Thursday’s thumbs

Congestion around square becoming problem

By this time next week, Arkansas public school students will be back in the classrooms, establishing routines for a new school year. We wish them and all the educators already hard at work to serve them the very best for the coming year.

Indeed, this time of year reminds us how deserving all educators are for a thumbs up and a pat on the back. They deserve encouragement, as do all the other folks who help ensure kids get a chance to learn. That’s everyone from bus drivers to teachers’ aides to custodians to people who donate to their local public education foundations.

It’s a great time of year, and a great Thursday for some other thumbs.

A reader from Bentonville offered his thoughts on Benton County’s discussions of tearing down the old jail behind the historic courthouse and building a new four-court facility to complement the existing three courtrooms inside the courthouse. His issue boils down to this: traffic. The Bentonville Square, in his estimation, is becoming a classic example of the word “congestion.” Imagine, our reader says, what it will be like when a lot more construction is going on down there. And after all the construction? Traffic conditions aren’t likely to ease, he suggests. Downtown Bentonville has a lot of great things going on, and its success has translated into sometimes serious congestion around the square and nearby. Suffering from too much activity in a downtown area is certainly a good problem, but good problems are still problems.

Speaking of Bentonville, wouldn’t it be cool if the home of world-renowned Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, a planned contemporary art venue, a growing collection of restaurants and retail outlets and, of course, the behemoth of all retailers became a new creative center for the music industry? Some in Bentonville see the potential, inspired in no short measure by Al Bell, the Arkansas native who went on to head both Stax Records and Motown Records. He’s moving his operation to Bentonville, invigorated by his study of whether Bentonville has what it takes to become an influence in the global music scene. The answer, according to Bell, was a resounding “yes.” Why not? Of course, the world isn’t necessarily clamoring for another Nashville, Memphis, Los Angeles or Austin, all “music cities” in their own right. But one never knows where inspiration can strike.

All the pieces are, literally, starting to fall into place for the start of the 2019 Razorback football season. The university’s new policies for beer and wine sales throughout most of the stadium have been formalized.

Work on campus construction projects near the stadium are going at feverish speeds. And, of course, there’s a new crop of grass growing near Razorback Road and Maple Street. No, this isn’t the kind one needs a dispensary for. Rather, it’s the grass field the football team will play on all season inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The rolled-up grass — 25 truck loads — from a supplier near Memphis began arriving early this week at its new home Monday. By the time the Hogs and Portland State run onto Frank Broyles Field Aug. 31, we’d bet the field will be in fantastic shape, making keepers of lawns across the state jealous.

We’ve been critical from time to time of the use of resolutions by elected bodies to make political statements about matters well beyond their authority. Sometimes, we’ve focused on Fayetteville’s use of resolutions so City Council members can “take a stand” on, say, a progressive issue not directly related to municipal business. Now comes Springdale offering the same thing, except this one advancing a conservative point of view. Council member Cody Fulfer this week got unanimous support for a resolution declaring the view of the council members that Springdale is a “pro-life” city. That doesn’t make it so; that’s just the opinion of eight elected officials. Fulfer, though, wanted to use the authority of the City Council to hang out a “You’re not welcome here” sign for Planned Parenthood, which is looking for a new facility in Northwest Arkansas. Last we checked, city councils have nothing — zero — to do with abortion-related restrictions or policies, so why use municipal government to stir this particular pot? It has every appearance of grandstanding — “Look at us! We’re making a statement!” — for political opportunity, but Fulfer said he just wanted to make sure Planned Parenthood’s search for a new home in Northwest Arkansas didn’t focus on Springdale. The city attorney rightly noted the resolution changes nothing: Private property owners have every right to lease or sell space to whatever tenant they want, as long as activities on the property meet city codes. Apparently, resolutions are weapons of choice on both conservative and progressive causes among elected officials. Never mind that they represent people of many different viewpoints. We’d rather city councils devote their time to matters of municipal business. There’s plenty of that to go around.