Susan Altrui, who had been serving as acting director of the Little Rock Zoo since the retirement of the zoo’s longtime director, Mike Blakely, in October, was named director of the Little Rock Zoo in December.

She joined the zoo in 2005 as director of marketing and development, moving up to assistant director in June 2015.

Altrui, born and raised in central Arkansas, earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and rhetoric from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 2000 and a master’s in speech communication and rhetoric from Colorado State University in 2003. She was named an Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 in 2008.

What’s the biggest challenge facing the Little Rock Zoo?

The Little Rock Zoo faces challenges similar to any business or nonprofit. We’re always looking for ways to increase revenue in a mission-focused way while holding the line on expenses. We’ve seen a large increase in the cost of animal feed, construction materials, concession products and other materials that we use every day.

Our largest challenge will be replacing and updating old facilities. Studies we’ve conducted show that the zoo has the potential to double the number of annual attendees from 300,000 to 600,000 with the right capital investment. This would make the zoo a regional tourist attraction and create the kind of revenue the zoo needs to sustain itself in the long run. We need the right public and private investment in the zoo to build exciting new exhibits and facilities that engage the guest while educating them about the importance of conservation.

The role of zoos is changing as people’s opinions about animal rights and welfare are changing. What is your understanding of the role of the Little Rock Zoo?

The zoo is a place where learning lives. There’s just something special about seeing an animal in person that you can’t replicate on a screen or in a book. Zoos and aquariums are inspiring the next generation of biologists, conservationists and wildlife specialists.

It’s important for zoos to emphasize the work we do for conservation and for zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums to emphasize the high standards we have for animal care. The knowledge of expert scientists, researchers and animal care specialists in the AZA zoological community will greatly impact the conservation of animals in the wild by contributing knowledge and resources to organizations working to save wild species.

There have been several high-profile incidents of children falling into animal enclosures, including one incident here in 2014. What are some of the zoo’s safety measures?

We take safety very seriously at the Little Rock Zoo. We do regular safety trainings, and that’s the reason we were able to respond quickly and efficiently in the 2014 incident that saved both the life of the child and the lives of the animals involved. Since then we’ve added secondary safety barriers to all dangerous animal exhibits and are always improving our safety protocols and procedures. You can never be too safe. There are more than 180 million people attending an AZA zoo or aquarium each year. That’s more than all professional sports leagues combined. AZA zoos and aquariums have a remarkable record for safety.

How did you get involved in this field?

I started as the director of marketing and development for the zoo nearly 12 years ago. I knew very little about zoos or even about animals, for that matter. I’ve had to learn on the job. I was very fortunate to have mentors like Zoo Director Mike Blakely and City Manager Bruce Moore, who allowed me to grow in this field and take advantage of professional development opportunities. They also gave me responsibilities that challenged me to be a leader. It’s important that executives provide these types of opportunities.

When my sons were small, I noticed that their appetites for soft drinks expanded to match the amount of soda that was in the house. Stocking up during a sale was counterproductive; as long as there was a can of Coke in the house, they wanted Coke.

I had noticed this curious phenomenon before when it came to my appetite for ice cream, which is why I don’t routinely keep ice cream in the freezer. I adopted the same policy on soft drinks: I bought them only as an occasional treat. My boys drank milk and water and Crystal Light, and now they are adults who seem unwarped by such a deprived childhood.

I bring up this topic in part because the Arkansas Legislature is considering asking the federal government for permission to restrict purchases of junk food using benefits from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program formerly known as food stamps. But mainly it’s because I read an article in The New York Times about a new U.S. Department of Agriculture study that revealed that SNAP households spent more than 9 percent of their grocery dollars on “sweetened beverages,” which are mainly sodas (5 percent) but also fruit juices, energy drinks and sweetened teas.

Sweetened beverages, in fact were the No. 2 expense category for SNAP shoppers, behind the protein category of “meat, poultry and seafood.” But while meats were No. 1 for all purchases, non-SNAP families spent less on meats and sweet beverages and more on vegetables, cheeses and fruits than SNAP shoppers.

The rest of us still buy a whole lot of sweetened beverages — 7.1 percent of the non-SNAP expenditures, with 4 percent spent just on sodas. “This report raises a question for all households: Are we consuming too many sweetened beverages, period?” Kevin Concannon, the USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, said in an interview with the Times.

The USDA report concluded that the “food purchases, consumption patterns, and dietary outcomes among SNAP participants and higher income households are more similar than different,” and it’s hard to argue with that. Low-income Americans aren’t extraterrestrials, and the report didn’t compare their purchases with wealthy households but with all non-SNAP buyers.

But the USDA seemed to be soft-pedaling the soft drink purchases, characterizing the 5 percent that SNAP households spent on soft drinks as “somewhat more” than the 4 percent spent by non-SNAP households, when basic math tells us that it’s actually 25 percent more of a nutrition-free product.

The article so surprised and fascinated me that I posted it on Facebook with this comment: “I have mixed feelings about efforts to micromanage what poor people are allowed to eat, but if nearly 10 percent of SNAP benefits are paying for completely nonessential soft drinks, it seems easy and reasonable just to make that category ineligible.” I wasn’t as precise as I should have been — it’s 9.3 percent of grocery dollars spent by SNAP households, which often includes some of their own money, and the category includes all sweetened beverages, not just soft drinks. Lordamercy, some of my friends seemed to think I was suggesting punishing the poor.

“Ah, Gwen, your inner conservative is showing,” one friend said, as if that were a bad thing. I was told that exempting soft drinks from SNAP would be “like kicking people when they’re down,” and, most astonishing, “They need calories cheap. Let them have their soda.”

