Arkansas Times - March 30, 2017

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COMMENT

Workers lose The Republicans’ House Bill 1405 (on its way to the governor as this is written) would reduce a worker’s eligibility to receive unemployment benefits from 20 to 16 weeks. Only Florida, Georgia, Missouri and North Carolina provide fewer than 16 weeks.

Most states provide 26 weeks. The bill would also reduce an employer’s unemployment taxes, now $12,000 per year, to $10,000. Only 15 states and the District of Columbia have wage limits of $10,000 or less. Seventeen states use more than $20,000 as the wage base.

Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Sulphur Springs) says the tax reduction would allow him to raise wages for his employees. Assuming an unemployment tax rate of 5 percent (the actual rate can vary by employer from less than 1 percent to more than 14 percent), the $2,000 reduction in the tax base would save an employer $100 per year per employee. Over a working year of approximately 2,000 hours, that would provide for a wage increase for that employee of 5 cents per hour!

Hendren’s employees are probably already contemplating that magnificent raise. And Act 141, already signed into law, newly imposes Arkansas’s income tax on workers’ unemployment benefits. The picture is clear.

With Republicans in control, business wins, workers lose.

Mike Watts Little Rock

Thank you. Max. Wonderful, pointedly laying out what is so obviously true in the attitudes of many people.

I refuse to be quiet any longer with letting people dictate to me what I should believe. I wish that everyone could use the energy they devote to destroying what is good about America.

I am descendant of Robert E. Lee, love my Southern heritage, love the Confederate flag (as representative of a different time). But I believe in an America where everyone has the opportunity

to get an education, is able to vote, has medical care and with laws that protect the helpless and pride in our law enforcement officers, judges, and our representatives in Washington. Do not understand why if people want less federal interference they are so busy adding more laws that are unnecessary.

Oh, my goodness, I am ranting!

Ann Wiggins From the web in response to a March 23 Arkansas Blog item, “It’s official:

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The South hasn’t quit fighting.

No, but Robert E. Lee did and he could have caused the deaths of many more Southerners and the invaders, but he chose the high road. Something you cannot do. Lee did more to heal the wounds than all the laws and bigotry of attitudes like yours.

Lee would be the first to congratulate the governor on his decision, but without the pontificating hate speech you promote. Those who fought against Lee were able to forgive, so what right do you have to continue the hatred?

It is still not too late for you to petition the U.S. government to dig up Mr. Lee and still hang him. Many may think that farcical, but for the Brantleys of the world it is a possibility.

Runner55k 4

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ARKANSAS TIMES

Ingram and Hutchison ought to reimburse the taxpayers for this waste of time.

Will the Legislature please go home and stop wasting our taxes!

Richard929293 That will surely go over well with SEC football and basketball officials.

What a bunch of whiny, crybaby losers.

Get over the fact your team gave up the first 8 and the last 12 points in the game.

Sound Policy WTF? Seriously, what exactly is there the current legislators think they can’t do better than dedicated professionals?

Because it’s not medicine or education. Now it’s basketball officiating?

And Sound is right about future officiating. Officials aren’t likely to take kindly to this sort of bullshit.

Vanessa Geez! This session has gone on way too long! fiveoclocksomewhere

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From the web In response to Max Brantley’s March 23 column, “Don’t cry for Robert E. Lee”:

Arkansas Senate resolution blames refs for Hog loss; calls for ref education”:

Donate to Thea Foundation April 6 at arkansasgives.org/organizations/thea-foundation

Please support your local CASA program on April 6th via ArkansasGives.org. www.arkansascasa.net.

They are just joining my longtime mission, but mine is confined to better education for people elected to the Arkansas General Assembly, since so many of their deeds always cost Arkie taxpayers huge fees for court settlements in throwing out much of their legislative “productions.”

Cato If Wally Hall said the refs were bad, I’ll go with his observation. Unless something is done to follow up, the bad calls would be ignored. Maybe something at this level will get the NCAA’s attention. What does it hurt given all of the serious stuff they have been dealing with. Youse guys need to lighten up.

Razorblade I love it. Some people need to lighten up. It’s a stressful job. Let them have a little fun with something that does nothing more than show pride and support for the state’s biggest team.

The coaches and players sure can’t say anything to defend themselves. Yes, there are more important things to deal with, but everyone needs a smile every once in a while. No harm, no foul (pun intended).

Dallas Timpton

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AM AZ IN G PR EZ

WEEK THAT WAS

THE BES T EVAR.

Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club for Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

— President Trump (@realDonaldTrump), lashing out at conservative allies after the failure of the American Health Care Act. The bill died in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday when a group of Republican congressmen dominated by the hard-right Freedom Caucus defected from Speaker Paul Ryan. Democrats aren’t the only ones smiling about the defeat of the AHCA, though: Governor Hutchinson was one of several Republican governors who opposed the bill, as did a majority of the American public, according to polls.

Execution dates draw near Last week, executive clemency hearings began in advance of Arkansas’s plans to execute eight men on death row within a 10-day period in late April. Stacey Johnson and an attorney for Ledell Lee spoke to the parole board on Friday morning; both maintained that they are innocent of the 1993 murders for which they were condemned. On Monday, the board heard from Marcel Williams, who has admitted to committing a 1994 murder and pleaded for mercy from the commissioners. The parole board also heard testimony from the families of victims, most of whom requested that the inmates’ death sentences not be commuted. The panel will hold hearings for Kenneth Williams and Jason McGehee later this week.

As of Tuesday, the board has voted 6

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

to not recommend commutations for Johnson and Lee, who are scheduled to die by lethal injection on April 20. (Two of the seven commissioners dissented in the case of Johnson, recommending that his sentence be commuted to life without parole.)

Meanwhile, a federal lawsuit to halt the eight executions was filed Monday. The complaint, which requests an injunction, questions the state’s ability to carry out so many executions in such a short span of time without errors.

Never enough for the NRA Governor Hutchinson signed a bill into law last week that will allow concealed carry permit holders to carry a weapon onto college campuses and many other sensitive places, including the state Capitol and county courthouses, provided he or she takes eight hours of additional training. Chris Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm, was on hand for the bill signing to offer the organization’s seal of approval to “enhanced carry.” Now, though, the NRA is battling another bill by

Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang to amend the new law. Dismang wants to at least keep guns out of a few places, like college sporting events and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus. To the gun lobby, that’s unacceptable. The NRA is pushing House Republicans to defeat Dismang’s measure, which passed the Senate last week. Cox spoke to reporters after Hutchinson signed the enhanced carry legislation and said the NRA’s national goal is for allowing “law-abiding people” to carry guns “anywhere they have a legal right to be.” He also criticized the new law’s training requirement, or any training that is mandated by “some government bureaucrat.”

No justice It was just about all bad news on the criminal justice front in the Arkansas legislature: A bill that would criminalize protest cleared a House committee and appeared headed toward passage. It would make “unlawful mass picketing” a Class A misdemeanor.

The bill defines “unlawful picketing”

broadly; it could include anything from obstructing access to a place of work to a “threat of violence or intimidation communicated near or contiguous” to a private home. It’s part of a national trend from conservatives to clamp down on the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, a bill that would require anyone who has previously been committed to the Arkansas Department of Correction at least three times to serve at least 80 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole passed the Senate and was scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Sponsor Bryan King (R-Green Forest) told the Times, “These people have had multiple chances at rehabilitation and have not accepted it.” But Arkansas already has a “two strikes and your out” law that applies to people who commit violent or sexual felonies, which requires them to serve 100 percent of their sentence.

So this bill would mostly apply to lowlevel offenders. Governor Hutchinson opposes the bill and says he will veto it if it comes to his desk. A legislative impact statement estimated it would cost $692 million over 10 years.

ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN MOATS

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ILLUSTRATION BY BRYAN MOATS

OPINION

The two cities of Little Rock

T

he Little Rock City Board illustrated the capital city’s division again last week.

The issue was a symbolic resolution urging Johnny Key, the state education commissioner and de facto school board of the Little Rock School District, to study community impact before following through with the closure of several schools to save money. (Key has already made his decision.)

Directors Joan Adcock and Dean Kumpuris clearly voted no. Director Gene Fortson said he opposed the resolution, too. Director Lance Hines was absent, but he’s a longtime critic of the Little Rock School District and wouldn’t respond to my question of how he would have voted. Put him down as a no, too.

Kumpuris, Adcock and Fortson are the at-large members of the 11-member board. Others are elected from wards – Hines from a West Little Rock district mostly outside the LRSD. The business

elite came up with this governance scheme so that they would control city government through the MAX at-large seats and BRANTLEY maxbrantley@arktimes.com votes from the generally white, higher-income wards.

Some Little Rock school supporters still live in higher-income neighborhoods, notably including Kathy Webb, lead sponsor of the resolution. She rounded up seven votes, but the pushback from atlarge directors had to please Johnny Key. Key, an advocate for the Walton school agenda, is author of the legislation that forces public school districts to sell vacant buildings to charter schools on unfavorable terms. He fought legislation aimed at temporarily halting charter school expansion in districts like Little Rock, nominally getting state help to

Repeal charade

T

he debacle of the repeal-Obamacare movement left the president and the Republican Congress ruminating about the terrible lessons they had learned from the defeat — mainly that neither ever had a health plan or even a clue about how to frame one.

Both the moderate and right-wing elements who trooped to the White House to be won over by the self-proclaimed greatest negotiator in the history of the world came away muttering that President Trump seemed not to have the lamest grasp of the issues — neither the real problems of Obamacare or how it worked nor the changing elements of the hastily written Republican replacement. All that stuff about Trump hating policy, details and briefings on any subject was really true.

For Americans of every hue and rank, the lesson was clearer. The tumult over Obamacare and the need to repeal it was never a crusade but a charade. It was all political, never over principle, never about better coverage, lower costs and better service for the sick and the lame. It was all about denying a legacy to Barack Obama.

Each of the more than 60 votes taken in Congress since 2010 to repeal Obamacare

was a ruse.

The nutty defeat, or hasty surrender, of the American Health Care Act of 2017 ERNEST summons no DUMAS memory of a worse political blunder by either party. The great failing in the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 was that few Americans understood exactly what it did, and the opponents quickly filled in the narrative, based on polling of phrases that angered people, like doctors and patients not being able to make decisions about their care, death panels, slashing Medicare and government medicine.

But people quickly understood the GOP bill, helped by the analysis from the Republican-directed Congressional Budget Office. It would cut 24 million people from insurance rolls, cut taxes on the very rich, make insurance costlier for millions of the neediest people and begin to shrink Medicaid coverage, and not just for the childless adults added by Obamacare. Unless you were rich or had stock in a pharmacy company, medical

correct deficiencies. Key said as much sacking of the school district. last week to a committee that also heard Key, the white business establishment remarkable testimony from Sam Ledbet- and the Walton lobbyists will combine ter, a Little Rock lawyer who provided again in May to urge voter passage of the key swing vote as a member of the Little Rock construction-debt refinancstate Board of Education for state take- ing. It’s not a tax increase, but it comover of the Little Rock district. mits taxpayers to a dozen more years of Ledbetter said he thought the take- payment of a half-billion or more in tax over would begin an earnest and speedy millage that otherwise would expire. Is effort by the state to improve Little Rock it merely a ploy to get local taxpayers to schools (only six of 48 schools were fall- put facilities in good shape for the priing short of standards in the first place; vate businesses that Waltonites see as the now only three.) Instead, the state set future operators of the school district? about further draining students from Johnny Key won’t talk about it to the successful Little Rock schools into char- public he serves as school board. ter schools, some with miserable track Equity isn’t envisioned. Example this records. week: Charter school advocates rose at Said Ledbetter: “It was a shock to me, the 11th hour to attempt to defeat a bill it was a shock to my community and it that said charter schools must accept a return of expelled students on the same was perceived as a betrayal of trust.”

Betrayal applies to the City Board, too, timetable that real public schools must beginning with its decision years ago to follow. Charter schools do not want to allow the rich western growth region to accept all comers. They want to cream develop outside the school district. Today, committed families and better students we have a majority white West Little Rock and hide their business from the public. and a majority black East Little Rock, with Four members of the Little Rock City growth at one end and decay at the other. Board essentially said last week that this The “haves” (the white male-dominated is fine by them. If this is to be so, let’s at chamber of commerce clique) control least have some equity on the City Board government. They orchestrated the state — ward elections of all city directors. It is takeover, and their influence in last week’s a fiction that the at-large directors serve vote only encourages Key to continue his ALL of Little Rock equally.

equipment maker or insurance company, you could identify nothing in the plan that would help you.

The GOP bill kept the basic Obamacare plan, but monkeyed with tax subsidies to make premium and deductible costs higher instead of lower and force the whole thing into collapse over time.

Polls showed that in three weeks from its introduction to its collapse public support fell below 15 percent.

If there was an ounce of public faith behind the movement, Trump and congressional leaders would have said, OK, if this doesn’t work let’s take another look at how to fix it, instead of declaring that Obamacare is here to stay and Democrats will own it when it collapses. (It won’t.)

That’s how great legislation happens. Medicare and Medicaid started with Kerr-Mills (our Wilbur Mills) in 1960. It let the states determine who would be eligible for federal-state help getting health insurance. It was a total flop, mainly owing to the lassitude of the states (Arkansas took it for nursing home patients and no one else), and in 1965, goaded by President Lyndon Johnson, Mills produced Medicare and Medicaid.

Obamacare is not hard to fix. Trump guessed at its central shortcoming: Insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs are so high, even with subsidies for low-

income families, that people still find it unaffordable. Twenty million got insurance through Obamacare, but an equal number can’t or won’t access it. Some 10 million eligible for Medicaid in the 19 Republican states that shunned it will come into the fold before long — Kansas maybe this spring.

Obamacare depends upon the young and healthy joining the pool rather than waiting until they are sick. When they don’t join the pool, insurance companies have to raise premiums for the sickly who join. Obamacare imposed a tax for remaining outside the pool to energize them into joining, while the GOP plan imposed a stiff tax only when they finally joined the pool and made it payable to the insurance company, not the treasury.

One solution is a stiffer tax than Obamacare’s to remain out of the market. A better one is to improve the tax credits to make premiums more affordable for families of modest means and to raise the threshold for help beyond 400 percent of poverty.

Congress could fix it all in weeks, Trump could keep his promise of near universal coverage, his party could claim to have overcome Obamacare, Democrats would shrug, and America would be great again. If it were a matter of public interest.

Follow Arkansas Blog on Twitter: @ArkansasBlog

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Never his fault

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From your goin’ out friends at

las, poor Donald.

Unlike his personal hero Vladimir Putin, President Trump can’t have his political opponents thrown into prison, shot dead in the street or flung off fourth-floor balconies. In Moscow, Russian soldiers could have herded those women in stupid pink hats into stockades like cows. If a few opinionated heifers got roughed up, well, they asked for it, didn’t they?

Instead, Trump was reduced to making excuses for the failure of his farcical Obamacare “reform” by launching impotent attacks against just about everybody in Washington. Because the great man himself couldn’t possibly have bungled his oft-repeated vow to repeal and replace his predecessor’s signal political achievement. Not him.

Because nothing is Donald J. Trump’s fault — ever.

First it was Democrats — specifically excluded from having any input whatsoever into the GOP bill — whom the president tried to blame. His own party refuses even to vote on his brilliant plan and it’s the Democrats’ fault?

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate Pennsylvanian of the kind often derided as a RINO (Republican in Name Only) by hardliners, said Trump had privately accused him of “destroying the Republican Party.”

The “Republican Party,” in this formulation signifying Trump’s massive ego.

What the big dope appears incapable of understanding is that for Northeastern Republicans in competitive districts, voting for the Trump/Ryan bill would amount to political suicide. With a Quinnipiac poll showing that only 17 percent of voters nationwide favored full repeal, all threats and promises Trump could muster couldn’t bring Yankee Republicans around.

“Ryan and Trump,” explained veteran GOP operative Rick Wilson, “ran into the political version of advertising’s famous Bad Dog Food Test: You can’t sell bad dog food even with good advertising. The dogs won’t eat it.”

Writing in The Daily Beast, Wilson also blamed “Trump’s character, which is never pretty. Trump’s clumsy I’mjust-joking threats against members of Congress fell utterly flat, as did promises of his favor. His word means nothing and lawmakers know it. In Trump’s long, sordid life, no deal, contract, agreement or vow has ever been sacred and inviolable. Ask his wives, partners, contractors

and clients. He is a man without a single shred of regret at breaking even the most solemn commitments. In GENE Washington, no LYONS matter how corrupt it looks from the outside, the only currency in a tough vote is trust.”

Gee, I wish I’d written that.

Then, by Sunday morning, roughly 48 hours after the bill’s collapse, Trump finally settled upon more plausible villains. “Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus,” he tweeted, “with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!”

To the ideological purists of the House Freedom Caucus, no remaining vestige of Obamacare’s government-subsidized premiums would have been acceptable. Even the Ryan/Trump bill, which would have stripped health insurance from a mere 24 million Americans. Not mean enough. These birds don’t merely want to return to pre-Obama health care. To them, the Confederate States of America would be a better model.

But see, here’s the thing: Completely unknown to Trump and Ryan — Trump because virtually everything is unknown to him, Ryan because he’s spent the previous seven years indulging in GOP performance art — the Affordable Care Act has greatly changed Americans’ views. Catch phrases like “socialized medicine” no longer frighten people.

