Washington news in brief

Senator points out U.S.-aided entities

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., last week highlighted Arkansas businesses that have benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program.

The companies he singled out included KTCS-FM in Fort Smith; Tanners Team Sports Inc. in Hot Springs; Stepping Stone School in Alma; Bordinos restaurant in Fayetteville; and SparkFit gym in Little Rock.

Each of them received federal assistance to help them weather the covid-19 public health emergency.

The program was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2.2 trillion covid-19 relief package passed by Congress in March 2020.

It passed in the Senate 960, with four members absent. Boozman and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., both backed the legislation.

Chase Gamradt, Bordinos general manager, said the program provided much-needed relief at a crucial time.

“It was immensely important. It basically was a life raft for us,” he said in an interview Friday.

The restaurant is still operating at half-capacity “just out of an abundance of safety,” he said.

It will expand as the vaccination rates rise, he said.

Demand for the available seats is already building, he added.

“We’re filling up on weekends and most weekdays,” he said. “It’s almost getting to a point where it’s starting to feel like a normal, busy restaurant again.”

Gamradt said he appreciated Boozman’s interest in the restaurant’s covid-19 journey.

“It’s always nice to get any sort of attention from elected officials,” he said. “Having them reach out and listen, it’s always a pleasant surprise.”

Cotton travels to GOP donor retreat

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., traveled to Florida this weekend to attend the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat.

Rooms at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach were no longer available as of Friday afternoon, though there were vacancies for this evening, starting at $1,500 per night, plus a $30 resort fee.

The event’s lineup sported “a roster of 2024 hopefuls,” including U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis, all of Florida; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Politico reported.

The lawmaker from Little Rock was scheduled to speak at a dinner Friday evening at the waterfront property, 70 miles north of Miami.

A Cotton campaign aide, Brian Colas, said the senator was scheduled to leave Saturday, so wouldn’t be attending a separate event later in the day at the nearby Mar-a-Lago resort with former President Donald Trump.

On Monday, Cotton spoke at an online fundraiser for a New Hampshire state legislative candidate, warning that the state’s first-in-thenation primary status could be threatened if Democratic election legislation becomes law.

According to WMUR, the ABC affiliate in Manchester, N.H., Cotton said he had enjoyed campaigning for Republicans in the Granite State.

“You can be confident that I’ll be back again in the future. Not just on Zoom, as we will be tonight, but in person very soon,” he said.

2 students named McLarty Scholars

Two University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service students have been named McLarty Scholars, enabling them to serve a semester-long fellowship in the nation’s capital.

Ophelia Delali Akoto and Rodrigo Santos Legaspi will both work for the Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Donna McLarty, one of the co-founders of the McLarty Scholars program, is also co-founder and chair emeritus of Vital Voices, a nonprofit organization that works to “identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world.”

“Since 2017, McLarty Scholars have conducted research and analysis to support the [Vital Voices] network of women leaders around the world,” McLarty said. “This year’s focus will be on collecting stories of the women’s experiences as they confronted and reacted to the crises arising from the pandemic. This will provide significant insights and guidance in future programming and network collaboration.”

Akoto, who has a master’s in business administration from the University of Central Arkansas and a bachelor’s degree in management and entrepreneurship from Henderson State University, will “generate and analyze a wide range of economic, social and on-theground data” for Vital Voices.

Santos Legaspi, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at El Paso, has recently been conducting surveys measuring Central Arkansans’ views about poverty, hunger and homelessness.

“Ophelia and Rodrigo will gain a deeper global vision through their work at Vital Voices and in turn the organization will benefit from their contributions of research and perspective,” said Mack McLarty, another McLarty Scholars co-founder.

Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (501) 908-5204 or flockwood@ adgnewsroom.com. Want to get the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Washington bureau? It’s available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.