Dear Soft Drink Lobby: You have some powerful liberal allies out there.

But others, both liberal and conservative, agreed with me that taxpayers should not be paying for sodas in a country overwhelmed with obesity and diabetes. (I don’t have the energy to fight about juices.)

I do not resent SNAP beneficiaries. I do not want to punish them. I’m sure there are a lot of other foods that they, and the rest of us, would be better off without. But there is no category of empty calories that consumes so much of SNAP households’ grocery budget as soft drinks, and for all the shaming I took on Facebook, I couldn’t shake the conclusion that it would be an easy and reasonable category to exempt from SNAP. Almost any other food purchase would have more nutritional value.

And that was before it was pointed out to me that in his bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” author J.D. Vance described his stint as a grocery store clerk, where he observed food stamp recipients buying soft drinks in order to resell them at a discount. Laundering them for cash, as it were.

As soon as our younger son left for college, nearly a gallon of milk went sour in the refrigerator. That’s when a friend gave me this great tip I’ll share with you: Organic milk is more expensive, but it lasts much longer.

Gwen Moritz is editor of Arkansas Business. Email her at GMoritz@ABPG.com.

A Van Buren investment group bought a 268,000-SF office-warehouse in Rogers for $4.8 million.

Breeden Robinson LLC, led by Larry Breeden, bought the facility from Superior Industries International Arkansas LLC, a subsidiary of Superior Industries of Van Nuys, California.

The facility at 1301 N. Dixieland Road was built in 1989 and includes about 229,000 SF of warehouse space and 12,000 SF of office space.

Marshall Saviers of Sage Partners in Fayetteville represented the buyer, and Holmes Davis of Binswanger represented Superior Industries.

Upchurch Electrical
The president and CEO of Upchurch Electrical Supply bought the company’s Fayetteville headquarters.

Double DMC Holdings LLC of Fayetteville, led by David McConnell, paid $2.15 million for Upchurch’s 24,704-SF office and warehouse at 2355 N. Gregg Ave.

McConnell became sole owner of the company when he was named president and CEO in 2007.

Upchurch, a wholesale supply company, was founded in 1955 and has locations in Fayetteville, Rogers and Fort Smith.

Fayetteville’s Signature Bank of Arkansas assisted the purchase with a loan of $1.72 million.

The seller was KMW Holdings LLC, led by former President and CEO Jeffery Koenig, who retired in 2007. KMW Holdings acquired ownership of the facility for a bit more than $2 million in 2005.

Fayetteville Car Wash
Speedy Splash Car Wash Arkansas LLC of Owasso, Oklahoma, paid $1.05 million for the Auto Magic Car Wash at 3274 N. College Ave.

Speedy Splash is led by Tony and Lori Fitch.

The seller was DCE Inc., led by Drew and Ella McGee of Pea Ridge. Speedy Splash also acquired an adjacent half-acre lot on North Lee Avenue.

United Bank of Springdale assisted the purchase with a loan of $1.24 million.

Adams Street Townhouses
A housing complex in Fayetteville sold for $775,000.

Fayetteville Fund LLC, led by Philip Schmidt and Jordan Jeter, who are partners at Flake & Kelley Commercial Northwest, bought Adams Street Townhomes at 601 Adams St.

The complex has seven units of more than 9,500 SF.

The seller was CRR Properties LLC of North Little Rock, led by Arby Smith.

Bear State Bank of Little Rock assisted the transaction with a loan of $610,000.

Price Cutter
Harps Food Stores Inc. of Springdale bought its Cutter Food Warehouse in Springdale.

Harps paid $1.12 million for the 48,450-SF facility at 1101 S. Thompson St. The property is a little more than 1.5 acres.

The seller was Harp, Harp & Van Hoose General Partnership, a group composed of the Reland Harp Family Testamentary Trust, the Gerald Harp Family Trust and Jerre Max Van Hoose.

The general partnership group and Harps terminated a lease agreement before the sale.

Harps Food Store
A Springdale investor acquired a 7.5-acre property that includes a Harps Grocery and the Plaza Shopping Center at 1300 N. Thompson St. in Springdale.

Almaraz SPE LLC, led by Antonio Almaraz, paid $2.65 million.

The seller was Harp’s Properties of Little Rock.

Ohio National Life Insurance Co. of Cincinnati assisted the purchase with a loan of $4.2 million.

Springdale Dunkin’ Donuts
The site of a future Dunkin’ Donuts in Springdale went for $585,650.

Hyde Park Properties I LLC, led by Jack Goehring IV and Greg Vasey, bought the 0.7-acre lot on Elm Springs Road.

Goehring and Vasey are partners in Hyde Park Ventures, which operates Dunkin’ Donuts franchises.

The lot is adjacent to the Whataburger restaurant at 4172 Elm Springs Road.

The seller was Elm Springs Center LLC, led by John and Joyce Pak.

First Fidelity Bank of Oklahoma City assisted the transaction with loans of $1.03 million and $213,750.

The story of Dogpatch USA is a meandering one that now covers half a century. Its course resembles the winding, up-and-down path of Scenic Highway 7 that brought hundreds of thousands of visitors during its 25-year run.

(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of business history feature stories. Suggestions for future Fifth Monday articles are welcome. Please contact Gwen Moritz at (501) 372-1443 or GMoritz@ABPG.com.)

Trouble is brewing for Joanie White-Wagoner, administrator and vice president at the new $150 million Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway.

She and her husband, Darren Wagoner, are facing foreclosure on a 45-acre Conway horse ranch and restaurant complex that they bought less than a year ago.

