Recent Comments
Re: “UPDATE: Bill would abolish Capitol Zoning District Commission”
Like ChristianDEM, I live downtown, where I've been a homeowner since 1980. He or she is totally wrong about downtown coming back because of newcomers like him/her. Downtown Little Rock -- or the Quapaw Quarter, as some of us like to call it -- began coming back in the 1960s, when the REAL downtown pioneers started moving in and restoring the wonderful historic houses. The pioneers of the 1960s and 1970s paved the way for all who followed. Were it not for those pioneers, who -- among other things -- advocated for the creation of the Capitol Zoning District Commission to help protect their investments in downtown properties, people like ChristianDEM never would even consider investing in the Capitol Zoning Mansion Area. What ChristianDEM and other newcomers are doing is building on what came before, writing a new chapter in downtown revitalization. It is presumptuous and hugely arrogant for these newcomers to think they started the movement. Rather, they are following in the footsteps of Little Rock's true downtown pioneers, benefiting from the work done by those who took big risks before most of these newcomers were born.
Re: “Praise for power brokers”
Safely insulated from the negative effects of the homeless shelters, halfway houses, soup kitchens, etc., located almost exclusively in downtown Little Rock -- not his neighborhood! -- Max Brantley continues to castigate those who want something different for the downtown area.
Invite these facilities into YOUR neighborhood, Max -- and then you can talk.
While you're at it, ask Director Hendrix why a homeless day services center was bad for the old Job Corps Center but just fine for Main Street.
Re: “Saturday night's alright for an open line”
Here's the real problem: Residents of Little Rock (and many other cities) are frightened and intolerant of homeless people or anyone else who is "different." When those "different" people are concentrated in a particular area of the city, like downtown Little Rock, their presence literally scares away investment. Such is not the case in more liberal and tolerant places -- like Austin, TX; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; San Francisco, CA; and Asheville, NC; to name just a few. In those cities, the homeless are tolerated, and their presence doesn't seem to have a detrimental effect on downtown redevelopment efforts.
If the entire City of Little Rock could undergo an "attitude adjustment" concerning the homeless (as well as African-Americans, Hispanics, and other "scary" people), there would be no problem with locating a homeless facility downtown or anywhere else.
Until that attitude adjustment occurs, however, if you are not personally affected by the location of a facility serving the homeless -- as Max Brantley and most people posting messages in favor of the VA Homeless Clinic are not -- you really don't have any standing in the debate. Message to you folks who live in Hillcrest and points west: If you truly want to help the homeless, invite them into your neighborhoods and see how it affects your property values.
Re: “Griffin joins fight against Main Street vet center”
All spoken like people who live in neighborhoods where homeless "vagabonds" aren't an issue. For DECADES, the downtown area has been the dumping ground for halfway houses, homeless services, and other facilities that Hillcrest, the Heights, and the neighborhoods of West Little Rock simply won't tolerate. If you don't live in a location where homeless people congregate, your opinion simply doesn't count.
Re: “Little Rock releases new ward proposal”
We residents of Ward 1 can only hope that the inclusion of some of the Capitol View neighborhood at last will enable the election of an effective City Board member. Erma Hendrix is a disaster, and her predecessors -- Gloria Wilson and Johnnie Pugh -- weren't much better.
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Re: “UPDATE: Bill would abolish Capitol Zoning District Commission”
And you think the people who moved downtown in the 1960s and 70s didn't want a safe neighborhood for their children? (Ever hear of the downtown babysitting co-op of the 1970s and early 80s? Or the I Grew Up in the Quapaw Quarter Facebook page?) Tall fences don't make a safe neighborhood. People working together do, and there's always been much camaraderie among downtown residents -- until fairly recently.