9 spots hosting Boo!-seum Bash
This year's Big Boo!-seum Bash -- where families are encouraged to dress in costumes and visit area museums for a night of trick-or-treating and games -- has 15 partners at nine locations.
"The Big Boo!-seum Bash was created to provide the public with free access to our great local museums and cultural attractions. It's a safe, fun, family friendly event that people of all ages enjoy," said Gretchen Hall, president and chief executive officer of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Visitors who visit all nine locations for Thursday's event are eligible for the grand prize: an electronic tablet. Those who visit seven or more locations are eligible for a $100 second prize.
Game cards will be given at each location, and the card must be stamped at each spot to be eligible for the drawings. Prize entrants must be 18 or younger.
There will also be a social media prize. Everyone is encouraged to post photos on Facebook with the hashtag #LRBooseum. Through a random drawing, someone will win a Little Rock-themed museum package.
The event locations are: Arkansas Arts Center at 501 E. 9th St., Historic Arkansas Museum at 200 E. 3rd St., Little Rock Visitor Center at Historic Curran Hall at 615 E. Capitol Ave., MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History at 503 E. 9th St., Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at 9th St. and Broadway, Museum of Discovery at 500 President Clinton Ave., Old State House Museum at 300 W. Markham St., Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center at 602 President Clinton Ave., and Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum at 120 Riverfront Park Dr. in North Little Rock.
Seminar on war at Clinton School
Foreign correspondent Nick Schifrin will lead a seminar on war in Afghanistan and Pakistan at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Clinton School of Public Service.
Schifrin is a Clinton School visiting fellow. His seminar guest will be Richard Hoagland, former deputy U.S. ambassador to Pakistan from 2011 to 2013, who will appear via Skype.
Schifrin was the first journalist to provide video from inside Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan after a raid there and bin Laden's death in 2011.
His talk will focus on the raid, U.S. diplomatic relationships with Afghanistan and Pakistan, drone strikes and migration. It is expected to last until noon.
Avoid candy with palm oil, asks zoo
Little Rock Zoo is asking consumers to purchase palm-oil free candy this Halloween season.
The palm oil industry has "wreaked havoc" on rain forests where some endangered species live, the zoo said in a news release.
The zoo buys hundreds of pounds of candy every year for its annual Boo at the Zoo event -- which began Saturday and runs until Halloween -- but it only purchases brands that use sustainable practices, said Susan Altrui, the zoo's assistant director.
"Our mission is to inspire people to value and conserve our natural world. One way we inspire people is by taking care of animals that are in danger of extinction so guests can see them close up and come to love them," Altrui said. "But we also practice what we preach. When Boo at the Zoo started 25 years ago, we were unaware of how the wide-ranging use of palm oil impacted the animals we work to save."
The zoo is encouraging people to review the list compiled by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado that ranks candy manufactures as Excellent, Good or Needs Improvement.
Hershey's, Endangered Species Chocolate, Mars, Wrigley, Mondelez International, Kraft, Lindt and Justin's are all ranked Excellent. Nestle, Wonka and Ghirardelli are ranked Good. Haribo gummy candy is ranked as Needs Improvement.
State authors win writing awards
Arkansas authors Marvin Schwartz and Sandy Longhorn will be awarded the Worthen and Porter literary prizes Thursday.
A Prized Evening, the annual event where the honors are bestowed, is 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Central Arkansas Library System's Main Library Darragh Center at 100 Rock St. A book signing and reception will follow.
The event is free and open to the public.
Schwartz will receive the Booker Worthen Literary Prize for his book We Wanna Boogie, which tells the history of early rock 'n' roll in Arkansas and its origins in black and white musical styles in the Arkansas Delta. The book focuses on the life of Sonny Burgess, a Newport native.
Longhorn is being awarded the Porter Fund Literary Prize for her lifetime body of work. She has authored three books of poetry and holds a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Arkansas.
Utility saves $5Min loan refinance
Little Rock Wastewater is saving $5 million in interest by refinancing a 2008 loan.
The Little Rock Board of Directors authorized the refinancing Tuesday.
"When added to the refundings in 2014 and 2015, nearly $20 million of future interest savings has been achieved, more than $14.5 million present value," said John Jarratt, the utility's chief administration officer.
Average annual debt payments have been reduced by more than $1 million.
Just prior to the refinancing, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the utility's credit rating to Aa3 with a "stable" outlook, whereas it previously had a "negative" outlook.
"This is great news. Having a negative outlook removed is a great indication that things have improved at LRW," Jarratt said. "Whenever an investor is looking to buy bonds, the first thing they do is obtain a copy of the rating report, so having the stable outlook gives LRW an opportunity to get better interest rates for the 2016 bond refunding.
"The stable outlook reflects the system's improving coverage ratios and liquidity, as well as adopted rate increases that will be imposed over the next five years," he said.
Readings kick off cornbread festival
The Arkansas Cornbread Festival will take place this week with three days of events.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, the Food, Culture and Community event will feature readings from University of Arkansas at Little Rock contest winners at the Bernice Garden. The event is free.
On Friday, a program with Caroline Randall Williams called Soul Food Love will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. The event is also free.
Later that night, there will be a dinner with Williams at the Capital Hotel at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $125 each.
Saturday's events will start with a 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. pancake breakfast at First United Methodist Church. The cornbread festival will then go on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the South Main area of Little Rock.
The cornbread competition is from noon to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Amateur and professional cooks will compete for a $1,000 top prize in both categories. Second place is $500, and $250 will be given for the best side dish.
"While there are several celebrity judges, everyone will get to judge using their smart phones," a news release said.
There will be food-related activities for children, food trucks, music by Buffalo Gals and Big Still River, and a vintage motorcycle show by Moto Arkansas.
Tickets are $8 for people ages 13 and up and $4 for children ages 6 to 12 if purchased in advance via Central Arkansas Tickets. Admission at the gate increases to $10 and $5, respectively. Admission is free for children 5 and under.
Metro on 10/23/2016