In a complaint filed last month in Faulkner County Circuit Court, Centennial Bank claims that the Wagoners and their Inception Management Group LLC are in default on about $2.7 million in debt connected to the Back Achers Ranch and Legends Bar & Grill at 3725 College Ave. The complaint says that Wagoner and White-Wagoner failed to make payments on a $2.5 million mortgage they assumed in buying the property from Letitia McMaster in May, as well as a $200,000 business loan from the same time.

The property, including the restaurant and a 47,000-SF arena, appears to be out of business. The restaurant’s listed phone number has been disconnected, and repeated calls to the ranch number drew a busy signal.

White-Wagoner was named to lead the Conway hospital a year ago, long before its opening in September. Previously, she served as the administrator and chief operating officer of Texas General Hospital near Dallas. She is an Air Force veteran and longtime rider, according to various interviews.

The Centennial complaint, filed by Sherwood attorney Vaughan Hankins, says that the Wagoners personally guaranteed the loans, and that as of Dec. 22 they owed $2.5 million and accrued interest of $46,780 on the mortgage alone. “The Bank’s right of foreclosure has become absolute” on both loans, the complaint says.

White-Wagoner did not return a call to her office at the hospital on Thursday, and no response had been filed in court.

WASHINGTON — Consumers boosted spending in December at the fastest pace in three months, giving the economy some momentum going into 2017.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Momentum Jonesboro, the economic development fundraising plan targeting job growth in northeast Arkansas, is on pace to reach its $3.7 million goal in May, as officials hoped.

But the city isn't waiting on the final tally to begin work.

Designed to create 2,500 jobs that pay $42,000 or more a year — with the related economic benefits that entails — Momentum Jonesboro is a five-year plan that has already secured $2.2 million in private capital from 31 different companies.

"The business sector that is participating in Momentum Jonesboro I think is excited about the plan," said Mark Young, president and CEO of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce. "It is taking our existing efforts to a new level and we're excited about what the future holds."

The fundraising initiative, devised by the private partnership development organization Jonesboro Unlimited, is focusing on three primary areas: marketing and staff to court selected industries, workforce development and improving Jonesboro's quality of life standards.

Young said efforts are already underway on all fronts, including workforce development, which is targeting five industries based on existing talent, resources, economic factors and past relationships.

Those industries, Young said, are agriculture business, advanced manufacturing (which includes food processing, equipment manufacturing and pharmaceuticals), logistics, health care and professional services.

"We've started the implementation process of the strategic plan," Young said. "And so … as part of that, we have just recently launched a new web site that was part of that strategic plan. In addition to that we have task forces that are working in each of those areas I've mentioned before."

Workforce development, Young said, will focus primarily on education and the strategy ranges from pre-K schools up to Arkansas State University plus local trade and technical schools like ASU-Newport, which has a campus in Jonesboro. The Momentum Jonesboro task force, for example, is delving into a plan that would chart a student's advancement in the field of information technology from eighth grade through college graduation.

"Part of it is looking at the skills we need in those targeted industries, part of it is ensuring we have the talented workforce to succeed today, three years from now, five years from now and 10 years from now," Young said.

Young noted that northeast Arkansas has always been a strong region for agriculture in the state, while the city's utility price structure has traditionally lent itself to manufacturing and food processing. The designation of Interstate 555 and improvements to local roads and highways set the table for success with logistics and distribution firms, Young said, while professional services like information technology, engineering and accounting are ripe targets in today's economy.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is less established in the northeast Arkansas region, but health care plays a large role. St. Bernards Healthcare — of which Momentum Jonesboro General Chair Chris Barber is CEO — is the city's largest employer with more than 2,800 workers.

Additionally, Young said, Arkansas State has partnered with the New York Institute of Technology to implement a doctoral program in osteopathic medicine, giving ASU its first medical school.

"If you look at the assets our community already enjoys, we serve as a health care hub for the region," Young said.

While Jonesboro's unemployment rate of 2.8 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor) is well below the national average of 4.7 percent, 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data shows the median household income was $41,688, 25 percent below the national average (and also below the state average). More than 23.7 percent of Jonesboro residents were at or below the federal poverty line.

Such performance figures helped provide the impetus and goals for momentum Jonesboro, Young said.

"If you look at the average wage in Craighead County it's roughly, approximately that, so everything we want to focus our attention on is above that," Young said.

"If you look at the targeted industries that we have, each of those areas that we are targeting and being very intentional about pay above that particular threshold."

LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas House on Monday approved a tax break for retired military veterans, but the proposal is drawing objections from conservatives over a plan to raise taxes on soda, candy and digital downloads to help pay for it.

The proposal, which cleared the House on a 75-14 vote, would exempt military retirement benefits for about 29,000 veterans in the state. The measure now heads to the Senate, where a panel endorsed an identical version of the bill. Supporters of the measure, including Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are touting it as a way to draw more retirees to Arkansas.

"This moves us a step closer to having a tax environment in Arkansas that will be an incentive for military retirees to locate in Arkansas," Hutchinson said in a statement after the vote.

But the proposal faces resistance from some GOP lawmakers and anti-tax advocates over increases proposed elsewhere to help pay for the $13 million exemption. The legislation would also levy sales taxes on e-books, digital music and ringtones. It also calls for levying the state's full 6.5 percent sales tax - rather than the lowered 1.5 percent rate for groceries - on soda and candy and making unemployment benefits subject to income taxes.

The proposal also calls for reducing the tax that restaurants and retailers pay on syrup for soft drinks.

Conservative activist Grover Norquist, head of the Americans for Tax Reform, urged lawmakers in a letter sent Monday to oppose the tax hikes contained within the legislation.

