Blank Lincoln Reports on Reality

The Rogers Hometown News this week reprinted a press release from United States Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-INO) boasting that she co-sponsored a resolution proclaiming June as National Internet Safety Month. It passed more quickly than her ongoing efforts to exempt the Wal-Mart heirs from having to pay estate taxes or legislation to provide fat farm subsidies to her family and friends who own plantations in the delta. In fact, it was so non-controversial that it passed by unanimous consent only seven days after it was introduced.

There is also more and less to this story than our vigilant local press reported. It is of some interest that Lincoln's co-sponsors of this resolution to warn of the dangers of the Internet and urge the protection of the Innocent included her morally-righteous Senate colleagues Larry Craig (R-ID) and David Vitter (R-LA). That's amusing.

Senator Lincoln's official press release waxes nostalgic about the past. "When I was growing up in Helena, Main Street was the place for a good deal of social activity. On Saturday mornings, I would often head down to the drugstore and other shops on Main Street with my grandfather where I would meet my friends. ...That is not the world we live in today. Main Street then and Main Street today are very different."

Why would Blanche say such a thing? Is telling an untruth necessary to make her point? There is no Main Street in Helena. The principal business district street is Cherry Street. It is much different today from when Lincoln was young. Her grandfather was the mayor, and the white-owned businesses dominated downtown. Maybe that was her real point about how things have changed? The Internet had little to do with that

Opportunity for Public Service

Fayetteville residents care deeply about educational issues and the future of our public schools. The upcoming School Board election on September 16th presents an opportunity for citizens to step forward and demonstrate their commitment to the teachers and students of today as well of those in the future.

Thanks to Rose Ann Pearce of The Morning News for alerting patrons that recent legislation has changed the dates for circulating petitions and becoming a candidate. The new information about filing does not appear on the Fayetteville School District's website or the Washington County Election Commission's homepage.

The only race in the Fayetteville School District this year is for an At-Large Position that will be decided by all voters in the district. Petitions are available at the County Clerk's office, and candidates can pick up petitions and begin collecting signatures on June 18th. The deadline for filing petitions signed by at least 20 registered voters in the district is noon on July 18th to qualify for the ballot. The Northwest Arkansas Times reported incorrectly that the filing deadline was August 4th

The incumbent board member is Susan Heil, who has not yet announced for re-election. She told a reporter last month "at this point it is likely she will run again, but she hasn’t made a final decision on the matter." She has supported selling the high school to the University, building one mega-school, adding 9th grade to the high school, and closing Jefferson School. If you're for that, she's your candidate.

Coffee shop talk is that Jim Halsell will be a candidate for the position, and he should be encouraged to run. He has been very active as President of the Washington Parent Teacher Organization and was instrumental in an securing the agreement between Washington Elementary School and the UA School of Architecture to build a new "outdoor learning environment" at the school. Unlike the incumbent, he is believed to support the BuildSmart plan for a world-class high school on the present campus adjacent to the University and near the Blair Library and the Walton Arts Center.

Halsell was recently honored among the "The Best of the Best"at the school district's 11th annual Outstanding Volunteer Banquet. That is indicative of his dedication and leadership by example that is so necessary for a thoughtful and effective school board member, and he would be an excellent choice.

Ready to Rumble?

Selling Short on Stone Street

Curious. The Fayetteville School District paid good money for an appraisal of $61.28 million for the current 40-acre high school campus adjacent to the University of Arkansas, then the school board took Superintendent Bobby New's advice and voted 6-1 to offer the property up to the UA for $59 million, a cool $2,280,000 below appraisal. Last week the University of Arkansas, led by Trustees Jim Lindsey and John Tyson, considered Chancellor John White's suggestion to pay a premium price and came back with a lowball offer of $50 million.

Deal breaker? Apparently not. The group that has been pushing to sell off the high school and build out on Deane Solomon is not insulted but inspired. They say "take the $50 million," because "time is of the essence," and we might not ever have the chance to dump the high school for $11.28 million below appraisal (and even more below replacement value). They want the school board to sell quickly and take the loss before some of the members finally give thoughtful consideration to the advantages of building a world-class high school on the current site.

