Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola praised job creation, crime reduction and redevelopment of Main Street in Little Rock at his eighth State of the City address on Thursday.
Stodola spoke to an audience of city officials and citizens at the Little Rock Police Department’s newly completed 12th Street station.
Stodola remarked on the city’s accomplishments from the past year, centering on unemployment, the redevelopment of Main Street and the lowest number of reported violent and property crimes in 20 years.
In 2014, 820 new jobs were created in Little Rock, Stodola said.
“To continue, however, we need to redouble our efforts to train our workforce,” he said, emphasizing the importance of felony re-entry programs.
“We must be vigilant in investing in our people with more skills training programs and certifications,” he said.
Several businesses are planning to open on Main Street, including restaurants, advertising firms and video production companies, which is a “good sign for our city,” Stodola said. “Main Street is truly back.”
Crime data shows that at 16,494, the number of violent and property crimes reported in 2014 was the lowest in more than 20 years, but “it’s still too many,” Stodola said.
Compared to last year, violent offenses are down 5.5 percent, property crimes are down 5 percent, and there was a 27 percent decrease in robbery offenses, and a 15 percent reduction in burglary offenses, he said.
Stodola briefly “reflected” on what he says is “one of the most important issues” facing our city — the state takeover of the Little Rock school district.
While the fallout from the state take over of the district has been “acrimonious at times,” Stodola said we can’t lose track of what should be a common objective: “better schools for our community, better educated students and a return to local control.”
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.