Column

A clear message

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] It’s been a struggle to come up with a more precise or acceptable or enlightened descriptor than what first appeared in my farm-boy brain…

Newt and noise

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears to be the candidate to beat in the GOP presidential primary. I tend to agree with the conventional…

Frankly speaking

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] There has been a lot to witness, consider and attempt to understand in recent months. We’ve had Whirlpool announce they are shutting down and…

Back to Madonna

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] More than a few folks I’ve talked to in recent weeks fear the electoral beat down of the 1% prepared food tax in Fort…

Raymond still matters

Editor’s note: This essay about my grandfather, Raymond Evans, was first published November 2002 when I was business editor of the Times Record. A version of that essay can be…

1% tax, 99% drama

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] We’re going to keep this Riff Raff thing short and sweet in an effort to use this space to encourage Fort Smithians to be…

Heartened

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Have in recent weeks noticed the brighter energy of our region. This has been a curious development for a cynical ass of a journalist…

Crack research

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Tiresome has become this 1% prepared food tax issue in Fort Smith. This back and forth with their facts, our facts, your facts, my…

The ‘Keep moving’ business plan

Had the opportunity this week to gather with a group of folks related to the home building industry. The Greater Fort Smith Association of Home Builders presented its 2011 Showcase…

Maria and John Paul

Events sometimes coincide to provide perspective on the world around us. Such was the case a few weeks ago, with one event a tragedy and the other a triumph. On…

A natural solution?

Nicolas Loris is of the belief that natural gas is the answer to an ailing U.S. economy and the pursuit of national energy independence. He posted on Sept. 21 a…

The business owner says …

Warning: If you are more offended by blue language than government incompetence, please CLICK NOW to another page. This week came the news that Arkansas officials overpaid an estimated $161…

Connections

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] It was when encamped at Yosemite National Park with a small group of U.S. Marines and Naval Corpsmen that I achieved my most “religious”…

Pants on the ground

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Folks who rant and rave about the so-called failure of the Fort Smith Convention Center are a tad off base. More than a tad,…

Note to self

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Please know, Kind Reader, that what follows is commentary directed at myself. It’s not being selfish, but more a matter of the need to…

Building blocks

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] Thousands of years ago when employed by a local chamber of commerce, a gaggle of us chamber folks from around the country gathered in…

Ticket punching

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] The gaggle of Republicans hoping to get their chance to redecorate the Oval Office in early 2013 participated Thursday in what these days passes…

On losing Sam

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley [email protected] I once got angry at Sam M. Sicard. It was during my time as an employee of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce. There…

It’s been an historic debate in Washington D.C., with far-reaching ramifications. For example, Illusionist David Copperfield, who once made the Statue of Liberty disappear, faces a significant career crisis because…

Unsettled

The thing is, Fort Smith City Director Kevin Settle is a likable guy. Or, to the point of this essay, he has a likable side; amiable, also. More to the…