"If we could separate out the taxes and vote for a clean bill to give veterans a break on their retirement, who wouldn't vote for that?" said Republican Rep. Charlotte Douglas, who voted present, which has the same effect as voting against a bill. "But when I talk to my veterans, they all say 'do not vote for this bill.' They say it's not right to put that on the backs of other Arkansans for us to pay for it."

The digital downloads proposal was made after lawmakers scrapped an initial plan to raise taxes on manufactured housing, a proposal that opponents said would unfairly harm rural and poor taxpayers.

Supporters of the measure said the increases were needed to avoid cuts to state needs to pay for the exemption.

"No one likes cuts to their schools or to their prisons or other programs, so we've been careful to find other ways to show how this bill will pay for itself from the very beginning," Republican Rep. Charlene Fite said.

A member of the Senate panel also expressed reservations about the exemption being paid for with additional hikes.

"I think our state's budget, out of $5.4 billion, we could have found the ability to simply give this tax cut to the military veterans and not raise any revenue to do so," Republican Sen. Jason Rapert said

The measure advanced shortly after lawmakers gave final approval to Hutchinson's plan to cut income taxes for more than 600,000 Arkansans making less than $21,000 a year. The $50 million cut will take effect in 2019 under the legislation, which also creates a legislative task force that will recommend deeper tax reductions before the 2019 session. Hutchinson plans to sign the measure into law on Wednesday, his office said.

December unemployment was down in Arkansas from a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Department figures released Wednesday.

The bureau reported overall unemployment in Arkansas at 3.8 percent, down from 4.6 percent a year ago but up from the 3.5 percent recorded in November.

Overall unemployment rates were down in 236 of the nation's 387 metropolitan statistical areas, higher in 111 and unchanged in 40.

Unemployment dropped in each of Arkansas' six metropolitan areas from December 2015. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers showed a decrease from 3.2 percent to 2.7 percent, and in nearby Fort Smith, the rate dropped from 5.1 percent to 4.3 percent.

There were 27 MSAs in the United States with unemployment below 3 percent, and five had rates of 10 percent or more. Other than Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, none of Arkansas' other areas were below 3 percent, but all but one of the state's MSAs were below the 4.5 national average (not seasonally adjusted), which was down from the 4.8 percent recorded in December 2015. 

December unemployment in the Hot Springs MSA dropped from 5.1 percent in 2015 to 4.3 percent; the Jonesboro MSA fell from 4.1 percent to 3.2 percent, and the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA dropped from 4.0 percent to 3.3 percent. 

Only the Pine Bluff MSA unemployment rate was above the national December average, but it was also down from November, dropping from 6.3 percent to 5.2 percent. 

The rate in the Texarkana MSA rose slightly from 4.5 percent to 4.6 percent, while Memphis dropped from 6.1 percent to 5.3 percent.

There were 192 areas with a jobless rate below the average of 4.5 percent while 186 had rates that were higher and nine had rates equal to the national average. 

The lowest unemployment percentages in the nation were found in Ames, Iowa, and Burlington, Vermont. Both were at 2.1 percent.

The highest unemployment percentages were found in El Centro, California, (18.8 percent) and in Yuma, Arizona (15.3 percent).

Tommy Keet, president of JTJ Juice Bars LLC, is bringing a new sandwich concept to Little Rock.

Keet has paired Paninis & Company with his existing I Love Juice Bar location to provide fresh sandwiches and salads with house-made dressings for customers dining in or taking out.

Located within I Love Juice Bar in the Midtowne Shopping Center, Keet has partnered with Boar's Head meats and cheeses to offer that company's products. Paninis & Company will also offer vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options.

The I Love Juice Bar franchise was founded in 2013 by husband-­and-­wife team Vui and John Hunt in Nashville. In four years, the franchise has grown to include locations in 16 states. Keet's Little Rock location is the only I love Juice Bar franchise in the state.

Paninis & Company's menu includes three starter options, seven sandwiches and two salads, according to its website. Customers can also create their own sandwich from a variety of different toppings and breads. The restaurant is open Mon.-Fri. from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sat. from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and closed Sun.

George's Inc. of Springdale said Friday that Brian Coan has joined the privately held poultry company in the newly created role of chief customer officer. 

The company said Coan will lead sales, marketing, product development and customer service, and will focus on "executing an aggressive growth strategy to offer highly effective resources and execution to our valued customers."

Coan most recently worked as vice president of enterprise supply chain and strategic sourcing at Buffalo Wild Wings, where he oversaw purchasing, distribution, supplier relationships, real estate and design. Before that, he worked for companies including Chick-fil-A, Cagle's Inc., Columbia Farms and Goldkist Inc.

"Brian's experience, customer focus and leadership skills certainly set him apart, and we're grateful to have him join our team," said Charles George, co-CEO and president of George's. "With his guidance, we look forward to accelerating our growth strategy as we strengthen our alignment to our customer’s needs."

George's, an approved supplier to national food service distribution networks, has production facilities in Arkansas, Missouri and Virginia.

Terraforma LLC of Maumelle announced Friday that it has purchased, through Smarthouse Way LLC, 5.6 acres along the Arkansas River at the foot of the under-contruction Broadway Bridge from the city of North Little Rock for $2.6 million.

The company plans to use the land for a mixed-use entertainment district, which could include a hotel, offices, condos and restaurants along a boardwalk facing the Arkansas River, according to Doug Meyer, Terraforma's managing member.

Taggart Architects Inc. of North Little Rock has produced an initial design.

Meyer said views from the property of the Little Rock skyline are "amazing." He said the Broadway Bridge will be a "one-of-a-kind landmark" that adds to the overall effect.

Meyer said the next step for Terraforma is to market the property, listed with Newmark Grubb Arkansas of North Little Rock, to an anchor tenant seeking a building that will bear its name. He said there isn't a set timeline for development.

