Daddy Warbucks

Daddy W. says it is bound to happen again and again. Fayetteville has been named one of the Best Places to Live, Work and Play. This time it was by Kiplinger.com, one of many who will continue to tout Fayetteville as one of the best. There are lots of good reasons to visit, work and play here. Good things are spread all around. Kiplinger.com ranked Fayetteville seventh in the U.S. of A. Woo Hoo. The top spot went to Houston (go figure) followed by Raleigh, Omaha, Boise and Colorado Springs. Six through 10 were Austin, Fayetteville, Sacramento, Des Moines and Provo. The college towns did well, but Daddy W does have a few questions about the report. He’s guessing that the report is looking at Fayetteville and its suburbs aka Bentonville, Springdale and all the others, since Kiplinger listed the population of Fayetteville at more than 400,000. The last time Daddy W. checked we weren’t even close to a quarter of that. The story also says that you can get a nice “starter home” here for just $200,000. Now, there are jobs here, but some are not so good. There are lots of homes on the market here and most would be considered affordable in certain other places in the U.S., but there are lots of low wage earners here who would like to buy a home, but who just don’t make the hourly wage to buy that “$200,000 starter.”

Masked Rider
Word on the street is that a well-positioned female candidate may enter the Ye Old Mayor of Fayetteville race. Watch out boys! And this lady will stand up and be heard. Will she run? We shall wait and see.

The Plans
Dr. Bobby New says sell. And that’s the right direction for the future of the Fayetteville High School. No one seems to remember the old Fayetteville Junior High School, where the Hillcrest Towers now sits. Progress and city growth dictated its sale and eventual demise. The old FHS is too small, too old and too landlocked. A new high school in the south part of town will be a good thing for this community.

No Uproar over downfall
Notice how all the uproar over the downfall of ANB has died down? Maybe no one got hurt—unless it was the veteran employees. But who speaks for them?

A bump
The Wal-Mart shareholders show is in town. There will be a bump in restaurants and club revenue, but probably nothing like a Razorback weekend. And have you heard that the Tulsa Golden Hurricane is coming to Coach J. Frank Broyles Field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the Hog Homecoming game this November? One website rumor is that the Hogs are paying $1 million to set this game. Stay tuned.

A fiery horse
Might be needed to broker the deal between Tyson Foods and Indian Conglomerate Gordrej Group. This deal has the potential in the chicken business to be a “big deal” for the Tyson Foods folks. And they are in need of some “world shattering” news amid this recession.

With the speed of light
Well maybe not that fast, but City of Fayetteville crews, have been told to get on the College Avenue work and get ‘er done. Is Mayor Coody trying to redeem himself on the promise that he made more than eight years ago that he would beautify College Avenue? To save face for another run? Wait and see.

A cloud of dust
It’s not just the mayor, but most of the sitting elected officials who had a voice in the matter, with dirt on their faces over—okay, let’s say it, the failed hotel project at the old Mountain Inn site. The city cut a sweetheart deal on that and now apparently doesn’t know what to do about it. How long is that city street over there going to be closed? Let’s get something done, boys and girls.

And a hearty
Ha, ha to the high-minded folks at the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics to the north in Benton County. It released its leader, CEO Andy Wilson, who joined the center in 2001, for a conflict of interest situation..uh oh. Talk about an ethical dilemma.

Hi Ho Silver
Gov. Mike Beebe may be the masked man behind a little state grant thrown to the tiny wide spot in the road, Amagon—Beebe’s hometown. But maybe not. It’s hard for state employees, even the worker bees, to turn down a grant from the governor’s hometown. And hey, we are sure Amagon needed the $192,000 to pave their streets.

Away from home
A consulate to the Marshallese may be closer to being based in NWA than ever before. Springdale folks are holding their breath and quickly looking for donated land, least the planned consulate find a home in vacant federal space in, of all places, Fayetteville.
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