Little Rock received a burst of publicity last month when it let Amazon know (in a wink-wink sort of way) that it wasn't interested in joining dozens of other cities in the competition for the company's second headquarters. Little Rock didn't meet the criteria anyway. The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post for a sort of Dear John letter that read in part, "Hey Amazon. We need to talk. It's not you, it's us."
"We decided we would break up with them before they broke up with us," Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola told National Public Radio. "We used this as a launch pad to get attention to our city and to the people who are wanting to either locate or relocate their businesses."
The newspaper ad marked the start of a promotional campaign known as Love, Little Rock that touts the city's attributes. The reaction of Arkansans varied widely. Some thought it was a creative masterpiece; others hated it. Few people had no opinion. And that's a good thing. Folks need to be debating the future of this state's largest city. It benefits Arkansans in all 75 counties when the capital city is strong. With quality candidates already lining up to challenge Stodola in next year's mayor's race, the debate about the direction Little Rock should take will no doubt intensify.
Here's a list of five areas of emphasis--in order of importance--for civic, government and business leaders.
Public safety
There's not even a close second. At a time when Little Rock television stations focus on crime stories at 10 p.m. each day, people across the state are thinking twice about visiting the capital city. Perception becomes reality.
There are plenty of case studies that show how once-strong cities have declined one crime at a time, one television news story at a time. There's no excuse for there being more than 80 sworn officer vacancies at the Little Rock Police Department. This newspaper reported in a front-page story last Monday that one of the largest recruit classes in more than two decades began training earlier this month. Another class began training in August. This is the first time the department has had two training classes that overlap by several months. That's a sign of progress.
Earlier this year, the rate of murders slowed when the LRPD instituted increased overtime for officers. It's imperative that the department fill all vacant positions as soon as possible and keep them filled. That will allow saturation patrols to take place in neighborhoods with high crime rates. There's also a need for far more officers on foot patrol in downtown Little Rock, where aggressive panhandling has reached epidemic proportions. The most common complaint I hear from visitors to the city concerns downtown panhandlers and other vagrants.
The best thing Little Rock has going right now is the revitalization of its downtown. We'll kill the goose that could soon lay a golden egg if the city doesn't take steps to make downtown workers and visitors feel safe.
K-12 education
The business community must step up and do more to support the Little Rock School District. By the same token, LRSD supporters must stop demonizing private schools and public charter schools. A city the size of Little Rock must offer parents as many school choices as possible.
When business executives and entrepreneurs consider moving to Little Rock, they don't just look at the quality of traditional public schools. They also consider charter and private schools. For Little Rock to grow, all three sectors must be strong. That's only going to happen when the traditional public schools vs. charter schools vs. private schools debate ends. It's not either/or. It's all of the above.
Higher education
Little Rock's future economy will depend on research and innovations that come out of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Both institutions already are economic engines and will become even more important in the knowledge-based economy of future decades. Little Rock's leaders should do everything possible to strengthen UAMS and UALR.
Pulaski Tech also must up its game in order to train the type of workers who will be needed at new high-tech companies that hopefully will call the city home.
Let's not forget the city's two private colleges, Philander Smith College and Arkansas Baptist College. The business community makes a mistake when it fails to support these institutions. A key to growth in Little Rock during the next several decades will be the expansion of the black middle class. Philander Smith and Arkansas Baptist provide a path for graduates to enter that middle class.
Infill development
There are hundreds of thousands of square feet of empty commercial space along with hundreds of empty houses and vacant lots in the city's core. The future of Little Rock is no longer dependent on a steady march west toward Perryville. Instead, the future rests on the success of visionary developers who will bring jobs and residents downtown and to its surrounding neighborhoods.
The coming expansion of the Arkansas Arts Center will speed this process. So will the addition of restaurants, craft brew pubs and music venues. Young, talented workers like to be able to walk to their jobs and the establishments where they hang out after work. If the city can get the criminals and panhandlers under control (a big "if" at this point), this area will blossom beyond anyone's wildest dreams in the next decade.
Quality-of-life amenities
Little Rock once promoted itself as the "city in a park." It's time to make that more than a slogan. It's time for Little Rock to plug the hole in the Arkansas River Trail. It's also time for War Memorial Park to be transformed into a facility that will attract people on a daily basis. These precious acres in the middle of the city are underutilized. The same young residents who like great restaurants and brew pubs also like to bike and hike. The city can do far more than it's currently doing in order to attract those kinds of residents.
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Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Editorial on 11/26/2017