Ozarks At Large
Tonya Lewis Lee helped bring Christopher Paul Curtis' novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham to Tv this month. Tonight the film is being shown, for free, at Bentonville High School and today we talked with Ms. lee about the project that premiered earlier this month on the Hallmark Channel.
Late last week, the federal Department of Health and Human Services accepted Arkansas's plan for Medicaid expansion. The city of Bentonville will give away compost and wood mulch this week. A couple of roads close or otherwise reroute in the River Valley starting today. And gas prices dropped slightly in Arkansas over the past week.
With this morning's montage, we say several goodbyes; to Summer, to a famed Yankees pitcher, and to one of our longest-tenured colleagues at KUAF. Here are our 10 pop culture references we used to say goodbye.
- "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music
- Lou Gehrig's farewell speech
- "Goodbye my Lover" by James Blunt
- ET says his goodbye
- The famous words from Gone With The Wind
- "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles
- The Friends leave the apartment for the final time
- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John
- Jim Carey tells his fare goodbye at the beginning of Dumb and Dumber
- Leaving Casablanca for the final time
- Johnny Carson bids his final farewell to the audience during his final time hosting The Tonight Show
The Arkansas Center For The Book this week made its selection for the 2013 If All Arkansas Read The Same Book Program. Kyle Kellams spoke with Vivienne Schiffer, the author of the novel Camp Nine, this year's selection.
State officials continue to seek a solution to the teacher insurance crisis in Arkansas. New numbers are out regarding Arkansas students' achievements on Advanced Placement tests. And, the Connecting Arkansas Internet Conference is being held in Little Rock this week.
You can go to a workshop at NWACC to learn about the state's Freedom of Information Act, or you can participate in one of many lake and other outdoor cleanups in the next few days.



Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, May 9, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, Michael Tilley talks about a new owner for some long-abandoned real estate in Fort Smith, and the official announcement of a Whole Foods in Fayetteville. Plus, Cletus Got Shot gets ready to perform at a few festivals in the next month.
At the conclusion of last week’s business, Roby Brock from our content partner Talk Business Arkansas sat down with David Sanders, a Republican member of the Senate from Little Rock, and Warwick Sabin, a Democratic member of the House, also from Little Rock. The conversation included talk about Medicaid expansion, the death penalty, taxes and ethics. Roby began the discussion by asking Senator Sanders what might be different for this legislative agenda since the GOP is in control at the capitol.
Monday the Community Clinic in Rogers marked a milestone, celebrating the 100,000th patient served in the fifteen years of service by the clinic.
A cooking lesson at the Bella Vista Public Library is on the menu for Becca's Wednesday entertainment picks.
“The Lucky One (James Yuill Remix)” by Au Revoir Simone
Discount stores are proliferating, with patrons demanding rock bottom prices. Lots of resale stores are opening up. We check out the local Goodwill, one of a half dozen new Goodwill stores in Northwest Arkansas staked out in busy shopping districts. And we also visit a popular independent thrift store in south Fayetteville to assess the trend.
Dr. Rosilee Walker Russell, executive director of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Academy of the Arts, says with the holiday season over, the UAFS Academy of the Arts is returning to business as usual with spring class registration and an upcoming piano concert.