
Ozarks At Large

Senator John McCain was in Little Rock late last week, and he called President Obama's reaction to tension in Syria a failure of American leadership. Speaker of the Arkansas House Davy Carter wanted more time to explain the federally backed Medicaid expansion to constituents, so the vote was postponed until today. And Governor Mike Beebe speaks in favor of changes that are coming for some child welfare programs in the state.

Here are our ten clips from our montage dedicated to April Showers. Well, dedicated to rain at least…
- B.J. Thomas sings "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
- Hugh Grant and Andie Macdowell admit their mutual love at the end of Four Weddings and a Funeral.
- Prince sings "Purple Rain."
- Bill Cosby with an early TV rendition of his famous Noah routine.
- Mahalia Jackson with the gospel great "Didn’t It Rain".
- Gene Kelly about to launch into the best three minutes ever recorded in a movie musical.
- Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst exchange a rainy kiss as Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson.
- Tom Hanks (as Forrest Gump) describes the many kinds of rain.
- Sam Neil tries to save kids from a hungry T. Rex in Jurassic Park.
- Audrey Hepburn finds the cat…and George Peppard…at the end of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The Mancini notes should have given this away.
Apologies to: The Weather Girls, Andy’s escape in Shawshank Redemption, the bubbling skeletons in Poltergeist, the Eurythmics, John Wayne in the Quiet Man and all those movies with Notebook in the title. Maybe next time.
In case you need a spot to duck into in between April showers, local and regional art galleries and exhibition spaces will have plenty for you to soak up throughout the month, including exhibits at the Arts Center of the Ozarks, the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, the John Brown University art gallery, and elsewhere.



The proposed expansion of Arkansas' Medicaid system cleared a preliminary hurdle in the House yesterday, though final approval is still pending. And families who live near the Pegasus Pipeline rupture in Mayflower will be allowed to return to their homes this weekend.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks, those amphibious harbingers of spring--frogs and toads--are being counted all over Arkansas. We'll find out how the frog watch works, and if the number of frogs in the state is diminishing. And, the AMP is being prepared for its first show. The seats aren't in yet, but work is going on almost around-the-clock to meet a June 1 completion date.
Summer's here and so are the peaches in Johnson County. We pay a visit to Peach Pickin' Paradise.
Broken Promise by Claire
Supporters of proposals involving Arkansas' minimum wage and regulation of alcohol sales say they have enough signatures to make it to the ballot in November.
Wall Street by Craig Ventresca
Some of the tens of thousands of unaccompanied Central American children seeking asylum are making their way to Arkansas. Jacqueline Froelich met with a teenager newly arrived from El Salvador who describes her journey and Springdale attorney, Laura Ferner-Moudy (photo), who is representing her.
A Fayetteville Police Department representative recently explained how seized items ended up at city auction at Callaway Auctions in Springdale.
Real Good Woman by Johnnie Johnson
Our Ozarks at Large insect expert takes us back to Clear Creek to find our nymphs from March all grown up.