Friends, 

As you know, the City of Little Rock continues to do more with less, delivering real results for our residents by using every resource available to us. Last week, we took a step toward delivering even more results for our City's youth through digital equity. Little Rock was awarded a $150,000 grant from Comcast Corp. at the 92nd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting.

Little Rock joined Cleveland, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia, as the only medium-sized cities to receive the competitive grant as part of the Talent for Tomorrow: Digital Equity Challenge program.

We will use the grant to support the Technology Advancement for Digital Academic and Healthcare Careers program (TADAH). This program is for middle school students at the Little Rock School District's J.A. Fair K-8 Preparatory Academy. Students will learn more about careers in health technology, healthcare and small business entrepreneurship in the digital sector. Participants will choose from two specialized tracks: digital health tools and robotics. 

Students who choose the digital health track will learn first-hand about careers in the field of digital health through interactions with industry professionals. We will capitalize on a partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to demonstrate to students the extensive career opportunities in the expanding world of digital health. As a final project, participants will be asked to design a digital health app, software or device to address school or community health needs.

On the robotics track, students will build a robot to enter in robotics competitions with other schools. This Robotics Club will be built around a successful model that provides students with technical skills in machine learning and programming technology. Students will have access to dedicated robotics equipment and resources. We know Robotics Club members in other programs have attained a 100 percent graduation rate with a majority of students pursuing STEM careers. This is the kind of transformation that investments in digital equity can make on our community.

Our proactive approach to digital equity is gaining momentum through this grant and other initiatives over the last five years. 

As you know, during the pandemic, we partnered with LRSD to provide 5,000 Internet hot spots to make sure working families could access remote learning. Within City Hall, we house a Digital Equity Coordinator dedicated to identifying how we can partner with organizations like Heartland Forward to bridge the digital divide.

We were early advocates of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which allowed thousands of low-income Little Rock residents to access broadband. Federal funding for ACP ended this spring, but we continue to ask Congress to direct money toward this important digital lifeline for our underserved communities. 
 
Our administration will continue to maximize impact on our City through strategic initiatives like the Comcast grant. We will ensure our efforts address immediate needs and lay the foundation for sustained progress and opportunities for all our residents.

This year's annual USCM meeting was an opportunity for us to share with counterparts from across the country the positive results we are experiencing, while at the same time hearing new, transformative ideas and collaborating with other cities to improve on our progress.

I participated in a discussion with Heartland Forward about our historic jobs growth and the "secret sauce" propelling us toward our position as a catalyst for the new South. We also spent time on a panel with Destinations International talking about what makes Little Rock an attractive location for tourism and conventions.

In addition, Little Rock earned an honorable mention from the USCM and Target for the Little Rock Police Department's Crisis Response Team and its efforts to assist people who are experiencing mental illness and other crisis issues by ensuring individuals have the resources and community services they need.
 

Every year, Arkansas Business honors 20 young Arkansas professionals in their 20s who are emerging leaders and whose talent and career success goes far beyond their years. We are excited that one of our own City of Little Rock team members, Mariana Abarca, was named to this year's list.

Mariana, who is 21, is the City's Multicultural Liaison. Based in our Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Mariana is responsible for ensuring our multicultural communities are being equitably served by the City. She facilitates clear and effective communication with those communities and she helps translate information to our Spanish-speaking residents. She oversees our successful Municipal ID program and coordinates the classes for Emprende, the Spanish-language counterpart of our BUILD Academy small-business incubator program.

Mariana and her family immigrated to Little Rock when she was 15. She is a graduate of Hall High School and is currently attending the University of Arkansas at Little Rock while working full-time for the City.

She and other honorees were selected from among more than 300 nominees. According to Arkansas Business, selections are made "with an eye toward accomplishments, responsibilities and people clearly ahead of their time."

We celebrate Mariana's skills, talents and her passion for public service. Congratulations, Mariana!

Little Rock is a diverse City enhanced by the history, culture and values interwoven into the fabric of our community. We celebrate our diversity and respective cultures in a number of beneficial ways, including through our international partnerships. Our Sister Cities Commission helps to facilitate new relationships with international communities and to sustain our long-term Sister Cities partnerships.

Earlier this month, City of Little Rock representatives met with leaders from the Italian city of Enna, Sicily. It was my privilege to sign a friendship agreement with Ambassador Giuseppe La Porta of Enna. This friendship is built upon the three pillars of our Sister Cities partnerships: Economic Development, Education and Culture. Enna's delegation signed another agreement with the University of Arkansas System to foster educational, faculty and research exchanges. 

Our Sister Cities Commission is responsible for Little Rock's efforts to fulfill the original vision of sister cities agreements as created under President Eisenhower in the 1950s. The program is citizen diplomacy which celebrates our cultures while promoting peace and prosperity around the world. Through our Sister Cities relationships over the years, we have participated in dozens of educational and cultural exchanges.

A few days after the Enna visit, I met with the Romanian ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Andrei Muraru, at City Hall. The ambassador's visit to Little Rock was part of a Romanian Embassy intiative to stop in all 50 states to speak to community leaders and connect with local Romanian communities. 

At City Hall, Ambassador Muraru and I discussed international trade and cultural exchange opportunities. I also shared with him the positive improvements we are making on behalf of Little Rock residents, including our Romanian community. 

We prioritize these international visits because of the long-term economic benefits of international trade and because of the enrichment we gain from diverse cultural experiences. 

• The Little Rock Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, June 25, at 4 p.m. at The Centre at University Park, 6401 W. 12th St. At that time, the Board will set the agenda for its next regular meeting. All board meetings are livestreamed on the City of Little Rock's Facebook and YouTube pages.
• The City's Public Works Department will host a public hearing today (Monday, June 24) at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 4501 Rahling Road, to discuss infrastructure improvement projects in Ward 5. The improvements to be discussed include Kirk Road and Wellington Village Road drainage, Adelle Drive drainage and the addition of a right-turn lane at Chenal Parkway and Loyola Drive.
• We will host a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 26, at 9:30 a.m. to celebrate completion of three new houses constructed as part of our efforts to add affordable housing in Little Rock. The residences in the 4700 block of Charles Bussey Avenue were constructed through a partnership between the City of Little Rock and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• The monthly meeting of the Little Rock Land Bank Commission is Wednesday, June 26, at noon at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center, 3801 W. 12th St. The Land Bank Commission works to reverse blight and increase home ownership.
• The Little Rock Sustainability Commission meets Wednesday, June 26, at 3 p.m. at the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center.