Opposes Park Ave. plan

After concerns over the scaled-back Park Avenue mixed-use center at University and Markham, the Hillcrest Residents Association board voted Monday to oppose the plan “in its current incarnation,” HRA president Hank Bates says.

Advertisement

The Park Avenue center has devolved from an urban retail-residential-office development to a shopping center anchored by Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods, critics of the current plan say. Mayor Mark Stodola was said to be in meetings with members of Strode Property Group on Tuesday. Strode’s planned unit development, approved by the Planning Commission over the objections of its staff, is to go before the city board of directors July 1. A multi-story office building is no longer in the plans and the design is at odds  with the design overlay district, which would require smaller parking fields, sidewalks, glass facades and other “town center” elements.

 

Advertisement

Swinging

Larry Audas, general manager at KTHV Channel 11, reports that he’s received a number of written and phoned complaints about the new CBS show “Swingtown,”  which airs at 9 p.m. Thursdays. Created by the same minds behind Showtime’s Mormon polygamy drama “Big Love,” “Swingtown” follows the promiscuous adventures of a group of Chicago suburbanites, circa 1976.

Advertisement

“What the viewers are writing in about is the thematic material in the program,” Audas said. “What I tell them is that the networks are charged with delivering programming to us that meets FCC guidelines, and we’re charged with ensuring that programming airs.”

Audas admits that “Swingtown” is provocative. “The thematic material in ‘Swingtown’ obviously does trigger concerns and discussion, and we’re receiving those concerns and feedback and forwarding that to CBS,” he said.

Advertisement

 

Girls gone wild

Advertisement

A gossip column in the Washington Examiner reports that Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers have teamed up to milk a little more cash out of their long-ago roles in Clinton scandals. They’ve filmed seven video segments, $1.99 per pop, to discuss their time with Bill Clinton.

In a segment called “Two Chicks Chatting,” the column said  “the two joke extensively about Bill’s, er, physical characteristics….”

Advertisement

Flowers says her infamy was no ticket to riches and adds, “What is fame without dignity?” Indeed. This from the woman who wrote in her autobiography about using a kitchen bowl when nature called while she was in the midst of a national radio interview?

 

 

Be a part of something bigger

As a reader of the Arkansas Times, you know we’re dedicated to bringing you tough, determined, and feisty journalism that holds the powerful accountable. For 50 years, we've been fighting the good fight in Little Rock and beyond – with your support, we can do even more. By becoming a subscriber or donating as little as $1 to our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage and continue to bring important stories to light. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, it's clear that our readers value our great journalism. Join us in the fight for truth.

Previous article Open mic Next article Without Clinton, Democrats face challenge in Arkansas