Thursday’s thumbs

Tunnel costly, but important for trail system

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

When a jury grants a group of plaintiffs almost $1 billion in damages, it’s just the beginning of what’s likely to be years of legal wrangling through appeals. Wednesday’s decision in Connecticut that far-right talk show host and purveyor of conspiracy theories Alex Jones should pay families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and one first responder is a major victory, but not a final resolution of their claims. Still, Jones’ tactics of aggressively peddling claims of cover-ups and fabricated news events — including the denial that students died in the 2012 mass shooting — deserved an aggressive response in the name of justice. Free speech affords Americans a great deal of protection for articulating their ideas, but purposeful fabrications as a method of generating great wealth cannot be left unanswered.

It’s surprising that as of last week only three nonprofit groups have applied to Washington County for a share of federal American Rescue Plan funding after such a long wait for the Quorum Court to even open up a path for it. It’s doubtful, with all the nonprofits based in Washington County, that all the rest of them are suggesting they lack any need. It was in August that the Quorum Court made the decision to set aside $2.3 million of the $46 million in covid relief funding for nonprofits. Maybe it’s a matter of trust, since a few favored nonprofits were allocated large sums without having to go through an application process. Too, it sounds like Washington County officials offer minimal guidance for organizations interested in the funding. Washington County officials throughout the pandemic have seemed less than enthusiastic about allocating much of the federal covid-related funding to local nonprofits. It’s easy to tell when someone’s heart just isn’t in it. The fact that allocation decisions won’t happen until the next year might be a factor, too. All in all, it seems the Washington County effort is quite lackluster.

Few structures can serve as a barrier to cyclists and pedestrians than a wide, multi-lane highway. People using trails for their health or simple enjoyment aren’t unwise to just turn around and go back the way they came rather than attempting to get across a road with heavy traffic seemingly coming from every direction. In Fayetteville, it’s welcome news city staffers are looking for a way to build a trail tunnel under Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as state transportation officials make changes at MLK and Interstate 49. The cost could approach $4 million, but any community serious about fully developing its trail system will, sooner or later, have to find a way to get people safely across major thoroughfares. Going under MLK will, ultimately, be a life-saving decision for future pedestrians and cyclists. As the Arkansas Department of Transportation prepares to spend $49.8 million to revamp the interchange, it makes perfect sense to address the trail’s disposition at the same time. Let’s hope the city can find ways to pay for the project. There’s unlikely to be a better time to do it.