Thumbs up & down

Welcome to Wal-Mart employees from around the world

Folks, it’s time to throw a few quick digits out into the world of recent events and so-called news developments.

It’s Wal- Mart shareholders week in Northwest Arkansas, which means thousands of people have poured into our corner of the world from many, if not all, of the 28 nations where Wal-Mart has stores. They will celebrate the WalMart Way and others will offer their criticisms of it, and it will all come to a climax with what is typically a star-studded extravagance inside the University of Arkansas’ Bud Walton Arena on Friday. We welcome all the visitors and recognize Wal-Mart for the incredible impact it’s had on Northwest Arkansas and around the globe. It’s not a perfect company — name one that is — but Wal-Mart has delivered what customers want, it employs more than 2.2 million people worldwide and is this nation’s largest private employer. Take a look around Northwest Arkansas and it’s hard not to see something that has been affected in a positive way by Wal-Mart and the Walton family’s commitment to support the place where Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart Discount City. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Walton Arts Center. The Razorback Greenway and countless other amenities are supported by them and by thousands of other people whose livelihoods are made possible the company. Wal-Mart is going strong at 53 years old and striving to remain strong in an ever-challenging retail environment. May the company, its employees and the economy of Northwest Arkansas continue to be strong. To the visitors this week, welcome, enjoy and safe travels.

The even- numbered years in Arkansas have, since voters approved their creation in 2008, triggered so-called fiscal sessions of the Arkansas General Assembly. Until that 2008 vote, regular sessions of the state’s Legislature happened only every two years, and there was a certain level of comfort that lawmakers only gathered every other year to draft new laws and dicker over state spending. But there was a sense a shorter, budget-focused session in the intervening years would help make budgeting less of complicated and more responsive. Now, people who once backed the creation of fiscal sessions by constitutional amendment suggest the state ought to go back to the way it used to be because fiscal-only sessions aren’t proving to be so limited. “The fiscal sessions have turned into general sessions where we’re trying to legislate through the budget process,” said Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs. Former state Sen. Bill Pritchard of Elkins, who sponsored the change, said it hasn’t worked out as planned and, unfortunately, is helping to turn some members into full-time legislators. Arkansas has been well-served, for the most part, by having citizen-legislators, so the idea is worth considering. Either rein them in so that they are truly fiscal/ budgeting sessions without serious politics, or go back to fullscale sessions every two years.

Parking often seems to be at a premium in the Dickson Street entertainment district in Fayetteville, but it seems the city could manage with 54 fewer parking spots in exchange for Theater Squared’s development of a theater for its performances. The City Council will soon consider whether to strike the deal, which would give the theater company the ability to build on municipal property at Wast Avenue and Spring Street where a parking lot now sits. The project is a good fit for the area around the Walton Arts Center and will continue to grow Dickson Street’s drawing power.

There’s something about music that can reach deep within, and that’s especially true when it comes to the playing of “Taps” at military funerals. We applaud the collection of volunteer trumpet, bugle, flugelhorn and cornet players who step up to play the mournful tune at veterans’ funerals in Northwest Arkansas. Playing the song in person at a funeral provides a lasting memory for mourners, aiding them as they pay respects to a former service member who has passed away. We commend these musicians for their ongoing service to those who served.

Social media is a topsy-turvy place in which groupthink produces odd and sometimes unsettling results. Take for example the Little Rock woman whose jailhouse mugshot recently drew attention on Twitter, Facebook and other sites because she is quite attractive. The woman was booked on a failure to appear charge involving driving violations, but past charges have included more serious aggravated robbery, theft, kidnapping, first-degree battery and others. But her beauty sparked the online feeding frenzy, producing rumors she was working to parlay the social media fame into something lucrative. Here’s proof that the deeper one wades into the internet, the shallower things get.

We’ll end the same as we began, with a WalMart theme apropos for the week’s events. The company recently said it had hired 130,828 military veterans since beginning its Veterans Welcome Home Commitment on Memorial Day 2013. The program guarantees a job offer to any eligible, honorably discharged U.S. veteran who is within 12 months of active duty. The goal was 100,000, but that’s been expanded now to 250,000. We appreciate support for those who have served their nation. Have a suggestion for awarding a thumb to someone? Email your nomination, with the subject “Thumbs,” to thumbs@nwadg.com or contact Editorial Page Editor Greg Harton at (479) 872-5026.