A&E Feature
Fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss raises millions for Heifer
To-Do List
Tom Keifer at Revolution
Arkansas Blog
Transportation
Jarod Varner picked to lead Central Arkansas Transit
Jarod Varner, who's been vice president of transit operations for the Denton County (Texas) Transportation Authority, where he's worked since 2005, has been selected to be the executive director of the Central Arkansas Transit Authority. He succeeds the retiring Betty Wineland.
Varner has a bachelor's degree from Harding University and a master's from the University of North Texas in public administration.
Abortion
Appeals court strikes down 20-week abortion ban
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the Arizona law that put a ban on abortions beginning with the 20th week of pregnancy.
This good news for abortion rights generally, though not necessarily in Arkansas since we are in a different judicial circuit. But it should give some ammunition to fire at the new Arkansas ban on abortions at 20 weeks, a law that takes effect this summer. Legal action is being planned on that Arkansas law, but it presents more difficulties than the 12-week ban, recently enjoined by federal Judge Susan Webber Wright.
Very few abortions are performed in Arkansas at 20 weeks or later (50 in 2011 according to state statistics) and they are not routinely provided by the centers that provide most of the abortions in the state, many of them medicine-induced abortions at the early stage of pregnancy. So the abortion providers who are plaintiffs in the 12-week suit aren't readily suited to be plaintiffs in the 20-week case, Most likely, a Jane Doe will be necessary and time will be critical, particularly to the woman, since abortions provided late in pregnancy are invariably prompted by a serious medical condition of the woman or the fetus.
Arizona tried to use the same defense for its 20-week law that anti-abortionists cooked up in Arkansas for the 12-week ban. Because the law allows some exceptions, it didn't amount to a total ban. But the 9th Circuit rejected that reasoning, saying the law still banned many abortions before viability, or the time the fetus could live outside the womb.
Police beat
Two shot at Verizon Arena this morning
Officers with North Little Rock police responded to a call about a shooting at Verizon Arena this morning around 11 a.m. and found two people shot.
A female student from Little Rock's Parkview High School was one of two people wounded in what a Little Rock School District official told KTHV is a "domestic situation." The suspect in the case, a male who is not a student at Parkview, was also shot, and is in serious condition. The relationship between the suspect and the female victim — and how both wound up wounded — hasn't been released.
Parkview had just completed practice for their graduation ceremony at the time of the shooting. Parkview's graduation is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. tonight at Verizon, and will apparently go on as planned. We're trying to reach a NLR police spokesman for more information, and will post if anything else becomes available.
Rock Candy
Music Videos
Johnny Cash mashed with Jackson 5, Steve Miller
Here's what you get when you combine "Rockin' Robin" with "Folsom Prison Blues" and "The Joker." What say you — abomination or finger-snapping good time?
The mash comes courtesy of DJ Faroff.
H/T: egotripland
LRFF
Little Rock Film Festival 2013 award winners
I'll have more on my impressions on this year's festival tomorrow. In the meantime, here are this year's prize winners.
Oxford American Best Southern Film Award ($10,000 prize money): "Bayou Maharajah"
Heifer International Social Impact Film Award ($10,000 prize money): "These Birds Walk"
Golden Rock Narrative Film: "Short Term 12"
Golden Rock Documentary Film: "Dirty Wars"
Extraordinary Courage in Filmmaking: Jeremy Scahill ("Dirty Wars")
Arkansas Times Audience Award: "Bridegroom"
Made in Arkansas Best Feature: "45 RPM"
Made in Arkansas Best Short: "The Discontentment of Ed Telfair"
Made in Arkansas Best Director: Mark Thiedeman for "Last Summer"
Made in Arkansas Best Actor: Liza Burns in "45 RPM"
World Shorts: "When We Lived in Miami"
A previous version of this post incorrectly listed the World Shorts winner as "When We Live in Miami."
Arktube
Video blogger Joseph Birdsong teaches you about Arkansas
Arkansas is full of talented people, and we ran across yet another one of them last night: the thoroughly-hilarious writer and video blogger Joseph Birdsong. In the video seen above, Birdsong, who was born in Arkansas, schools out-of-staters on some skewed facts about the Natural State, including: "People in Arkansas are born with the ability to recognize 30 different kinds of roadkill based on scent alone," and "The first gay person to ever come to Arkansas was George Takei, and that was because he was forced here to live in an Arkansas Japanese internment camp during World War II." Just remember, he's laughing WITH us, not AT us. Okay, he's laughing AT us as well, but a great sense of humor covers a multitude of sins.
If you're looking for a good laugh, you can check out almost 200 of Birdsong's quirky videos on his Youtube site, cupofjoeshow.com. He's also got a site where he blogs, a very funny Twitter account. and a video blog for My Damn Channel's Answerly page where he talks about sex and relationships.
Cover Story
A guide to the 2013 Little Rock Film Festival
Event Calendar
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Re: Shoffner watch: She won't be in today
Interesting the investments staff make more than shoffner. rogers- 99k, sanson- 76k, goodner- 83k, johnson…
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on May 21, 2013
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Re: NLR woman dies after fiance sets her on fire
Would one automatically become an ex-fiancé or former fiancé at the point of setting the…
- on May 21, 2013
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Re: Airport audit brought to board
Chronic incompetency revealed in airport audit this month. Next month commission will tell us what…
- on May 21, 2013
Arkansas Reporter
Efficiency program from Entergy Arkansas could save you money
Editorials
Listen, UA
Slideshows
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What's there, what's coming.
Fox16 Local News and Weather
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LRSD Interim Superintendent Sends Letter to Parents about Severe Weather Protocol
May 21, 2013Reminds everyone school administrators and staff are trained to move all students to a designated safe area. fox16.com /more/ -
Update:NLRPD Responding to Shooting Near Verizon Arena
May 21, 2013Police in North Little Rock are responding to a shooting near Verizon Arena. fox16.com /more/
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