What's the hurry to take the big loss? They say "the offer appears to have been made with some reservation since the UofA has many other buildings that will need refurbishing in the near future and the $50 Million could easily be spent on those projects, so time is of the essence." Very interesting but not persuasive. They want you to be afraid that the UA will raise tuition and take on another $50 million in bond debt to fix the surplus of buildings they already own, so we should make sure they spend that money to buy more buildings from the school district. Brilliant.

Curiouser and curiouser. "So what's next? Encourage the School Board to act quickly to complete the negotiations for the sale. We believe the acceptance of this offer would get this phase of the process put to bed," sings the lead soprano in the Cowbird Chorus. No doubt it would. Sensible options would vanish quicker than the $11.28 million. Forever.

Why bother encouraging the school board to do anything? Superintendent Bobby New and Board President Steve Percival will do whatever they want, regardless of public opinion. They didn't ask you before they bought the Deane Solomon property. They didn't ask you before they decided to add 9th grade to the high school. They didn't ask you before they decided on one mega-high school. They don't care that you think a world-class school should be built on the current campus. They know what's best. Just shut up and pay your taxes.

Your only chance to make your opinion count is the September School Board election and the property tax millage increase proposal they want you to pass.

Busy Bards of the Blogging Brigade

In a community with less than adequate newspaper editorials and embarrassingly poor television news, it is no surprise that engaged citizen bloggers have some of the best commentary and news of current events in our little media market. This week has been no exception. Here's a quick look at some of what's going on with our friends and neighbors here in the Athens of the Ozark Blogosphere.

The always clever Fayetteville Flyer has an update on the languishing East Square Mudhole and the flight of the crane that has been the icon for downtown developers. There is also news of a forthcoming book by Anthony J. Wappel, Once upon Dickson: An Illustrated History, 1869-2000, a neighborhood narrative with 370 historic photographs.

Aubrey Shepherd's Aubunique has a poignant essay on the meaning of neighborhood to residents in the Town Branch area of South Fayetteville. Continuing the theme, Val's Bien has some praise for the new Neighborhood Market and the design improvements of the Forest Hills PZD in West Fayetteville.

Valerie Biendara also looks at the awkward ménage-à-trois involving the City Administration, Marvin Hilton, and the Telecommunications Board, a topic also addressed by Telecom Board Chairman Richard Drake in his Street Jazz blog.

Politicians are topics as always, and Drake also offers an insightful assessment of Ward Two's outstanding Alderman Nancy Allen. Former Fayetteville Bad Boy Bill Clinton gets mentioned today in the University Union Voice for canceling his commencement address at UCLA, choosing not to cross a picket line of staff employees facing a recalcitrant university administration with values and priorities that sound like they came from departing UA Chancellor John White.

Thanks to them all for making life interesting hereabouts.

He Did Not Have Sex with that Woman

Benton County's own favorite son and former United States Senator Tim Hutchinson says he and Randi Fredholm, formerly a young member of his staff and now his wife, were not canoodling while she was on the public payroll and he was still married to his former wife, State Representative Donna Hutchinson (R-Bella Vista). We're sure glad he cleared that up and put an end to all those unfounded rumors that they were shacking up for several years in a steamy little love nest on Capitol Hill.

Senator Hutchinson voted to convict President Bill Clinton for fibbing about his relationship with Monica Lewinsk during the same time that everyone figured Ol' Tim was sneaking back to the apartment after a hard day and getting randy. He won a Diddly Award for his hypocrisy in 2000. George Bush and John Boozman stood firmly by Tim and Randi even when they were a joke to the gossip mongers and everyone else during the losing 2002 re-election campaign.

Now the self-righteous former Senator is having to answer questions about his own private life, and he doesn't appreciate it very much. He can be thankful that he wasn't under oath when asked about his alleged affair that led to the breakup of his marriage, his definition of family values, and his alleged involvement with another woman who was not his wife.

Double Down

Marvin Hilton has 13 years of experience as Cable Administrator and city staff support for the Fayetteville Telecommunications Board. He has experience managing the Government Channel, monitoring the public access contract and handling cable franchise matters. He has 20 years of program production experience for access television. He has a degree in communications from the University of Kansas.

As a city resident and registered voter with "appropriate expertise," Mr. Hilton met the basic qualifications for volunteer public service, and he was the only applicant for the vacant position on the Telecommunication Board, one of Fayetteville's citizens' advisory boards that "consist of mostly volunteer citizens who are devoted to giving their time and expertise on issues relating to each board, committee, or commission."

