Main Street Arkansas Update - October 1, 2007

October 1-5

Cary out all week at the National Trust conference

Monday - Mark & Susan – Texarkana
Tuesday - Mark & Susan - Texarkana
Wednesday - all staff – Community Development Society Conference - Conway
Thursday - Greg, Nancy & Mark – Hardy – 4-Point Training
Friday – Susan, off

A Few Lessons Learned In El Dorado. Seriously.
http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/09/24/bus_columns/michael_tilley/tilley01.txt
this is a great piece on downtown El Dorado. I encourage you to read it.

http://destinationdowntown.blogspot.com/
This is where we’ll first post the pdf’s of the presenter’s presentations. But for now enjoy a little video from a production of Steel Magnolia’s I shot during the tour of the historic cemetery.

Check out the new Main Street West Memphis website at www.mainstreetwestmemphis.org

Congratulations to the AHPP & Boyd Maher for their $150,000 Preserve America grant. It will be used for preservation planning & heritage tourism related purposes.

IN THIS ISSUE:
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LR CENTRAL ARTICLE IN VANITY FAIR
LISC RESOURCE FOR REVITALIZATION PLANNING
COMMUNITY LEARINING TOOL FOR RURAL LEADERS
PIECE ON ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
HISTORIC MCDONALDS SIGN TO STAY IN PINE BLUFF
NLR TIF STUFF
GRANT OPPORTUNITY
HELENA MODEL OF SMART GROWTH WSJ ARTICLE
STATUE OF THE FONZ PLANNED FOR MILWAUKEE – HOW CAN YOU MODEL THIS IDEA?
SEAS TO FLOOD HISTORIC SITES
MORE ON THE BLYTHEVILLE SALES TAX
MAIN STREET HARRISON PRESS
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Through a Lens, Darkly
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/09/littlerock200709?printable=true¤tPage=all

Revitalization Planning Guide Released
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) recently released “Commercial Revitalization Planning Guide” as a resource to help plan and implement commercial corridor revitalization programs. Fore more information about the guide, visit www.lisc.org/content/publications/detail/6100.

Community Learning Tool for Rural Leaders
The Southern Rural Development Initiative (SRDI) and the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) launched a Federal Funds Analysis Database to help rural leaders easily compare their community needs to actual federal resources. Learn more about the database and the type of information it yields at http://www.srdi.org/srdi/transf/FederalFundsIntro.htm.

SRDC Report Proposes a Bold Plan for Entrepreneurial Development in Southern States
The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) recently published "Blueprint for the Rural South: Discovering New Ideas, Applying New Strategies," a report on their findings from more than one year of meetings and interviews with nearly 600 people from many Southern states. The report calls for investment in three areas: (1) education and workforce development, (2) economic/ sustainable development, and (3) leadership and citizen participation. To view the full report visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/sp/blueprint07.pdff

Historic McDonald’s Sign to Stay in Pine Bluff
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/202421/

NLR City Council OKs 4 TIFs Downtown
http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2007/sep/25/nlr-council-oks-4-new-tax-increment-finan-20070925/?subscriber/national
- subscriber only, sorry
If you want to watch a fun discussion about TIF’s, check out the archived city council meeting here: http://northlittlerock.ar.gov/city-government/webcast-link/ It’s the September 24 meeting.

December 1, 2007: Conservation Assessment Program. Museums with small to mid-sized collections are eligible to receive professional assessments of the museum's collection and environmental conditions. Museums with buildings more than 50 years old may receive the services of an architectural assessor. The services are available to eligible museums on a first come, first served basis. Applications will be available on October 5, 2007. To request an application call 202-233-0800 or e-mail cap@heritagepreservation.org. The application will also be available for download at www.heritagepreservation.org/cap/.

National Publication Touts Helena-West Helena as City with 'Smart Growth'

KIPP School raises test scores, stimulates economic development in rural Arkansas
Smart Growth

The editorial appeared in the August 4, 2007 edition of the publication and was written by Arkansas editorialist Kane Webb of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, specifically opining the impact that the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) School has had on the city. He outlines the details of the school, its success rate, as well as how the school is expected to transform the downtown area while catalyzing economic development. To preview the article, click on the following link: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118618703415787941.html (subscriber only link) or http://www.kidsohio.org/20070215.htm for all to read free [can’t wait until Mr. Murdoch drops the pay wall at wsj.com]

Statue of The Fonz Planned for Milwaukee

A nonprofit group called Visit Milwaukee is hoping to raise $85,000 to build a life-size bronze statue of Henry Winkler's famous "Happy Days" character. So far, the group has raised $45,000 with a goal of unveiling the statue next year.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=667373

My question to you is: who might be worthy of a statue that could promote tourism in your community. My work on a Mary Steenburgen & Joey Lauren Adams statue for my hometown of North Little Rock begins today. 

Scientists: Rising Seas Will Flood Historic Sites
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/09/24/rising.seas.ap/index.html

More on the Extension of the Blytheville $0.01 Sales Tax
http://arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?lID=71&sID=72&ms=73&cID=8&aID=99746.76690.111871

Important Main Street Harrison story
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18864144&BRD=1815&PAG=461&dept_id=516928&rfi=6