Thursday’s thumbs

Fayetteville gets protective for big crowds

Some of us and our dear readers may spend the next couple of days with fingers in their ears to shield themselves from the roar of motorcycle engines as the 2017 version of Bikes, Blues & BBQ comes to life in Fayetteville and the surrounding areas. Thankfully, that won’t necessarily involve thumbs, so we’ve still got a chance to give up- and downturned digits on a few news items this week:

It’s no doubt disconcerting to some Fayetteville residents when they hear city officials say street closings will cover a wider area for the annual motorcycle rally, the heart of which happens along Dickson Street. But those officials have made a wise decision given reports from around the world of people using vehicles as weapons. Whether in London, Paris, Barcelona or Charlottesville, vehicle attacks on large crowds have to be a concern for any security-minded community. Bikes, Blues & BBQ certainly draws a crowd, so it’s a smart move to provide extra measures to make sure all that’s remembered about Fayetteville is the good time these motorcycle enthusiasts had.

Speaking of crowds — or mobs — credit the band U2 for canceling a planned St. Louis concert last Saturday in the wake of protests by people upset with the acquittal of a former city police officer on a murder charge in the shooting death of a black driver. Friday night, protests became violent at times. U2 announced the St. Louis police had told them the city was “not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size.” Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran also canceled a concert planned this Sunday, citing similar reasons. Numerous other events, such as a Cardinals Care 6K run fundraiser, were also canceled. Many fans were disappointed, but when a city expresses doubts about the security it can provide, and when some in the community are intent on disruption as a form of protest, one can hardly invite thousands of visitors into the fray.

Sunday’s newspaper featured a story about the continuing pressures lawmakers put on open government laws, such as the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The laws are designed to protect the public’s right to information about their government, such as information a business has submitted for rezoning of property next door to a subdivision or where the money for replacing a bridge ended up being spent. They’re also designed to ensure people have access to the decision-making processes. Every legislative session, lawmakers come up with more reasons that more of our government should be conducted in secret. It’s a trend that should be resisted, because once information and decision-making go behind closed doors, they won’t come back out again, and the public will be on the losing end.

Kudos to University of Arkansas Chancellor Joseph Steinmetz for his introduction of a pilot program to offer mentoring and needbased grants to some in-state students as part of an effort to increase retention and graduation. The program will seek to provide assistance to students with “unmet needs,” largely financial, that threaten their success as university students. Education for education’s sake is great, but the university must focus attention on success as measured by the award of degrees. That’s what helps Arkansas. That’s what most benefits students in positioning themselves to be economically successful. Graduation and retention rates are a measure of the university’s success or failure. The Arkansas Student Talent Enrichment Program is step toward improving both.

We commend the work of the Washington County Animal Shelter and others in their collaboration with a network of other shelters to secure homes for more dogs and cats and reduce number of instances where these animals must be killed. Euthanizing dogs and cats is not a success story. Success is when animals stay alive and find homes where they will be cared for. The Washington County shelter has reduced its operational costs as well by shipping excess animals to shelters out of state that have the capacity to adopt them out to new homes.