The Fayetteville City Council Nominating Committee includes Kyle Cook, Adella Gray, Robert Rhoads, and Shirley Lucas. They did not support Hilton's application to serve on the volunteer board and will not recommend his appointment to Mayor Coody and City Council. Alderman Adella Gray said, "We just didn’t feel like it was a good fit."

Mayor Coody fired Mr. Hilton from his staff position last month, never explaining why, but the last thing he wants is a whistleblower who might know something about who has been responsible for the political programming and other decisions regarding the Government Channel. It just wouldn't be a good fit.

Talking Like a Pirate in Greenland

The Greenland City Council went into executive session to discuss the resignation of the mayor, over objections from the media that such a closed meeting violated the state Freedom of Information Act, since the mayor had not offered any such resignation and the Council had no power to fire him. Mayor John Gray also objected and demanded that any discussions be held in public. He walked out with the press and members of the public in the audience.

Emerging from the secret meeting, the council presented the mayor with a unanimous petition asking for the mayor's resignation. "You don't listen and carry out the wishes of the council. You just do what you want to do," said Alderman Lisa Thornton. "You don’t communicate. You don’t understand enough to carry out the directions of the council. You have no leadership skills because you don’t have people skills or communication skills."

"I'm willing to bend over backward to try and communicate with you," Mayor Gray replied, but "I will not resign." He blamed the action on the "good ole boy system" of small town politics and the shared frustration over a lawsuit by developers challenging the city's moratorium on new construction and developments within the city limits. He minced no words in laying the blame on the City Council for bad decisions and said he was staying to protect the people of Greenland.

Sensing a stalemate, Alderman Bill Groom said, "I think we've had some serious clearing of the air. I don't think he's going to resign. We're just going to have to live with him. Let's move to the next item on the agenda."

Mayor Gray once said an honest mayor who tried to do the right thing would be a one-term mayor. He might be right about that. He doesn't plan to run again in 2010.

Sahara of the Bozart

Today we should see an important "tell' in the cultural contest of our city. The Advertising and Promotion Commission is scheduled to meet for the first time since the City Council passed a Resolution asking that it support the 2008 Fayetteville Arts Festival. Will they deign to approve a small grant to keep the festival alive, or will they dig in their heels and keep the money until a sports event wants it this fall?

The Fayetteville Arts Festival is a fine event that brings visitors to our community and allows our outstanding local artists to exhibit their talents and sell their creations. Moreover, it contributes to the continuing definition of Fayetteville as the cultural center of the region. Whether the A&P Commission thinks it worthy or whether Mencken was right, we'll know this afternoon.

Be watching Mayor Dan Coody and Alderman Robert Rhoads, the two representatives of our city, to measure their leadership on the issue. It will give you some idea of their moxie on the issue of the future of the Walton Arts Center. Bob Davis is supposed to represent the public on the issue and to care about more than just selling an insurance policy to the commission. Tim Freeman of Holiday Inn Express is the newest member. Restaurants are represented by Pat Gazzola of the Catfish Hole, Maudie Schmidt of Cafe Rue Orleans, and Neal Crawford of Jose's.

Who cares about the arts in Fayetteville? There are no members of the A&P Commission appointed to represent cultural organizations. This afternoon we will know if any of the political and business representatives care about anything other than making a buck or pleasing the commercial interests. You can let them know your thoughts, either before or after the vote -- if they actually meet, someone makes a motion, and there is a recorded.

All in the Family

The Lundstrum Family is a close knit bunch, and they are bonafide Republicans. Robin Lundstrum of Springdale has been active in the Arkansas Family Council’s efforts to make sure gays and lesbians are treated as second class citizens, and she chaired the Washington County Republican Dinner featuring Karl Rove. Tom Lundstrom, Jr., worked in the Boozman for Senate campaign against Blanche Lincoln. Tom Lundstrum, Sr. is on the Washington County Quorum Court, where he has stood strong against socialistic ordinances for fire and building codes and zoning.

This year, Big Tom is a Republican candidate running for the Quorum Court, and Junior is the Republican member of the Washington County Election Commission. That not only looks bad, it is. State law says, "No person may serve as an election official if married to or related within the second degree of consanguinity to any candidate running for office in the current election if objection to his or her service is made to the county board within ten (10) calendar days after posting the list of officials.” A.C.A. § 7-4-109 (d).