Meyer said the real estate development firm is taking its time to avoid any mistakes, working closely with the North Little Rock mayor and his assistant to make sure that, whatever is done with the property, it gets the city's seal of approval. He's heard that money from the sale may go toward the Argenta Plaza project. 

"We're wanting to put together just the right deal … We're looking at it from the perspective of what's best for the overall site," Meyer said. "We kind of want to have a 24/7-type feel to it."

He added that two parties have expressed interest in being tenants but declined to disclose their names. 

Todd Larson, executive director of the North Little Rock Economic Development Corporation, said Terraforma has a "fantastic plan" for the property. 

"Our city government and the Economic Development Corporation look forward to helping make this vision a reality," he said.

The site, currently identified as the Argenta Waterfront District, was also a Brownfields site, which means it was remediated and given a clean bill of health, Meyer said. The firm bought out the contract between the city and the Brownfields program. Meyer said the property is not in a floodplain and is ready to be marketed and developed.

Terraforma also owns 300 and 301 Main St. in Little Rock. The company renovated 300 Main for its tenant, marketing firm CJRW.

Meyer said Terraforma has gravitated toward downtown revitalization. Meyer serves on the Metrocentre District and Downtown Little Rock Partnership boards, and his wife owns Bennett's Military Supply in downtown Little Rock.

J. Fletcher Hanson III, principal and executive managing member of Newmark Grubb, said the company is "excited to align with Terraforma" as the project's listing and advisory firm.

Last week in this space I described the reaction of my Facebook tribe to my shocking conclusion that too much of SNAP (food stamps) benefits are being spent on soft drinks and that the soda pop category could easily be excluded from SNAP without harm to any human beings. (See I Need A Drink.)

After the column appeared, and I posted a link to it on my Facebook page, the feedback loop began all over again — both on Facebook and on the ArkansasBusiness.com website. I haven’t changed my opinion about the value of soda, but I have had a rich opportunity to observe several logical fallacies used by seemingly rational adults.

At this point, I would like to call your attention to an exceptional service to mankind performed by people named Jesse Richardson, Andy Smith, Som Meaden and an Australian graphic art studio called Flip Creative. These are the humanitarians credited with creating, and making available for free download at YourLogicalFallacyIs.com, a poster describing two dozen common logical fallacies that are cluttering up debates on issues important and trivial. I find myself referring to it often — and finding myself guilty now and then.

The most common logical fallacy that I observe, both online and IRL (“in real life”), is the straw man. Maybe that’s why it’s listed first on the poster titled “Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies.” A straw man, as described on the poster, is “misrepresenting or exaggerating someone’s argument to make it easier to attack.”

A perfect example was a comment posted on my column on our website: “I continue to snicker at the thought that you actually believe that if you change the law, all these recipients will start to eat brussel sprouts.” I never thought that. I never said that or anything remotely like that. What I said was, if SNAP benefits could no longer be spent on nutrition-free sodas, “almost any other food purchase would have more nutritional value.”

Other logical fallacies that were dragged into the Great Soda Debate were what the poster calls “slippery slope,” “bandwagon” and “appeal to emotion.” The slippery slope fallacy asserts one event, which may not be unacceptable, will necessarily lead to another very undesirable thing, so the first thing must not be allowed to happen. The bandwagon fallacy uses popularity as validation. An appeal to emotion is just that — replacing compelling argument with an attempt to manipulate emotions — and I know I’m guilty of that one myself (mainly in response to ad hominem fallacies, which are personal insults in place of facts).

Sometimes there seem to be hybrids, like suggesting that my desire to see soda excluded from SNAP will inevitably lead to even more (slippery slope) and far crueler (appeal to emotion) punishment of the poor. There definitely are people out there who are eager to make life more miserable for people who dare to be poor — “We should be paying for beans and rice and rice and beans and not a whole lot else,” read one heart-warming comment — but I’m not among them. I tried to head that off by declaring, clearly, “I do not resent SNAP beneficiaries. I do not want to punish them.”

I noticed President Trump using an “anecdotal fallacy” to bolster his otherwise unsupportable belief that millions of fraudulent votes were cast in the November general election. It was a second-hand, or maybe third- or fourth-hand, story about a German-born golfer who was not allowed to vote in Florida while other people who appeared to be non-native were allowed to cast ballots. The golfer Trump mentioned, Bernhard Langer, is a German citizen who knows he’s not eligible to vote, so the anecdote the president cited is so factually muddled that it can’t be considered evidence of even one case of voter fraud, much less a national scandal.

Anecdotes can be very helpful in describing and understanding a widespread phenomenon, but extrapolating from a sample of one is a logical fallacy.

Trump has also misrepresented the conclusions of a Pew Charitable Trust study on outdated voter registration to support his claims of widespread voter fraud. But that’s not a logical fallacy. That’s just saying something that isn’t correct, and because he has been repeatedly corrected, I have to assume that it’s deliberate. There ought to be a name for that.

If you disagree with me about SNAP and soda, feel free to let me know. But I’m not likely to respond unless you come up with a novel and fallacy-free argument in favor of taxpayer subsidies for a nutrition-free product that is sucking up five of every 100 SNAP dollars and contributing to obesity and diabetes.

Gwen Moritz is editor of Arkansas Business. Email her at GMoritz@ABPG.com.

Valentine’s Day, one of the prime chocolate-giving occasions, is in a week, so today I bring news of Cocoa Belle, a local chocolate shop that late last month opened a storefront in Bryant. And though Cocoa Belle isn’t a restaurant, one could easily make a meal of its fine handmade truffles and chocolate bark.

