Arkansas Times

Clinton man's death puts spotlight on EMT woes

The death of former City Attorney Brett Blakney of Clinton May 4 for lack of transportation to a major trauma center played out against a history of legal battles in Clinton and Van Buren County over ambulance service.

• by Leslie Newell Peacock
• Tags: Arkansas Reporter, Brett Blakney, Roger Rorie, Southern Paramedic, Vital Link, James Graham

Ask the Times: What's the deal with personalized license plates?

I was at the state revenue office in Springdale getting a driver-license renewal. I saw a framed poster on the wall promoting the sale of the "Choose Life" license plate. There was only one other such poster on the wall in the entire place, one promoting the sale of so-called wildlife plates that benefit the Game and Fish Commission and the hunting industry.

Cuffed

Occupy Little Rock spokesman Greg Deckelman was arrested along with three others last Wednesday when they refused to leave the parking lot at Fourth and Ferry Streets that had been home to the Occupy Little Rock camp before their camping permit from the city had expired. Deckelman has said he'll file a civil rights lawsuit.

• by Brian Chilson

The fall of Fourth and Ferry

The Observer headed out to the Occupy Little Rock camp at Fourth and Ferry last Thursday for the last time. It was the deadline, the last day, the Big Adios.

• Tags: The Observer, Occupy Little Rock

Thanks

What can we say about your 20 impressive years? You have defied the odds, and kept a much-needed balance of news, business and social reporting alive in our beloved state.

Good week for a big screen

Also a good week for a smear campaign. It was a bad week for Jermain Taylor, Circuit Judge Sam Pope and the Arkansas Times.

Hit and run

Hours before primary election day, an e-mail began circulating in the business community with an attached flyer urging people not to sign petitions for an initiated act to strengthen Arkansas ethics law.

Big times at Riverfest

The 2012 edition gets rolling Friday.

• by Robert Bell
• Tags: Cover Stories, Riverfest, Snoop Dogg, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Walsh, Neon Trees, B.o.B., Boyz II Men, Staind, Chevelle, MuteMath, Third Eye Blind, Little Big Town, The Cadillac Black

Riverfest schedule

From Schoolboy Humor to Snoop Dogg.

Dumas: Romney may rue Bush involvement

You can appreciate Mitt Romney's dilemma. The economy is supposed to be the win-or-lose issue in the presidential election, and your advantage is that voters tend to forget fairly soon how the bad times started and instead blame the man who inherited them. But how do you avoid triggering inconvenient memories?

• by Ernest Dumas

A sit-in to re-Occupy LR

Robert Johnston, the former state legislator and Public Service Commission member and full-time advocate for peace, the homeless and pedestrian safety, among other causes, has an idea.

• by Max Brantley
• Tags: Max Brantley, Robert Johnston, Occupy Little Rock

Liberty attacked

"Rick Santorum has now said openly that he doesn't believe in the separation of church and state. He doesn't believe, in other words, that Americans should have the freedom to pick their own religion or to have no religion at all, and as president, he'll try to put a stop to it, the hell with the First Amendment."

A strange Peace

"A pregnant woman was killed by her husband and her unborn child was life-flighted to a Little Rock hospital Tuesday, Fort Smith police said."

• by Doug Smith

Don't worry. Be happy.

Oh, yeah, the big crash is coming. And don't doubt when we go down, insufferably vain species that we are, we'll take the creation with us.

• by Bob Lancaster

Corporations cry foul

Corporations are people too, and people get their feelings hurt. What's more, the richer they are these days, the more sensitive they seem to be. It's reminiscent of that Hans Christian Anderson story of the "Princess and the Pea." You know, where the tender young virgin is so delicate that a single pea hidden under seven feather mattresses keeps her awake all night. That's how the prince satisfies himself that she's a real aristocrat.

• by Gene Lyons
• Tags: Gene Lyons, Cory Booker, Mitt Romney

Riverfest roundup

Lots of great local music at this year's Riverfest.

• by Robert Bell

'The Dixie Swim Club' to Murry's

Also, Cedric Burnside to White Water Tavern.

'The Dictator': a bad movie worth seeing

Sacha Baron Cohen's latest explores well-trod territory.

• by Sam Eifling

Down at Juanita's

Also Ty Segall and White Fence at White Water, Epiphany at Revolution, Diggy Simmons at Barton, The Holy Shakes at Maxine's, Flow Rider at Magic Springs and the Little Rock Film Festival Opening Night at Argenta Community Arts.

• by Robert Bell and Lindsey Millar

Something Better

Fresh take on old standards.

Aspiring to be a one percenter

• by Tommy Durham

The Invisible Hand strikes again!

• by Tom Tomorrow