Three weeks shy of his first day of kindergarten, Austin Sambrano is the only person in his family who has a savings account.

Living with his parents and older brother in a trailer park near Pontiac, Mich., he is part of an experiment called the SEED Initiative that is opening investment accounts for children…

Live in these latitudes long enough, and you’ll get used to seeing headlines like this one: Phillips County’s last gasp?/ Many pray revival plan, funds are Delta county’s Moses.

The Central Arkansas Resource Conservation and Development Council Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization with offices in Helena and Conway, has assisted the Cherry Street Historic District in obtaining Housing and Urban Development project funds to repair the roofs of buildings within the historic district.

Despite the partisanship that permeates politics today, there is one issue that both parties and all Americans can get behind. President Bush’s vision for an “ownership society” is a vision from which we all stand to benefit. But to ensure benefit for all we must be careful to expand ownership, not further concentrate it.

Phillips County, which has been singing the blues musically and economically for years, has unveiled a development plan to counter negative perceptions rooted in poor race relations, dilapidated storefronts and high unemployment.

Promoting the blues is part of the proposed solution. “Historic Helena” would be a cross between Williamsburg, Va., and Branson, Mo., allowing tourists to experience…

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority has many programs for Phillips County residents who are interested in home ownership. The American Dream Down-payment Initiative is now available to any person meeting the income limits set forth by HUD.

Low income families can save for asset of their choice

The Asset Builders IDA Program allows families with low incomes and low assets to save for the asset of their choice – buying a home, repair or renovation to their home, post-secondary education for themselves or their children or starting or expanding a small business.

Helena’s Code Enforcement Officer has put yellow caution tape around an old building being demolished on Cherry Street. The building most recently housed an annex to T-Shirts Plus and was damaged when the ceiling in the back part of the building gave way and fell in.

A Mississippi main Street project has transformed the city of Drew from a mass of deteriorated building and boarded-up stores into a revitalized center of commerce.

With its massive paddle wheel churning up the muddy waters of the Mississippi River – each revolution evoking the past – the steamboat seem an unlikely engine for progress in this Delta town.