By now, almost everybody knows somebody whose life and/or finances were saved by this imperfect law.

Like citizens in virtually all functioning democracies, they’ve come to see health care as a right — not a consumer artifact available at a price.

In response to Trump’s petulant threat to let Obamacare “explode,” most agree with the Kansas housewife who told the Associated Press that, sure the law needs adjusting, “But if your roof leaks, you don’t burn down the house to fix it.”

As long as President Obama was there to veto the GOP’s 60 purely theatrical votes to repeal the law, Speaker Ryan didn’t actually need a workable replacement.

You’d think a fellow bullshitter like Trump might have suspected that he never really had one.

Hope for Gray

T

he Arkansas Democratic Party recently elected House Minority Leader Michael John Gray (DAugusta), a Woodruff County farmer, over Denise Garner, a retired oncology nurse practitioner and founder of Feed Communities of Fayetteville, to replace outgoing chair Vince Insalaco of Little Rock. I do not know Garner or Gray personally, but I followed along on Twitter Saturday morning as the meeting and votes progressed. When asked, I claimed to be on the fence as to who I thought would be the best pick, but I’ll admit I was initially disappointed to see that Garner lost as I believe the Arkansas Democratic Party has a lot of ground to make up to truly reflect the diversity and gender breakdown of the people the party represents.

However, several reasons have me excited for Gray’s election to the helm.

Like Gray, I am also from an East Arkansas farm family. I grew up in a conservative area and attended a conservative church. I often find myself explaining to my friends who were born and raised in Fayetteville how deep the religious influence and mistrust of outsiders runs in some rural communities. I have a feeling Gray’s Facebook friend lists looks a lot like mine: a pretty even split of progressives and conservatives with a few cult-like Trumpers in the mix. I imagine he grew up with the same maroon Farm Bureau cardboard calendar in his home and parents and grandparents like mine who spent a lot of time watching the sky over the fields for signs of rain. I have a feeling Gray has a deep understanding of what drives many of the rural voters of Arkansas.

I left Craighead County for Fayetteville over 20 years ago but still have deep ties to that area. The politics of the past year has created divisions in my family that I am unsure can ever be repaired. Fayetteville often feels as if it is on another planet from my hometown of Bono. As difficult as it may be, I hope Gray will find a way to bridge the gap between the Democrats in Northwest Arkansas with those in Jonesboro and El Dorado and Little Rock and Pine Bluff and Batesville and Waldron. I hope he can bring us together to begin the long process of convincing the teachers, farmers and other hardworking Arkansans that the Democratic Party is the party of the people. And I hope he can do it by not giving an inch on the party’s commitment to equal rights for all.

One idea I hope Gray implements is the part of Garner’s proposed “Blueprint” for the party that AUTUMN acknowledges TOLBERT that if the Democratic Party is to be a party for everyone and a party of working people, there must be a way to eliminate financial barriers to becoming a member. I hope Gray will consider finding a way to make party membership completely free. I understand there must be some attendance or other deadline requirement to take part in county committee elections, but money should not be such a requirement.

It is embarrassing to admit, but as recently as four years ago, when my husband and I were struggling to save enough money on my public defender salary to cover the bills expected during my upcoming maternity leave, we would not have had the money to spare if we had sought to join our local Democratic Party. We had just purchased our first home when he was laid off from his job. The unemployment benefits my husband received were appreciated and necessary, but were half of his former salary. Here we were, two people in need of the Democratic Party’s ideals of paid parental leave and unemployment benefits, yet we were not in a position to pay to have a voice at our county party level.

That county level vote is important, as those are the members who elect the local party leadership, which includes the political “gatekeepers” who recruit candidates and control the county funds. There are people all across the state of Arkansas showing up to town hall meetings, marches and making calls to elected officials to support progressive ideals who may not have the funds to pay to join the Democratic Party. They are just as deserving of influence as those who can pay. I hope Gray takes Garner’s idea and goes beyond a few membership scholarships here and there with a real statewide effort to make the party truly accessible to all by eliminating county dues.

If Gray has learned anything from being a farmer, it is the understanding that what he plants today, the Democratic Party will harvest tomorrow. An economically diverse base at the county level will help grow a strong Democratic Party in Arkansas.

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MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

T

he sting of the “Grifters in Greenville” incident having finally dissipated somewhat, I am prepared to assess Razorback basketball anew.

Mike Anderson owns two 1-1 trips to the dance in six seasons in Fayetteville, and that in itself is a downer of sorts.

But there is a modicum of stability and predictability in the model now, and Anderson’s 128 wins compare favorably to the 141 that Nolan Richardson racked up in his first six years at the helm of the Hogs. He’s reversed a longstanding curse of road struggles in conference play and gotten some prized transfers and in-state talent in the fold, even if the likes of Malik Monk, KeVaughn Allen, Payton Willis and Austin Reaves have slipped outside the borders.

The health of the program is, warts and all, still so much better than it has been in the post-championship era.

Anderson lacks his mentor’s penchant for fiery, boot-stomping sideline antics and braggadocio for coaching up marginal recruits. Richardson once boasted to me on a drive to the local airport, back in 1998 or so, “I beat out Louisiana TECH for Scotty Thurman!” He was correct, and smug about it, too. Nolan relished the idea of building a Maserati out of Mazda parts.

Anderson realizes he cannot be quite that cavalier in an era of me-first, program-later players. He’s doing the right things by getting people like Moses Kingsley and Daniel Gafford, big guys who aren’t yet polished enough to be gone in a few months. The hope with the latter El Dorado product is that he’ll be an immediate impact player in the wake of the former Nigerian project. You can always hope you’ll get to lay claim to someone like Monk due to geography alone, but the better long-term plan is to get something resembling a nucleus in gestation so that it’s not a total rebuild every year.

Where the Hogs may suffer, at least momentarily, is in finding that same balance that carried them to 26 wins this season. Dusty Hannahs and Kingsley both ceded some opportunities from a year ago and it paid off because junior college transfers Daryl Macon and Jaylen Barford were, after all, proven scorers. The unselfishness of the elders is a big reason why the team pulled out of a couple of lulls in January and February to not only make the tourney after it seemed like such a fate was imperiled, but to excel to the point that the

Sweet 16 drought was about 2 solid minutes of basketball from becoming a historical footnote.

BEAU Leadership WILCOX from the backcourt will again be huge and it will be Barford, Macon and Anton Beard providing it. That’s a fairly talented senior trio and Beard’s rebound from a suspension- and inconsistency-plagued sophomore campaign puts him on track to finish out a strange career with some degree of equilibrium. Those seniors will be augmented by the rangy freshman Khalil Garland and, hopefully, a substantially improved C.J. Jones, who seemed primed for a big freshman year before the junior college guys asserted themselves.

Up front, Kingsley’s shot-blocking acumen can’t be replaced, but there’s still a seasoned duo in Dustin Thomas and Trey Thompson to lean upon. Neither is a primary offensive option, but that may make life a little easier on Gafford and returnees like Adrio Bailey and Arlando Cook. If those five guys can manage to scrape together 30-35 points per game and control the glass, then it may be sufficient with the guards’ collective ability to put up points and suffocate the adversaries at the other end of the court. The wild card may be incoming freshman Darious Hall, who completed his career at Little Rock Mills with a state championship trophy and tourney MVP honors, boosting his recruiting ranking and even convincing some onlookers that he has the ability to be the true jewel of an excellent class if he continues to progress. He’s got a little bit of Michael Qualls in his game, and a much sturdier frame to boot.

The upshot is that Arkansas’s bitter loss to end this season may provide a sweet note to start the next. The incoming talent is as deep and game-ready as any class we’ve seen since Richardson stacked the 1995-96 squad with about 10 players who ended up all over map as far as individual success was concerned.

The returning players have the upward development of the program to build upon, and that’s not been a virtue to speak of for a while. This is a team that could earn a preseason Top 25 ranking come summertime, which seems so modest but means a lot when the historical context is factored in.

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THE OBSERVER

ARKANSAS TIMES

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NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

Testing, testing

J

unior, that peach-fuzzed philosopher of Maple Street, who stands now head and shoulders taller than the mother who birthed him 17 years and change ago and eye to eye with his old man, got his ACT test results in the other day. His score was several points higher than The Observer’s ACT rack up long and long ago, enough to make us damn proud of him, not to mention breathe a little sigh of relief.

Between the tuba playing and his score, we’re hoping he will be able to get a scholarship to one of the state’s finer diploma mills or cow colleges, anything to get him that magic, door-opening piece of paper without piling on the lead-lined student loan debt that seems to hang about the dreams of so many of his generation like a boat anchor.

When we heard his score, The Observer was taken back to our own high school days, getting such education as was doled out at good ol’ Paron High, Home of the Lions, where you could pitch a tennis ball underhand from one end of the main high school building to the other. The Observer, who had a vague sense that we probably needed to go to college but no clue at how to get there (especially given that we were then holding down a generous 2.1 GPA), had resigned our self to working a few years on Pa’s roofing crews while we figgered it all out. We signed up to take the ACT for the proverbial shits and giggles, mostly just to see what would happen.

As if that bad attitude wasn’t enough to signal failure, the day before we were scheduled to show up at Benton High School with our sharpened No. 2 pencils and scratch paper to take the test, The Observer and our baby brother were on the way to school in our beloved 1963 Chevrolet with the pearl white paint and the flashy rims when we topped a rise, dropped a tie rod end — one of

those greasy, invisible parts that delivers your deft and loving touch on the steering wheel to the front tires — and careened headlong into a stand of oldgrowth timber. The car had settled into what would have been a spectacular barrel roll when it hit a pin oak bigger around that a No. 9 washtub squarely in the passenger side door, a blow hard enough to crush the top and bend the car in a U. How the hell the two of us survived it, we’ll never know, but we did.

Our brother, however, bears a mangled scar on his forehead that he’ll carry to his grave, and which he regularly and successfully uses to guilt trip his older brother.

The next morning, beat to hell, half The Observer’s back covered in a bruise that snaked from shoulder to tailbone, we limped to the world’s hardest chair at Benton High School and took that test. Pulled a respectable score, too. Not great by a long shot, but respectable.

Respectable enough that we walked around convinced for a while that there had been a mix up between our test and some kid who actually made the effort.

Whatever the case, the good folks at UALR were kind enough to extend a tuition-only scholarship, dependent on maintaining a 3.5 GPA for all four years, a number so stratospherically high that we expected it to be a one-semester and done deal. The Observer, however, is nothing if not greedy for other folks’ money, so we buckled down, held on and kept that sucker for a full ride. If we can do it, so can you, pilgrim.

We’ve got our hopes set pretty high that Junior can as well. Strange how things can change over a number, ain’t it? The older we get, though, the more we realize how quickly a fortune, a future, a lifetime can pivot on the tiniest of things. Living proof right here, sons and daughters.

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11

Arkansas Reporter

THE

Illegitimized The state of Arkansas treats children of same-sex couples differently from other kids.

With the legislature refusing to correct the law, the fight is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

BY BENJAMIN HARDY

J

ana Jacobs and her wife have been together for 14 years and are raising two boys together in Little Rock with a third child on the way. Like many other children across the state, the boys were conceived with the assistance of artificial insemination. But because Jacobs is married to a woman, Arkansas required her to adopt the children before placing her name on her sons’ birth certificates. She’ll have to go through the same ordeal after her daughter is born.

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage in June 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges, its conclusion was clear: Same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights and benefits of marriage as their heterosexual counterparts. Yet even now, Arkansas is dragging its heels in complying with the court’s decision when it comes to the issuance of birth certificates. A heterosexual, married couple who have a child through means of artificial insemination or surrogacy are automatically presumed to be the child’s parents, and they are listed as such on the child’s birth certificate. The same presumption is not accorded to the child of a samesex married couple that used identical assisted reproductive measures.

Arkansas is the only state in the nation that continues to deny same-sex couples this basic benefit of matrimony, according to LGBT advocates.

That status quo will stand for now.

On Monday, the Senate Judiciary committee rejected a bill from Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) that would have fixed the issue by changing the word “husband” to “spouse” in the state statute dealing with artificial insemination and surrogacy. Despite testimony from Jacobs and others, four Republican senators stood in the way of the bill’s passage.

Elliott tried to convince the committee that Senate Bill 580 should be seen 12

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

time. A birth certificate could provide much needed security during our often lengthy and costly process of adoption.”

Without her name included on their birth certificate, she said, “my children could lose many of the benefits that are afforded by marriage, such as my social security benefits, inheritance, life insurance benefits, child support, health insurance, the ability for me to make decisions regarding their medical care, and more.”

STILL SEEKING EQUALITY: Jana Jacobs plans to take her fight to the U.S. Supreme Court in light of the Arkansas legislature’s inaction.

as a matter of bringing the state into compliance with federal law — and of simple fairness in treating children of same-sex couples no differently from other children. She said the bill was “family-friendly” and would allow “those families to take responsibility fully, like any of the rest of us should.”

Jacobs later explained why that was necessary, for reasons both material and not. “I wanted to make sure [my children] had the health care, financial support — any benefits that would arise from my death or disability. I also never wanted my kids to think that there was anyone absent from their life. They were born into the exact family that they were intended to be in. And a birth certificate with both of our names would make that clear not only to them, but to anyone who would require such a document.”

Although she has legally adopted her two boys — and plans to adopt the child still on the way — Jacobs noted that “having a birth certificate with both intended parents would give families immediate relief without having to worry that their children are being left unprotected for any amount of

Without the fix provided by Elliott’s bill, Jacobs said, “the state is unduly illegitimizing my children.”

Also speaking for the bill was Allison Koile, a Little Rock lawyer who said she’s been hired by five same-gender couples to get both parents’ names listed on their children’s birth certificates. Not only is this inequitable, she argued, it’s an unnecessary use of legal and court resources. “I’ve even had judges say that they should be spending their time on other types of cases, rather than having to hold a hearing and produce an order for something that could have been and should have been resolved already,” she said. “Regardless of your feelings on same-sex marriage, a yes vote for SB 580 is a vote for equal application of the law.”

At the time the bill came up, the committee’s chair, Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock), was out of the room, and Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas) was chairing the committee.

Collins-Smith asked Koile, “There are other legal ways to make sure that children inherit their family or friends’ belongings, isn’t that correct?”

“There is a probate process that can

be undertaken, but again, that does occupy the court’s time,” Koile replied.

“There are wills and gifting that you can do, so there are other options, correct?” Collins-Smith asked.

Koile acknowledged that was the case: “There are also trusts, but these are all expensive options. ... Inheritance as a right is guaranteed for children that are recognized by the state.”

In closing, Elliott pushed back against Collins-Smith’s line of questioning. “It is absolutely true that there are other ways … so that children have their rights … but neither my child nor your child nor anybody’s child sitting around this table has to do that. Our kids don’t have to do that. But we ask these folks sitting here, this woman sitting here and her family … to have to have the money to go to probate court … and get the same rights that we expect for our kids? ... It is not a law about the morality of marriage of any kind. It’s just simply: Are your kids equal to our kids? Are we willing to say to their kids that they are not equal to our kids?”

Most senators in attendance seemed unwilling to say anything at all. Sen. Will Bond (D-Little Rock) moved for passage of the bill, but the motion failed for lack of a second; aside from CollinsSmith, the others in attendance were Sens. Bryan King (R-Green Forest), Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch) and Terry Rice (R-Waldron). (Elliott is not a member of the Judiciary committee.) Supporters of the bill told a reporter after the meeting that they believed Hutchinson’s absence was not intentional, as he had voiced support for SB 580 when it came up for in committee previously.

Meanwhile, the matter is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Cheryl Maples, an attorney for Jacobs and other couples, previously sued the state for its refusal to add same-sex parents’ names to birth certificates. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor, citing Obergefell — but the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed Fox’s order, saying the state law on artificial insemination and surrogacy was simply about the biological fact of parentage, rather than an abridgement of same-sex couples’ marriage rights.

Maples and others point out that there’s no such problem recognizing parentage in other cases. “Birth certificates are not meant to reflect biol-

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ogy. When you adopt a child, you are on the birth certificate. ... It’s meant to reflect parental rights and responsibilities,” Maples told the Arkansas Times.

“I’ve run into this many times in my 30 years of law practice — men saying, ‘I’m the father of this child,’ and the mother says, ‘Yes, he’s the father,’ but he wasn’t [biologically]. There didn’t have to be any DNA test. If he signs a paper saying he’s the father, he’s entitled to be on the birth certificate.”

She also noted that in oral arguments at the Arkansas Supreme Court, “the [state] solicitor general stated that denying same-sex couples the right to be on the birth certificate under the assisted reproduction statute was constitutionally suspect. He was basically saying that that [statute] needs to be changed, but it’s up to the legislature. And the Arkansas Supreme Court said, ‘It’s up to the legislature.’ ” With the legislature unwilling to act, that leaves Jacobs and others with one option: the federal courts. In February, Maples filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court; she was joined by the D.C. firm that brought the Obergefell case before the justices in 2015 and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. After the state of Arkansas responds, the court may decide to hear the case, grant summary judgment to the plaintiffs or simply decline to accept the cert petition. (If that happens, Maples said, she’ll file a separate federal lawsuit.)

Maples is cautiously optimistic, noting that the opinion in Obergefell explicitly references birth certificates.

