Thursday’s thumbs

A ‘get well soon’ thumb for the Pryors

It’s Thursday and another chance to fire off a few thumbs about some of news developments in our neck of the worlds and elsewhere:

OK, so this one seems a little awkward in our thumbcentered format, but we’re counting this “thumbs up” as a form of warmest wishes for two people who have poured themselves completely into the betterment of Arkansas for decades. Former governor and U.S. Sen. David Pryor and Barbara Pryor, his wife, have been infected with this malicious virus we’re all trying desperately to avoid. The last report we heard was that David Pryor was in the hospital at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, admitted due to his age and past medical challenges, including a stroke and heart attack. Barbara Pryor was at home. The family asked for prayers, which we gladly offer. We suspect they’d be the first to suggest as much or more attention should be paid to other Arkansans suffering from covid-19, but we’d be remiss not to pay tribute to the Pryors’ contributions to Arkansas and wish them a strong and speedy recovery. As for the rest of us, just one thought: Wear masks, keep your distance, wash hands. Or maybe that’s three thoughts.

There may be a season for everything, but some changes seem like they’re never going to happen. Until, one day, they do. The Washington Redskins team name has been controversial for decades. Supporters have said the name honors Native Americans, but changing attitudes have most recently shifted public opinion decidedly toward renaming the team. This month, major advertisers made it clear they believed the time had come. Team officials finally got the hint, announcing on Monday a new name will be selected. In its 89-season history, the team has 603 wins and 603 losses in regular-season games, with 28 ties. Seems like a good moment for a restart.

It’s great news, in a way, that state and county officials would like to expand the number of law enforcement agencies making use of the state’s four “crisis stabilization units” for people in mental health crises. Naturally, it would be nicer if such units were unnecessary, but that’s perfect-world thinking. The regional units — in Jonesboro, Fort Smith, Little Rock and Fayetteville — are considered pilot

projects, giving police a medically centered facility where they can take people experiencing a mental health crisis. The idea is that treatment is a far better, and humane, outcome than jail. The struggle with expansion appears to be fairly simple: distance. It’s understandable agencies long distances away will find it hard to justify the time and distance required to get an individual the mental health care they may need. But the goal all along has been finding ways to get people who need that care out of jails, no matter where in the state they might have a run-in with the law. Even facing the challenges, that goal is a vital one.

Cities continue to look for ways to help businesses navigate their way through the economic effects of the pandemic. A good example is Fayetteville’s move Tuesday to remove impediments to businesses setting up sidewalk cafes or what city officials refer to as “parklets” in public parking spaces. The idea is to give businesses an easier regulatory path toward creating outdoor spaces in which to serve customers. And if there were ever a time to encourage people to be outdoors, why not a pandemic? Such a move won’t necessarily save a business on the brink, but creating new opportunities for businesses to attract paying customers is a great approach toward helping small businesses while also creating new experiences for customers. We can’t wait to see the creative ways local businesses make use of these options.

We appreciate state environmental officials who continue to investigate ways to protect the Buffalo National River from abuse, intentional or accidental, of large- or medium-scale hog farms. The state paid millions of dollars to correct its mistake of permitting such an operation in the river’s watershed and got rid of it. But state lawmakers balked at making a temporary moratorium permanent. It was a bad decision, eschewing protections for the country’s first national river. It will be incredibly short-sighted if the Arkansas Farm Bureau is allowed to prevent Arkansas from protecting its famed river from degradation.