Governor Mike Beebe hears from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regarding the Mayflower oil spill, allaying some of the governor's initial concerns regarding how cleanup will continue. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel begins investigations into the spill, though after a visit to the site, he has more questions than answers. And an Arkansas House Committee passed a proposal to offer $125 million dollars to the Big River Steel superproject.
Ozarks At Large

For this month's First Thursday event, the Fayetteville Underground will feature a memorial reception for local artist Myrtle Laabs, the watercolor artist who died at the age of 108.


An Arkansas House panel advances a proposal to cut taxes on utility manufacturers, but a budget expert isn't so sure about the plan's long-term effects, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel begins investigations into the Mayflower oil spill, Mike Ross hints at the governor's race, and air traffic control operations will continue at Fayetteville's Drake Field, though the city has to pick up the expense.

Becca Martin Brown of Northwest Arkansas Media gives us the scoop on what's ahead for TheatreSquared and the Walton Arts Center.
If you've been waiting for a novel set in Miami with four good friends, a python, a Haitian family seeking a better life and the line "hyperactive poo-flinging banshee," then you're in luck. More simply, if you've been waiting for the next crime-tinged novel from Dave Barry, then your're still in luck. Even better still, Barry is headed for the Fayetteville Public Library April 12.
Legislators return to the state capitol this week following developments last week on the legislature's biggest decisions this session: the state's Medicaid program and whether to approve a $125 million state investment in a steel mill in northeast Arkansas.
Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville may be a secret for now, but it won't be for long. We'll explain why, and we find out how distance education will have a larger footprint in the University of Arkansas School of Law next fall.
In just more than a decade, Mark Landon Smith, director of Arts Live Theatre, has taken the program to new heights. Becca Martin Brown has more on their upcoming season.
Here are our ten clips inspired by monster trucks...well, all monster---no trucks.
1. Bobby Pickett sings Monster Mash.
2. Boris Karloff and O.P. Heggie in an iconic (if often misquoted) scene from The Bride of Frankenstein.
3. Warren Zevon's song Werewolves of London.
4. Maria Ouspenskaya and Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man.
5. Godzilla, the song by Blue Oyster Cult.
6. Godzilla, the fire-breathing monster.
7. Edgar Winter and the classic rock instrumental, Frankenstein.
8. King Kong's roar. You get credit if you guessed a lion's roar played backwards...because that's what it is.
9. Imagine Dragons' song Monster.
10. Bela Lugosi's Dracula doesn't lie...he just doesn't tell the whole truth.
Apologies to: Lon Chaney, Sr. (silent films are not good Sunday Montage fodder), the Creature From the Black Lagoon and Of Monsters and Men. Maybe next time.
The Arkansas gross domestic product grew in 2013, particularly in some unexpected sectors. With one of the architects of the Arkansas Private Option defeated in a primary runoff this week, the future of the Medicaid expansion is in doubt, but Governor Mike Beebe is undeterred. Plus, this weekend marks the 149th anniversary of the end of slavery in the U.S., and the 17th annual NWA Juneteenth Celebration will mark the occasion in Springdale.
"Ten Million Slaves" Otis Taylor
Michael Tilley, from The City Wire, talks about the latest details regarding an acquisition of Hillshire.