Last week as I absorbed the news of Tyre Nichols murder by police officers in Memphis, two things stood out, playing over and over in my mind. The first was the part in the video that long, horrible video in which Tyre screams for his mother. "Mom! Mom! Mom!" he cries from the ground not far from home.
Astute readers may have guessed by now that I am a fan of tapping Arkansas talent for Arkansas things like government positions and education policy. If that is clannish, I can own that. I am not for choosing less qualified Arkansans over better qualified outsiders, but if qualifications are equal, I am going with the Arkansan each and every time. That same philosophy extends to Arkansas newspapers.
NEW YORK I am writing this column from a dimly lit restaurant called Iguana. I am at Iguana because I was freezing and hungry and my phone needed charging, STAT. Right before it breathed its last I googled "Mexican food near me" and poof! Iguana appeared, with nice reviews, overpriced coffee, decent nachos, and a friendly waiter who seated me near a plug-in, as requested.
There is something special about the community of professionals who make up public education in Arkansas. I have felt this sense of family since I was a kid.
There has been a lot of discussion about Gov. Sarah Sanders choice of Jacob Oliva for secretary of education, so I imagine readers are aware by now that this man who worked in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis government as chancellor of education over K-12 but not Higher Ed replaces Asa Hutchinson s Johnny Key. Several folks both in and outside of education have kindly asked me what I think about this particular appointment.