Samantha Friedman
Stories by Samantha
Grant to place volunteers at 5 nonprofits in state
posted: 07/26/2009 3:26 a.m. Discuss
Five Arkansas nonprofit organizations will benefit from Ameri-Corps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) participants, thanks to a Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation grant.
Arkansan author of best-selling fiction dies
posted: 07/25/2009 2:40 a.m. Discuss
E. Lynn Harris, an award-winning Arkansas author of gay black fiction, died Thursday after falling ill at a Beverly Hills hotel.
Cell-phone problem in prisons leads to calls for jamming law
posted: 07/20/2009 5:05 a.m. Comment 1
State prison inmates Charles Wilson and convicted murderers Calvin Adams and Jeffrey Grinder plotted their recent escapes from the Cummins Unit by using contraband cell phones, according to the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Arena's new sign to cost less than expected
posted: 07/16/2009 5:22 a.m. Discuss
A new digital marquee outside Verizon Arena in North Little Rock will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less than its board expected.
Only 2 counties in state file real estate records electronically
posted: 07/16/2009 5:21 a.m. Discuss
Though 11 of Arkansas' 75 counties are equipped with software to electronically record real estate documents, only two have begun processing electronic records. Since the Arkansas Legislature approved Act 734 of 2007, the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, only Pulaski and Benton county clerks have implemented the technology.
LR woman dies at ritual; role of voodoo uncertain
posted: 07/14/2009 5:11 a.m. Discuss
Lucille Hamilton, 21, of Little Rock was found dead in a New Jersey home Saturday night after taking part in what police are calling a "Voodoo cleansing ritual." Hamilton visited Gloucester Township in southern New Jersey to attend the event, held in a townhouse residence in the 400 block of Loch Lomond Drive. Hamilton and six others had come from around the country to participate in the ritual.
Police beat
posted: 06/26/2009 2:53 a.m. Discuss
2 women robbed at 2 LR Kroger stores Two women were robbed in the parking lots of two Little Rock Kroger grocery stores Wednesday afternoon, police said.
High Profile editor takes magazine job
posted: 06/23/2009 5:04 a.m. Discuss
Phyllis Brandon, founding editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Sunday High Profile section, will become editor-in-chief of Arkansas Life, a lifestyle and society magazine, published by WEHCO Media Inc., the Democrat-Gazette 's parent company.
Gena Renia Lovett
posted: 06/21/2009 3:22 a.m. Discuss
The last time she spoke to a graduating class at Philander Smith College, Gena Lovett had to share the podium with Bill Clinton. That was 1986; she was graduating class president, while the governor was keynote speaker.
Council says race for mayor is back on
posted: 06/17/2009 4:27 a.m. Discuss
The Wrightsville City Council on Tuesday overturned the interim mayor's veto of a special election to elect a new mayor.
'Tea party' founder says he's entering Senate race
posted: 06/16/2009 5:11 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Tea Party is about fiscal issues - slashing taxes and putting an end to deficit spending - a "tea party" founder said Monday.
Tucker inmate found hanging from cell bar
posted: 06/13/2009 5:51 a.m. Discuss
An inmate was discovered hanging in his cell at the state Department of Correction's Tucker Unit on Friday morning.
Homegrown rabbi
posted: 06/13/2009 5:43 a.m. Discuss
Women in central Arkansas' Jewish community have worshipped here for 170 years, singing and praying and reciting the sacred Scriptures.
Police say LR wife confessed to knifing death of husband
posted: 06/10/2009 3:58 a.m. Discuss
Police say a Little Rock woman told them she stabbed her husband to death Tuesday after an argument.
Police beat
posted: 06/10/2009 3:43 a.m. Discuss
Same 2 gunmen rob 2 places, police say Two men robbed two gas stations late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, Little Rock police reported.
Family praises slain GI, calling him soldier, hero
posted: 06/09/2009 5:35 a.m. Discuss
The day before he died, U.S. Army Pvt. William Andrew "Andy" Long floated the Buffalo River with his sister, Vanessa Rice. If he had his way, she said, the pair would have gone skydiving.
