Thursday’s thumbs

State Senate wisely kills ban on recording

It’s Thursday, so we’ve washed up our hands — naturally while singing the “Happy Birthday” song — and we’ve got our thumbs out and ready to go.

It was entirely ludicrous early this week when the Arkansas Senate advised Arkansans wanting to observe the work of lawmakers from the Senate gallery that they were prohibited from using their smartphones for livestreaming or video recording. It was a knee-jerk reaction to concerns about protesters disrupting the Senate’s business, which is a fair concern but easily handled other ways. Thankfully, the Senate’s Efficiency Committee on Wednesday ditched the three-day-old policy, which would have prevented Arkansans from recording celebratory moments — such as when the Senate honors a team or an individual. The Senate’s work is “a public event and the public ought to be able to record it, good or bad,” said Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale. Kudos for the senators who helped the Senate come back to its senses.

Congratulations to Springdale teachers Lindsay Hall and Lisa Taylor, the state’s only recipients this year of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Hall teaches at Young Elementary School. Taylor teaches at Shaw Elementary School. It’s a great achievement for them and a proud moment for Springdale.

It’s just coincidence the county that Republican state Sen. James Sturch has called home his entire life is called Independence, but that’s what he seemed to be offering a healthy dose of Wednesday as he spoke to his colleagues at the State Capitol. Sturch lamented the increasingly personal nature of attacks among lawmakers and the decline in collaborative work among them to develop consensus on state policies. Perhaps his full-time job as a social studies teacher has something to do with his concern that the state Legislature is behaving too much like Congress. We appreciate where he’s coming from and the fact that he expressed those concerns. What has it earned him back home? Republican committees in at least two counties within his district have voted against recommending him to voters in this year’s election, suggesting his approach to the office isn’t Republican enough.

The brightness of modern headlights and the way they can blind oncoming motorists is a growing problem (Don’t even get us started on how unnecessarily blinding the flashing lights of newer police vehicles can be). The good news is U.S. officials focused on highway safety are about to give their own thumbs up to technologically advanced headlight systems in cars that can tailor their beams on the fly. That means they will keep the road ahead illuminated, but narrow their focus as a car approaches so the oncoming driver isn’t overcome by the glare. The advancement should make it easier for everyone to see better as they travel along the nation’s roads.

Kudos to Shannon Boy Skokos, a graduate of Alma public schools, and her husband, Ted, who are donating $1 million to the Alma Education and Arts Foundation. The foundation encourages students to pursue education beyond high school, promotes education in the arts and helps deliver the arts within the community. It will also pay for upgrades to the Alma Performing Arts Center, which will now be named after the couple.