Little Rock notebook

Library set to host eclipse-watchers

The Central Arkansas Library System will provide access to special telescopes and offer free glasses to people who wish to watch the first total solar eclipse in the United States in nearly 40 years.

From a vantage point in Little Rock, the moon will drift in front of the sun and obscure about 90 percent of daylight.

That's less than the total eclipse that will be visible in Missouri and other states from South Carolina to Oregon but enough to produce near darkness in the middle of the day.

People should not look directly at the sun without special glasses or equipment because it is dangerous, experts say.

The library's watch party will begin at 11 a.m., today at the splash pad in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park.

The partial eclipse in Arkansas will last for about three hours beginning at 11:45 a.m., peaking shortly after 1 p.m. Glasses are available while supplies last.

Bilingual lawyer hired for ID program

Little Rock has picked a bilingual attorney to lead the city's planned municipal identification program.

Maricella Garcia, director of Catholic Immigration Services for the Diocese of Little Rock, will start work Sept. 5 on a $57,000 salary as Little Rock's multicultural liaison, city spokesman Lamor Williams said.

The city received more than 50 applications for the position, which will oversee the ID program and broader city efforts to to understand and meet the needs of Little Rock's Hispanic community.

Garcia is former director of a Little Rock nonprofit serving immigrant families. She has worked for the diocese since 2008, according to her job application.

Garcia holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, a master's in public service from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In the late '90s, she served two years as a chaplain's assistant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Little Rock plans to issue city identification cards to residents 15 or older, in part to help people without lawful residency status access bank accounts and local government services.

Officials said the cards also will benefit people who are homeless, those recently released from prison, people with disabilities and youths from unstable homes.

Williams said a target date to begin the ID program has not been set.

Guatemalan consulate plans visit to LR

The Guatemalan consulate based in Houston will have people in Little Rock this weekend to provide assistance to Guatemalans living in or near the city.

Consul General Jose Barillas Trennert and his staff will assist people with obtaining passports, consular identification cards, birth registration and more. Passports cost $65, and ID cards are $25.

The consulate will set up at the Southwest Community Center, 6401 Baseline Road. Assistance will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

More information is available by contacting the consulate at (713) 953-9531.

City Director Joan Adcock said the city is trying to schedule similar visits by consulates from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Code-enforcement meeting scheduled

The Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs will host a meeting Thursday to discuss code enforcement in west Little Rock.

This meeting will focus on 311 statistics and code enforcement in Ward 5, which is represented by City Director Lance Hines.

The city holds these meetings monthly in different parts of the city to discuss how it is responding to residents' complaints.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Roosevelt Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle.

Metro on 08/21/2017

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