The line is open. I’m going to grill a hanger steak from Hillcrest Artisanal Meats and see if locally grown makes a difference. Otherwise:
* RESPONSE TO CHARGE: I’ve received a response from the former Little Rock School District employee named in a theft count last week. She says she’s done no wrong.
* THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE PRESIDENT: Arkansas Tech University theater arts students have started a webpage to defend the drama program. Tech President Robert Brown has done everything possible to squeeze the life out of the program.
* MORE DISCLOSURE ABOUT FRACKING: Texas is forcing more information into the open about chemicals used in fracking for gas? Also, significantly, more information about water use. Is it possible that Texas could be more environmentally advanced than Arkansas? Judging by the Arkansas Legislative Shale Caucus, I’d say the answer could well be affirmative.
* AMEN CORNER FOR SANTORUM: Right-wing political evangelicals back Rick Santorum for the Republican nomination.
* LITTLE ROCK RESIDENTS ON STRICKEN CRUISE SHIP: Fox 16 reports that a Little Rock couple, Mark and Sarah Plath, and her brother, Justin Baines, were on the Italian cruise ship that ran aground and turned over on its side off the shore of Italy. They said the jumped from the shore ship and swam to a rock to await rescue. They were interviewed on camera in ABC’s extensive report on the disaster. I found this interview with Mark Plath on a foreign TV network.