Candidate Forum in the University District April 22

From the Young Black Professionals of Arkansas:

The Young Black Professionals of Arkansas (YBPA) invites you to participate in the" Candidates Forum" Thursday, April 22, 2010 from 7:00 to 8:30pm.  The forum will be held at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, located at 2301 University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204. Please arrive and register during the meet n' greet at 6:30 pm.

"The purpose of this forum," says YBPA President Ivan Hudson, "is to stimulate community education and Black participation in the 2010 elections process.  The candidates will have the opportunity to address policy issues that are vital to our community.  Additionally, the forum will serve and inform the local Black population, specifically young professionals about offices, candidacies and direction to maximize involvement of Black people in the political process. "

All candidates from the U.S. Senate and U.S. Congressional District 2 have been invited.  Moderated by special guest Pamela Smith, of KATV, Candidates will explain their positions on questions from the community, while members of the audience have the opportunity to also learn more about what the candidates will do if elected to office.

For more information please e-mail president@ybpa. net.

Northwest Patrol Quarterly Meeting April 22

The Little Rock Police Department's Northwest Patrol Division, which serves Broadmoor, will hold its next Quarterly Neighborhood Meeting on April 22.

The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Northwest Substation, 10,001 Kanis Road (near Baptist Hospital).

These are very informative meetings where you can discuss crime statistics and crime prevention directly with the LRPD leadership. Chief Stuart Thomas usually attends, too.

Please make plans to attend and encourage your neighbors to go with you.

For more information, call the Northwest Substation at 918-3500.

Neighborhood Connections to Meet on Saturday April 24

Neighborhood Connections, a group of neighborhood leaders in Little Rock, will meet on Saturday April 24.

The meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. following a continental breakfast from 7:45 to 8:30.

The meeting will be at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center,  3805 West 12th Street, Little Rock, AR 72204.

Joe Busby, who leads our University District Partner, the Fair Park Residents Association, is the current Neighborhood Connections president. He will kick the meeting off by welcoming visiting elected officials. Mayor Mark Stodola has been invited to address the participants.

Energetic City Director Joan Adcock will speak on the upcoming Neighborhoods USA National Conference to be held in Little Rock May 26-29. Broadmoor is a contributor to the conference, sending attendees and volunteers, and hosting a neighborhood tour on May 27.

Little Rock's director of housing and neighborhood programs, Andre Bernard, will give details on some programs the city is using to help residents.

Please plan to attend this meeting to get involved with other active Little Rock citizens.

Little Rock 311 Now Online

The City of Little Rock's online 311 system is up!

Go to http://www.lr311.org/ to request street sweeping, report a missed recycling pickup, report a dog running loose, etc.

The online system is always open.

Tracy L. Johnson applied to the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) for a private club and beer permit to apply to the old Colton's restaurant at the southwest corner of University and Asher/Colonel Glenn Avenues.

Unfortunately, this use is not within the hopes and dreams of the University District Partnership. The Partnership consists of leaders who work or live in the District and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. We have worked for the better part of the last decade on making our part of Little Rock an even better place to live.

The planning process that we have participated in has produced clear goals for the area. Those goals do not include a nightclub at the center of the southern gateway to UALR and to the University District. The Revitialization Plan for the University District, published in July 2007, discusses the area now to be dominated by a bar on page 4-13:

9 International Village Mixed Use Center This mixed-use center will replace an obsolete and under used strip shopping center located at the southwest corner of the University Boulevard [sic] / Colonel Glenn intersection. Inspired in part by the 21 nations and flags representing the multinational congregation of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, as well as the newly arrived Mexican Consulate, the International Village will be the largest mixed use center in the UD. Occupying a refurbished former K-Mart, Mosaic Church is a central activity focus, and is flanked by two-to-three story mixed use structures that create an urban edge along University Avenue and Colonel Glen. The development program totals approximately 260,000 square feet, consisting of ground level retail and office or residential on the upper floors. At the corner of the property is a large landscaped gateway and water feature that opens up a view corridor directly to the entrance of Mosaic Church for traffic traveling southbound on University Avenue and traveling westbound on Asher / Colonel Glenn.

Colton's closed some time ago, and it is now owned, acccording to Mr. Johnson's application, by Iberia Bank. The representative at the bank handling it is Jeff Hargroder, (337) 521-4129.

To comment on the application, contact the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division 1515 West 7th Street, Suite 503, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. Phone 682-1105.

The comment deadline is April 19. The ABC Director will make his decision by April 21. That decision can be appealed to the full ABC board, and that decision may be reviewed in circuit court.

We will post more information when it becomes available.

Bulky Item Collection

Ever wondered what to do with an old couch, mattress, or trash that will not fit into your 90-gallon "green monster" trash can? Here is the answer: please schedule bulky item pickup by calling 311, wait to put the things out until close to the pick up time, and keep the piles neat. Your neighbors will be pleased!

Here are the details from the City of Little Rock's Web site, http://www.littlerock.org/CityDepartments/PublicWorks/solidwaste/:

A separate pick up may be scheduled for bulky items that cannot fit in your household garbage cart.

* Examples of acceptable items for this collection service are: furniture, appliances, lawn furniture, and mattresses.

* Examples of unacceptable items that are restricted from this pick up service are: construction and demolition debris, automotive components, liquid paint, and tires.

Bulky item pick up must be scheduled in advance. To schedule a pick up, call 311.

April 2010 Board Meeting Highlights

Here are some highlights from last night's April Broadmoor board meeting.
First, we had 5 visitors! Three were visiting for the first time, and one of those just closed on her house this week.
 
We are getting ready for another great season at the Broadmoor Pool. We talked about a goal of 20 new memberships this year, so we will all need to start promoting this great asset! We will have a workday on May 1 to remove the pool cover, so mark your calendars. A workday notice and letter reminding everyone about pool season will go out soon.
 
The clubhouse is in great shape, and we will paint the new logwork and install a new mantle soon. The basketball goal repairs are going well. The goalpost and backboard have been painted, and the new, super heavy duty rim will go up soon.
 
We are working to prepare for the May Neighborhoods USA National Conference to be held in Little Rock. At least one board member is going to attend as a participant, and several people from Broadmoor will be helping with the tours and conference. We are helping sponsor the conference as well.
 
Residents continue to work on issues related to code enforcement, zoning, and public safety in general. Our ability to communicate about problems and get action from the City of Little Rock improves every day as we learn how it all works and develop relationships with city leaders.
 
We discussed goals for 2010-2011, these include:
-Maintaining our quiet, clean, safe environment. This will involved everyone continuing to keep an eye out for each other. We also want to increase residents' pride in the appearance of their homes.
-Increasing pool membership and completing capital improvements to the pool.
-Holding at least 5 block parties to get neighbors together.
-Continuing to improve the function of the park, including making repairs to the tennis court, continuing to make repairs to the stonework, and maybe getting a small utility vehicle for emptying trash barrels in the park.
 
We look forward to a great year!