Carmen Portillo, Cocoa Belle’s owner, operator and chief chocolatier, joins chocolate-makers Ashton Woodward (Cocoa Rouge) and Nathaniel Izard (Izard Chocolate) in offering premium chocolate in central Arkansas.

Portillo’s Bryant shop isn’t her first chocolate-retailing attempt. In 2008, Portillo, a Little Rock native, opened a spot in the River Market. But her timing wasn’t great — the Great Recession — and she closed the store to concentrate on providing her treats for weddings and corporate events.

This time around, she’s armed with a $100,000 loan from the Arkansas Capital Corp., $15,000 in savings and a Delta Entrepreneurship Network fellowship. Portillo was one of four Arkansas entrepreneurs chosen in September as winners of the fellowship, which provides development support for the winners’ business plans and detailed feedback on their product pitches. It also provides them with the chance to pitch their businesses at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week in March.

Portillo, who previously had crafted her chocolates with her own hands in her own kitchen, had determined that she wanted to scale up and enter wholesale e-commerce, and to do that, she needed a commercial kitchen and money to equip it for chocolate-making. The 1,000-SF shop, at 3614 Market Place Ave. in Bryant not only houses her kitchen — filled with $75,000 in equipment; a chocolate tempering machine alone cost $30,000 — but room to display and sell her products.

Portillo started her chocolatier career making truffles, but she doesn’t use preservatives in her truffles. Retailers wanted to carry her products, but they needed to be shelf-stable, so Portillo started making chocolate bark to sell wholesale to retailers. “If I was going to expand and have other people carry my things, I needed to start a product line that would be shelf-stable but yet have no preservatives and still have great quality.”

Portillo has her eye on getting her products into specialty stores in central Arkansas, like the Green Corner Store at 1423 Main St. in Little Rock, which will carry her chocolate bark. She’s in talks with other specialty retailers in the area, and hopes to move into northwest Arkansas once she has developed the distribution and fulfillment sides of the business.

Portillo has high praise for Arkansas Capital Corp. “They really have been great,” she said. “I feel like I’m a walking billboard for them.”

At Entrepreneur Week in New Orleans, she’ll be pitching her bark, which currently comes in three flavors — Ambrosia, Mississippi Mud Pie and Pecan Pie — in front of buyers and investors. Portillo, a Southern girl, envisions a whole Southern-dessert-flavor-themed chocolate bark line, which, in five years, she’d like to see in specialty stores and boutique hotels throughout the South.

If you can’t make it to Bryant but want to try Portillo’s chocolate, Cocoa Belle plans a pop-up shop at Bella Vita Jewelry at 523 S. Louisiana on 2nd Friday Art Night Feb. 10.

The busiest times for chocolatiers is autumn through Valentine’s Day, though Portillo says Mother’s Day is also big and she is considering developing Easter-themed products. And she stays busy through summer providing wedding favors.

However, “Valentine’s Day is Super Bowl for us. It’s all hands on deck. It’s nuts.”

The developers behind the planned John Daly’s Steakhouse in Conway are now pushing for a June 1 opening date. The restaurant, at 912 Front St., is named for and honors the colorful pro golfer who once called Dardanelle home.

The project also includes four 1,000-SF lofts, providing living space for tenants and dubbed The Lofts at 912.

“We’re full steam ahead on construction,” Adam Waldron, CFO of the S.A.M. Group of Conway, says of the $3 million-plus project.

Two different convention center construction projects continue to move forward in Jonesboro.

The Jonesboro Hyatt Place Hotel and Convention Center broke ground at its site on Browns Lane Access Road, in the city's hotel district near Interstate 555, in August; its projected completion date is spring 2018. 

The Embassy Suites Hotel and Red Wolf Convention Center on the Arkansas State University campus is approaching its ground-breaking date and also targets next spring for completion.

"I don't want to box myself in with a 'This is our opening day,' " said Chris Keller of CFK Hospitality of Effingham, Illinois, the company behind the Hyatt project. "We're looking at potentially April next year."

In July, Hilton Worldwide approved plans to build the Embassy Suites Hotel and Red Wolf Convention Center on the ASU campus. The location is on Red Wolf Boulevard near the university's football, baseball and basketball venues.

Groundbreaking for the ASU project will take place within 60 days, according to Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Hospitality Management of Springfield, Missouri. He expects to be complete in 14-15 months. 

O'Reilly said the $50 million facility will have a 203-room hotel and 30,000 SF of meeting space.

"We're 95 percent done with drawings at this point," O'Reilly said. "It's a real deal and it's happening and we're excited about it."

Phase I of the Hyatt project will have 147 guest rooms and more than 50,000-SF of meeting space at a cost of around $35 million, Keller said. He said Phase II, which includes a second hotel, would run the cost to around $56 million.

"I'm very confident in the project itself and I think it will speak for itself and draw a customer base," Keller said.

Jonesboro spent years seeking a convention center, and now it's about to have two. 

After a series of false starts and financing issues, including a failed city sales tax proposal in 2006, ASU began work on an on-campus project. The Keller and O'Reilly groups emerged as finalists for the ASU project in late 2013, with Keller initially winning the job.

But deadlines for a final proposal and financing approval passed and the university moved forward with the O'Reilly group. The Keller group continued to pursue other projects in Jonesboro, eventually landing at the site near I-555.

The Hyatt project is expected to benefit from its location, which includes proximity to the interstate and other hotels on 42 acres of undeveloped land being sold as Centre Park, with lots designated for office, medical and retail space.

Keller said the Hyatt Place Hotel and Convention Center will begin bookings in the fall and, while business travelers and weddings seem to be a good fit, he stressed the facility is open to any and all events.

