Dining Review
Slide into Slim Chickens
Dining Search
A&E Feature
Stickyz Stage moves to the east side
To-Do List
Mary Gauthier at White Water Tavern
Movie Reviews
Little Rock Film Festival's downtown debut a success
Arkansas Blog
Law
Who needs tort reform? Arkansas matches Texas already
If you can't truth the American Legislative Exchange Council, who can you trust, particularly when the subject is what's good for business?
ALEC is the Koch- and big business-funded lobby that cranks out cookie cutter state legislation to advance the interests of big business. It functions as an ideological bureau of legislative research for Arkansas Republican lawmakers.
ALEC produces rankings of the states on economic performance and outlook.
Here's the latest report on Arkansas. We're fair-to-middling. Ranked at 22 on performance, an improvement from 25 a year ago. The Republican majority legislature didn't do all it could do, unfortunately, to prepare Arkanas for the future. After having a top quintile ranking (11 to 13) in economic outlook for the last five years under Democratic control, Arkansas plummeted to 24 this year based on 15 variables. Drawbacks include too many public employees and too big a sales tax burden by ALEC's standards, not to mention an income tax system that lacks progressivity and has too high a top marginal rate (the chart doesn't reflect a small coming cut in the top rate.)
Texas is No. 1 in performance and No. 12 in outlook.
So what's the point? Check out one of the key variables in the comparisons — State Liability System Survey. This is "tort litigation treatment, judicial impartiality, etc." If you follow this issue, you know that Texas is viewed as a wasteland for trial lawyers. Republicans have taken over the bench there and the legislature has done all it can to make it hard to sue corporations for damages in Texas. To hear the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce tell it, runaway judges and juries in Arkansas are a threat to economic survival. Thus it may try to amend the Constitution to be more like Texas and also to campaign to stock the appellate bench in Arkansas with business-friendlier judges.
So how do Arkansas and Texas compare on this vital tort ranking? It's a dead heat. Both states score 35 with ALEC.
As good (or bad) as Texas? What's not to like? Who needs an amendment?
Education
Federal spending cuts to cost Arkansas $18.5 million in education money
The federal sequestration spending cuts that took effect March 1 will cost Arkansas $18.5 million in 2013, says a release from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
A bit more than half the money will be cut from Title I programs for disadvantaged students. Early childhood education such as Head Start also has taken a hit.
More details follow.
Guns
University of Arkansas Board votes to keep guns off campuses
Flash from David Goins at Fox 16:
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees voted to opt out of Republican Rep. Charlie Collins' new law to allow college and university staff to carry concealed weapons on campus. The vote was unanimous and applies to all 11 UA campuses. Evie Blad of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette tweeted that campus leaders at the meeting applauded the vote.
Awaiting word on Arkansas State University Board today on same issue.
Rock Candy
Music / Coming soon
ZZ Top to Fayetteville
Get out your cheap sunglasses, 'cause "that little ol' band from Texas" is headed to Fayetteville's Arkansas Music Pavilion for an Oct. 4 concert. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 30 and they're gonna run you $37-$102. Here's where to go to get 'em. Or you could call 479-443-5600.
The 'Top recently got the Rick Rubin treatment with last year's "La Futura," a gettin'-back-to-their-roots collection with real drums and a gritty, mean guitar tone.
After the jump, one of my favorite ZZ Top tunes, from 1973's "Tres Hombres." No, not "La Grange" (though that one is totally the jam).
What's going on
Friday: American Guild of Organists benefit recital, Wes Jeans at Denton's and more
If you're looking for something not quite so Riverest-y to do Friday night, The American Guild of Organists presents a recital to benefit the Pediatric Injury Prevention Program at Arkansas Children's Hospital, Christ Episcopal Church, 8 p.m., free, donations accepted.
Texas-based blues-blaster Wes Jeans brings the 12-bar tube-amp jams to Denton's Trotline, 9 p.m., $10.
The Sideshow Tragedy and Damn Arkansan offer an evening of Americana/roots rock at Maxine's, 8 p.m., $5 adv., $7 door.
Up in Fayetteville, A Concert for Campers has performances by John Henry & Friends, Brick Fields, Houston Hughes, Dividend and Joey Largent, with proceeds helping to send children to Camp Quest Oklahoma, Nightbird Books, 7 p.m., donations accepted.
If you want to keep the good times going after things wind down at Riverfest, check out Lawler and Ewell's 5th Annual Bday Bash with Raydar and Shaolin, Joe C, Noodles and JDawg, Revolution, 9 p.m., $5 adv., $10 day of.
The Center for Artistic Revolution's Rainbow Camp is a sure bet for LGBTQ and ally youth, Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center, Friday-Monday. More info here.
What's going on / Music
Friday To-Do: Mad Nomad
MAD NOMAD
9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.
Mad Nomad is one of the newer entries on the Little Rock musicscape, having formed in September. But they're not exactly taking the leisurely route, having already finished up their first full-length, the nine-song "Black Out," available at this album-release show.
The group plays an amped-up sort of indie rock that's informed by the classics (Replacements, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr.) and unabashedly guitar-centric. They remind me a bit of the Springsteen-gone-punk sounds of Against Me! circa "New Wave." Most of the tunes are of the fist-pumping, triumphant sort, but they slow down the pace a bit on the Southern-rock-riffing "Me Tarzan, You Jane" and they break out the acoustic guitars on the wistful "When You Were Here."
The band includes Joe Holland, Jacob Mahan, Jesse Bell, Adam Hogg and Chris Honea. Hogg's piano playing adds some nice texture to the guitar squall. The album, good on its own merits for sure, is also a promising indicator of things to come. Good-time party-rockers Booyah! Dad and The Bootheel of Springfield, Mo., will open the show.
Event Calendar
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Re: Tom Cotton's attack on the Constitution
ozarkrazo - I'm questioning whether there are any domestic constitutional ramifications to Cotton's amendment. Instead,…
- on May 23, 2013
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Re: Tom Cotton's attack on the Constitution
I'm not disagreeing with anything most of you are saying about Tom. I pretty much…
- on May 23, 2013
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Re: University of Arkansas Board votes to keep guns off campuses
OK. Show of hands. How many universities/colleges have opted in on the concealed carry? Anybody?
- on May 23, 2013
Arkansas Reporter
Clinton School partners with school to heal Uganda's wounds
Editorials
Misquoted
Slideshows
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What's there, what's coming.
Fox16 Local News and Weather
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UA Board of Trustees: No Guns on Campus
May 23, 2013Panel meeting in Stuttgart votes to opt out of concealed guns on campus for faculty/staff.. fox16.com /more/ -
Summer Air Travel Reminders
May 23, 2013“By planning ahead and knowing your rights, you can avoid a lot of hassle.” fox16.com /more/
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