With more than 140 financial institutions closing across the United States in 2009, Arkansas banks — for the most part — avoided the spotlight … that’s a good thing.

The Mississippi Delta region has an important place in American cultural history; it’s known as the home of the blues. Unfortunately, people who live in one of the 18 counties of the region might be able to tell you exactly why Delta natives sing the blues.

The region has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates and – especially in the current recession – it is faces concentrated poverty, according to a report from the Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve System and the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

For those people who cringe at the thought of preparing their income tax returns, help is now available, and it’s free of charge.

“This program is sponsored by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and we’re encouraging folks to get their taxes done for free,” said Blake Williams, who is with the Good Faith Fund.

Through a grant from the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation, accounting students at SEARK received a stipend allowing them to receive extensive training on preparing the tax forms for area residents.

Arkadelphia, Ark. –

The postponement of any action on an architectural contract for the Royal Theatre and the new fire station was preceded Thursday by tense moments between city directors and management.

Royal Theatre Architectural Contract

Well before directors even talked about the subject, the Rev. Rick Mays spoke to the board as an attending citizen. Mays spoke out against an out-of-town contract that City Manager Jimmy Bolt had provided directors for consideration. The contract is with French Architects of Hot Springs.

In the rural Mississippi Delta region, many banks are turning away from individuals, small businesses and communities, depriving them of basic financial services and access to capital. But one regional bank is stepping forward with an ambitious goal: to cut poverty and unemployment in half while doubling graduation rates in underserved communities. Since 1988, Southern Bancorp has funded more than $1.7 billion in development loans in the Delta. These investments have transformed rural economies by creating new trends for investment in people, jobs, businesses and property.

Delta Bridge Project for Coahoma County

Joe Webb, co-chair of the newly named Delta Bridge Project (DBP) for Coahoma County, formerly known as the Coahoma County Initiative, informed The Clarksdale Press Register that a steering committee had been formed to guide the strategic planning process for the revitalization of Coahoma County and Clarksdale.

When Clarksdale’s Delta Wire plant closed a few months ago it was like having a bucket of cold water thrown in the face of the community, according to Pete Johnson of the Delta Regional Authority. The closing took 79 good paying jobs with no replacement jobs in sight.

“That was a wake-up call,” he says. “After that, I called a meeting and started a business group and invited more people. The last time we met we had 65 people there with some of them at opposite ends of local politics. We had many segments.”

Following the holiday season and as cold, wintry weather settles in, many Arkansans find themselves facing tough financial situations. Entergy Arkansas, Inc. is offering help to customers whose income may be stretched.

Approximately 20 to 25 percent of Entergy’s 2.7 million customers need government assistance to survive. The latest poverty report released by the U. S. Census showed that the number of Americans living in poverty was the highest since 1997. The four states that Entergy serves were in the top nine with the highest statewide poverty rates. Arkansas ranked fifth.

Arkadelphia, Ark. –

Though all of Arkadelphia’s city directors support the purchase of the Royal Theatre, two directors oppose how the administration is proposing the city pay for it.

A crowd of about 30 people, most of them Southern Bancorp employees, attended a special meeting Thursday morning in the Town Hall Boardroom, where a full quorum of board directors gave their input on a bond issuance.

In its last regular meeting, the board passed an “intent resolution,” 4-1, for the intent of issuing $2.6 million in new bonds for construction and refinancing the city’s 2003 bond.

Arkadelphia, Ark. –

U.S. Congressman Mike Ross, center, cuts a ribbon to recognize the re-paving of Skyline Drive. Ross was accompanied by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials; County Judge Ron Daniell; Arkadelphia Mayor Chuck Hollingshead, left; Caddo Valley Mayor Alan Dillavou, right; Bill Wright, president of Southern Bancorp…