"It's wide open across the board," he said.

The Embassy Suites Hotel and Red Wolf Convention Center will likely attempt to draw academic-oriented conferences and functions and athletic events like basketball tournaments. But O'Reilly said the facility will not limit itself.

"I know our target is everything," he said. "Every piece of business we can book."  

The university's fledgling hospitality degree program will also find space in the center.

"We will partner with O'Reilly Hospitality to implement a new academic program in hospitality management," ASU Vice President of Strategic Communications Jeff Hankins said in an email. "And this will enable us to recruit students interested in this growing professional field. The development will also provide new jobs for our students and the Jonesboro region."

"We don't have a specific curriculum established at this point," O'Reilly said. "But we've had pretty in-depth conversations about internships, rotating culinary programs and rotating management programs."

It remains to be seen if the city, with a projected 2017 population of 75,016, and surrounding area can support two convention center projects. Feasibility studies have shown that one center could generate as much as $50 million in the local economy in one year.

NEW YORK — The nation's largest retail trade group is predicting that annual retail sales will increase between 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent this year.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Two Main Street redevelopments  — one on each side of the Arkansas River — were announced this week by Moses Tucker Real Estate Inc. and Newmark Grubb Arkansas.

Moses Tucker said its $3 million redevelopment of the Arkansas Democrat Lofts building at 615 Main St. in Little Rock is finished. The building is 100 percent leased, with Three Fold Noodles & Dumpling Co. set to move from its location to 215 Center St. to the 3,500-SF ground floor.  

The other development is underway in North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts and Entertainment District.

John Chandler is renovating the EO Manees building at 317 Main St.

Plans are to finish those renovations in August, Newmark Grubb said, and the firm will lease the 10,000 SF of office and retail space. The monthly rental rates range from $2,560 to $3,855 for 1,935 to 4,987 SF.

The Little Rock building is mixed-use as well, with eight loft-style apartments on the second floor that start at $1,000 a month, according to Director of Marketing Morgan Baden. They are one- and two-bedroom units with exposed brick walls and 14-foot ceilings.

Also, the Raimondo Winery in Mountain Home (Baxter County) had planned to move into the space that will house Three Fold. But Baden said the business backed out of that deal. Arkansas Business called Raimondo on Thursday and will update this story.

The architect for 615 Main St. was Cromwell Architects Engineering Inc. Central Construction was the contractor, and Arvest Bank financed the project.

Renovations to the Argenta building began in January. Plans call for approximately 4,987 SF of retail space on the first floor and approximately 4,640 SF of office space on the second floor. There will also be an elevator.

The building had been occupied by Thomason Furniture, which is now operating in the adjacent building at 315 Main St, according to a news release.

Chandler has also completed several other mixed-use projects in North Little Rock’s downtown, including the Koehler Bakery Buildings at 711-715 Main St, 314-315 Main Street and the Faucette Building at 421-429 Main St.

An approximately 1,980-SF retail/office space is available at 715 Main St., and approximately 2,500 SF of space is retail/office space is available at 709 Main St.

Leasing Agent Fletcher Hanson of Newmark Grubb said in the release, “With past occupancy being extremely tight in the Argenta District, these new projects provide businesses with a long awaiting opportunity that did not exist prior to the redevelopment. We expect spaces to lease quickly and look forward to the create of new customer experience throughout the district.”

A 70-room hotel in North Little Rock tipped the scales at $3.9 million.

Andy & Andrew Hotel Investments LLC, led by Ashok Desai, purchased the Comfort Inn & Suites at 3915 McCain Park Drive. The seller is Shree Jala Bapa Associates Inc., led by Jitendra Patel.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $4 million from Arkansas Federal Credit Union of Jacksonville.

The 0.9-acre development previously was linked with a February 2006 mortgage of $3 million, a March 2009 mortgage of $300,000 and an August 2010 mortgage of $50,000 held by First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville.

The site was bought for $140,000 in June 1997 from Lilac LLC, led by Andy Collins.

Multifamily Buy
A 33-unit apartment project in Little Rock weighed in at $1.22 million.

Parker Investments Group LLC, led by Ricky Parker, acquired Cantrell Valley Apartments at 7201 Kentucky Ave. The seller is Jarrett Property Management EYBJ LLC, led by Emery Jarrett.

The 0.85-acre development is now helping secure a $3.1 million loan from Chambers Bank of Danville.

The project was purchased for $438,000 in May 1994 from W.P. Gulley Jr.

Madina Purchase
A 17,082-SF office-warehouse in west Little Rock rang up a $1.1 million sale.

Madina Institute Inc., led by Muhammad Nino, bought the 12123 Kanis Road project from James and Terry Barnes.

The deal is funded with a 15-year loan of $1.1 million from BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The 1.14-acre development was acquired for $572,000 in March 2005 from Mary Fitton, Robert Aguiar and J-D Leasing LLC, led by Fitton.

Sonic Order
A Sonic in North Little Rock changed hands in a $960,000 transaction.

D.L. Rogers Corp. of Grapevine, Texas, purchased the 3610 Camp Robinson Drive project from Hard-Mark Land Co. of Oakland, Mississippi.

The 0.78-acre development previously was tied to a November 2015 mortgage of $655,000 held by Southern Bancorp Bank of Arkadelphia.

The location was bought for $165,000 in December 1989 from Andy’s of America Inc., led by Garland Streett.

Branch Acquisition
A 1,426-SF bank branch in Little Rock is under new ownership after an $850,000 deal.

First Community Bank of Batesville acquired the former Allied Bank project at 4900 Kavanaugh Blvd. from Today’s Bank of Huntsville.