“It says in the decision that same-sex couples are entitled to all the rights and privileges of marriage, including death certificates, birth certificates, enrolling in school — this long list of things. Birth certificates are specifically mentioned … it’s just that the Obergefell decision didn’t go into great detail.”

National groups have told her that Arkansas is alone in fighting parents over this issue. “There were a couple of legal cases that were resolved in the same-sex couples’ favor … [but] it’s never gone above the lower court level in any [other] state. We were the only ones who had to bring it to an appellate court,” Maples said. “Most states just accepted it and started issuing the birth certificates.”

THE

BIG

Inconsequential News Quiz:

PICTURE

POOP DOGG EDITION Play at home, while accepting the horrible fact that the “Beat the Boss” phone in item three is a real thing.

1) Former Gov. Mike Huckabee was recently mocked unmercifully online for his ultimately unsuccessful attempt to start a Twitter beef with rapper Snoop Dogg over a music video in which Snoop “shoots” a fake gun at a Donald Trump clown. Which of the following was included in Huckabee’s Tweet?

A) Called him “Poop Dogg.”

B) Thrilled the young folks with a reference to the 2000 Baha Men hit “Who Let the Dogs Out?” C) Called Snoop Dogg and rapper Bow Wow “bad dogs.”

D) All of the above.

2) In early March, a University of Central Arkansas student pulled over in Conway on suspicion of driving under the influence proved his sobriety to officers in a surprising way. What did he do?

A) Deftly juggled three wooden clubs, including balancing one briefly on his nose while continuing to juggle the others.

B) Quickly wrote a plan that allows Republicans to repeal Obamacare, cover more Americans, and drive premium costs lower, with no penalty for people who refuse to buy coverage. He was immediately arrested for being an interdimensional space warlock.

C) Drank an entire fifth of vodka without taking a breath.

D) He was drunk, but when he showed them his current student loan balance, they took pity on him and let him go.

3) During a recent speech to the Little Rock Rotary Club, a comment by Arkansas Department of Correction Director Wendy Kelley reportedly drew nervous laughter before the assembled Rotarians realized she wasn’t kidding. What did Kelley say?

A) That they’d cut food costs dramatically by feeding inmates a straight diet of sawdust.

B) Kelley asked them to witness one of the eight lethal injections scheduled for April, because state law requires that at least six people witness an execution and the prison is having trouble finding volunteers.

C) That the prison system’s escapee-pursuing bloodhounds have been replaced by former truffle-hunting miniature pigs.

D) That she had personally tested ADC security by smuggling in a “Beat the Boss” phone — the cell phone specifically designed to be smuggled into prisons in a person’s butt.

4) Local blogger Russ Racop recently asked a Little Rock Police Department spokesman why LRPD Chief Kenton Buckner wasn’t issued a ticket after a March 2 incident in which Buckner rear-ended a car at Markham and Spring streets. What was the spokesman’s explanation for why Buckner didn’t get a ticket?

A) Buckner had deftly juggled three wooden clubs.

B) It is departmental policy that police officers aren’t issued tickets after traffic accidents.

C) Both officers who responded to the accident had … like … used all their tickets mopping up a particularly nasty coffee spill on the front seat of their cruiser. Or something.

D) Buckner and the officer on scene bonded over their shared love of “Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach.”

5) The Downtown Little Rock Partnership recently announced a major development for Main Street. What was it?

A) An artisan bologna and saltine cracker bar.

B) The return of Mr. Cool Men’s Wear (now with 40 percent more pleather hot pants).

C) Refurbishment of the historic Cave’s Jewelers clock at Capitol Avenue and Main Street.

D) A fighting robot arena for the Little Rock Technology Park.

Answers: D,A,B,B,C

LISTEN UP

arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

13

BY DAVID KOON

SUFFER THE IMMIGRANTS

BRIAN CHILSON

Since the election of Donald Trump, undocumented immigrants and the groups that work with them in Arkansas are dealing with a wave of fear.

M

BAHENA: Protected by DACA, but still worried for friends and family.

iriam Bahena worries. Born in Mexico, she was brought to De Queen by her parents when she was 3 months old. She grew up there, pledged allegiance to the flag in the elementary school there, graduated from the high school there, works there now in a dental office.

14

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

house except for work or emergencies, choosing to send their U.S.-born children to run errands and buy groceries.

Considering that there’s a statue in New York urging the world to give us their tired, their poor, their huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, that should be concerning to every American.

KATHLEEN MCDONALD, a former Pulaski County deputy prosecutor, cofounded Little Rock’s Beacon Legal Group, with an initial focus on technology law. In recent years, however, the firm has shifted almost entirely to immigration. It’s an area of the law one can’t really dabble in, McDonald said.

ulous,” a patchwork of rules and regulation that is as complicated or more than the U.S. tax code. “With one [immigration] form, you have to use blue ink, but with another, you have to use black ink,” she said. “You have to follow the rules and that’s fine and I understand that, but they’ve made certain parts of it absurd. If you’re really trying to keep people out or make it a process to get in, don’t talk about the ink. That shouldn’t be the deciding factor.”

McDonald said there are a lot of misconceptions about U.S. immigration law, some of them kept alive by politicians and citizens who don’t actually care what the truth is, preferring

BRIAN CHILSON

NOW 21, BAHENA is shielded from possible deportation by the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which curtailed the arrest and expulsion of undocumented people brought to the country as children. The program has allowed her to secure a work permit and stilled her mind about the possibility that she might be returned to a country she doesn’t remember.

Many of her friends and family, however, don’t have the same protections, and this — as is hammered home daily, weekly, hourly in the news — is no longer Obama’s America. This is an America presided over by a man who kicked off his presidential campaign by descending a golden escalator to a microphone, into which he announced Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals. After the election, there was even serious talk that he would do away with DACA. That has not come to pass, though the program’s future remains unclear. The rumors of raids and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) checkpoints swirl daily in De Queen, and Bahena’s mother and father have to leave the house to work.

And so she worries.

“It’s hard,” Bahena said. “You have to have conversations with your parents like, ‘What are you going to do if one day we go to the grocery store, get stopped by police, and we don’t come back?’

I have a 14-year-old sister that I would be responsible for if my parents were to get deported. There’s no pathway for them to get a work permit.”

According to the Pew Research Center, there are around 70,000 undocumented immigrants living in Arkansas, though the true number is hard to pin down. Arkansas ranks first in the percentage of immigrants living in the state without papers, with about 45 percent of the state’s immigrant population living here illegally.

Around 70 percent of undocumented immigrants in the state are Hispanic.

Since the election of Donald Trump, outreach groups have seen an unprecedented wave of anxiety and outright fear among immigrants in the state, both documented and undocumented. Bahena, for example, said that the fear of seeing families broken up over something as simple as a traffic stop for speeding or a broken taillight has caused many undocumented people she knows to avoid leaving the

MCDONALD: Says immigration laws are overcomplicated.

Speaking to the Arkansas Times on St. Patrick’s Day, she noted that America has long had a love-hate relationship with immigrants. With the election of Trump, the “hate” part of that relationship seems to be coming to the fore. She said, somewhat ruefully, that he has been very good for her business. “It drives me crazy, because this is what our country is about: hardworking people coming over and making a life for themselves,” she said. “If you work hard, and you do the right thing, and you’re a good person, you should be able to have the American dream. But we’re saying, ‘No, no. You don’t get to have that anymore. Only the people who came before.’ ” While immigration law is her bread and butter, McDonald unreservedly calls the U.S. immigration code “ridic-

instead to see all immigrants simply as job-stealers. A prime example, for instance, is the oft-repeated argument that undocumented immigrants should have “come to America the right way.”

The issue with that, McDonald said, is that the visa backlog is so huge that, depending on a person’s home country, it could take 23 years to get approved to even apply. For those who entered the U.S. illegally, either by crossing the border without authorization or overstaying a work visa, there are additional problems. As established by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, anyone who illegally enters the U.S. and stays for more than 180 days is automatically barred from re-entry for three years if he or she ever leaves the country or surrenders to immigra-

tion authorities. Stay a full year, and you’re barred for 10 years. “Anybody who has been here unlawfully is going to face some kind of bar, more than likely,” McDonald said. “That creates a big hurdle.”

McDonald said that one of her biggest concerns since the election of Trump is that undocumented people will be afraid to call the police if they’re being victimized. As a prosecutor, she said, one of the first things she told undocumented victims of crime in meetings was that she didn’t care about their status, specifically to defuse that worry. “It’s bad because if someone is getting beat up or if they’ve been robbed, you want them to call the police. That’s what the police are for. Luckily, in Little Rock and North Little Rock and other places too, the chiefs of police have specifically said, ‘We’re not trying to enforce immigration laws. We just want to enforce the laws of Arkansas. We’re not going to be calling ICE every time we pull someone over.’ The fact that they’ve said that, I think, is extremely important.”

Trump’s rhetoric and policies with regard to immigration make McDonald angry and sad. While she said she doesn’t believe Trump to be a hateful racist, there were ways to accomplish what he wanted to do in less disruptive ways.

“It embarrasses me. America is supposed to be a leader,” she said. “I think it’s going to have a lot of negative ramifications that obviously were not intended that we’ll have to deal with. There are probably some terrorists who are totally digging it. They’re saying, ‘Look! They’re against us!’ Would that not fire you up?”

Getting to a place where the country can affect real immigration reform, however, is almost unfathomably complicated. McDonald believes there’s not much stomach among those who support Trump’s aims for the kind of deep dive it would take to fix things.

It’s much easier to chant “Build the Wall” than to take on the country’s labyrinthine immigration code.

“They want the tweet,” she said.

“And very little about immigration is the short, easy, simple tweet.”

KELSEY LAM, co-founder and director at Little Rock-based immigrant outreach nonprofit El Zócalo, said that fear of arrest and deportation has arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

15

always been an issue for the state’s immigrant population, but has come to the fore since Trump’s inauguration.

Even among green card holders and those in the process of seeking legal residency, the anxiety is there, she said.

“Regardless of status and regardless of nationality, really we’re seeing a lot of fear across everyone that we serve,” she said. “Of course, for some people the issue is being scared of being deported or detained. But other people are more scared than before of being victims of hate crimes. People who have their documents are scared of having prejudice impact their lives. …

The whole thing is very sad. There’s a kind of fear in peoples’ eyes that’s very fresh and difficult.”

Lam said that El Zócalo has been offering guidance and information on what to do for immigrants who are pulled over by the police, and helping families make a “personal preparedness plan” of instructions and numbers to call in case a family member is arrested and deported. The group, now in its fifth year, has seen an uptick in requests for assistance from immigrants, she said, but attendance to programs that seek to empower and uplift their clients has fallen off. Lam attributes that to the fear.

“People have told us people are afraid to leave the house and less motivated to do things that would help them achieve other goals in this country right now,” she said. “They’re more defending their basic daily lives and families.” Even so, she said, the people they serve still seem to have hope for their futures. “We did an activity with our clients where everyone had to say some number of hopes and then concerns for the country, and there were still significantly more hopes identified,” she said. “People are still hopeful

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ARKANSAS TIMES

that things might not be as bad as some say, and that there will still be a future for them here. But I think they’re maybe not as motivated to take action on those hopes right now because they really just need to be sure they’re defending and prepared.”

Maria Touchstone, acting director of North Little Rock’s Seis Puentes Education and Resource Center, which provides support and educational opportunities for immigrants, has seen that strange mix of hope for the future and fear for the present. The English as a Second Language coordinator for the North Little Rock School District, Touchstone understands the immigrant experience. Born into dire poverty in Mexico, her parents brought her and her siblings to the U.S. in 1969 when she was 6 years old. She’s since become a naturalized citizen. In those days, legally crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. was as simple as paying a fee and signing some forms.

“They had five kids, living in poverty,” she said. “They brought us here when the oldest was 6, to get an education, to become Americans and to change our lives. With a second-grade education, my father and mother were able to do that. That’s the tragedy today.

That family — my dad and mom, who had dreams for their kids to get an education — they don’t have an avenue to do that now.

Seis Puentes, she said, may be the only standalone immigrant education center in the state. Staffed with volunteers, with classes taught by teachers from the Pulaski County Adult Education Center, their Tuesday and Thursday night ESL classes are usually packed.

“This is a haven,” she said. “This is about learning

and changing their lives. They know I’m like a cheerleader for them. I’m an immigrant from poverty in Mexico with no easy road. Just hard work and dedication. That’s what they dream of.”

To try to quell some of the fear and anxiety among their clients, Touchstone said, the center has brought in several guest speakers, including representatives of the Arkansas United Community Coalition and the Mexican Consulate and North Little Rock Police Chief Mike Davis. Since the election, she said, there’s been a marked increase of interest in their ESL and GED classes.

“Because of the fear and the uncertainly, our classes are more heavily attended now,” she said. “You’d think they’d be scared and aren’t coming.

They’re coming because this is real.

I think they understand that English proficiency is going to be part of the solution, if we can ever agree in this country to find a solution for this part of our country.”

Education, Touchstone said, is a fundamental human right. Never far from her mind, she said, is the fact that without education and the bravery of her parents in bringing her to America, she could have been trying to scrape out a living in Mexico. “I could have been one of those ladies selling gum on a corner in Mexico in a city somewhere,” she said. “That could have been me. That’s the kind of poverty I come from. The only reason that’s not me is because somebody sent me to school. That’s it.”

Sooner or later, Touchstone said, the

BRIAN CHILSON

‘THE MAIN CONCERN IS STATUS’: Says Deputy Mexican Consul Jose Aguilar Salazar.

country will have to find a workable solution for the millions of undocumented immigrants who call the United States their home. Immigrants are and have been part of the fabric of this country since it was founded, she said, and she believes the U.S. will find its way back to being more welcoming.

“Our country has to come together, has to find a solution,” she said.

“Diversity is not going away. These people come in here after working all day, or working two jobs, some with very low literacy skills in their native countries. We have a lady from Russia.

We have a guy from Turkey. That’s not the majority, but it’s a reminder that the world is a small place and this is a difficult time for our country.”

Jose Aguilar Salazar, deputy Mexican consul in Little Rock, said the Mexican consulate has seen an almost threefold increase in requests for services since Election Day. To deal with the nationwide surge in requests for assistance, the Mexican government has established advocacy centers at the 50 Mexican consulates scattered around the U.S. That includes the consulate in Little Rock, which has given Mexican nationals access to programs and education about immigration law, as well as paid immigration attorneys to help them update and file paperwork related to immigration status.

“The main concern of the people is about their status here, the possibility of being deported,” Salazar said. “Mainly they’re concerned about breaking their families. Many of them have a family and children. When a person is deported automatically they can cease to be the main support of the family, emotionally speaking and financially speaking. It’s a big concern.” To help ease the strain, Salazar said, the consulate is constantly providing the public with information about ICE operations in the zone covered by the Little Rock consulate, which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas and portions of west Tennessee. That includes sending officials to personally verify or disprove when they hear a rumor about an ICE raid or checkpoint. Such rumors, Salazar said, have been widespread in recent months. So far, he said, they’ve seen no indication that ICE is conducting random raids or traffic stops in their area. Consular officials have also held meetings with police departments all over the state to gauge whether those departments have an interest in aggressively enforcing immigration laws.

“We always have had very good dialogue with the enforcement agencies,” he said. “Mexico and the United States have maintained dialogue on this issue for many years. ICE authorities have provided us with very important information that they are not making any specific activity in this moment. What they are doing is they are after those people with criminal records and also people against whom there are criminal charges. That’s the new instruction by the administration and they’re going to do it. But they’re not checking [papers] in the streets, or making raids. That is very good to know. That way, the people can be assured that they’ll not be knocking at their doors.”

Salazar believes that with immigrant labor forming the backbone of many industries in Arkansas, including the agricultural and construction industry, a crackdown on immigrants may backfire and harm the economy.

“The reason why people emigrate from Mexico is to get a better income,” Salazar said. “I can tell you that when people come to America and satisfy the original need for a better income, they start businesses. If there is this policy, it may hurt. … It’s not going to be a good thing for them, or for the productive areas of the United States.

People are going to have fear, and by themselves they’re going to say, ‘I’m going to a place where I won’t be under such strain.’ ” From a base in Fort Smith, Humberto Marquez, West Arkansas organizer for the Arkansas United Community Coalition, works extensively with undocumented immigrants, and knows their fears himself. Brought to the U.S. by his parents in 2000 when he was 5 years old, Marquez applied for DACA in 2012, and joined the AUCC as an advocate and organizer in 2014. As someone with many undocumented people in his circle of friends and family, Marquez said the rhetoric Trump used on the campaign trail was a frightening attempt to paint all immigrants as criminals.

While there’s been some relief that the Trump administration appears to be taking a hands-off approach to DACA for now, the fact that DACA doesn’t cover Marquez’s older, undocumented relatives is never off his mind.

“I know some people who have DACA are celebrating in a way, but I don’t think people should be celebrating,” he said. “Yes, there’s the aspect of leaving DACA in place, but arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

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those who benefit from DACA, we have siblings, we have parents, we have other family members or friends who don’t benefit from the DACA program. I feel that if our parents and our families are still living in the shadows, we’re still living in the shadows.”

