Inside Arkansas’ first dark-sky neighborhood, where you can see the Milky Way

On a recent evening at Lakeview West, an upscale subdivision perched above Lake Maumelle with sweeping views of the Ouachitas, I found myself at an impromptu star party. As the sun dipped behind the mountains, homeowner and amateur astronomer Lori Gerritsen pointed out constellations to neighbors and out-of-town guests gathered on her patio. They sipped wine and observed the kind of celestial display that’s invisible from my light-polluted yard in North Little Rock. A shooting star streaked a...