sale $43.99

JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2015

Don Q Cristal and Gold Rum Reg $20.99 ................... Sale $16.99

BEER SPECIALS

WINE BUYS 750ML

Summit Saga 12pk Bottles Reg $16.99.................... Sale $14.99

Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon & Malbec Reg $19.99 .................... Sale $14.99

750ML CONNOISSEUR SELECTIONS

Unibroue Blanche de Chambly 4pk Bottles Reg $10.39 ..................... Sale $8.99

Crios 2011 Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon Reg $18.39 ................... Sale $14.99

Knob Creek Bourbon, Rye & Maple Whiskey Reg $34.99 ................... Sale $26.99

Kasteel Winter 4pk Bottles Reg $21.59..................... Sale $17.99

Pezzi King 2012 Sonoma County Chardonnay Reg $17.99 .................... Sale $13.99

Don Julio Añejo Tequila Reg $57.99 .................... Sale $47.99

Southern Star Walloon 4pk Cans Reg $9.29 ........................ Sale $7.99

Pezzi King 2012 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc Reg $22.99 .................... Sale $17.99

Don Julio Reposado Tequila Reg $52.99 .................. Sale $43.99 Four Roses Bourbon Reg $18.99.................... Sale $15.99 *In Store Only • While Supplies Last.

WE WILL MATCH ANY LOCAL, ADVERTISED PRICE! BRING IN THE AD TO SAVE.

11200 W. Markham Street · 501-223-3120 · colonialwineshop.com · facebook.com/ColonialWines CEL E B R AT E R ES P O N S I B LY.

EVERYDAY SOMMELIER SILVER OAK NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009

Reg $124.99 - Special $93.99

“A ripe, rich, layered, yet elegant wine with a dark ruby color and a complex nose of cassis, mocha, violets, and nutmeg.”

– tasting notes from the winery

“This wine is killer, and we’re offering it for the best price in Arkansas!”

– O’Looney

#theeverydaysommelier Your friendly neighborhood wine shop.

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

JANUARY 29, 2015

35

hearsay ➥ “Love and Romance of Art” opens Feb. 2 at GALLERY 221 featuring carefully chosen works from select private collections. The gallery will include works by represented artists Tyler Arnold, Kathi Couch, Jennifer “EMILE” Freeman, Brenda Fowler, Greg Lahti, Sean LeCrone, Elizabeth Nevins, Mary Ann Stafford, international art icon Gino Hollander, sculpture by Siri Hollander, Fire Flies Metal Art (the combined creations of metal artists, Carolyn Hendrix and Amanda Wyman), and the incredibly fabulous one-of-a kind artisan jewelry by designer/creator Rae Ann Bayless. A meet the artists reception will be from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 13 and will include wine and hors d’oeuvres. Admission is free. Gallery 221’s Art Collector’s Gallery and Gino Hollander Gallery, located on the second floor of the building, will be open. “Love and Romance of Art” will run through Feb. 15. ➥ RUNWAY SEVEN, formerly Apricot Lane Boutique, is now open at The Promenade offering runway inspired fashion and accessories for women, seven days a week.

Shoppers can expect to find runway inspired fashion collections that are updated every seven days.

By featuring premier national and international designers, then mixing in a few accessories and shoes, customers can create their own complete look from head to toe. ➥ This month’s MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY SCIENCE AFTER DARK event will feature the science of mixology. The event is from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 29 at the museum and is for attendees 21 and over. Admission is free for museum members or $5 for non-members. ➥ARKANSAS ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES’ ANNUAL SOUP SUNDAY fundraising event is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Statehouse Convention Center. Sample soups from a variety of local restaurants and raise money for a great cause. Tickets are $25 through Feb. 6 and $30 after, with VIP tickets available for $50. Tickets for kids 5-17 are $5.

Visit aradvocates.org to purchase. ➥ SNAP FITNESS has a new member special: sign up for only $20.15 now through Feb. 28. Call 501-2468266 for more details.

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FEBRUARY EDITION

New Year, Big Changes!

W

e’ve decided to expand our monthly CUE section into Style Sheet, a shopping guide for local retailers (and restaurants) to showcase products and more. Our goal is to keep our readers up-to-date on what’s hot in the local retail world. Published the last Thursday of the month, each issue will have a theme or focus for the upcoming month. Look for the popular sale issues and others based on the season.