Marquez said rumors about ICE crackdowns, highway checkpoints and raids on businesses are rampant in West Arkansas. His Facebook message inbox stays full of desperate inquiries for information, most of them based on something heard from a friend of a friend. Marquez spends a lot of his time these days running down rumors with local police departments, trying to dispel those grapevine concerns.

“A lot of people aren’t driving, they’re not taking their kids to school, they’re not going out whatsoever on the weekends in case there’s a checkpoint or something,” he said. “We’re trying to let the community know 3/19/17 2:10 PM they can trust their police offi3/19/172:10 2:10 PM 3/19/17 PM cers. We’re also trying to train and explain to police officers that crimes will actually rise if our undocumented population is afraid of the police.”

Some of the rumors, he believes, are deliberately planted to create fear. Though AUCC has been trying to educate the public through events and seminars on immigration status and the law, Marquez said attendance has been light due to widespread anxiety.

“We see it in peoples’ faces,” he said, “even to the point where they don’t want even to show up to our events because they believe that the flyer of our event falls into the wrong hands, that person can call immigration and suddenly you have a raid or some kind of ICE operative at the event. ... If they’re afraid to come to one of our presentations, we can imagine what it means to go out to work, or to go out shopping or go out and run an errand. “ As someone who loves the country and considers himself an American, Marquez said it’s “frustrating and dehumanizing” to see the people he cares for limited in that way, when all they want to do is go to work and

‘THIS IS A HAVEN’: Says director Maria Touchstone of the Seis Puentes Education and Resource Center in North Little Rock.

provide for their families. Growing up, he said, he was very hopeful about the vision of the U.S. as a welcoming and inclusive place. Since Trump was elected, he said, his perspective about America has changed.

“Realizing that the Trump administration was possible is a way of telling me that the system is indeed broken, systemic racism does exist, and that it’s going to take more than just community organizing before we’re liberated from the system of racism and oppression,” he said. “Just seeing this has definitely changed my perspective on America, but my perspective has changed neither for the worse or the best. It’s just changed. It’s more realistic. It’s more of an insight into what America is. America, which seems to be the greatest nation on earth, has a lot of flaws. As a world leader, it’s sending a very wrong message on who we are to the rest of the world.”

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In De Queen, Miriam Bahena worries but still has hope for the country she loves. Keeping that hope alive has not always been easy. When she was in high school, she said, she worked hard to keep her grades up, served on the student council, tried anything she could to bump up her resume for when she applied for college.

“I was naive, I guess. I wasn’t really thinking that there’s qualifications you have to meet: You have to be a resident, you have to be a citizen for all the scholarships. That’s when I started realizing, it doesn’t matter if I have a 4.0 or if I’ve done all these other extracurriculars. I won’t be able to meet any of the qualifications because I’m not a citizen or resident.”

But still, she persisted. Filed for DACA. Worked 12-hour night shifts at the local chicken plant, showered off the blood, slept a few precious hours, and then got up to attend classes at

the local community college, even though, because of her status, she had to pay out-of-state tuition that cost three times as much as the American-born kids with whom she’d graduated from high school. She wants to be a dental hygienist someday.

Thanks to the work permit provided by DACA, she’s a dental assistant now. Soon, she’ll go in to renew her DACA status for the second time. She’ll pay her $500 fee and keep striving for something better. She owes that to her parents, she said. A lot of the time when she’s not working, she volunteers with the AUCC, helping host seminars on status and the law to try to cut through some of the fear that hangs over De Queen like a ghostly fog, detectable only to people without papers. It says something that she’d lined up four other people, all either undocumented or receiving DACA, to speak to the Arkansas Times in De Queen, but by the time a reporter and photographer drove over from Little Rock to the meeting place at the Sevier County Public Library, she was the only one to show up. She’s seen attendance at local events dry up as well, brown faces evaporating from the crowds like they were never there.

It’s hard, she said. Her niece is 8 and constantly worries about her mother being pulled over and deported. It’s a fear Miriam Bahena knows herself, the same fear that kept her awake at night when she was a little girl, waiting for the sound of the opening door that meant her mother or father had returned safely from an errand. Now, at 21, the old fear of the unknowable dark has come back to her.

“Two weeks ago, my mom called me late at night,” Bahena said. “She said, ‘I need you to come pick me up, but don’t tell your dad. I just got stopped by the police.’ I immediately started freaking out and crying. I ran to where she was and told the police officer that I had a driver’s license and asked to drive her home. He said, ‘Yeah, just make sure she’s not driving anymore.’ Obviously she has to get around. What else are we going to do?”

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HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS april 2017 Hot Springs For a complete calendar of events, visit hotsprings.org.

IN APRIL - ENJOY LIVE MUSIC ALL MONTH LONG ON

ROLANDO’S RESTAURANTE OUTDOOR PATIO Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Enjoy Rolando’s this April for Nuevo Latino Cuisine, specialty drinks and live music on the patio.

APRIL 1ST PARK INSIDE THE PARK! OAKLAWN’S INFIELD IS OPEN and Moxie will be playing. BOAT AND TRUCK GIVEAWAY AT OAKLAWN.

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APRIL 8TH PARK INSIDE THE PARK! OAKLAWN’S INFIELD IS OPEN and Moxie will be playing.

APRIL 13-15TH THE RACING FESTIVAL OF THE SOUTH. Oaklawn has saved the best for last! As one of the richest weeks of racing in North America, the Racing Festival of the South kicks off Thursday, April 13 with the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes and continues through Saturday, April 15 when it culminates with the $1 million Arkansas Derby.

APRIL 21ST & 28TH

APRIL 20-22ND THE 19TH ANNUAL HOT SPRINGS CORVETTE

APRIL 22ND THE THIRD ANNUAL HOT SPRINGS GUMBO & CRAWFISH FESTIVAL @ HILL WHEATLEY PLAZA. Presented by The Spa City Blues Society Sample gumbo from area cooking teams vying for the title of “Best Hot Springs Gumbo” Purchase Crawfish dinner Dance music For more information contact@spacityblues.org ALL profits generated by ALL events presented by the Spa City Blues Society go toward community enrichment in the form of cultural activities like the Hot Springs Gumbo & Crawfish Festival, the Hot Springs Craft Beer Festival, Blues in the Schools, and the Hot Springs Blues Festival. It’s doubtful that ANY other town in the galaxy the size of OUR town has as many awesome activities as does ours. www.hsgumbofest.com; www.spacityblues.org.

A continuous tradition for 25 years and counting, galleries stay open late for Gallery Walk on the first Friday of each month to host openings of new exhibits by local, national and international artists.

WEEKEND @ HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER. Over 200 Corvettes on display in the Convention Center on Saturday, April 22, 2017! Admission is free and open to the public. For more information contact Terry Stegal at T5stegall@gmail.com or visit us online at centralarkansascorvetteclub.com.

APRIL 8TH THE 1ST ANNUAL WHITE SOIREE & WINE

APRIL 20TH FARM-TO-TABLE EVENT BY SUPERIOR BATH-

APRIL 7TH GALLERY WALK AT LOCAL ART GALLERIES.

FUNDRAISER DINNER AT THE HOTEL HOT SPRINGS. Come enjoy dancing with live music and a DJ. Be prepared for a silent auction and reverse drawing. Tickets $65.00 and Couples $120.00 Please note: Attire wear white... For more information please contact Kim Holland at 501-

HOUSE BREWERY AND JV FARMS 6-8 P.M. Do you know your farmer? This dinner event showcases the unique relationships formed when local businesses and producers work together to bring Arkansas grown products to the consumer. Participants at this event will partake in a three

APRIL 28TH-MAY 7TH THE 3RD ANNUAL ARTS AND THE PARK FESTIVAL @ VARIOUS

VENUES THROUGHOUT HOT SPRINGS. The Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance (HSACA) is pleased to announce the return of Arts & The Park. A ten-day festival in celebration of the arts, scheduled for April 28th – May 7th, 2017 in Downtown Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. HSACA is excited about showcasing the thriving talent of local and statewide visual artists, musicians, dancers, poets, jewelers, potters, performers, authors, glass makers, sculptors and more in the events that will be held during Arts & The Park 2017. Studio Tours will be a highlight of this year’s festival being held Saturday April 29th and Sunday April 30th, where curious art-lovers can go visit the personal studios of participating artists. This is a hands on, eye-opening experience for visitors to interact one-on-one with artists and see them in their creative environments.

Visit www.hotspringsarts.org for more information. “Attending an arts festival in America’s first National Park is an experience that is unrivaled, and it really showcases the beauty of our city, teeming with the artistic inspiration and talent of our citizens,” said Kate Schaffer, HSACA Board President.

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live music CALENDAR MARCH 30 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Jeff Hartzell @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue

MARCH 31 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Mayday by Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Aaron Balentine @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Pearl Earl @ Maxine’s Live

APRIL 1

Mayday by Midnight @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Rick McKean @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue

APRIL 6 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Jeff Hartzell @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue

APRIL 7 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Sensory 2 @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Ryan Sauders @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

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Mayday by Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn

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St. Vincent is home to one of the few worldclass, community based neuroscience institutes, the Arkansas Neuroscience Institute (ANI). To meet the growing needs of the community, CHI St. Vincent is moving ANI to the North Little Rock campus.

There, we will create a medical destination by converting our underused facility. Without wasted time or precious resources, we will better serve those seeking advanced treatments from some of the world’s finest neurosurgeons.

There will also be a state-of-the-art education and research center where a new generation of surgeons will be able to learn the skills necessary to tackle the most complex cases and positively impact survival rates for patients with neurological disorders. The ANI program will expand services and medical staff to better serve some of the most complicated and life-affecting neurological disorders for patients from around the world.

Currently ANI offers a full range of comprehensive neurosurgical services which incorporates a large spectrum of neurological disorders, including primary and metastatic tumors of the brain, spine, and nerves; skull base surgery, vascular neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, and spine and spinal cord surgery. ANI is expanding services to include epilepsy surgery and surgery for movement disorders.

Visit CHIStVincent.com/ani to learn more

Jacob Flores @ TACO MAMA on Garland Avenue

more live music CALENDAR APRIL 8

APRIL 27

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Infield Day at Oaklawn with Moxie Aaron Balentine @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Sensory 2 @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

Jeff Hartzell @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11 Jazz Night @ The Ohio Club

APRIL 28

APRIL 14

Jacob Flores @ TACO MAMA on Garland Avenue Jeff Hartzell @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Mayday by Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30 Ohio Club Players @ The Ohio Club

Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Christine DeMeo @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Willy D’s Traveling Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

Aaron Balentine @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Mayday by Midnight @ Silks Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

APRIL 13 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Jeff Hartzell @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Larry Womack & Jackie Beaumont @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 7-11

APRIL 29

APRIL 15 Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Christine DeMeo @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Willy D’s Traveling Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

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APRIL 21 Jacob Flores @ TACO MAMA on Garland Avenue Aaron Balentine @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Pamela K. Ward and the Last Call Orchestra Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

APRIL 22 Rick McKean @ Rolando’s Restaurante on Central Avenue Susan Erwin @ Pop’s Lounge, Oaklawn, 5-9 Pamela K. Ward and the Last Call Orchestra Band @ Silk’s Bar & Grill, Oaklawn, 10-2 Willie Davis & Company @ Arlington Resort Hotel Lobby & Bar, 8:30-12:30

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Arts Entertainment AND

Love and discord Examining the relationships in The Rep’s ‘Jar the Floor.’

BY CRYSTAL C. MERCER

24

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

leave each other. They are, for better or for worse, stuck together because of what motherhood allows.”

Jackson (Vennie) talked about McCauley’s direction for the play.

“Gilbert has been talking to us about really respecting the words, the rhetoric that Cheryl has laid down for us. I don’t so much take stock in what I say as a person in my family dynamic, but I wish … I would have recorded what my great-grandmother said, what my grandmother said, because I did grow

JOHN DAVID PITTMAN

C

heryl West’s “Jar the Floor” begins with a family’s intent to celebrate matriarch Madear’s 90th birthday: Four generations of women come together, standing waist high in love and discord.

Incidents from the characters’ shared past surface front and center in Madear’s living room. Spirits of hurt, pain, abuse, resentment — and eventually, the spirit of love — find their way in, blanketing the past in a warmth that relieves some of the bitter cold between the women.

“Jar the Floor” marks director Gilbert McCauley’s eighth trip to Arkansas to direct on the Arkansas Repertory Theatre stage. He said what drew him to West’s play is “having a mother, having a sister. Knowing that that relationship is so much about what this piece is about.”

McCauley said returning to Arkansas “feels good, actually, almost like coming home to some degree. ... And I’m excited to be working with the people we have … so there’s an understanding of it, then there’s the artists that get involved with it and take it to the next level.”

Those artists are CeCe Antoinette (Madear), Joy Lynn Jacobs (Lola, Madear’s daughter and Maydee’s mother), Shannon Lamb (Maydee), Maya Jackson (Vennie, Maydee’s daughter) and Erikka Walsh (Raisa, Vennie’s friend). McCauley, Lamb, Jackson and Antoinette sat at the long table at Foster’s bar on the mezzanine of The Rep during a recent interview.

“Relationships — that really is very much the play,” Antoinette said. “I think because it’s four generations … and we’re leaving it in the time period in which it was written, [the] mid-’90s, which is a different set of social sensibilities.” Antoinette said the play weaves a broad tapestry for those who pay attention to the details in the history between

Maydee, she loves Vennie dearly, loves her dearly, and wants her to have so much that she didn’t have. Maydee works her fingers to the bone to make sure that Vennie has this type of life, even though Vennie doesn’t appreciate this life. And in that, Maydee literally slices her up with her words, and it’s just chipping away at who she is.”

Jackson acknowledged the tether between Maydee and Vennie by comparing parental bonds between mothers and daughters: “There is something

SLICING CELEBRATION: Erikka Walsh (Raisa), Maya Jackson (Vennie), CeCelia Antoinette (MaDear), Shannon Lamb (Maydee) and Joy Lynn Jacobs (Lola) star in The Rep’s production of Cheryl West’s “Jar the Floor.”

Madear, the matriarch, and Vennie, the youngest of the lineage.

“There is love in the discord,” McCauley said, “and how you get to that is kind of this beautiful pain. In this play, love is only arrived, or that we even see it in going through the discord, in going through ‘on purpose’ or ‘by accident,’ opening up old wounds that happens as [they] interact.”

Lamb echoed those thoughts. “You know that saying that ‘There’s no hurt like family hurt?’ Those that are closest to you can hurt you the most. So,

inherent to the role of motherhood that makes this play possible, that makes this love and discord possible. I love my father. I love him so much, but I don’t know that our relationship would withstand the kind of elasticity that has been required with the relationship with my mother. There’s an alchemy that exists between women and their mothers that is like, ‘I can’t live with you. I can’t live without you. I can’t leave you.’

And that’s something that’s clear here.

These women can’t live with each other.

They can’t lose each other. They can’t

up with four generations of women, and I didn’t realize how rare that was.”

“Jar the Floor” is “cathartic connections and collisions,” Jackson said, noting the way the play’s odyssey is shared with its audiences. “It moves you, it begs to move you. You have to be moved; there’s no way to be neutral in the show.”

“Jar the Floor” runs March 29-April 16.

Tickets range $30-$65, and are available at therep.org or by calling 501-3780405.

ROCK CANDY

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

A&E NEWS FILMMAKER JEFF NICHOLS, a Little Rock native now based in Austin, Texas, will serve as chairman of the board of the Arkansas Cinema Society, which will kick off with an “inaugural cinema event” in Little Rock Aug. 24-26. “We hope to bring great films and filmmakers to Arkansas throughout the year as well as support and nurture all of the amazing talent that Arkansas produces,” Nichols said in a press release last week. “By initially gathering a network of film lovers, we hope to eventually establish events, programs, grants and even theaters that make access to all of this possible.”

Nichols wrote and directed “Shotgun Stories,” “Take Shelter,” “Mud,” “Midnight Special” and last year’s “Loving,” the story of the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v.

Virginia that overturned bans on interracial marriage in the U.S. Lead actor Ruth Negga was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in “Loving.”

Nichols is joined on the board by native Arkansan and Academy Award-winning actress Mary Steenburgen, who in the release professed a deep devotion to “Arkansas and its budding film community. ... Our state, with its physical beauty and welcoming people, has so much potential as a film and TV location.”

Initial partners are the Arkansas Times, the Film Society of Little Rock, the city of Little Rock and the Downtown Little Rock Partnership. Other board members include former Gov. Mike Beebe; Eliza Borne, editor of the Oxford American magazine; Yellow Rocket Concepts Creative Director Amber Brewer; Central Arkansas Library Director Nate Coulter; World Woman Foundation founder Rupa Dash; Vice Mayor Kathy Webb; Clinton School of Public Service Dean Skip Rutherford, and Graham Gordy, co-creator of Cinemax’s “Quarry” and writer/actor/producer of Daniel Campbell’s “Antiquities,” filmed in Arkansas last fall.

“The Arkansas film community has grown,” Gordy said in the release, “but community is a chain-letter, and adding our names and building on this could mean acquainting the next generation of Arkansas filmmakers with both the best versions of contemporary film and the ever-shifting needs of the industry.”

