Main Street Arkansas Update - October 8, 2007

October 8-12

Monday- Greg & Mark –Harrison - Interviews
Tuesday- Cary out – funeral
Wednesday- Mark, Susan & Caroline- Batesville
Thursday- Mark- Blytheville
Friday-

MAIN STREET IN THE MEDIA

Pro Main Street Harrison Editorial: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1815&dept_id=516931&newsid=18884838&PAG=461&rfi=9

Downtown Hardy featured in At Home in Arkansas’s October Issue

Paragould Mayor Mike Gaskill featured in the Municipal League’s October City & Town

Downtown Batesville editorialized in Batesville Daily Guard. Visit: http://www.guardonline.com/

MS Rogers received $10,000 from Tyson to go towards pocket park planning

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/09/13/news/091407rzbond.txt

Congratulations to Arc of Arkansas for receiving an honor award at the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference last week.

IN THIS ISSUE:

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RHDI LAUNCHES DELTAMADE PROJECT
NEWS PIECE ON DOWNTOWN LR DEVELOPMENT
ARKANSAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE REVIEW
BOTANICAL GARDEN OPENING IN NW ARKANSAS WILL GROW ECO-TOURISM DOLLARS
IS WALMART GOING GREEN?
SOUTHSIDE MAIN PRESENTS FIRST ANTIQUES AND ARTS SHOW THIS WEEKEND

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DeltaMade extra entrepreneur-friendly:

RHDI’s newly launched DeltaMade brands and promotes Arkansas delta products through creative marketing and advertising efforts. The program will provide its members access to the technical and educational services that are so vital to successful small businesses. Visit and shop their week-old website www.arkansasdeltamade.com, which features official DeltaMade products and merchants in the region who carry DeltaMade wares.



On a similar but more extensive note, check out the Arkansas Creative Economy Project, for a comprehensive look into Arkansas’s creative forefront. The link is: http://www.arkansasarts.com/programs/ArkansasCreative.pdf



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Beauty and Blight

[Kane Webb questions Little Rock downtown development prospects, specifically properties owned by Stephens and the LR housing market.] http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Perspective/203755


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Community development is so much more.

Last week’s UCDS conference at UCA shed light on the intensive collaborative efforts behind healthy, viable communities. As conference speakers noted, healthy communities mean smart design, accessibility, and affordability. Of special note at the conference were the following groups and projects in Arkansas:

ACHANGE, which stands for Arkansas Coalition of Housing and Neighborhood Growth for Empowerment (the founders happily admit the acronym came first) is an effort to create safe, decent, and affordable housing for communities all over Arkansas. Visit their web site: http://www.makingachange.us/



Related, visit UA’s School of Architecture web site to learn about the Universal Design Project, one of few such projects in the nation that incorporates handicap accessibility, affordability, and beauty in community housing. See http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/11521.htm; and UA architect Kory Smith’s web site to see his universal design concepts in 3-D: http://studioaid.org/


The Arc Arkansas, an early advocate of UA’s universal design, has collaborated with UA’s architects on award-winning renovation projects. Visit them at: http://www.arcark.org/



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The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks likely to benefit NW region

The opening of the Garden of the Ozarks last week in NW Arkansas attracted hundreds of visitors, some 90 percent of whom were new to the area. For the full story, visit: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Living/57755/

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Is Wal-Mart Saving the Earth?

Decide for yourself. The big box retailer credited with spreading strip malls like plagues may be simultaneously leading the corporate world in eco-conscious business practices. For recent local and national coverage see:

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/200088/ and

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602689.html



Southside Main presents first Art & Antiques show this Saturday

Come support local Southside Main Street’s first public event this weekend. Hidden Treasures on South Main,” will feature locally produced fine art, crafts, and antiques and bike tours of the Quapaw neighborhood. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the historic original city near the Governor’s Mansion on South Main between 13th and 15th streets, which will be closed to traffic.