Saturday, December 27, 2008

North Little Rock Business License Renewals

Please be advised the Renewal Notices / Invoices for North Little Rock Privilege / Business Licenses will be mailed on or about January 1, 2009. The renewal period is from January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009. Licenses renewed after March 31, 2009 will be assessed a penalty. If you or someone you know is doing business in the City of North Little Rock and they DO NOT receive a renewal notice by January 15, 2009, please call 501-340-5319 so we can resend the invoice.

Friday, December 26, 2008

This The Season For Taking, Too!

We celebrate this Season by giving to each other. Unfortunately the season of taking from each other continues on throughout the year! And so we must once again report on a crime of opportunity taking place in NLAN this week.

This past weekend items removed from a parked truck were change, mini-mag flashlight and most importantly, the vehicle's registration certificate and insurance card. It is these last two items that our NLANders are most concerned about for they are worried that someone might try to have a key made for the truck by using the registration and proof of insurance as an ID authorizing a key to be cut.

In this case the owner thought he had locked the truck but it was actually unlocked! It was parked behind their garage, in the alley that serves the homes located on both Fairway Blvd, and Lakewood Drive. Please, make sure at all times that all vehicles parked out in the open are indeed locked! Your driveway is not immune to burglars looking for thefts of opportunity on our NLAN streets! Be safe! Be aware!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Holidays

To all our dear NLANders, to all our fellow neighborhood associations, crime watches and groups, and to all our elected employees at the NLR City Hall and their dedicated staff & workers, we want to pause from the rush of the season to offer this message of peace, hope and good cheer for and to all:


Merry Christmas
and
Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

NLR City Offices closing

North Little Rock City Offices will be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (December 24, 25, and 26). If you need to speak with us, please call before 4:30 p.m. today … or we’ll talk to you Monday!
Sanitation routes will run as scheduled Wednesday. Thursday’s route will be picked up on Friday and Friday’s route will be picked up on Saturday.
Merry Christmas to all!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Request That Democracy Be Exercised

This coming Monday at 7:00 PM the NLR City Council will be meeting upstairs at City Hall. Given the published agenda it promises to be one interesting evening to see democracy in action. For there are many ordinances requiring much factual information to be exposed and digested and we can only hope that the democratic process will openly process everyone of them! We have questions - will we receive clear and understandable answers from our city leaders? Two major subjects to be considered are:

1) The 2009 NLR City Budget is up for approval. They are talking approximately 48 to 53 million dollars. Question: Will it be allocated in a manner to achieve the best bang for our buck given our community's infrastructure and safety needs?

2) Tax Incremental Financing (TIFs) as it may impact our public school system's finances - this promises to be very lively since legal action may be involved between our City and our NLR School District. Question: Will the common NLR citizen be given a chance to become correctly informed on the pros and cons of this ordinance as it may affect them today as well as their children and grandchildren tomorrow?

Mayor Hays will convene a public hearing to address both of these ordinances. This is democracy in action! We can only hope that this process will produce clear and understandable knowledge for all citizens to digest! Given the multi-layered context of these matters it is unfortunate that a deadline of next Mondays council meeting, December 22 has been established for a vote. Question: Will there be enough time available next Monday evening to allow for understanding of the issues for an informed vote by the Council?

This City Council Meeting may be the most important one of 2008 that affects our quality of life for next year and beyond! You don't want to miss it! If you are planning on being at City Hall - get their early for a seat! If you can't be there then watch it live on Comcast Channel 4 or set your recorders to see it later. Democracy in action - come Monday let us hope it is an example of it's finest quality for all of us!

Someone once said: "A picture is worth a thousand words!" You know - it might just help us all to understand.

Monday, December 8, 2008

NLAN: Follow-Up On "Shop With A Cop" Program

This is a follow-up to our Blog posting of November 22nd. You may have caught tonight's KTHV Channel 11 news report offering a review of the North Little Rock Police Department's "Shop With A Cop" program status. It was wonderful to see where both NLR citizen's and local businesses' monetary contributions have exceeded the initial program goals. This has resulted in an additional 25 children (was 50 now 75) will have an additional $50.00 Wal-Mart Gift Card amount (was $150.00 now $200.00) to shop with a cop for their family's Christmas gifts! The first of two shopping days was today - the second will be next Sunday, December 14th. We personally know of NLANders whom have made a contribution to the "SWAC" Program through Twin City Bank and as late as tonight they still are asking how to do it! Just stop in any TCB Bank branch office and they will take care of your request. Also Tommy can be reached through his personal cell phone - 366-4330 to answer any and all questions.

Way to go NLR Police Officer Tommy Norman! Your passion to give back to your community has caught on and only will set the bar higher in reaching out to more needy families for this Christmas and the next ones to follow. You and your fellow police officers are creating positive attitudes for both children and adults - a win-win situation for their future and ours.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Hark, a New Voice For NLR to Hear!

Scott Miller of Argenta News has re-launched his web-site newspaper; the Dogtown Wire is now the NLR Daily News. The web site address is: http://www.nlrdailynews.com/ . Scott Miller says: "We look at NLR Daily News as an "open source" news site much like Linux was developed with thousands of contributors in a free and open environment, we hope dozens and hundreds of you will become involved in the development and publication of news at North Little Rock Daily News."

Someone once said it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well to raise this child we'll all need to pitch in and contribute to its growth! Take the personal time to read and whenever and wherever you deem it to be appropriate let the NLR Daily News hear from you - their link is posted to the right on our NLAN Blog!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Family Holiday Concert and Children's Fair

Family Holiday Concert and Children's Fair in North Little Rock on December 13, 2008.

The Childrens Fair is at 6:30 p.m., and the Concert begins at 7:30 p.m. The Christmas concert is by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra -- a beautiful evening of music in the safe comfortable environment of the NLR High School East Campus Auditorium. It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit, and is less than half the cost of the Little Rock Christmas concert, thanks to sponsorships by the city, the Visitors Center, the School District, and a variety of business and individual sponsors.

If you need any more information, please call 340-5305.

North Little Rock City Council Agenda - Monday, December 8

Please clink on the link below or copy and paste into your browser --
http://www.northlittlerock.ar.gov/government/agenda.asp