Filmmaker and “Antiquities” producer Kathryn Tucker will serve as ACS’ executive director. “If we can foster more talent like Jeff Nichols, Mary Steenburgen and Graham Gordy and keep them involved in Arkansas, imagine what other young talent they might ignite,” Tucker said in the release. “Collaboration is what I loved so much about filmmaking in the first place — that, and the popcorn.” For more information, sign up for announcements at arkansascinemasociety. org.

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TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE, AARON SARLO AND STEPHEN KOCH

WENDY JOHNSON

THE

FROM THE TREES: Cellist and composer Paul Rucker performs at Crystal Bridges with cello and loop pedal set to animated postcards of American lynchings in his show “Stories From the Trees,” part of Northwest Arkansas’s Inverse Performance Art Festival.

THURSDAY 3/30

‘STORIES FROM THE TREES’

7:30 p.m. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville. $10.

Shortly after the arrest and subsequent death of Freddie Gray, a 34-page newspaper called Rewind circulated the chaotic streets in Gray’s native Sandtown, an area of Baltimore that became the locus of the civil protests surrounding the 25-year-old’s demise. The newspaper was a product of an installation by composer Paul Rucker at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Creative Alliance, where Rucker was in resi-

dence. The “Rewind” installation focused on the relationship between the history of slavery and the prison system, incorporating objects like a $100 Confederate bill, an 1860 judge’s gavel and a book called “White Supremacy and Negro Subordination.” In “Stories From the Trees,” Rucker focuses on a specific aspect of slavery and its aftermath: lynchings. “For this project,” Rucker said on his website, “I purchase and animate vintage lynching postcards and add original music compositions performed on cello using a looping pedal.” Many of the postcards will be on view

during the show. Rucker’s performance is one of many events on the schedule for Northwest Arkansas’s Inverse Performance Art Festival, curated by Cynthia Post Hunt and Emma Saperstein and taking place March 30-April 1 at the University of Arkansas Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, Crystal Bridges, the Foxhole Public House, 21c Museum Hotel and the University of Arkansas Art and Design District.

For a full schedule of festival events, check out inverseperformanceartfestival.org. SS

FRIDAY 3/31

BRIAN NAHLEN BAND

10 p.m. Four Quarter Bar, Argenta.

If you’re one of the few who have yet to see a show (or eat a meal, or drink a beer) at Four Quarter Bar, you have yet to discover a truly great bar and music venue. Four Quarter Bar serves tasty craft suds and is a fantastic place to hear live bands. On 26

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Friday, it welcomes The Brian Nahlen Band. Nahlen, a sunny person and a good songwriter, fronts a battery of fine musicians. The group recently clocked in as semifinalists in the 2017 Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase — no easy feat for any artist, considering the river of great music that flows in our fine state. What I like the most about Nahlen’s music, specifi-

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cally, is his songwriting. Though the band fills the room with superb rock (and terrific vocal harmonies) at each performance, way down at the subatomic level, Nahlen’s lyrics — simple, positive and ultra-catchy — are what drive the music. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Nahlen’s “Better Than I Thought It Could Be,” is this century’s Coca-Cola song — his

tunes are that catchy. If you are looking for something to do on a Friday night, might I dissuade you from your normal weed and TV binge-a-thon?

This music scene is crackling with great music, and Four Quarter Bar is hosting so many good bands. Get out of your head and back into this scene. We miss you. And “Iron Fist” sucks. AS

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 3/30

FRIDAY3/31SATURDAY 4/1

ARKANSAS MADE ARKANSAS PROUD

MICHAEL WILSON

6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday.

War Memorial Stadium. $5-$25.

‘SPITTIN’ IN CURSIVE’: TV Mike and The Scarecrows join Kevin Kerby for a show at South on Main Friday, March 31, 9 p.m., $10.

FRIDAY 3/31

TV MIKE AND THE SCARECROWS

9 p.m. South on Main. $10.

There are far too many bands identifying as “folk stomp” for that phrase to have any real meaning, but TV Mike and The Scarecrows get a pass anyway.

Matt Lundquist’s pedal steel guitar is Texas-y, the organ sounds are tasteful and the Indiana-toSan Francisco outfit has an easy,

lived-in swing on tunes like “It’s a Drag” and “Water for Friction,” thanks in part to Andrea Delarosa and Michael Klinge’s vocal harmonies. The ever-clever, everlaconic Kevin Kerby joins TV Mike on the bill, so if you haven’t been wrecked by “Paper Mills & Broken Wills” or “Beautiful & Bright” by the proposed candidate for poet laureate of Pulaski County in a while, now’s a good time to catch up. SS

In partnership with the War Memorial Stadium Foundation, the Arkansas Times presents a consortium of crafters at this two-day event, which highlights over 85 local artisans, creators and small businesses. Local screen-printers Electric Ghost, Rhinodillo Designs and AR-T’s make up part of the apparel contingent, as well as Country Deep Clot h i ng, H i l lcrest Waterbug s, Blue Swa llow Clothing Co. and Roche Apparel.

Natural State Leather Goods, Juli Odum’s Urban Jungle Jewelry, Mintaka Design and Itty Bitty Boots offer repurposed and handmade jewelry and accessories, and self-care products like handmade soaps and lotion bars are available from Serenity Naturals, Ozark Apothecary and Jaxon Marz Goods. While you’re there, stock your kitchen with edibles from Mount Olive Pepper Co., great Ferments, Honeysuckle Lane Cheese, Swalty Kernel and Cocoa Belle Chocolates. A $25 ticket gets you advance admission to a preview party Friday night, 6-9 p.m., to benefit the War Memorial Improvement Trust. Mimosas and Bloody Marys will be on hand for Saturday’s early crowd; the market runs to 7 p.m. Admission is $5. SS

SATURDAY 4/1

SPRINGFEST

10 a.m. Riverfront Park. Free.

For those keeping score at home, Springfest is the exclusively familyfriendly Riverfest offshoot for those who prefer not to commingle their kid fun and their adult fun. To that end, Saturday’s events will include such

youth Riverfest mainstays as cheerleading, dance and art displays, the Jesse White Tumblers, a petting zoo, Ronald McDonald, the canine water long jump/ splash zone, live music from Trout Fishing In America, a disco-themed dog parade and a video game truck so the young ones can play video games, just like they were at home and not actu-

ally outside with their (ugh) families.

In short, it’s got all the wonderfully childish things the buzzed of-age Riverfesters also used to stop and enjoy in awe-filled wonder on their way to the next adult concert. Well, suck it, ancients — see you in June for Riverfest, ’cause this one’s for the kids! SK

It’s the last weekend to catch the 400 pieces of Fab Four memorabilia at “Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Beatles!” at the Clinton Presidential Center, through April 2, free-$10. The cast and crew of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s “Jar the Floor” host a panel discussion on the play at the Clinton School’s Sturgis Hall, noon, free. In “Changing the Story: Blueprint for Change,” the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and partner organizations present the culmination of a year’s work on improving the status of women and girls in Arkansas in areas like “health, education, economics and workforce, and politics and leadership,” 5:30 p.m., Clinton School of Public Service’s Sturgis Hall, free. Nora Jane Struthers joins Joe Overton at The Joint for a concert to raise funds for the ACANSA Arts Festival, 6:30 p.m., $100. The Victor Wooten Trio performs at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, 8:30 p.m., $25.

Tony Tone (known to some as Tony Luewellyn) brings his “Def Comedy Jam”-tested set to The Loony Bin through April 1, 7:30 Thu.-Sat., 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., $8-$12.

FRIDAY 3/31 The UA Little Rock Trojans baseball team takes on the Appalachian State Mountaineers at Gary Hogan Field, 6 p.m. Fri., 2 p.m. Sat., 1 p.m. Sun., and the UAPB Golden Lions 6 p.m.

Tue., free admission. Cantrell Gallery, 8205 Cantrell Road, reopens with a reception 6-8 p.m. for the exhibition, “The Making of an Artist: Creative Inspirations,” paintings by Jeffery Nodelman. LGBT advocate and author of “Mom, I’m Gay” Susan Cottrell speaks at the Center for Artistic Revolution, 800 Scott St., 7 p.m. Blink-182 lands at Verizon Arena with Naked and Famous, 7 p.m., $30-$70.

Nashville singer-songwriter Sally Barris plays a free show at the Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m. Arts Center of the Ozarks’ “Just a Hint” showcase series features the Trillium Salon Series, a classical music project spearheaded

by Katy Henriksen, host of KUAF’s “Of Note,” 7:30 p.m., 214 S. Main St., Springdale, $10.

Vocal septet Naturally 7 headlines the annual VoiceJam A Cappella Festival, 8 p.m., Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, $20-$50. Saxophonist Phillip “Philly Moo” Mouton performs at the White Water Tavern, 8 p.m. $10. Steam Loco plays a free show at Markham Street Grill & Pub, 8:30 p.m. Denton, Texas, psych rock quartet Pearl Earl plays a show at Maxine’s in Hot Springs, 9 p.m., $5. Tragikly White returns to Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $10. Trumpeter Rodney Block brings “The Get Down” concert, social, party and after-party featuring guests Bijoux Pighee, DJ G-Force and others to Cajun’s Wharf, 9 p.m., $10. Mayday by Midnight performs at Oaklawn’s Silks Bar & Grill through April 1, 10 p.m., free. Taylor Made plays at West End Smokehouse, 10 p.m., $7.

SATURDAY 4/1 The Arkansas Arts Center hosts the Art of Fashion lecture “What Year Is It Again?”

by Bridgette Fedak, Lilly Pulitzer designer, 11 a.m., reception with mimosas and light

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arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

27

TO-DO

LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE, AARON SARLO AND STEPHEN KOCH

MICHAEL WILSON

THE

ROSARYVILLE: Mississippi-born songwriter Kate Campbell has become known for her odes to place, race and religion in the American South, and she performs at Hibernia Irish Tavern 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, $8-$15.

SATURDAY 4/1

KATE CAMPBELL

7:30 p.m. Hibernia Irish Tavern. $8$15.

If you’re lucky enough to have a copy of the very first music issue the Oxford American magazine put out in 1997, you could skip past (or listen through, if you’re smart) Skip James’ “I’m So Glad” and Jim Dickinson’s “Down in Mississippi” to find folk singer Kate Campbell’s “When Panthers Roamed in Arkansas”: “Every afternoon I’d watch ‘Dark Shadows’ on TV / Scared to death that Barnabus would take a bite of me.”

The folk singer has penned meditations on everything from the decline of the steel industry to snake-handling religious zealots to her upbringing at the Hollywood Baptist Church in Sledge, Miss., where her father was pastor. A conservative man who advocated for racial tolerance during the tumult of the civil rights era, Campbell’s father, Jim Henry, opened the church’s doors to Freedom Riders and bused the 10-yearold Kate to an integrated school, as she told The Washington Post in 2004. “My father is very organized, uses a lot of alliteration and works off of titles. ...

I’ve heard so many sermons in my life from my father that I definitely think that on a very subtle level, I compose some of my songs that way.” Campbell’s 18th album, “The K.O.A. Tapes, Vol.1,” features the likes of Spooner Oldham and Missy Raines and was recorded on an iPhone 5 in Campbell’s living room and “at various impromptu locations across America,” as Campbell notes on her website. Her show at Hibernia comes courtesy of the Little Rock Folk Club, which you can check out at littlerockfolkclub.org. SS 28

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

FRESH CATCH: Eureka Springs-based quartet Sad Daddy brings tunes like the pacifist anthem “Worthless Gun” to King’s Live Music 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, $5, and to the White Water Tavern 9 p.m. Saturday, April 1.

SATURDAY 4/1

SAD DADDY

9 p.m. White Water Tavern.

If we’re to believe the lyrics John Sebastian penned for The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Jug Band Music,” a washboard and a guitar chord and “a little do it yourself” are the cure for heat exhaustion and dehydration (and possibly drowning)?

Whether or not any of that holds up in court, it’s hard to argue with the song’s central assertion: Jug band music does indeed tend to “make you feel just fine.” Brian Martin, Melissa Carper, Joe Sundell and Rebecca Patek of Sad Daddy manage to incorporate a jug band cadence and joie de vivre

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even if their instruments involve no kitchen accessories. That’s evidenced by the band’s live shows as well as its 2010 self-titled record, with tunes like “Mama Don’t Cook It” and its latest effort, “Fresh Catch.” The quartet charms with tonguein-cheek lyrics about marijuana and goats, and bassist Carper has a velvety dream of a jazz voice; she makes one wonder how Madeleine Peyroux or Diana Krall might fare alongside a banjo and a fiddle. Bring your dancing shoes, and if you can’t make it to hear “Weed Smoker’s Blues” Saturday evening, catch Sad Daddy Friday night at King’s Live Music in Conway. SS

IN BRIEF

MONDAY 4/3

QC:

Live: 1.875" x 5.25"

CW: CD:

Trim: 2.125" x 5.5" Bleed: none"

AE:

Closing Date: 3.3.17

AD:

Publication: Arkansas Times

PM:

SUNDAY 4/2

GLADYS KNIGHT

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY © 2017 A-B, Bud Light® Beer, St. Louis, MO

The 75-member North Little Rock Community Concert Band plays works by Sousa, Vaughan Williams and Arkansas Composer Laureate W. Francis McBeth in a concert titled “Sound Off,” 3 p.m., Hays Senior Center, free. Atlanta’s Gringo Star joins The Rios at Stickyz, 8 p.m., $5.

8 p.m. Robinson Performance Hall. $40-$65.

“Midnight Train to Georgia” was originally named “Midnight Plane to Houston” which, with apologies to Houston, doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Based on a conversation songwriter Jim Weatherly had on the phone with Farrah Fawcett, the song spent 19 weeks at No. 1 in 1973 and cemented Gladys Knight’s staying power on the Motown scene, thanks to another Weatherly wonder of a ballad, “Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye).” In the video for “Neither One of Us” that aired on Soul Train, the “Empress of Soul” seems a perfectly apt nickname.

Knight wields effortless power in a red, white and blue dress — substituting immovable gravitas for the vocal fanfare favored by contemporaries like Diana Ross, as the three suited Pips coo and strut in unison. The Atlanta native acted and sang in Tyler Perry’s 2009 film “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” and has survived many of her peers (as well as a prickly lawsuit to remove her name from the troubled restaurant chain formerly known as Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles), a longevity she no doubt owes to the fact that she abstained from so many of the

PO:

Fans of free jazz (meaning jazz music shows that can be attended without charge, as opposed to the sub-genre of jazz that is defined by freedom from tonality and rhythmic restrictions) can rejoice, because Jazz in the Park begins its Spring 2017 concert series in just a few days. Which band has the distinction of being able to kick off the season? None other than Little Rock powerhouse jazz ensemble The Funkanites. Sponsored by the River Market and the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jazz in the Park is decidedly family-friendly.

Without a doubt, exposing one’s chil-

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6 p.m. History Pavilion, Riverfront Park. Free.

dren to jazz music is considered to be pitch-perfect parenting, and all the other concertgoers will look favorably upon your skills. I ask you to try to imagine a finer way to spend a balmy Arkansas spring night than by listening to jazz at the History Pavilion, watching the sun set on the Arkansas River. One caveat: Attendees are asked not to bring their own coolers and refreshments. Beverages, koozies and popcorn are available for purchase; proceeds go to Art Porter Music Education Inc. Add it all up: You can listen to sumptuous jazz for free on the banks of the river while drinking tasty beverages, supporting your community and showing off what a remarkable parent you are. Top that, Netflix and Papa John’s. AS

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JAZZ IN THE PARK: THE FUNKANITES

FRIENDSHIP

BY THE BOTTLE.

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WEDNESDAY 4/5

food 10:30 a.m., free to members, $20 to PRINT nonmembers, reserve at arkansasartscenter.org/tickets or call 372-4000. Baritone Ferris Allen, mezzo-soprano Suzanne Loerch, tenor Jonathan Ray and sopranos Victoria Mantooth and Genevieve Fulks perform for an Opera on the Rocks Gala Fundraiser to benefit the opera company’s production of “The Barber of Seville” in May, 6:30 p.m., Junior League of Little Rock Ballroom, 401 Scott St., $75, tickets available at oitr.org. The House of Art launches its HOA Poetry Festival with a party and jam session, 108 E. Fourth St., NLR, 8 p.m., $5-$10. Rev Room hosts its first ever “Go-Go Party” with line dancing accompanied live by funk-informed horns and percussion, 8:30 p.m., $15-$20. The Lucious Spiller Band plays at Kings Live Music in Conway, with an opening set from Amber Wilcox, 8:30 p.m., $5. Jazz and blues siren Genine LaTrice Perez croons at South on Main, 9 p.m., $15.

Charlotte Taylor plays the happy hour set at Cajun’s, followed by Hazy Nation at 9 p.m., $5. Denver producer Bass Physics (known to some as Arja Adair) joins Blunt Force for an EDM show at Stickyz, 9 p.m., $8-$10. The Crumbs take the stage at Four Quarter Bar in Argenta, 10 p.m. Club Sway holds a homage to ballroom culture with “Rhiannon Presents: Glitterball,” 11 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 4/5

A LITTLE KNIGHT MUSIC: The Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, performs hits from her 50-year career at Robinson Center 8 p.m.

Monday, April 3, $40-$65.

excesses to which her life exposed her.

