Daddy Warbucks

Daddy Warbucks
Bikes, Blues & BBQ doing less publicity this year

Daddy W. has noticed. Have you notice gentle reader that the upcoming Bikes, Blues & BBQ festival set for later this month has been doing less publicity?
Most of the locals who need to know (merchants, restaurant owners and others in sales) seem to know when it’s happening, but not much more than that. Local police and fire folks got the date, but not much more. And the advance to the community has been, well pretty much underwraps. Why?
Here’s what Daddy W is speculating: Reason No. 1 is the whine factor. Folks who wouldn’t get out except to go to the grocery store on a Saturday morning tend to write whiny letters to the editor bemoaning the over abundance of motorcycles in town. The college students don’t care, because most are flocking back home after a month of being away from momma’s home cooking. And by design there is not a Razorback football game that weekend.
So it is, by grand design, the perfect weekend for a $5-$9 million boost to the local service economy – hotels, motels, restaurants and others businesses. But why are organizers being so quiet this year? Another reason Daddy W’s guessing is the city leaders increasingly lukewarm response” to the festival. You’ve probably never seen Mayor Dan astride a chopper and probably won’t, even if he could snag a few votes from the bikers. Others in this year’s mayoral race don’t really have the Bikes, Blues & BBQ on their radar either. But they should. This is an important economic events and a cultural event for the city, and some rather loudly are saying that the city is killing the golden goose by its lack of enthusiasm for the event.
Of note, Bikes, Blues & BBQ folks have stepped up to begin giving more dollars to the charity groups the festival was originally meant to help out. And that is good. But it is still just a tip of the alleged money the festival draws in, so where does the rest of the expense money go? And what has the city figured out on how to collect the entire amount of taxes due from all those visiting vendors that are pulling in some really big bucks? All questions city leaders and our current mayor do not want to ask and answer.
BIG QUESTION
What percent of Facebook users accept friend requests from people they actually do not know? (Answer at the end of these ramblings).
WATCH AND DINE
A theater/restaurant combo, Dagobas at U-ARK, in the former U-ARK Bowl building on Dickson Street is now open. The restaurant, says owner Charles Jones, will serve up meals in a dine-in-theater setting. A little unusual, but something of a novelty. This is Dickson Street after all. Good luck Dagobas.
KUM AND GO COMING
Springdale will soon be getting one of the national chain Kum & Go Stores, a somewhat high class convenience store. There is already one in the Rogers/Lowell area. The one in Springdale will be on the southeastern side of town where the old T&T Diner was at 500 N. Old Missouri Road. Daddy W. hears the Kum & Go folks are looking for locations in Fayetteville. Stay tuned.
HOLY TUITION
The University of Arkansas says it will be paying $1.2 million more for electricity over the next 12 months, which is more than they budgeted. Holy tuition raise, undergrads. Look out. Southwestern Electric Power Co., which provides the university’s electricity, says the price of coal and natural gas, particularly natural gas, went up dramatically this summer, nearly keeping pace with oil prices.
HAPPY BAYS SPLIT
There has been a split in the ownership of several of the Happy Bays Car Washes in NWA. Shel Spivey and his business partners have split the business. The locations will be divided among the partners. Happy Bays in Lowell, Fayetteville, Bentonville and Siloam Springs now belong to the partners while Spivey holds onto the units in Springdale and Rogers.
PAY-PER-VIEW
The football gods were indeed smiling on new UA Athletic Director Jeff Long recently. Long announced, just hours before the lackluster 28-24 season opening win over Western Illinois that the Hogs would be offering pay-per-view for its Little Rock contest with Louisiana-Monroe. There were significant takers of the $39.95 product. A loss and he couldn’t have sold near the amount needed for the hook-up.
NEW TENANT
There are rumors, gentle reader, that another eco-friendly bakery is looking at the vacant spot on Block Street that Arsaga’s established and then the Little Bread Company took over. Little Bread closed recently after getting behind on their taxes.
BAND BUCKS
While the State Championship Fayetteville High School Bulldogs began their march toward a repeat this season, the FHS Band is trying to raise $300,000 for a trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The trip will cost each band member approximately $1,200. This community is just as proud of the band as it is the football team. Give generously to help this milestone be achieved.

BIG ANSWER: Almost half — 41 percent of all Facebook users say they let people they do not know join as their friends on their webpage. Pretty scary.