Heifer christens new education center
posted: 06/06/2009 3:42 a.m. Discuss
Exotic animals - water buffalo, alpacas, yaks and others - were among the main attractions Friday at the opening of Heifer International's $13.5 million educational facility.
All 8 bids for arena marquee rejected
posted: 06/04/2009 2:51 a.m. Discuss
Earlier this spring, Alltel Arena requested proposals from companies to build a new digital marquee, a technology that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. But Alltel Arena's board decided Wednesday to scrap all eight bids submitted for the 24-foot tall, 35-foot-wide digital sign.
Harding student film puts Africans in frame
posted: 05/30/2009 2:25 a.m. Discuss
Three Harding University students depart for Mozambique next month to help make a documentary.
LR panel names newest commissioner chairman
posted: 05/28/2009 4:19 a.m. Discuss
The Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission named its newest commissioner as chairman during its monthly meeting Wednesday.
Incessant rain drenches LR festival
posted: 05/25/2009 4:40 a.m. Discuss
If you're keeping score, it's now May weather 3, local festivals 0.
Top exec at Heifer endowing arm quits
posted: 05/22/2009 3:01 a.m. Discuss
Citing an investigation into "allegations of copyright infringement and plagiarism," the foundation supporting Heifer International's endowment accepted the resignation of its chief executive officer Thursday.
Fake police invade, rob LR house
posted: 05/20/2009 3:54 a.m. Discuss
A Monday armed robbery of a Debbie Drive home by two men impersonating police officers was not random, a Little Rock police spokesman said Tuesday.
Little Rock couple is breathing easier, now that hole in yard gone
posted: 05/20/2009 3:50 a.m. Discuss
After fearing that their home might follow their front yard into the ground, Maxine and Homer Boose finally feel safe.
Three men sought for clues in NLR interstate slayings
posted: 05/20/2009 3:49 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas State Police have made no arrests in their investigation into the deaths of Tammy Lawrence and Ahki Hughes, whose bodies were found May 9 in a sport utility vehicle on Interstate 40 in North Little Rock.
LR, church pitching in to fix growing sinkhole
posted: 05/07/2009 5 a.m.
Heavy rain late Tuesday and early Wednesday widened the hole in Maxine and Homer Booses' front yard to within a mere few feet from the front bedroom window. Late Wednesday morning, the city began repairing the 6-foot-deep pit that formed when an underground concrete culvert collapsed Sunday.
Hole in yard a heap of trouble for 2
posted: 05/06/2009 2:11 a.m.
The forecast calls for rain for the next several days, and Maxine and Homer Boose still have a gaping hole in their front yard.
Rains, broken culvert make yard collapse
posted: 05/04/2009 5:29 a.m.
Maxine and Homer Boose woke up to a crater in their front yard.
Rain dilutes Cinco de Mayo crowd
posted: 05/04/2009 5:14 a.m.
The rain didn't stop the party, though it did put a damper on things. The League of United Latin American Citizens' Central Arkansas chapter held its 11th annual Cinco de Mayo celebration at the River Market Pavilion on Sunday.
Lions World fires CEO as posts go vacant, fundraising languishes
posted: 05/01/2009 2:51 a.m.
With the ousting of its longtime chief executive officer, Lions World Services for the Blind is in the midst of a leadership shake-up. The nonprofit's vice president for development announced his retirement in January, and the organization's volunteer-led Angels for the Blind, which raises money for scholarships, hasn't had a president since January.
25 chicks left at post office rescued
posted: 04/28/2009 5:14 a.m.
Veterinarian Kim Miller didn't know quite what to expect when she got a call about a package that needed picking up at a Little Rock post office.
Thomas Franklin McLarty III
posted: 04/26/2009 2:10 a.m.
When Mack McLarty comes home to Arkansas these days, it's often for official business. In March, Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service, asked him to moderate a discussion at the Clinton Presidential Center among McLarty's friends former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Sens. David Pryor and Dale Bumpers.
Cut off from kids, addict found savior in agency
posted: 04/23/2009 3:53 a.m.
Seven years ago, the 11-year old son of drug addict Felicia Reed hanged himself.
Pupils spruce up grocery sacks for Earth Day buyers
posted: 04/22/2009 3:09 a.m.