“I have seen it all, to be sure, but rarely participated in it,” Knight said in her 1998 autobiography, “Between Each Line of Pain and Glory.” SS

The William F. Laman Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock, opens the Arkansas Arts Council’s traveling exhibit “Small Works on Paper.” Arkansas State University’s 3rd annual Delta Flix Film and Media Festival kicks off at noon in the school’s Student Union, through April 8, see astate. edu/deltaflix for a full schedule. Military history buffs, take note: The Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies has an extensive collection of Arkansas-related World War I material, much of which will be on display for “Legacies & Lunch” at CALS Main Library’s Darragh Center, noon, free. Hendrix College welcomes Dr. Emilie Townes, dean and Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School for a talk titled “(In)Justice,” 7 p.m., Mills Social Sciences Center, free.

Cirque-inspired horn ensemble Mnozil Brass lands at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, 7 p.m., $15. Tauk jams at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, 8:30 p.m., $12-$15. It’s An Evening with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood at the Rev Room, 9 p.m., $20.

North Little Rock 501-945-8010 Russellville 479-890-2550 Little Rock 501-455-8500 Conway 501-329-5010

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Hey, do this!

OXFORD AMERICAN AND SOUTH ON MAIN presents these excellent shows SIERRA HULL [CONCERT SERIES] APRIL 6, 7:30 PM—SOUTH ON MAIN STAGE ON THURSDAY, APRIL 6 TERENCE BLANCHARD FEATURING THE E-COLLECTIVE [JAZZ SERIES] APRIL 20, 8:00 PM—THE FOURTH AND FINAL SHOW IN OUR 2016-2017 JAZZ SERIES.

MARCH 28-APRIL 29

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ.

This Tony Award nominated and Grammy Award winning tribute to legendary songwriters Leiber and Stoller is a dazzling, song-and-dance celebration with favorite hits including “Hound Dog,” “Stand by Me,” and “On Broadway.” To RSVP, visit www. murrysdp.com.

APRIL

MARCH 29-APRIL 16

JAR THE FLOOR opens at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Four generations of African-American women gather to celebrate their matriarch’s 90th birthday in this fierce and funny comedy. Join the Arkansas Times and Lost 40 for a beer tasting and a pre-show director’s talk at 6:15 p.m. on March 30. For tickets and more info, visit www.therep.org.

APRIL 1

The free and family friendly Springfest takes place on the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock with special guest TROUT FISHING in America and tons of great activities all day long. For a schedule of events, visit www.riverfestarkansas.com. ■ OPERA ON THE ROCKS takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Junior League of Little Rock ballroom at 401 Scott Street. It’s a night of music, food and drink and silent and live auction benefitting Little Rock’s opera company Opera in the Rock. Tickets are available at www.centralarkansastickets.com. ■ Rebel Kettle celebrates its one year anniversary with Beer and Loathing in Little Rock, an all day music and craft beer festival featuring the sounds of MULEHEAD and BROTHER ANDY AND HIS BIG DAMN MOUTH. Admission is free.

Tickets available for the hog roast online at www.rebelkettle.com.

APRIL 14-15, 21-22

THE 16TH ANNUAL OZARK FOOTHILLS FILMFEST brings nationally recognized independent films and their makers to Batesville. The line-up includes films from Belgium, Canada, India, Russia, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and France. There will be 34 films screened, including eight features and 28 Arkansas premieres. For movie trailers and more info, visit www.ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org.

For a “Red-Eye” All Movie pass, visit www. centralarkansastickets.com

APRIL 16

Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church invites all to join in EASTER SUNDAY services. For worship times, visit www.phumc. com or call 501664-3600.

MARCH 30 AND APRIL 6

ANSEL ADAMS: EARLY WORKS is on display at the Arkansas Arts Center. Also showing through April 16 is Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience. For more info, visit www. arkartscenter.org.

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MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

ARORA will host its annual NIGHT AT THE ZOO on Friday, April 7th at the Little Rock Zoo from 5:00 - 8:00 PM. Please RSVP by Friday, March 31st to rsvp@arora. org or (501) 907-9150. ■ Choctaw Casino presents Blues Traveler live at CenterStage in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $39 and available online at www.choctawcasinos.com.

APRIL 18

Rock gods RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS are back on tour and will bring their high energy set to Verizon Arena on April 22. Tickets are $52 and $102 and on sale now via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster. com.

APRIL 29

The annual ARTWORKS fundraiser takes place at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

It’s an evening of visual arts featuring more than 90 Arkansas artists. Silent auction begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the live auction at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50. For tickets visit www.therep.org.

APRIL 8-9

Presented by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, BEETHOVEN AND BLUE JEANS takes place at Robinson Center. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.

For tickets and a full calendar of events this month, visit www. arkansassymphony.org.

UCA Public Appearances presents SLEEPING BEAUTY. This production has a special place in the Russian National Ballet Theatre’s repertoire. With its huge cast, fairytale settings, original choreography of Marius Petipa and the glorious Tchaikovsky score, Sleeping Beauty remains the very essence of classical grandeur and one of the most popular full-length ballets. Show time is 7:30 p.m. For tickets and more info, visit www.uca.edu/publicappearances.

APRIL 22

Ballet Arkansas presents SPRING FANTASIES, a collection of fresh new works, at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday night with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. followed by a 7:30 p.m.

Saturday night performance and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit www. therep.org.

MONSTER JAM 2017 roars into Verizon Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17, $27 and $37 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. The pit party is Saturday, April 29 from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Pit passes are $10.

APRIL 7

COLONIAL WINE AND SPIRITS and the JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LITTLE ROCK have paired up again for an event to inspire your own Easter brunch.

Experts from Colonial will pair wine with recipes from the JLLR cookbook. The free event is from 4-7 p.m.

Cookbooks will be available for purchase.

APRIL 21-23

APRIL 28-29

Blink-182 Verizon Arena presents BLINK-182 live in concert at 7 p.m. Tickets are $29.50, $49.50 and $69.50 and available online at www.ticketmaster.com. ■ Oakland & Fraternal Historic Cemetery Park on Barber Street invites you on a free tour through Little Rock history. This project is sponsored in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage. For more details, visit www.oaklandfraternal.com/events

APRIL 5

APRIL 30

Check out all other events in Central Arkansas and get your ticket at CENTRALARKANSASTICKETS.COM

FUN!

MARCH 31

The Studio Theater at 320 W. 7th Street in downtown Little Rock presents SHAKESPEARE’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-20.

THROUGH APRIL 16

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’ss

VINO’S is a Little Rock establishment for pizza and craft beer. Check out their complete live music schedule at www. vinosbrewpub.com.

APRIL 11

Movies at MacArthur screens THE INVISIBLE WAR at 6:30 p.m. This groundbreaking documentary investigates the rape epidemic in the U.S. military. The event is free. Beverages and popcorn are included.

APRIL 20

TERENCE BLANCHARD featuring the E-Collective performs at South on Main as the fourth and final show in the Oxford American magazine’s 20162017 Jazz Series. Don’t miss this evening of jazz with dinner and drinks available. The show starts at 8 p.m.

For tickets, visit www.southonmain. com. ■ The Studio Theater at 320 W. 7th Street in downtown Little Rock presents THE GRADUATE at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15-20.

APRIL 23

Verizon Arena hosts TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $39.50, $69.50, $99.50 and $129.50 and are available online at www. ticketmaster.com.

The Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency (ARORA) will host FUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION, a free and fun walk and after party from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the Junction Bridge in downtown Little Rock. The event is free. Participants are encouraged to wear blue and green in honor of National Donate Life Month. ■ The Jewish Federation of Arkansas will host the JEWISH FOOD & CULTURAL FESTIVAL from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium. The event is free and will include many traditional Jewish foods as well as Israeli dishes. For more info, visit www.jewisharkansas.org.

MARCH 31-APRIL 29

The bar known for the best burger in town is also a great live music venue. Four Quarter Bar in North Little Rock’s Argenta district has a full calendar of shows, beginning with the BRIAN NAHLEN BAND on March 31; THE CRUMBS on April 1; ELECTRIC RAG BAG on April 7; JUNIOR BROWN with BRAD WILLIAMS and NICK DEVLIN on April 8; ELYSIAN FEEL on April 14; YOUTH PASTOR on April 21; BIG DAM HORNS on April 28 and CLUSTERPLUCK on April 29. For more info and tickets, visit www.fourquarterbar.com.

APRIL 13

Shops, restaurants, museums and galleries are open late for 2ND FRIDAY ART NIGHT in downtown Little Rock. Participating venues include the Old State House, Historic Arkansas Museum, Cox Creative Center, Butler Center and Beige. ■ UA-Pulaski Tech Foundation presents DIAMOND CHEF OF ARKANSAS. 6 PM $150 Signature Cocktails, Wines, Hors D’Oeuvres featuring French, Eastern European, Southern, Confectionary, Wine Pull, Kids Cupcake competition.

Drinks, fun & food competition. Call 501.812.2771

APRIL 21

3RD FRIDAY ARGENTA ART WALK features walkable galleries in North Little Rock’s Argenta district. Take the trolley over the river.

Browse local shops and galleries, and have dinner at one of the many great restaurants in this area. ■ EL PODER DEL NORTE performs live at Choctaw Casino in Pocola, Okla., at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35. Purchase online at www.choctawcasinos.com. ■ Brantley Gilbert performs live at Verizon Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are $34.75 and $39.75 available online at www.ticketmaster.com.

APRIL 26

Legendary rock band BOSTON performs live at Verizon Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $36, $56 and $79 and are available online at www. ticketmaster. com.

APRIL 27-30

The annual ARKANSAS LITERARY FESTIVAL takes place at various venues in downtown Little Rock. THE ARKANSAS TIMES PUB OR PERISH event will take place on Saturday, April 29 at Sticky Fingerz. For a complete schedule of events, visit www. arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

DON’T MISS HOT SPRINGS HAPPENINGS ON PAGE 20

SEPTEMBER 11-27, 2015

ALSO IN THE ARTS

THEATER

“Pirates of Penzance.” Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera by Praeclara and Arkansas Festival Ballet. 7:30 p.m. Fri., 3 p.m. Sun. Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road. $15-$30.

501-821-7275. wildwoodpark.org.

“Bad Seed.” Maxwell Anderson and William March’s thriller. 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2:30 p.m.

Sun., through April 15. The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. 7th St. $12-$16. 501-374-3761.

“Rough Night at the Remo Room.” The Main Thing’s two-act musical comedy. 8 p.m. Fri.Sat., through June 17. The Joint Theater and Coffeehouse, 301 Main St., NLR. $24. 501-3720210.

“Jar the Floor.” Cheryl West’s drama. 7 p.m.

Wed.-Thu. and Sun., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m.

Sun., through April 16. Arkansas Repertory Theater, 601 Main St. $30-$65. 501-378-0405.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shakespearean classic. 7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun., through April 9. The Studio Theater, 320 W. 7th St. $15-$20. 501-374-2615.

“Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” Murry’s Dinner Playhouse presents the Lieber and Stoller tribute.

7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat., dinner at 6 p.m., 12:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Sun., dinner at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. through April 29. 6323 Colonel Glenn Road. $15-$37. 501-562-3131.

“Fancy Nancy: The Musical.” A musical based on Jane O’Connor’s “Fancy Nancy” books. 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., through April 2. Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, 501 E. 9th St. $10-$12.50. 501-372-4000.

“Intimate Apparel.” Lynn Nottage’s drama.

7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun., through April 16. TheaterSquared, 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. $15-$45. 479-443-5600. Theatre2. org.

“Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue.”

A touring production of Bollywood hits. 7 p.m.

April 4. Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. $35-$65. 479443-5600.

“And Then There Were None.” Agatha Christie’s musical thriller. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2:30 p.m. Sun., through April 9. Pocket Community Theater, 170 Ravine St., Hot Springs. $5-$10.

501-623-8585.

FINE ART, HISTORY EXHIBITS MAJOR VENUES ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “What Year Is It Again?” Art of Fashion lecture

by Bridgette Fedak, Lilly Pulitzer designer, 11 a.m. April 1, reception with mimosas and light food 10:30 a.m., free to members, $20 to nonmembers, reserve a seat at arkansasartscenter. org/tickets or call 372-4000; “Ansel Adams: Early Works”; “Herman Maril: The Strong Forms of Our Experience” and “Seeing the Essence: William E. Davis,” photographs, all through April 16; UALR photography class talk on Ansel Adams; 47th annual “Mid-Southern Watercolorists Exhibition,” through April 16.

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

ARTS AND SCIENCE CENTER FOR SOUTHEAST ARKANSAS, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff: “Resilience,” printmaking by Emma Amos, Vivian Browne, Camille Billops, Margaret Burroughs, Elizabeth Catlett, Barbara JonesHogu, Samella Lewis, and Rosalind Jeffries, through July 8; “Bayou Bartholomew: In Focus,” juried photography exhibition, through April 22; “Dinosaurs: Fossils Exposed,” through April 22. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat. 870-536-3375.

ARTS CENTER OF THE OZARKS, 214 Main St., Springdale: “Senior High Art Competition,” work by students in four counties, April

3-14. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sat. 479-751-5441.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Bruce Jackson: Cummins Prison Farm,” photographs, West Gallery, through May 27, “The American Dream Deferred: Japanese American Incarceration in WWII Arkansas,” objects from the internment camps, Concordia Gallery, through June 24. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 320-5790.

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

374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER: “Ladies and Gentlemen … the Beatles!” Records, photographs, tour artifacts, videos, instruments, recording booth for sing-along with Ringo Starr, from the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE, through April 2. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors, retired military and college students, $6 youth 6-17, free to active military and children under 6.

CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way, Bentonville: “Border Cantos: Sight and Sound Explorations from the Mexican-American Border,” collaboration between photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American sculptor and composer Guillermo Galindo, through April 24; “Roy Lichtenstein in Focus,” five large works, through July; American masterworks spanning four centuries in the permanent collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closed Tue. 479-418-5700.

ESSE PURSE MUSEUM & STORE, 1510 S. Main St.: “An Evening of Style,” runway show of designs by Arkansas Fashion School students, 6-8 p.m. April 6, $25; “Reflections: Images and Objects from African American Women, 1891-1987,” through April; “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags,” permanent exhibit. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun. $10, $8 for students, seniors and military. 916-9022.

FORT SMITH REGIONAL ART MUSEUM, 1601 Rogers Ave.: “Heartbreak in Peanuts,” digital photographs of Peanuts comic strips, through April 16; “Liv Fjellsol: Art Says,” representational works on paper accompanied by poems and other writings, through April 2. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 479784-2787.

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY, Arkadelphia: “Nasty Woman,” work by 32 artists exploring the female perspective on contemporary issues, in conjunction with Women’s History Month, through March, Russell Fine Arts Gallery. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 870-2305207.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. 3rd St.: Opening reception for “Paintings by Glenda McCune,” through May 7; “Modern Mythology: Luke Amran Knox and Grace Mikell Ramsey,” mixed media sculpture and paintings, through May 7; “All of Arkansas: Arkansas Made, County by County”; “A Diamond in the Rough: 75 Years of Historic Arkansas Museum.” Ticketed tours of renovated and replicated 19th century structures from original city, guided Monday and Tuesday on the hour, self-guided Wednesday through Sunday, $2.50 adults, $1 under 18, free to 65 and over.

(Galleries free.) 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS MILITARY HISTORY, 503 E. 9th St. (MacArthur Park): “American Posters of World War I,” through March; “Waging Modern Warfare”; “Gen. Wesley Clark”; “Vietnam, America’s Conflict”; “Undaunted Courage, Proven Loy-

(501) 378-0405 | TheRep.org

BEER NIGHT

Come try a sampling before the show!

ARKANSAS ARKANSAS RREPERTORY EPERTORY T H E AT R E THEATRE Sponsored By

Before the start of the show, enjoy a complimentary beer tasting provided by Lost Forty Brewing.

Thursday, March 30, 2017 6-7pm Lobby at The Rep For tickets, call the Box Office at (501) 378-0405 or visit TheRep.org sponsored by

ARKANSAS TIMES

arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

31

ALSO IN THE ARTS, CONT.

centralarkansastickets.com

alty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 9th and Broadway: “Lunch ’n’ Learn” talk by cook Marvin Williams, noon March 31, free; permanent exhibits on African-American entrepreneurship in Arkansas. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Sat. 683-3593.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Magnificent Me,” exhibit on the human body, through April 23. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham St.: “Cabinet of Curiosities: Treasures from the University of Arkansas Museum Collection”; “True Faith, True Light: The Devotional Art of Ed Stilley,” musical instruments, through 2017; “First Families: Mingling of Politics and Culture” permanent exhibit including first ladies’ gowns. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

SOUTH ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, 110 E. 5th St., El Dorado: “Inside and Out,” watercolors and oils by Sandy Bennett, April 1-27, reception 6-8 p.m. April 1. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Fri. 870-862-5474.

TOLTEC MOUNDS STATE PARK, U.S. Hwy. 165, England: Major prehistoric Indian site with visitors’ center and museum. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun., closed Mon. $4 for adults, $3 for ages 6-12, $14 for family. 9619442.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “Student Competitive,” Zina AlShukri juror, through April 30, Gallery I, Fine Arts Building; “Binding Communities: Cuba’s Ediciones Vigia and the Art of the Book and Entrepreneurism,” 71 artists books created by the Cuban publishing house, through April 19, with student presentations 3 p.m. April 6; scholar-led tour 5 p.m. April 12; closing reception with filmmaker Dr. Juanamaria Cordones Cook 4:30 p.m. April 14; and other events, Ottenheimer Library, email esfinzer@ualr.edu for workshop information. 569-8977.