JANUARY 29, 2015

Be Jeweled

Are you looking for that unique, thoughtful gift for your sweetie? Bella Vita Jewelry has that perfect one-of-akind piece for your Valentine. Shop for jewelry, scarves, handmade Belgian chocolates and local artisan products.

There is something for everyone. Personalization and gift wrapping is available.

Bella Vita Jewelry 523 S. Louisiana, Ste. 175, Lafayette Building, 479.200.1824 bellavitajewelry.net

Secret

Lovers

If you’re looking for the perfect way to show your love this Valentine’s Day, a stop at Box Turtle is a must. Find unique items like this Secret Message Sunshine Necklace that spells out tokens of love in Morse code on the actual pieces of jewelry. Other styles and sentiments are available. If jewelry isn’t the right idea for your betrothed, there are plenty of other gift ideas for your sweetie – male, female or even kids!

BOX TURTLE 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd., 661.1167 shopboxturtle.com

Advertising Supplement 36

by

ARKANSAS TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

Sweets for the

Sweet

One bite of the chocolates from Cocoa Rouge will knock your socks off! Created by the folks at Arkansas Fresh Bakery, each piece of handcrafted, Belgian-style chocolate is a work of art. They take time to carefully craft each one in layers for the best possible flavor.

These are absolutely the best chocolates your sweetie, or you, will ever try. Arkansas’s finest chocolate is available locally at one of the following Arkansas locations: Accessories for the Home, Arkansas Fresh Bakery Café, Catering to You, Cherry’s Hallmark Stores in Benton and Bryant, Eggshells Kitchen Co., Good Food by Ferneau, Hillcrest Artisan Meats, Tanarah Luxe Floral, Terry’s Finer Foods, Tipton & Hurst and PattiCakes Bakery in Conway.

Cocoa Rouge Handcrafted in Bryant, 847.6638

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A la carte grits products A la carte grits products Artist Ben South T-Shirts, Aprons, & Prints Artist Ben South T-Shirts, Aprons, & Prints Leggings, Tunics, Boot Socks, Ponchos Leggings, Tunics, Boot Socks, Ponchos Tory-Burch-like Jewelry Tory-Burch-like Jewelry Lollia Bath & Body Products & More Camille Beckman Bath & Body Products & More Inside Galaxy Furniture • 304 Main•St. • Argenta Art District INSIDE GALAXY FURNITURE 304 MAIN ST. • ARGENTA ART DISTRICT

Always Add Some

Spice

Come into Cupid’s Lingerie and celebrate your woman by treating her to some spice with Baci Lingerie. This product is made by women, for women, in order to empower and give them a sexy confidence. There is something for every budget, so stop by one of Cupid’s Lingerie’s many locations today or Shopcupids.com.

Cupid’s Lingerie Six locations in Central Arkansas shopcupids.com

Romantic

There’s no need to wait for Valentine’s Day to roll around, every night at Ristorante Capeo in Argenta is romantic! Make a date while there is still a chill in the air, Capeo will warm you right up. It’s all about the classic Italian dishes and the wonderful wine selection here. We have to admit it’s one of our favorite neighborhood bars, so slide up to the bar and ask for Mark! Be sure to stop in for happy hour 4-6 p.m., Mon.-Fri. (except event nights) for $5 wines, $4 wells, $2 domestics and $5 appetizers.

Ristorante Capeo 425 Main St., NLR, 376.3463

Cheers To You!

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, wine or champagne is usually on hand whether you’re dining out at your favorite restaurant or making a special dinner at home.

There are few gifts that celebrate Valentine’s Day better than champagne. It comes in so many styles and pairs beautifully with foods ranging from fried chicken to sashimi. Another Valentine’s favorite is red wine. Owner Clark Trim suggests picking a nice Pinot Noir and serving it with chocolate-covered strawberries. Another tip on this pairing is to have a small bowl of fresh ground black pepper on the side to add a little to the strawberry before biting into it.

If your plans include a box of chocolates, pick up a bottle of Banfi Brachetto, the wine often called “the most perfect wine to pair with chocolate.” Delivering decadent flavors of berry and dark fruits, it’s great with any chocolate desserts.

COLONIAL WINE AND SPIRITS 11200 W. Markham St., 223.3120 colonialwineandspirits.com

Shop shop LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES

Because Ordinary Chocolates Are Boring! is Arkansas’s finest chocolate, hand-crafted in the Belgian style by the folks at Arkansas Fresh Bakery.

