Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Actor Patrick Dempsey says someone is impersonating him online and asking his fans to give money to either him or his Maine-based nonprofit. Dempsey tweeted on his verified account Monday that “people have been impersonating me and asking my fans for money (through social media).” Nancy Audet, spokeswoman for the Dempsey Centers in Lewiston and Portland, told Lewiston’s Sun Journal newspaper that Dempsey is not asking anyone for money. Audet says the scam has been going on for a while, saying people set up fake accounts and send messages pretending they are seeking money for the Dempsey Centers or the actor himself. Dempsey was born in Maine and is best known for his role as Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy. His Maine nonprofit seeks to help those affected by cancer.
■ Former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee symbolically took part in the building of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The former governor of Arkansas laid bricks and spread cement Wednesday in a new neighborhood in Efrat, telling those present that he may one day “purchase a holiday home” there. Huckabee, whose daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the White House press secretary, said he’s sure President Donald Trump would have been pleased to join him for the ceremony, “because he is a builder and he loves to see construction sites.” Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, said Trump is now “building a new world order.” Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians and much of the international community consider the hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers who now live there to be an obstacle to peace.
■ The National Comedy Center is open for laughs in I Love Lucy comedian Lucille Ball’s hometown. The $50 million cultural institution is in the western New York city of Jamestown and tells the story of comedy from its origins to the present with a mix of interactive exhibits, a hologram theater and comedy artifacts such as the late George Carlin’s archives. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday helped cut the ribbon on the nonprofit center, which received $9 million in state funding. Amy Schumer, Lewis Black and Dan Aykroyd are among comedians set to appear during this week’s grand opening celebration. The center was inspired by Ball, who starred as accident-prone Lucy Ricardo on the 1950s sitcom. Jamestown has a museum dedicated to Ball, who said she wanted to see all comedy celebrated as an art form.