WALTON ARTS CENTER, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville: “The Fabric of Nature,” mixed media by Andrea Packard, through April 24, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery. Noon-2 p.m. daily, one hour before performances in the Arts Center. 479-443-5600.

RETAIL GALLERIES, OTHER EXHIBIT SPACES ARGENTA GALLERY, 413 N. Main St. “Dancers,” paintings by John Gaudin, portion of proceeds from sales goes to Christen Pitts dance program at North Little Rock High School, Argenta ArtWalk. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.Fri., 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. 258-8991.

ARKANSAS CAPITAL CORP., 200 River Market Ave., Suite 400: “Subtle and Bold,” work by Susan Chambers and Sofia Gonzalez, by appointment only. 374-9247.

ARTISTS WORKSHOP GALLERY, 610 Central Ave., Hot Springs: Sheliah Halderman, landscapes and florals; Amaryllis J. Ball, expressionist paintings. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat., noon-6 p.m. Sun. 623-6401.

BOSWELL-MOUROT, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Works by Delita Martin, Elizabeth Weber, Anais Dasse, Kyle Boswell, Jeff Horton, Dennis McCann and Keith Runkle. 664-0030.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8205 Cantrell Road: Reopens with reception 6-8 p.m. March 31 with “The Making of an Artist: Creative Inspirations,” an exhibition of paintings by Jeffery Nodelman. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: “The Watercolor Series of Kuhl Brown,” through March. 375-2342.

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MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

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

Sat. 664-0880.

COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: “Hub Crafted,” works in paint, clay, print, sculpture and digital technology by youth makers from the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 918-3093.

DRAWL GALLERY, 5208 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Work by regional and Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 240-7446.

FAYETTEVILLE UNDERGROUND, 101 W. Mountain St., Suite 222: “A Murder of Crows: The End Hate Collection,” installation by V.L. Cox, reception 5-9 p.m. April 6, show through April 30. 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 5-8 p.m. Thu.-Sat. 479871-2772.

GALLERY 221, 2nd and Center Sts.: “Sleep Studies,” mixed media paintings by Kasten McClellan Searles, through April; work by William McNamara, Tyler Arnold, Amy Edgington, EMILE, Kimberly Kwee, Greg Lahti, Sean LeCrone, Mary Ann Stafford, Cedric Watson, C.B. Williams, Gino Hollander, Siri Hollander and jewelry by Rae Ann Bayless. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 801-0211.

GALLERY 360, 900 S. Rodney Parham Road: Third annual “IceBox,” work by Layet Johnson, Gillian Stewart, Stacy Williams, Matthew Castellano, Sulac, Woozle, Emily Parker, Tea Jackson, Ike Plumlee and Emily Clair Brown.

GALLERY CENTRAL, 800 Central Ave., Hot Springs: Thoroughbred paintings by Bob Snider and Trey McCarley. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 318-4278.

GOOD WEATHER GALLERY, 4400 Edgemere St., NLR: “Wicker and Diapers,” installation by Dylan Spaysky, through April 8. By appointment only. 680-3763.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., North Little Rock: “22nd Anniversary Exhibition,” works by Carroll Cloar, Clementine Hunter, Ida Kohlmeyer, William Dunlap, Charles Harrington, Henri Linton, Robyn Horn, Richard Jolley, Dolores Justus, Sammy Peters, John Harlan Norris, Edward Rice, Kendall Stallings, Glenray Tutor, Donald Roller Wilson and others, through April 8.10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 664-2787.

JUSTUS FINE ART GALLERY, 827 A Central Ave., Hot Springs: “Brotherhood,” paintings

by Jason Sacran and John P. Lasater, receptions 5-9 p.m. April 7, Gallery Walk, and 4-6 p.m. April 28, show through April. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 321-2335.

L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Spring Flowers,” paintings by Louis Beck, through April, giclee giveaway 7 p.m.

April 20. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 660-4006.

LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St., NLR: 2017 “Small Works on Paper,” April 5-28. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 2256257.

LAMAN LIBRARY ARGENTA BRANCH, 420 Main St., NLR: “Delta in Blue,” photographs

by Beverly Buys, through April 13. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat. 687-1061.

LEGACY FINE ART, 804 Central Ave., Hot Springs: Blown glass chandeliers by Ed Pennington, paintings by Carole Katchen. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri. 762-0840.

LOCAL COLOUR GALLERY, 5811 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Artists collective. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.Sat. 265-0422.

M2 GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center, 11525 Cantrell Road: “M2-X,” 10-year anniversary exhibit of works by gallery artists Jason Twiggy Lott, Neal Harrington, Steve Adair, Robin Tucker, Catherine Nugent, Lisa Krannichfeld, Ike Garlington, Matt Coburn, Cathy Burns, V.L. Cox and others. 944-7155.

MATTHEWS FINE ART GALLERY, 909 North St.: Paintings by Pat and Tracee Matthews, glass by James Hayes, jewelry by Christie

Young, knives by Tom Gwenn, kinetic sculpture by Mark White. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat. 831-6200.

MATT McLEOD FINE ART, 108 W. 6th St.: Paintings by McLeod and work in all media

by Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. 725-8508.

MUGS CAFE, 515 Main St., NLR: “Outside the Lines,” graphic work by Nikki Dawes, Kirk Montgomerym, Dusty Higgins and Ron Wolfe, through May. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 3799101.

PALETTE ART LEAGUE GALLERY, 300 Hwy. 62 W, Yellville: Watercolors by Jerry Preater.

870-656-2057.

THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. weekdays. 379-9512.

THE STUDIO THEATER, 320 W. 7th St.: “Shots of the Rock,” photographs of Little Rock and North Little Rock by Dale Ellis. 412-9459.

OTHER MUSEUMS JACKSONVILLE MUSEUM OF MILITARY HISTORY, 100 Veterans Circle, Jacksonville: Exhibits on D-Day; F-105, Vietnam era plane (“The Thud”); the Civil War Battle of Reed’s Bridge, Arkansas Ordnance Plant (AOP) and other military history. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $3 adults; $2 seniors, military; $1 students. 501-241-1943.

MUSEUM OF AUTOMOBILES, Petit Jean Mountain: Permanent exhibitIon of more than 50 cars from 1904-1967 depicting the evolution of the automobile. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days.

501-727-5427.

MUSEUM OF NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY, 202 SW O St., Bentonville: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat. 479-273-2456.

PLANTATION AGRICULTURE MUSEUM, Scott, U.S. Hwy. 165 and state Hwy. 161: Permanent exhibits on historic agriculture. 8 a.m.5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $4 adults, $3 children. 961-1409.

POTTS INN, 25 E. Ash St., Pottsville: Preserved 1850s stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route, with period furnishings, log structures. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sat. $5 adults, $2 students, 5 and under free. 479-9689369.

ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. 2nd St.: “On Fields Far Away: Our Community During the Great War,” through Sept. 23. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479-621-1154.

SCOTT PLANTATION SETTLEMENT, Scott: 1840s log cabin, one-room school house, tenant houses, smokehouse and artifacts on plantation life. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 351-0300. www.scottconnections.org.

CALL FOR ENTRIES The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program of the Department of Arkansas Heritage is accepting entries for the 2017 Arkansas Historic Film Prize, a contest for Arkansas high school students producing short films about historic properties in the state. The contest is sponsored in partnership with the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Educational Television Network’s “Student Selects: A Young Filmmakers Showcase.” Films must be from 5 to 15 minutes long and based on any historic Arkansas properties that are at least 50 years old. Deadline for submissions is March 31. For more information, go to www. aetn.org/studentselects or call Amy Milliken at 324-9786. Films will be shown May 11 at the Ron Robinson Theater.

CENTERSTAGE UPCOMING EVENTS

BLUES TRAVELER APRIL 7

EL PODER DEL NORTE APRIL 21

GIN BLOSSOMS

THREE DOG NIGHT

MAY 6

MAY 26

Tickets available at the Gift Shop, ChoctawCasinos.com, charge by phone . at 800.745.3000 or All shows subject to change without notice.

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2/22/1730,11:01 arktimes.com MARCH 2017 AM33

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

JONES BAR-B-Q DINER of Marianna, the more-than-a-century-old James Beard award winner and a member of the inaugural class of the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame, now has a kissing cousin in Central Arkansas.

Kevin Arnold last week opened Jones BarB-Q Diner at 515 S. James St. in Jacksonville.

The Marianna Jones proprietor, James Jones, who’s been at the pit there since 1964, said it’s a legit connection: Arnold is from Marianna and he spent some time studying under Jones.

Cooking pork shoulder is one thing, but what about the sauce? “That’s between me and him,” Jones said. “The sauce and the slaw.” Those family recipes are closely protected, but Jones said he’d shared them with Arnold along with the agreement to allow him to use the name in Jacksonville.

HEIGHTS CORNER MARKET, in the space occupied by Terry’s Finer Foods since time immemorial at 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd., is open and selling fresh flowers, produce (including locally grown food), meat, seafood, organic bath and body products and organic pet products from Stella’s Barkery.

Proprietor Eric Herget said he opened Friday despite the failure of one of his food trucks to deliver, leaving the shelves not quite full. However, there was fresh fish to sell, so he wanted to get moving. HCM also had Arkansas strawberries, at the ambitious price of $9.99 a pint.

Herget will open a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and “an early dinner” in the north section of the building, where former owner Lex Golden operated a restaurant featuring French cuisine. The new restaurant’s menu is uncertain, a checker said, “but it won’t be French.” Herget originally planned to have a market in that section filled with goods by other sellers.

The little bar on the south side of the restaurant will open when Herget gets his liquor license. The walls are adorned with paintings

by Arden Boyce.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The market also delivers, 663-4152; Herget’s son Ryan, owner of Chef’s Shuttle, is handling that.

FOUR HUNDRED PEOPLE turned out Saturday for the grand opening of Blue Sail Coffee Roasters on the ground floor of the Little Rock Technology Park, 417 Main St. Owner Kyle Tabor said a line had formed by the time the doors opened at 7 a.m. It is the third Blue Sail shop: The first was launched on Main Street in Conway and the second at the University of Central Arkansas. The Little Rock location serves its own pastries as well as items from Honey Pies and Dempsey Bakery.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

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MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

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SESAME-CRUSTED TUNA SALAD: Just looking at it is a treat; it’s delicious, too.

Hail to Forty Two A vote for the Clinton Center’s restaurant.

F

orty Two is the best restaurant we’ve been to in recent memory that requires walking through a metal detector. That it’s tucked away on the bottom floor of the Clinton Presidential Center is at once an asset and a setback. Parking isn’t close, you have to contend with the security needs of a major presidential library, the restaurant is only open for lunch, and you can’t even see it from the front of the building.

But if those things have kept you from going in the past, it’s in your best interest to let go of some of that and give it a shot. It’s a simple and beautiful space, complete with a wonderful view of the Clinton Presidential Center Park Bridge. The staff is friendly.

The atmosphere is sophisticated with-

Follow Eat Arkansas on Twitter: @EatArkansas

out being too stodgy, and the food is solid without being overpriced.

The decor may imbue diners with nostalgia for the good ol’ days, when 42 himself sat in the Oval Office. The walls are lined with blown-up images of the Clintons attending balls and stately dinners. The flattering pictures of our former first lady certainly ask diners to once again ponder what might have been were it not for Russian meddling in the last election.

The only Russian influence you’ll find here is in a turkey Reuben, which we decided against. We did order the 4 Alarm Cheeseburger ($11), a special item on the day we visited. Blackened 1855 dry-aged ground beef with house pickled jalapenos, melted pepper jack cheese and Sriracha aioli all

meld together between an Arkansas Fresh Bakery brioche bun.

This may sound a bit off, but the burger was so well executed it almost seems unremarkable. They make it look easy, is what we’re trying to say.

Under the hood, the fixin’s looked quite a mess: a mix of melty cheese and aioli coating pickled jalapenos.

But the delicious, buttery Arkansas Fresh bun held everything together well. The burger was easy to eat and a pleasure to taste. The meat was well seasoned and cooked to a nice medium temperature. The jalapenos added a warm kick that was soothed by the aioli.

We passed on the complimentary chips and went for the sweet potato fries ($3) instead. They come served with either spicy strawberry jam or wasabi aioli. We asked for both.

The wasabi aioli was exceptional.

It’s a great complement to the sweet potato, and the wasabi gives it that nice nasally oomph that only wasabi or a really strong mustard can give you. The spicy strawberry jam wasn’t very spicy at all and tasted like little more than what you’d put atop toast.

BELLY UP

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

Each slice of the Hideaway Special has a different topping, so it's like eating a delicious Frankenstein.

Yes, we know Frankenstein was actually the name of the doctor.

5103 Warden Road | North Little Rock | HideawayPizza.com

B-SIDE BISTRO BREAKFAST * BRUNCH * LUNCH Eat Local at B-SIDE BIST RO ATTENTION! The 4 Alarm Cheeseburger’s jalapenos add a kick.

On the lighter side, Forty Two offers a variety of salads. We went with the Sesame Crusted Yellowfin Tuna Salad ($15). We’re glad we did.

This is now one of our favorite salads in Little Rock. Sesame-crusted tuna tops a bed of baby kale and arugula, shredded broccoli slaw, chiliroasted edamame, julienned red bell peppers and burnt peanuts. It’s all tossed in candied garlic vinaigrette and drizzled with a bit of Asian chili oil. (Just to look at it is a treat.) The roasted edamame were deliciously spiced and gave the salad some needed heat. The red bell peppers were fresh and sweet. The tuna was given a bit of a sear and served slightly warm with a sesame seed crust. It was delicate, gave way to the teeth very easily and had that wonderful flavor you find in good sushi restaurants. All of the ingredients — down to the lettuce — were high quality.

You shouldn’t pass on dessert. The rose and honey creme brulee ($5) had a flavor that was unexpected and delightful. We’re not sure we’ve ever eaten rose before, but in this recipe it presents a very light, springy, flo-

ral, pleasant taste that marries well with honey and cream. It had the nice burned top you’d expect.

Forty Two left us completely satisfied. The staff recommended excellent dishes. The room itself was airy and bright. And we had an excellent and speedy-enough lunch without breaking the bank. We’d call it presidential if that didn’t sound like an insult these days.

New owners. New menu. Sa me Favorites.

11121 N Rodney Parham (Marketplace Shopping Center) • Little Rock 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tues-Sun. • (501) 716-2700

Forty Two

Clinton Presidential Center 748-0454 dineatfortytwo.com Quick bite The dessert menu varies, but there’s usually a chocolate offering and there’s always a chocolate lover at the table. The chocolate torte ($5) was a hit. It was lovely, dense and fudgy. It came with a dollop of whipped cream and blackberries that help cut the richness a bit.

Hours 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Other info Full bar; the beer menu includes craft beers from Lost Forty Brewing. Credit cards accepted. arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

35

MOVIE REVIEW Share the Road

Share the road For Cyclists

Tips for SAFE cycling on the road.

• Bicycles are vehicles on the road, just like cars and motorcycles. Cyclists must obey all traffic laws. Arkansas Uniform Vehicle Code #27-49-111 • Cyclists must signal, ride on the right side of the road and yield to traffic normally.

Code #27-51-301/403 • Bicycles must have a white headlight and a red tail light visible from 500 feet and have a bell or warning device for pedestrians.

Code #27-36-220 • Make eye contact with motorists. Be visible. Be predictable. Head up, think ahead.

• On the Big Dam Bridge... go slow.

Represent!

• As you pass, say “On your left... thank you.”

• On the River Trail... use a safe speed, don’t intimidate or scare others. Watch for dogs and leashes.

Tips for prEVENTiNG iNjury or dEaTh.

For more information...

Bicycles are vehicles on Bicycle Advocacy of Arkansas www.bacar.org the road, just like cars and League of American Bicyclists motorcycles.

Cyclist should www.bikeleague.org/programs/education Share the Road obey all traffic laws. Arkansas For Cyclists Tips forVehicle SAFE cycling on the road.

Uniform Code #27-49-111

• Bicycles are vehicles on the road, just like cars and motorcycles.

Cyclists must Cyclists should signal, rideobey on all traffic laws. Arkansas Uniform Vehicle Code the right side of the road, and #27-49-111 •yield traffic likeside Cycliststo must signal,normally ride on the right of the road and yield to traffic normally. any other road vehicle.

Code Code #27-51-301/403 •#27-51-301/403 Bicycles must have a white headlight and a red tail light visible from 500 feet and have a bell device for pedestrians.

Giveor 3warning feet of clear space when Code #27-36-220 passing (up to a $1000 fine!)

• Make eye contact with motorists. Be visCodeBe#27-51-311 ible. predictable. Head up, think ahead.

• On the Big Dam Bridge... go slow.

Cyclist by law can not ride on Represent!

•the As you pass, say “On left... thank you.” sidewalk in your some areas, • On the River Trail... use a safe speed, don’t some bikes can only handle Share the Road intimidate or scare others. Watch for dogs and leashes.roads For Cyclists smooth (no cracks, For morecycling information...

Tips for SAFE on the road. potholes, trolley tracks).