Shoppers at the Kroger store at 6929 John F. Kennedy Blvd. in North Little Rock are being asked to recycle and save the planet today.
Study notes problems in disposal of 'drill water'
posted: 04/21/2009 5:42 a.m.
Arkansas' environment is being endangered by operations that dispose of "drill water " used by natural gas drillers in the Fayetteville Shale, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said in a report released Monday.
Stimulus a leg up for artists
posted: 04/20/2009 5:01 a.m.
Arkansas artists got some good news with the announcement that the Arkansas Arts Council will award more than $300,000 in federal stimulus money to state arts organizations this summer.
Friends, chefs cook up fundraising tour
posted: 04/19/2009 3:49 a.m.
The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary's Cooks Tour is a triple whammy.
Inactive voters get letters to check in
posted: 04/19/2009 3:16 a.m.
Pulaski County voters who haven't cast ballots since 2007 or notified the county of a move are being told to contact the county or risk having their names struck off voter lists.
Jewish camp scholarships are offered
posted: 04/18/2009 4:44 a.m.
In Utica, Miss., 32 years ago, a camper named Jane from Little Rock met a camp counselor named Scott from New Orleans.
Vote's in, the eggs have it
posted: 04/12/2009 3:40 a.m.
Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda - and 850 other guests - helped raise $146,000 for Youth Home at Eggs and the City on April 3. The Sex and the City-theme event at the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock was the 18th annual Eggshibition to benefit the psychiatric residential treatment center for adolescents.
River Market 'camp-out' to benefit Aldersgate
posted: 04/12/2009 3:39 a.m.
Three years ago, Sonya Wooderson was remarried on the 120-acre campus of Camp Aldersgate.
Literary Festival books 60-plus authors
posted: 04/05/2009 2:50 a.m.
As the Central Arkansas Library System takes over the Arkansas Literary Festival, five-time festival volunteer Olivia Cary takes the helm as festival chairman. This year's event will be April 16-19 in downtown Little Rock.
Tasty and educational
posted: 03/29/2009 2:56 a.m.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Alumni Association set multiple records March 19. The group brought in a record 400 guests for its annual "Taste of" event at the Bailey Alumni and Friends Center, which this year netted a record $55,000 toward merit scholarships.
It takes volunteers to hatch Eggshibition
posted: 03/29/2009 2:55 a.m.
They never see the children, but they're raising money for Youth Home anyway.
Social eyes: Foundations of history
posted: 03/29/2009 2:55 a.m.
"In most cities around the country, the public libraries are valued, but are passive institutions - or even passe institutions," said University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor Joel Anderson, as he addressed the crowd on March 21 at the free, public opening of the Arkansas Studies Institute.
REYNOLDS INSTITUTE ON AGING 'Watch cog' hailed by institute
posted: 03/29/2009 2:49 a.m.
Carolyn Kirkpatrick became the 11th recipient of the Jo Ellen Ford Distinguished Service Award at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Community Advisory Board quarterly meeting March 19. The luncheon was held at the Reynolds Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Society honors Phelps, Barnes for public relations excellence
posted: 03/29/2009 2:49 a.m.
The Arkansas chapter of the Public Relations Society of America recognized Robert Phelps, director of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, and chapter member Amy Oliver Barnes, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's School of Mass Communications, at its annual ceremony and luncheon March 20 at the Little Rock Club.
Exhibit lures volunteer back to her tribal roots
posted: 03/22/2009 3:25 a.m.
Jean Block was adopted, but she grew up familiar with her roots as half-Mayan, half-Southern Cheyenne.
Celebration raises $8,600 for college study abroad
posted: 03/22/2009 3:09 a.m.
The Amici dell'Arte Advisory Committee netted $8,600 at a March 13 reception for the Accademia dell'Arte, an arts and music college study abroad campus in Arezzo, Italy. The event was held at the 300 Third Tower home of Suzanne and Madison Murphy.
3 at ease for speech at center
posted: 03/21/2009 6:08 a.m.
At what former U.S. Sen. David Pryor called "the Arkansas version of the antique road show," he, former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers and former President Bill Clinton convened Friday evening to share stories from their political careers.