Big Tom and Junior are hopping mad that they got caught ignoring this ethical requirement. Since Tom Lundstrum, Jr., didn't see any reason to resign, Sharon Green, the Democrat running for Quorum Court, had to ask the election commission to replace him, because she thought it was important for the fairness and appearance of being fair for the Election Commission. Chairman John Burrow, usually a stickler for the law, asked Green to ignore the law and let Junior oversee the election of his daddy. "It’s not personal," Green said, "It’s about conflict of interest." No kidding, Sherlock!

Junior Lundstrum obviously resented being asked to comply with the law against conflicts of interest and lose the time and money spent by the county for his training as an election commissioner to oversee his father's election. "I’m not sure exactly what point she’s trying to prove other than the law allows it," he said, "on speculation I have a desire to go to prison and throw an election for my father." If he were Burrow and Commissioner Pete Loris, Lundstrum said, "I would take it as a slap in the face that they would let something like that happen if I remained on the commission." He then added that getting kicked off would give him more time to work on his daddy's campaign. More time? Makes one wonder and makes Green's point about how much time he already was working on the campaign while serving as an election official.

Big Tom Lundstrum went ballistic. By asking that the ethical requirements of the law be followed, Lundstrum said, “ Ms. Green seems to imply that my son and I may somehow attempt to influence the election. ...This objection brings the integrity of both my son and I into question and I regret that she has decided to take that action. ” Then referencing Burrow's poor judgment in urging that the statute be ignored, Lundstrum contended, "even members of Ms. Green’s own party have publicly voiced their disappointment in her decision. However, it appears to me that Ms. Green is more concerned with her own misguided fears and frustrations than she is with the welfare of the voters."

Wrong, Tom, you and your boy are the ones who have failed to consider the best interests of the voters. As the Northwest Arkansas Times explained in simple words even you should be able to understand, "the appearance of impropriety would be enough to cast a shadow over the situation," and Sharon Green "has every right to invoke a statute that allows for the removal of Tom Lundstrum Jr. from the Washington County Election Commission."

Sharon Green ignored the rantings of Old Man Lundstrum and said, "I look forward to a fair and honest campaign and, hopefully, the mudslinging will stop and we will get on with addressing the issues at hand. I’m here for the people of Washington County. I have bigger fish to fry, and that is taking care of the residents of Washington County."

It sounds as if Sharon Green has the kind of judgment and commitment we need on the Quorum Court, which means the voters in Tontitown, Johnson, and Elm Springs will probably vote for ethically-blind Tom Lundstrum, Sr.

The Bloating of that Springdale Bypass

There are lots of reasons why people would want to bypass Springdale and avoid the clogged arterials of Sunset and Thompson. Not everyone appreciates the clutter of unregulated commercial signs or the festoon of feathers between utility poles. The Chickendale Cowbirds want a bypass around the current mess they created, and they expect you to pay for it. Something like $495 million by the latest reckoning.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department held two public hearings in Springdale last week and let slip the fact that the Springdale Bypass would cost far more than originally suggested. Construction cost inflated 50% in three years, up from $310 million to $415 million, and right-of-way acquisition costs up from $60 Million to $80 million since 2005. And you probably thought the construction industry was hurting and the real estate market was down.

Building bypasses is the obsession of the Northwest Arkansas Council of Corporations and Wealthy Business Executives, so they have proposed a Regional Mobility Authority with the power of eminent domain and new taxes on local residents for their pet projects. The state highway department says it has $27 million to spend on right-of-ways, so you'll have a chance to cough up taxes to cover the rest. Springdale won't help, because their general revenues are down and they chose to build a ball park instead. Springdale's State Representative Jon Woods recently voted against the severance tax to help fund highways, so don't count on the state spending that money in his district. They want you to build it for them.

This whole fiasco reflects a lack of imagination and foresight. Perhaps the PTB discourage such qualities and instead keep the focus on subsidizing highway construction to accommodate the trucking industry, and they certainly have no interest in a practical mass transit system. We will be the ones to pay for their schemes, with higher taxes to build their bypasses and beltways and increased costs for our personal transportation that now has a true cost of $1.16 per mile and is sure to increase. Just like your taxes to build their bypass.