Friday, October 5, 2012
Another week done
Posted by Max Brantley on Fri, Oct 5, 2012 at 4:15 PM
The Friday night line commences. Finishing up:
* ON THE FARM: Democrat Scott Ellington goes after agricultural issues, one of Republican Rep. Rick Crawford's several failings, in a new ad posted on YouTube above.
* UCA AGREEMENT WITH OXFORD AMERICAN: The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees will meet next Friday and items include a memorandum of understanding with Oxford American, the magazine that has gotten some $50,000 annually in university support, as well as $690,000 in loans and office space to locate there. I received a draft of the proposed memorandum today through an FOI request to the university. The agreement would continue office space, $50,000 in annual expense payments. OA would provide two pages of UCA advertising in each issue of the magazine, guarantee at least two intern slots on the magazine each semester, create an editorial board including two UCA faculty members, work with UCA on joint writing projects, have an event on campus each year to promote OA and UCA. The magazine agrees to pay back the loans, at least half within five years (a commitment board member Rick Massey had made previously.) Oxford American Publisher Warwick Sabin was traveling today and I haven't been able to talk to him except by brief e-mail, but this five-year agreement, if approved by the UCA Board, would appear to continue the association with UCA. The magazine has business offices in Little Rock and ambitious plans to use its headquarters on Main Street for dining and events as well as offices. A UCA spokesman said the proposal, as a draft, could be changed before Friday.
* BILLION DOLLAR TEASE: Talk Business reports hints of a potential $1 billion economic development prospect in Northwest Arkansas.
* ANOTHER JUDICIAL VACANCY: I mentioned this morning Judge Susan Webber Carter's plan to take senior status, a form of retirement, next year. A reliable source says that though his name doesn't appear yet on an official list, many lawyers expect federal Judge Jimm Hendren also to move to senior status before long. That would provide another seat to fill by Senator Mark Pryor or Senator Dr. No Boozman, depending on November. Hendren, 72, is also a George H.W. Bush appointee.
* DIANNE CURRY DRAWS LATINO SUPPORT: A backer of Dianne Curry, the incumbent school board currently in a runoff for her seat with , forwards me a letter from Terry Trevino-Richard that says he and his wife Rocio are supporting Curry personally in her race, though the nonprofit group he heads, the League of United Latin American Citizens, doesn't make political endorsements. Trevino-Richard, who teaches at UALR, is the author of a study in recent controversy in the school district about complaints of mistreatment of Latino students by blacks and insufficient response by school officials.
- Paramount
- 'TRUE GRIT': Charles Portis with John Wayne at filming of movie based on his novel.
* PORTIS BOOK REVIEWED IN NY TIMES: "Escape Velocity," the selection of Charles Portis' shorter works edited by Jay Jennings, is reviewed in this Sunday's Times Book Review. Reviewer Carlo Rotella is clearly a fan, but he probably does other fans "jonesing for that sixth novel" no service by floating rumors one might be in the works. That prospect seems remote. Rotella says the collection stands well on its own, but also as a key to explaining his novels. His work as a journalist is illuminating, too, he said.
It’s a little startling, at first, to see the grand dragon, Bull Connor and Dick Gregory, among others, sketched as Portis characters in his journalism. But you begin to see how they share with his narrating persona and his fictional creations a heightened sense of self and mission, an urge to assert themselves in the world, an awareness of the grand sweep of history on the one hand and the ever-present threat of ridiculousness on the other.
Speaking of...
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Open Line
June 15, 2013*PROJECT LOON: Internet-beaming, giant helium balloons: Google's plan to get the entire planet online. *DARR FOR THE COURSE: Our current lieutenant governor joins candidate Dianne Curry (that's two n's) in condemning John Burkhalter for not attending the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival. /more/
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UPDATED Ross and Burkhalter endorse each other
June 15, 2013Democratic candidate for governor Mike Ross and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor John Burkhalter will make a joint announcement at 4 p.m. "about the future of Arkansas." /more/
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The Republican war on food stamps
May 31, 2013I mentioned yesterday that a conservative group was targeting Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford for, among other things, not going along with the Republican Party's war on food stamps. /more/
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Iris DeMent to Oxford American's South on Main
May 30, 2013Iris DeMent will perform at South on Main Aug. 24. /more/
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The right attacks U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford with radio ads
May 30, 2013Could there be a challenge from the right flank in the Republican primary for U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro? /more/
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OA's SoLost goes behind-the-scenes of 'Mud'
May 16, 2013The latest from the Oxford American's SoLost series is from footage series director Dave Anderson got last year during the shoot for Jeff Nichols' "Mud" in south Arkansas. /more/
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Thursday To-Do: Nathaniel Rich
May 15, 2013Nathaniel Rich will read at the Oxford American's South on Main Thursday. /more/
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A Blue Ridge morning — politics, pay raises, crime
May 11, 2013Greetings from Charlottesville, Va. I'm just down the street from Mr. Jefferson's university and heading to Monticello later this morning. /more/
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Local food network, Matt Bell to team up for event
April 29, 2013At South on Main. /more/
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Oxford American's SoLost receives NEA grant
April 25, 2013Oxford American's National Magazine Award-winning video series, SoLost, has received a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, the magazine announced today. Above, check out the latest from the series, featuring famed Little Rock architecture photograph Tim Hursley rhapsodizing about a broken-down silo in Hale County, Ala. /more/
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Tom Cotton burnishes his warhawk image
"Media sweetheart" is how this piece in Politico puts it and they should know, having been pumping U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Club for Growth) since forever.
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State Police: No criminal probe in social media comments
A slow weekend was enlivened by 1) a Benton County Republican's advocacy, in a letter posted on Facebook, of using guns to make a point with legislators who voted for Obamacare and 2) a comment on Twitter by someone else about a desire to shoot House Speaker Davy Carter.
- Apr 22, 2013
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