Advocacy Arkansas • BicyclesBicycle are vehicles onofthe road, just like www.bacar.org LR Ord.#32-494 cars andLeague motorcycles.

Cyclists must obey of American Bicyclists allwww.bikeleague.org/programs/education traffic laws. Arkansas Uniform Vehicle Code Make eye contact with cyclists. #27-49-111 • Cyclists must signal, ride on the right side Drive predictably. of the road and yield to traffic normally.

Code #27-51-301/403 prevent bikes. and a •Please Bicycles must have aghost white headlight red tail light visible from 500 feet and have a www.ghostbikes.org bell or warning device for pedestrians.

Code #27-36-220 • Makefor information: eye more contact with motorists. Be visible. Be predictable. Head up, think ahead.

Bicycle advocacy of arkansas • On the Big Dam Bridge... go slow.

Represent!www.bacar.org • As you pass, say “On your left... thank you.”

• On the River Trail... use a safe speed, don’t intimidate others. Watch for dogs Leagueorofscare American Bicyclists and leashes.

www.bikeleague.org/ For more information...

Bicycle Advocacy of Arkansas programs/education

www.bacar.org League of American Bicyclists www.bikeleague.org/programs/education

ARKANSAS TIMES

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MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

‘THE MOST HATED WOMAN’: Melissa Leo owns the role of Madalyn Murray O’Hair, whose lawsuit ended official prayer in public schools and is the subject of Netflix’s biopic.

You will believe Blasphemy and devotion in Netflix’s ‘The Most Hated Woman in America.’

BY GUY LANCASTER

I

n the Hindu epic “Ramayana” can be found the story of Guha, the Hunter King, who became enraged when some Shiva worshippers installed a statue of their god in his forest. Every morning, the priests brought flowers and food to their idol, and every evening, Guha gave the statue a good kick. When it rained, the priests would not venture into the woods, but Guha would wade through the flood and give the idol a kick.

And when finally Yama, the God of Death, came for Guha, Shiva intervened and restored the Hunter King to life, as he had shown more devotion to that idol than had Shiva’s own priests.

Sometimes, there is not much daylight between the blasphemer and the believer.

Few people better exemplify this than Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the subject of the Netflix original movie “The Most Hated Woman in America.” Founder of American Atheists and a lawyer whose court case against the Baltimore school system resulted in the Supreme Court’s striking down school-sponsored Bible readings, Murray O’Hair relished in her defiance of convention and public opinion, though she was often given to the same weaknesses as the preachers she derided.

The movie begins with the 1995 kidnapping of Madalyn (Oscar winner Melissa Leo), her son Garth (Michael Chernus) and granddaughter Robin (Juno Temple). The police in Austin, Texas, aren’t too interested in investigating the disappearance of this notorious atheist, especially since her estranged son Bill (Vincent Kartheiser) refuses to fill out a missing persons report, believing the family simply jaunted off to foreign parts without telling anybody. The only one truly worried is Madalyn’s associate, Roy (Brandon Mychal Smith), who gets local reporter Jack Ferguson (Adam Scott) on the case.

As this story moves forward, we flash back through Madalyn’s life, starting with the 1950s, when she is a single mother living with her parents, a trained lawyer who cannot get a job other than secretary in this man’s world. After her successful court case, she finds being in the public eye lucrative and founds American Atheists, but her fame and her overwhelming personality leave her son Bill struggling to create an identity separate from her, and he eventually commits the ultimate betrayal by becoming a conservative Christian. As we come closer to the present, we see the stage slowly being

set for that moment when Madalyn and her family are held at gunpoint in a dingy hotel room, wondering if they will come out alive.

We know how this story ends — after all, those three bodies were famously uncovered in 2001 — but by shifting between past and present so capably, the movie creates tension around the questions of who and why. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, this is a fairly barebones film, and its use of news footage and television appearances would feel like cheap exposition had not Madalyn Murray O’Hair herself been such a public figure. However, what saves this from being just another biopic is Melissa Leo’s performance. She is no impersonator. She owns this role — and her character’s contradictions: the nonconformist who demands obedience, the friend of outcasts who can erupt into homophobic slurs when threatened, the militant atheist who partners with a preacher to raise some cash for themselves. Even the somewhat unconvincing make-up job for young Madalyn can’t detract from Leo’s stunning work throughout.

With recent debates on freethinking often centered around the mostly 1male “New Atheists,” it’s important to remember the woman who paved the way decades earlier — and without the veneer of academic respectability. “The Most Hated Woman in America” recovers some important American history while never flinching from the flaws of its protagonist, all in a tightly crafted package featuring one of the best performances of recent memory.

Donnie Ferneau

Casey Copeland

Scott Rains

Mary Beth Ringgold

A DECADE OF DIAMOND CHEF:

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF FOOD, FUN AND PHILANTHROPY UA

- PULASKI TECH FOUNDATION’S annual Diamond Chef Arkansas will heat up on Thursday, April 13 at 6 p.m. and will celebrate 10 years of fierce culinary competition and fantastic fun, all for the crucial cause of supporting the students and programs of UA – Pulaski Technical College.

The fast-paced culinary competition brings seven of central Arkansas’ finest chefs together to compete for the title of “A Decade of Diamond Chef Champion.” This year’s chefs include Donnie Ferneau, 1836 Club (returning 2016 champion); Casey Copeland, The Avenue; Scott Rains, Table 28; Mary Beth Ringgold, Cajun’s, Capers, Copper Grill; Patrick Buchanan, YaYa’s Euro Bistro; Brandon Douglas, Green Leaf Grill; and Jimmy Carter, Pine Bluff Country Club Catering.

The event will take place at UA – Pulaski Tech’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Institute at 13000 I–30.

“We are honored to be chairing this year’s event as it is the annual signature fundraiser for UA- Pulaski Tech,” said Sharon Tallach Vogelpohl, partner of Mangan Holcomb Partners and Team SI, this year’s co-chair of the event along with her husband Carl Vogelpohl, chief of staff for the Arkansas Attorney General. “UA – Pulaski Tech is one of the state’s greatest assets and their Culinary and Hospitality Management Institute is one of the best in the nation. If you’ve never been, it’s a must-see

Patrick Buchanan

and this event is the perfect time to see and taste what we have here in our own backyard,” Sharon added.

Diamond Chef Arkansas is modeled after the popular Food Network show, Iron Chef America. In the preliminary contest, the six chefs will compete head-to‐head simultaneously in the multi-kitchen Coca‐Cola Competition Lab. Event attendees can observe the chefs through large windows. A panel of judges will grade chefs on creativity, taste and preparation. The two chefs with the highest scores will then move on to compete against last winner’s winner, Donnie Ferneau for bragging rights of A Decade of Diamond Chef champion.

I

n the first rounds, a mystery ingredient will be revealed moments before a each 20‐minute clock begins to count down the final round. In years past, lobster, ostrich eggs and catfish have been unveiled as the secret ingredient.

While the chefs are competing, attendees will enjoy heavy hors d’ oeuvres prepared by UA - Pulaski Tech’s culinary students and faculty. Themed food stations will offer a bit of sweet and a bit of savory. Attendees will enjoy the Foundations of French, the World of Confectioneries, Eastern European, and Southern Cuisine. Beverages and wine parings along with specialty cocktails designed by each chef will be served.

Brandon Douglas

This year will feature a live and silent auction, micro-brewed beer tastings, towel origami contests and the always popular wine pull.

For the first time ever, “Diamond Chef in the Rough” will be presented in the Community Education Room and will host kids ages 10 -17 as they decorate cupcakes throughout the evening to become the first ever, “Diamond Chef in the Rough” Champion. This mini-event is sponsored by Hiland Dairy.

The presenting sponsors for A Decade of Diamond Chef are Arkansas Beef Council, Sysco Arkansas and Mangan Holcomb Partners/Team SI.

For more information and tickets, visit www.pulaskitech.edu/diamondchef.

The UA - Pulaski Technical College Foundation is the official fundraising and private gift-receiving agency for the college.

Chartered as a non-profit organization for educational purposes, the Foundation solicits and receives tax-deductible gifts and manages these gifts and bequests for the benefit of the college. The college’s mission is to provide access to high-quality education that promotes student learning, to enable individuals to develop their fullest potential and to support the economic development of the state.

Jimmy Carter ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

37

ART REVIEW shapes, but the real thing, in which you, from afar, can see an image of yourself in slices, is a different aesthetic altogether.

Not to be a homer, but the work of Little Rock’s own Marjorie WilliamsSmith is a standout. Her metalpoint drawings on black gessoed surfaces whispers where the works of her sisters in nontraditional media shout; her lines are exquisite. In “Face the Sun,” she renders a patch of sunflowers in goldpoint and silverpoint: Yellow petals in various shades of light and dark emerge from a

dark background of stems. It’s an astonishing piece of work, as is another small silverpoint of a single dried coneflower, petals facing down.

Butler, Beasley and Williams-Smith will be at a reception for the show from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, March 31, and there will be a panel discussion about the show at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1.

Thomas, Blades and Williams-Smith will attend a reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 19; a panel discussion will follow at 2 p.m. May 20, when “Beyond Magic” will close.

‘FACE THE SUN’: A goldpoint drawing by Marjorie Williams-Smith.

Black magic Women’s work in wire, metalpoint, fabric, glass, cut paper at Hearne.

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

H

ot colors and sharp edges make for memorable viewing at Hearne Fine Art’s new exhibition, “Beyond Magic,” work by five African-American women artists working in a variety of mediums. I point out the ethnicity both because of the subtitle of the exhibition — “Black Women Artists Master Non Traditional Media” — and the vivid palette of oranges, purples and reds that finds its way into art by many African-American artists.

The fieriest colors come from the stitched images by New Jersey artist Bisa Butler, who renders Josephine Baker in quilted and appliqued cotton, silk and netting sequins in “Paris is Burning,” and who uses strips of tulle and pieced fabric to create a plaid in her stitched portrait “Benin Beautiful.”

The particolored pieces are riotous and joyful. She can do subdued, though, too: See the blue of her stitched portraits in denim portraits.

Californian Phoebe Beasley, a nationally known artist whose collage work has been compared to the paintings of Jacob Lawrence, uses angular shapes and objects in her sometimes sweet, sometimes sad work. The latter is expressed in “A Gathering of Stars and Stripes,” in which a family

38

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

is posed graveside; a dog tag and medal are affixed to the painting in a box atop the coffin. The strength of Beasley’s “Simple Pleasures” is its composition: Two women sit together on a couch having tea; a flat Christmas tree is in the foreground. Beasley says there’s “a presence of a spirit” in her work.

The painted wire mesh sculpture of Philadelphian Anyta Thomas is more fun than profound: Her people dance, play instruments, exult and, in larger pieces, make love. Thomas gives a softness to wire; opposite her work in the gallery and opposite in experience are compositions in shards of glass by the aptly named Atlanta artist Lillian Blades. Blades stripes her surfaces with slices of mirror and other objects in shared palettes. Found objects — frames and buttons and painted glass and magazine cutouts in sizzling oranges and reds — give way to a horizon of unpainted glass and a paler palette in her composition “Hue Doo.” The broken glass in Blades’ work makes the viewer uncomfortable, which is a good thing.

Some of the objects she’s pasted to her work are cheap trinkets, which, in this case, is a bad thing. Two-dimensional images of Blades’ work are reminiscent of Klimt, thanks to all the rectangular

Join us for the 27th Annual Gala Carousel Ball!

SPONSORED BY GFWC NORTH LITTLE ROCK WOMAN’S CLUB SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017 PATRICK HENRY HAYS CENTER, 401 WEST PERSHING BLVD., NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR Dinner Dancing Entertainment Live & Silent Auction 6pm Cash Bar • 7pm Dinner Served • 8pm Live Auction by The Saugey’s Master of Ceremonies: Mr. John Owens, President NLR Chamber of Commerce Music by The Tommy Henderson Band RSVP BY APRIL 3, 2017 Black tie Optional $50 per person ($25 tax deductible) • Call (501) 772-0768 to purchase tickets Proceeds to benefit North Little Rock.

ADMINISTRATIVE & FINANCE DIRECTOR Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a non-profit advocacy organization in Little Rock, seeks an Administrative & Finance Director. Hours are 30 hours a week with benefits. Bachelor’s degree with experience in daily operations of a nonprofit including book-keeping and database management. EOE. Send cover letter, resume, and references to: dclark@aradvocates.org

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PASTURED OLD BREED PORK Our hogs are a cross between Large Black and Berkshire, old 19th century breeds. They are raised on our pasture and forage in the forest that adjoins our fields. They are never confined like industrial hogs. We do not use any kind of routine antibiotics. Our hogs live ARKANSAS GRASS were FED LAMB like they meant to.

PRICE LIST FRESH RAW HAM $7 lb.

PORK LOIN $8 lb

HAM BREAKFAST STEAKS $7 lb

BREAKFAST SAUSAGE $9 lb

We offer first quality one-year-old lamb raised on our farm in North Pulaski County. Our meat is free of steroids or any other chemicals. The only time we use antibiotics is if the animal has been injured which is extremely rare. All meat is USDA inspected.

PORK BRATWURST $10 One pound package

You can pick up your meat at our farm off Hwy 107 in North Pulaski County (about 25 miles north of downtown Little Rock) or we can meet you in downtown Little Rock weekdays.

All meat is aged and then frozen.

PORK STEAKS $10 lb PRICE LIST: RIB ROAST TESTICLES contains about eight ribs (lamb chops) $17 lb.

$10 lb

WHOLE LEG OF LAMBPORK BUTTS TANNED SHEEPSKINS, $10 lb SHOULDER (about 4 to 5 lbs) $12 lb.

(bone in, cook this slow, like a pot roast. Meat falls off the bone). $11 lb.

HEARTS, LIVERS, KIDNEYS, $5 lb

$100-$150

(Our sheepskins are tanned in a Quaker Town, Pa. tannery that has specialized in sheepskins for generations.)

PORK TENDERLOIN BONELESS LOIN $12 lb TENDERLOIN $8 lb

$20 lb

LAMB BRATWURST LINK SAUSAGE

(one-lb package) $10 lb

NECKBONES

(for stew or soup) $5 lb

SPARE RIBS $9 lb BABYBACK RIBS $12 lb

India Blue F a r m

12407 Davis Ranch Rd. | Cabot, AR 72023 Call Kaytee Wright 501-607-3100 alan@arktimes.com

12407 Davis Ranch Rd. | Cabot, AR 72023 Call Kaytee Wright 501-607-3100 alan@arktimes.com

ARKANSAS TIMES MARKETPLACE LAWN CARE WORKERS needed in Little Rock. Salary based on experience. For more information call Ricky at 501-590-3051 or 501-297-4484

sip LOCAL ARKANSAS TIMES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

PANAMERICAN CONSULTING, INC. Interpretation and Written Translations (Spanish – Portuguese - French) Latino Cultural and Linguistic Training

MICHEL LEIDERMANN, President (Minority Business - AR State Vendor) mleidermann@gmail.com • Mobile: (501) 993-3572

Transforming Life Academy will hold a public hearing on its intended application to start an open enrollment public charter school to commence the 2018 academic year in the South End Community of Little Rock. All interested parties are encouraged to attend on April 24, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at The Willie Hinton Center, 3805 W. 12th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas

In The Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas Hon. Richard N. Moore, Jr. – 15th Division 6th Circuit 60DR-12-5989 OCSE/State of Arkansas V Eric Wilson Shamone Benson

WARNING ORDER YOU ARE WARNED TO APPEAR IN this court within thirty days to answer the complaint of the defendant.

Failure to answer within 30 days could result in judgment against assignor.

Date: 23-MAR-2017

By Maxwell Anderson Based on the novel by William March March 31 April 1, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 2017 Directed by Tommie Tinker For more information contact us at 501.374.3761 or www. weekendtheater.org

Eric Wilson 5001 W 65th St, Apt. C103 Little Rock, AR 72209 Larry Crane, Circuit Clerk

1001 W. 7th St. Little Rock, AR 72201 arktimes.com MARCH 30, 2017

39

THURSDAY

Benefiting

MAY 4 | 6-9pm

Argenta Arts District

presents

Available for purchase

river market pavilionS

Food Available for Purchase from

Join the fun as Don Julio, the world’s first ultra-premium tequila, presents •

Thursday, May 4 at the Little Rock River Market for the first annual Margarita Festival

•

It’s a salute to the perfection of a great margarita

•

Sample takes on the classic cocktail from the city’s best bartenders and VOTE for your favorites and crown one margarita best of the fest

Partner Sponsor 40

MARCH 30, 2017

ARKANSAS TIMES

Competing Bars & Restaurants Agave Grill Big Whiskey Bleu Monkey Boulevard Bistro Cache Restaurant Cajun’s Wharf Copper Grill Ernie Biggs Loca Luna O’Looney’s & Loblolly The Pizzeria Revolution Taco and Tequila Bar Samantha’s Taco Mama Trio’s

Photobooth Sponsor

Wristband Sponsor

Loca Luna Taco Mama

Latin Salsa tunes & Jimmy Buffett standards from Club 27 Little Rock Salsa

TICKETS Current Ticket Price: $30 Ticket price includes 15 three-ounce Margarita Samples. Frio Beer For Sale.

centralarkansastickets.com

Tickets are limited. Purchase early.

Club 27

Music Sponsor

AN ES ARKANSAS TIM EVENT