Remember to vote for Cocoa Rouge for best desserts in the Readers Choice Awards!

cocoarouge.net

Find Cocoa Rouge at these locations:

Arkansas Fresh Café • The Market at Capers • Cherry’s Hallmark Stores • Eggshells Kitchen Co Fairytale Florals • Hillcrest Artisan Meats • Terry’s Finer Foods • Tipton & Hurst

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

37

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HERE TO MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD!

by

Love locked

Shop local for interesting and fun gifts that will have her saying “I love it!” This intricate, lightweight chain necklace is one of the many fun accessories available at Ember and makes a fantastic gift idea for Valentine’s Day. From casual dress to party dress, this is the place to shop!

Locally Owned Unique, High-Quality Items Special orders available to meet any need

14810 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, Ar 72223 (501) 367-8280 • Shopthelabel.biz

Ember 5709 Kavanaugh Blvd., 225.3220 shopemberfashion.com

Shop Cupid’s For The Largest Selection of Lingerie in Central Arkansas and So Much More!

North Little Rock, West Little Rock Southwest Little Rock*, Cabot*, Conway and Hot Springs — *Open 24 hours! facebook.com/shopcupids www.ShopCupids.com

Who’s that lady?

Foxy

Want the perfect gift for your Southern Fox? Look for items from Camille, an amazing line of bath and body products. All Camille products are a handcrafted labor of love, designed to feed and nourish the skin and soul. The Southern Fox also has jewelry, clothing and more.

Don’t miss out on this one-stop-shop for all of your Valentine’s needs.

The Southern Fox 304 Main St., NLR, Inside Galaxy Furniture 375.DESK (3375)

Small Art = Big Impact Perfect for Valentine’s Day

Relaxed &

Amazing

Want a relaxed environment, but with amazing food for your special evening out with your loved one?

The Faded Rose has been serving the highest quality New Orleans style steaks and traditional Creole comfort food for over 30 years.

You won’t be disappointed with the food or service on your evening out. They believe they should treat their customers like it’s a special occasion every day!

Faded Rose 1619 Rebsamen Park Rd., 663.9734 fadedrose.com

A Sharp-dressed man

Best Gift Shop

M-F 10-6 • SAT 10-5 • SUN 12-5 2616 KAVANAUGH BLVD. LITTLE ROCK 501.661.1167 | WWW.SHOPBOXTURTLE.COM 38

JANUARY 29, 2015

5709 KAVANAUGH BOULEVARD LITTLE ROCK, AR 72207 WWW.SHOPEMBERFASHION.COM 501.225.3220

ARKANSAS TIMES ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

With their unique and high quality styles, locally owned men’s clothing store, The Label, is the best choice to pick up the perfect gift for you or the man in your life this Valentine’s Day. These WeWOOD watches shown in Maple (beige) and Indian Rosewood (chocolate) are made of 100% natural wood and are a great way to round out the wardrobe of any well-dressed man. Other wood options are available. Be sure to look for their wooden sunglasses, too! The mission of The Label is to “make you look good!” Stop in this locally owned men’s clothing store to see for yourself.

THE LABEL 14810 Cantrell Rd., Ste. 120, 367.8280 shopthelabel.biz

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SUMMONS TO: David Potts

You have been sued by Christine Goldman, the Plaintiff, in the District Court in and for Bonneville County, Idaho, Case No. CV-145948. The nature of the claim against you is a Complaint for Divorce.

Any time after 20 days following the last publication of this Summons, the Court may enter a judgment against you without further notice, unless prior to that time you have filed a written response in the proper form, including the Case Number, and paid any required filing fee to the Clerk of the Court at the Bonneville County Courthouse, 605 N. Capital, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, and served a copy of your response on the Plaintiff’s attorney, Alan Johnston, Pike, Herndon, Stosich & Johnston, P.A., at 151 N. Ridge, Suite 210, Idaho Falls, ID 83403-2949.

A copy of the Summons and Complaint for Divorce can be obtained by contacting either the Clerk of the Court or the attorneys for Plaintiff. If you wish legal assistance, you should immediately retain an attorney to advise you in this matter.

Dated this 7th day of January, 2015.

