Opinion

It’s been a few years and memories fuzz and fade, but I recall a history professor who seemed to think part of his calling was to get his students to prepare for “the cosmic cocktail party.” That’s not a euphemism for drugs or a four-figure weekend retreat of enlightenment at a spa. What he meant was, what if you found yourself at the ultimate cocktail party, surrounded by the smartest and most creative and successful people you could think of? Could you hold your own? This is not the time to drop the pig-with-the-wooden-leg joke.

Early one morning, Rob and the Easter Bunny met in a sunny, dewpearled meadow. The rabbit had a basket of Easter eggs at his side.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Buffalo National River’s designation as our country’s first national river. Enjoying wildlife and the outdoors is a way of life for residents of The Natural State and the Buffalo National River has helped countless Arkansans do just that. As we commemorate National Park Week, we celebrate this milestone and all of Arkansas’s national treasures.

A Day of Debates, featuring Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidates, will be held on Thursday, April 21 at Little Rock Union Station, lower level. A luncheon will also be part of the day’s schedule. The event is hosted by Arkansas Press Association and sponsored by Arkansas Farm Bureau and the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.

Cover crops more effective than insecticides for managing pests, study suggests. Did that catch your attention? Promoting early season plant cover, primarily using cover crops, can be more effective at reducing pest density and crop damage than insecticide applications, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.

Fayetteville — The Center for Arkansas Farms and Foods’ 2022 Beginner Farmer Classes are available online through Oct. 31.

An important deadline is approaching if you plan on voting in the May 24 Preferential Primary Election and Nonpartisan General Election. If you have not already registered to vote, you have until April 25 to file your voter registration application with your county clerk.

Little Rock – Average teacher salaries in Arkansas ranked 47th in the nation in 2020, down from 46th in 2019 and 44th in 2018. Legislators on the Senate and House Education Committees heard a lengthy salary comparison last week, written by legislative staff.