Today’s took ownership of the branch in November in the aftermath of its negative bid of $6.1 million to buy Allied.

Allied purchased the property for $650,000 in January 2010 from 4900 Kavanaugh LLC, led by Gene Cauley.

Chandler Investment
An 11,000-SF building in downtown North Little Rock sold for $700,000.

EO Manees Building LLC, led by John Chandler, bought the 317 Main St. project. The seller is Thomason Furniture Co., led by Joe Thomason.

The 0.17-acre development previously helped secure an October 2001 mortgage of $483,000 held by Centennial Bank.

The property was acquired in July 1973 as part of a $75,000 deal with the estate of Edward O. Manees.

Islamic Land Deal
A 3.96-acre parcel in west Little Rock drew a $575,000 transaction.

Islamic Center of Little Rock Inc. purchased the land at 14900 Kanis Road from Christopher Olsen.

The property previously was linked with a March 2009 mortgage of $272,627 held by BancorpSouth Bank.

Olsen bought the land for $185,000 in August 2004 from Laverne Jones.

Treetops Home
A 2,185-SF condo in the Riverdale area of Little Rock rang up a $750,000 sale.

The James Boliver Conner Revocable Trust acquired the 10th-floor Treetops unit from William and Peggy Marshall.

The residence previously was tied to an April 2015 mortgage of $152,423 and an October 2016 mortgage of $841,653 held by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The Marshalls purchased the property for $750,000 in August 2014 from the Jackson T. Stephens Jr. Marital Trust.

Country Club House I
A 2,546-SF home in the Country Club Heights neighborhood changed hands in a $737,000 deal.

Martin Silverfield bought the house from Richard and Paula O’Brien.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $589,600 from Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The O’Briens acquired the property for $443,000 in April 2015 from JWB Co., led by Buddy Benafield.

Bretagne Manor
A 4,706-SF home in the Bretagne Circle neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development is under new ownership after a $729,000 transaction.

Joe and Sylvia Potter purchased the house from James and Lynda Yuen.

The Yuens bought the residence for $737,000 in January 2002 from the Joe E. Hughes Construction Co.

Downtown Condo I
A 2,379-SF condo in downtown Little Rock’s River Market Tower sold for $650,000

Steve and Alicia Rucker acquired the 12th-floor unit at 315 Rock St. from the Fisher Family Trust, led by Cynthia and Robert Fisher Jr.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $450,000 from Regions Bank. The residence previously was linked with a June 2014 mortgage of $520,000 held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The Fishers purchased the space for $449,000 in May 2013 from River Market Tower LLC, led by Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker.

Downtown Condo II
A 1,948-SF condo in downtown Little Rock drew a $630,000 transaction.

Paolo and April Lim bought the 13th-floor unit at 300 Third from Jeremy and Hadley Lewno.

The deal is funded with 30-year loans of $417,000 and $87,000 from Bank of Little Rock Mortgage Corp.

The Lewnos acquired the property for $415,000 in October 2012 from FNBC Bancorp Inc. of Ash Flat.

FNBC recovered the condo in September 2010 after obtaining a $582,319 judgment against BDR Investments LLC, led by Jim Swink.

Arbors Abode
A 4,115-SF home in The Arbors neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $618,750 foreclosure sale.

Regions Bank recovered the house from Gary Hendershott. The residence previously was tied to a December 2012 mortgage of $635,355 held by the bank.

Hendershott bought the property for $950,000 in August 2006 from Phase III Inc., led by David Pickering Jr.

Country Club House II
A 2,118-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock rang up a $515,000 transaction.

Karen Johnson purchased the house from Paul Donagher and Vanessa Weiss.

The residence previously was linked with a November 2012 mortgage of $376,999 held by Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The property was acquired for $494,000 in May 2008 from Susan Jones and Charles Smith.

Maisons Residence
A 4,965-SF home in The Maisons neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development sold for $510,000.

William and Tiffany Greenfield bought the house from the J&A Living Trust, led by Derek Fisher.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $408,000 from One Bank. The residence previously was tied to an October 2005 mortgage of $472,000 held by Wells Fargo Bank.

The trust purchased the property for $590,000 more than 11 years ago from Coburn Construction LLC, led by Roger Coburn Jr.

You may have read that Core Brewing & Distilling Co., the rapidly growing Springdale craft brewery, has abandoned its plans for a distillery in Fort Smith. The Southwest Times Record quoted Core VP Jay Richardson as citing “funding issues with the chamber,” as in Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Richardson tells Whispers, however, that it wasn’t so much a failure to deliver on tax breaks and other incentives as it was a big push by a yet-to-be-named city in east Arkansas to attract the distillery and companion cooperage (a maker of barrels and casks).

“There were some challenges there,” Richardson said of the Fort Smith location, the 36,050-SF former Times Record printing plant at 1000 Rogers Ave. “But bottom line, it really came down to we just got a phenomenal deal from this other city that we just couldn’t walk away from. That was really the big crux of everything.”

The phenomenal deal includes, he said, tax incentives. But, he continued, “we’ve also got some private investors who want to be a part of that, so there’s a package that the guys from this area have put together that is so enticing you can’t walk away from it.”

“There’s some significant investment being made just to get us there,” Richardson said.

Late last year, Core increased its equity offering to $4.2 million, all of which has been sold, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. That’s up from $3.5 million in January 2016.

Core, founded by Fort Smith native Jesse Core, has two locations in Springdale and pubs in Fayetteville, Rogers, Fort Smith, Bentonville, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and North Little Rock.

As for the new location of the distillery, Richardson said: “We are close to confirming that location. We’ll probably make an announcement in the next week or two. But we’re almost there.”