(Wednesday, February 7, 2007) – Neighborhood leaders and other visitors to the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center now have another service available to them. City leaders announced today that the building is now a WiFi hotspot.

In making the announcement, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola spoke about how this was a continuation of that facility’s mission. “When the Hinton NRC opened in 2000, its mission was to build capacity within Neighborhood Associations, community-based organizations, and small not-for-profit organizations. In short, it offered citizens from all neighborhoods of the City a place to learn about their city and to be more actively involved in the business of the city – their city. With this new technology, we are continuing to keep up with the needs of Little Rock’s neighborhoods and citizens.”

In 2006, City staff started exploring opportunities to establish additional WiFi locations in a City facility; the River Market and the Airport both offer WiFi connections. The decision was made to start with the Hinton Neighborhood Resource Center. “This is a central location in the City, and it attracts citizens from all neighborhoods,” said Andre Bernard, director of the Housing and Neighborhood Programs department. “We felt like it was the perfect combination of location, mission, and service.”

After putting the project out for bids, Aristotle was selected to be the service provider for this project.

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