Becca Martin-Brown, features editor with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette , says Arkansas Public Theater's production of Annie opened last weekend, despite a curveball. She also gives us a few ideas for how to spend our time this weekend.

Two University of Arkansas nursing professors recently received a four-year, $2.8 million Health Resources and Services Administration grant that will allow them to continue a program that places students, who are focused on earning their Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, at rural or underserved primary care clinics.

Earlier this year, Rahim AlHaj performed at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center in Fayetteville. While he was in Northwest Arkansas, he brought his oud to the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio to give us a sampling of his mastery of the instrument.

A new regional arts service organization is launching in Northwest Arkansas. It will be developed by the Northwest Arkansas Council and has backing from the Walton Family Foundation . While the organization doesn’t have a name, it does have an executive director. We speak with Allyson Esposito about her new position.

Northwest Regional Housing Authority , headquartered in Harrison, helps “very low income” families and individuals to rehabilitate their homes, especially elders.

After nearly eight years as the producer and host of Of Note, we say goodbye to Katy Henriksen and reflect on her time as KUAF's curator of compelling classical music and all-around arts guru.

This week's Northwest Arkansas Business Journal Report includes a survey of recent economic news with Mervin Jebaraj, Director, Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, toured the region with U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers. Their visit included a discussion of the opioid epidemic and an effort to reduce new HIV infections in Arkansas.

A report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General this month cites widespread deficiencies in hospices that participate in Medicare, which insures many U.S. hospice stays. But Arkansas hospices, one industry expert says, are receiving good ratings.

Ayanna Pressley was born in 1974 in Chicago. While a student at Boston University Metropolitan College, Pressley interned for the office of U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, D-MA, and eventually left school to work for the congressman full-time. She later became political director and senior aide to John Kerry and was elected to the Boston City Council multiple times. Pressley ran for Congress in 2018 and won, making her the first African-American woman sent to Congress to represent Massachusetts. This