Ronal Longmore Bonneville County Clerk Deputy Clerk

PROJECT MANAGER (TECHNICAL) - SENIOR sought by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR. Master’s plus 1 year exp. Any interested individual should submit an application online at: https://jobs.uams.edu/ Position # 50053559.

UAMS is an inclusive Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer of individuals with disabilities and protected veterans and is committed to excellence.

ARKANSAS TIMES

ADVERTISING SALES The Special Publications division of The Arkansas Times has a 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. We publish 4 publications: Savvy, AR Wild, Food & Farm and Shelter as well as corresponding websites and social media.

What does all this translate to? A high-income potential for a hard working advertising executive. We have fun, but we work hard.

Fast paced and self-motivated individuals are encouraged to apply.

If you have a dynamic energetic personality, we’d like to talk to you.

PLEASE SEND YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO ELIZABETH AT: ELIZABETH@ARKTIMES.COM EOE.

QEMETIC INFORMATION NOTICE OF FILLING APPLICATIONS FOR ON TECHNOLOGY QEMETIC INFORMATION PREMISES WINE & NATIVE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS & RESIDENTIAL BEER/MALT BEVERAGES BUSINESS & RESIDENTIAL PERMIT Notice is hereby given that the undersigned has files an application Carlos Albert with the Alcoholic Beverage Control501-291-0525 Division of the State of Arkansas amenra360@gmail.com for a permit to sell and serve wine VIRUS REMOVAL and Arkansas native beer and malt beverages at retail on the premises REMOTE SUPPORT described as: 323 S. Cross Unit C ONLINE DATA BACKUP Little Rock, Pulaski County. Said application was filed on January 12, 501-291-0525 2015. the undersigned states that he/ carlos@qemetic.com she is a resident of Arkansas, of good moral character; that he/she has never been convicted of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude; that no license to sell alcoholic beverages by the undersigned has been revoked within five (5) years last past; and, that the undersigned has never been convicted of violating the laws of this State, or any other State, relative to the sale of controlled beverages.

Name of Applicant: Kent Walker.

Name of Business: Kent Walker Artisan Cheese. Sworn to before me this 26th day of January, 2015.

Nicholas Wayne Taylor, Notary Public, Pulaski County.

My commission Expires: December 13, 2015.

VIRUS REMOVAL REMOTE SUPPORT ONLINE DATA BACKUP

grow Grow LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES

C U S T O M F U R N I T U R E tommy@tommyfarrell.com ■ 501.375.7225 www.arktimes.com

JANUARY 29, 2015

39

2015

New Italian Chinese Japanese Mexican “Fun” Indian Other Ethnic Food Truck Vegetarian/Vegan Bakery Barbecue Sandwich Breakfast Brunch Catfish Fried Chicken Deli/Gourmet to go Hamburger Pizza

Since 1981, Arkansas Times has asked readers to vote for their favorite restaurants. Our annual Readers Choice Restaurant Awards are the first, and most renowned restaurant awards in the state.

We’re introducing new rules for the survey this year: From Jan. 12 through Jan. 30, vote online at arktimes.com/ restaurants15 for your favorite restaurants in Central Arkansas and around the state in the 35 categories listed here.

You may only submit your votes once, but you can return to your ballot as often as you need during the voting period.

Only online votes will be accepted.

After Jan. 23, we will determine the top four vote getters for each category. Those four and last year’s winner will then advance to a final round of voting that will run Feb. 16 through March 6.

The winners will be announced in the April 2 issue of the Arkansas Times, and the awards party will be held on April 7 at the Pulaski Technical Culinary and Hospitality Institute.

We’re excited about this new voting system and look forward to your participation and the final results.

Seafood Buffet Steak Desserts Ice Cream/Cold Treats Coffee Home Cooking Place for Kids Romantic Gluten Free Business Lunch Yogurt Wine List Server Chef Butcher

ONLINE VOTING ONLY NEW VOTING RULES

READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Overall

REST OF STATE

arktimes.com/restaurants15

LITTLE ROCK

BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE AREAS AROUND

40

JANUARY 29, 2015

ARKANSAS TIMES

31 NOVEMBER 9, 2011 ARKANSAS TIMES

Benton/Bryant ________________________________

Conway________________________________________

Eureka Springs ________________________________

Hot Springs ____________________________________

Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers/Bentonville _________________________________________________________