There isn’t another facility like it in the country, period. The 200, 000 SF Ridge Athletics Center broke ground in April 2025, and with plans for 12 basketball courts, a 50, 000 SF natatorium and an outdoor water park, it’s shaping up to be a game changer. “We have spent a significant amount of time receiving expert advice and community engagement to ensure it is the best it can be for the next several decades,” said Jerry Morgan, chair of the Jonesboro Advertising & Promotion Commission, which will oversee the operation of the RAC. Regional draw One of the key functional design aspects of the RAC is the division of the facility’s 12 basketball courts or, in other configurations, 24 volleyball courts across two separate gyms. “The RAC was designed with two different court areas to provide programming flexibility. The eight-court and four-court gyms can be utilized together for a large tournament, or they can function separately, allowing for concurrent events,” said Mark Owings, senior vice president of architecture at Crafton Tull, which designed the facility with Hastings & Chivetta Architects. The four-court gym will double as an events center capable of hosting formal events and trade expos. The RAC’s crown jewel is the 1, 250-seat natatorium. The 50-meter, dual-movable bulkhead competition pool can be set up in multiple configurations, including with diving competition capacity. What really sets the RAC’s natatorium apart, though, is its 25-meter warm-up pool, which will allow athletes to prepare for their races without using space in the competition pool, eliminating any need for breaks in racing. It also provides space for community programming, like swim and exercise classes and swim parties. The RAC will also be a hub of summer fun. An outdoor water park, complete with large slides and a zero-entry pool, is scheduled to be the final piece of the project. Investing in community The City of Jonesboro appropriated $3. 2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the project. It also wouldn’t be possible without the 2% “hamburger tax” approved in 2021 by the Jonesboro City Council, which is expected to generate $6. 6 million in 2025 alone. “The Ridge Athletic Center is a bold investment in Jonesboro’s future a place where opportunity will grow, talent will shine and our community will continue to thrive,” said Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver.
https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/raising-the-bar-ridge-athletics-center-redefines-recreation-across-the-region/
Tag Archives: appropriated
Renowned restaurant chain closes after being targeting by anti-Israel protests
**Plant-Based Kosher Chain Shouk Closes Permanently Amid Protests and Boycotts**
Shouk, a plant-based kosher street-food chain based in Washington, D.C., has permanently shut down its final locations this month. The closures come after two years of protests and boycotts led by anti-Israel activists, which significantly impacted the business.
Once celebrated by the Food Network and *The Washington Post* for its popular “Shouk Burger,” the chain operated five stores across the region. However, local activist group DC for Palestine spearheaded a boycott campaign alleging that Shouk’s falafel and other menu items “appropriated” Palestinian cuisine. The group also accused the owners of being “complicit in Israeli apartheid.”
Dennis Friedman, a Jewish American co-owner who, along with Israeli partner Ran Nussbacher, opened the first Shouk location over a decade ago, rejected these accusations. Speaking to Fox News Digital, Friedman emphasized that Shouk’s mission was to bring people together.
“I don’t agree with that because the intention of Shouk was pure and good,” Friedman said. “When my business partner came to me, it wasn’t ‘let’s make Israeli food.’ He wanted to make plant-based food that reminded him of his childhood and home. That was the core of where we started to build the recipes.”
Friedman explained that Shouk has primarily been promoted as a Mediterranean, plant-based, and Middle Eastern restaurant. “Very rarely have we claimed anything else. That’s why Shouk is written in both Arabic and Hebrew in all the stores because we are a place to bring everyone together.”
He described Shouk as “a gathering place for people of all races, colors, and creeds to come together to enjoy food” that is good for customers and the planet alike.
The co-owner noted that their Georgetown location was the first target of protests, citing its proximity to Georgetown University and the area’s “heavy Muslim population.” Friedman said business was thriving before October 7, but protests quickly began to damage their income.
“We reached out to local business groups and representatives and hired security outside our stores,” Friedman said, describing the experience of being harassed by protesters over the past two years as “scary and unnerving.”
He recounted some disturbing incidents: “We had everything from little children coming into the store during a busy lunch screaming ‘Free Palestine’ while their parents videoed for social media.”
Friedman called the protests part of a “very coordinated” and effective effort by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to hurt Shouk.
“There were posters of dead baby Palestinian children on the windows or on our seating outside. It ranged from vandalism to intimidation to maybe things that we don’t even know,” he added.
Reflecting on Shouk’s 12-year run, Friedman called it an “amazing experience” beyond his “wildest dreams.” He said the business was “near and dear” to his heart, and stressed that he and Nussbacher made every effort to support their employees throughout the closures.
“Most of our staff have been with us since we opened,” Friedman said. “Our turnover was very low because we ran the company ethically, we ran it well, and we ran it fairly. So our staff became part of our family, and they didn’t want to leave.”
Shouk closed its last locations just days before a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was reached.
DC for Palestine celebrated the closures as a “BDS win” in an Instagram post, writing:
“Shouk WAS one of the main targets of our ‘APARTHEID? I DON’T BUY IT’ consumer boycott initiative! Much of what they served was Palestinian food that they culturally appropriated as ‘Israeli street food.’ Additionally, they imported Israeli ingredients for their dishes. TODAY WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT, AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2025, SHOUK HAS CLOSED ITS DOORS, PERMANENTLY!”
The group urged supporters to continue boycotting U.S. and local businesses that sell Israeli products.
https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/business/israeli-restaurant-chain-closes-after-getting-hit-by-gaza-protests/