It's Thursday and another chance to fire off a few up or down thumbs about some of news developments in our neck of the woods and elsewhere:
[THUMBS UP] Opponents of a planned expansion of the Washington County jail failed in their effort to force an election on the expansion's funding, but pledged Tuesday to continue advocating for approaches that could reduce the number of people needing to be jailed. Those ideas include providing pre-trial services that could prevent people from missing court appearances, which can result in a judge jailing them; or diversionary programs for first-time or nonviolent offenders that stand a better chance of rehabilitating them; or counseling for substance abuse or mental health issues. Regardless of what happens with jail expansion, it certainly seems the judicial system -- including the elected circuit judges -- can do more to acknowledge jail isn't always the best cure for what drives crime. While Northwest Arkansas' population growth builds a strong case for jail expansion, it doesn't absolve the judiciary, law enforcement and local political leaders of trying to develop a better system that can treat defendants less like cattle and more like people.
[THUMBS UP] Don't let anyone fool you: It's not easy to set new records. They're made to be broken, they say. Just ask Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Lebron James. But doing it requires a tremendous level of dedication and hard work. That describes what Courtney Deifel has put in as the head coach of the University of Arkansas softball program. As of Feb. 18, she had earned the spot as the school's all-time victories leader in that sport with 245 wins, overtaking Carie Dever-Boaz's 1997-2004 record. More than that, however, the achievement created an opportunity for people who know Deifel to praise not just the wins, but the leadership. KB Sides played for the Razorbacks in 2022, having transferred to play for Deifel, and she became Arkansas' first SEC Player of the Year. The real reward, though, was Deifel's mentorship, Sides said in this newspaper this week. ""She brought me out of a place that I needed to be brought out of, and she did it with so much grace," Sides said. "She changed my entire life for the better, and I miss her every single day. ... She truly is just a one-of-a-kind human and I'm so happy for her. She deserves every bit of recognition that she ever gets." Sometimes fans (and others) can forget collegiate programs are (or should be) about more than winning. When a coaching career reaches its conclusion, testimonies like Sides' tribute to Deifel are always worth far more than the victory totals. Congratulations to Deifel not just for breaking a school record, but for being the kind of coach that makes the program, the institution and the state proud. She's the kind of coach any parent would be glad to send their daughter to play for.
[THUMBS UP] We've long appreciated the ability when we're driving to Tulsa to hop on the Cherokee Turnpike for a speedier journey, but stopping to find dollars or quarters for the toll booths was never a fun part of the experience. Forcing fast-traveling motorists to pull off the road to get in line and pay a few dollars also never made a lot of sense in terms of the safety everyone wants to promote. And though Oklahoma offers its PikePass transponder that negated such stops and reduced the toll fees, it didn't always make a lot of sense for the traveler who infrequently drives the turnpike. As of a few days ago, though, the turnpike has converted to a system that reads license plates and sends invoices to the registered owner of the car passing through. Easy peasy, as they say. PikePass is still available and there's also a smartphone-based app called PlusPass for notification of charges and an ability to pay based on registered cars.
[THUMBS DOWN] Northwest Arkansas leaders need to either convince people not to move to this region or find greater success in their efforts to promote the development of more housing. Which of those choices seem more likely or desirable? An excruciatingly tight housing market is putting the price of buying and renting in Northwest Arkansas beyond the reasonable means of too many residents, particularly people who already live in the region. Last Sunday, this newspaper reported that Rent.com, a website for people looking to rent apartments or houses, ranked Arkansas in fifth place among the 50 states in terms of its increases in residential rent -- 16.5% -- in the past year. In this case, ranking high is not a good thing. The website found rents in Arkansas went up seven times the national average, and much of that was in Northwest Arkansas. Are wages keeping up? No, particularly when food, health care and energy costs are rising, too. The region can ill afford to lose its image as the land of milk and honey in exchange for one in which people have to choose between a roof over their heads or food. Being a robust economic engine is far better than living in an economy in decline, but if the rising tide is supposed to lift all boats, what happens when too many people can't even afford a raft?