Ozarks At Large

Fourth Congressional District Representative Tom Cotton weighed in on several prescient national issues over the weekend during a stop in Texarkana. Congressman Tim Griffin urges President Obama to disclose more to the American public about the nation's financial situation. State House Speaker Davy Carter says that the issue of a Medicaid funding shortfall is the biggest issue facing the upcoming legislative session in Little Rock. And the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History has a new director.


Here is the list of pop culture references included in today's montage honoring food service workers:
- Billy Joel sings "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."
- Kermit, Miss Piggy and Steve Martin confer in The Muppet Movie.
- Jennifer Aniston complains (understandably) about her flair in Office Space.
- The very underrated band The Bus Boys and the song "Minimum Wage."
- Meg Ryan defines high maintenance as a customer in When Harry Meets Sally.
- The Austin-based Asleep at the Wheel sings "House of Blue Lights."
- Judge Reinhold gets a raw deal in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
- Homer is disappointed with the slow service at Moe's Family Feedbag in a classic Simpsons episode.
- Arlo Guthrie and the most famous restaurant song ever, "Alice's Restaurant."
- Linda Lavin, Vic Tayback and Polly Holiday inside Mel's Diner on the situation comedy Alice.
- Cab Calloway sings "Everybody Eats at My House." The best rhyme in the song: Want a pancake, Mandrake?
January is "Be Kind To Food Servers Month." Ozarks at Large's Christina Thomas speaks with local server David Jelinek to talk about the difficulty of the food service industry.

Several cities made news this week with talks of real estate deals. Ozarks at Large's Timothy Dennis takes a look back at some of those stories
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Ahead on this morning’s show: a rundown of theater as the area’s stages get ready for the autumn season. We’ll also conclude our summer series on what the approach Affordable Care Act means for Arkansas with a report on a little-known provision that provides for long-term care in the home.
The Fayetteville Farmer’s Market was voted the country’s favorite. Tomorrow the award is handed over.
Arkansan Tav Falco helped invent a sound that later became known as "psychobilly" in 1979 when he formed Tav Falco and the Panther Burns in Memphis. Although Falco currently resides in Vienna, Austria, he's bringing his blend of blues, punk and rockabilly to the Rogue on Dickson in Fayetteville tomorrow as he tours with his Unapproachable Panther Burns. Ozarks at Large's Katy Henriksen has this preview.
Union supporters and striking workers protested outside of Walmart's annual investors' conference in Bentonville, the drought slowly but surely improves in parts of Arkansas, and the creative economy adds jobs and revenue to the Northwest Arkansas economy.
"In Walked Bud" by Art Blakey
An Alabama law firm has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Arkansas rice farmers against a chemical company that produces arsenic compounds and poultry integrators that mix the arsenic into their feed. The suit alleges the poultry litter, used as fertilizer, has poisoned Arkansas rice farms.
An outdoor education class that got its start as a college thesis more than ten years ago has a strong presence in a few Northwest Arkansas schools and is gaining attention nationally. Ozarks at Large's Christina Thomas hikes through the state park with students learning about the outdoors.
"Montreal" by Kaki King