A new boutique hotel right off the downtown Bentonville square is set to open next month.

Why it matters: In addition to offering 142 rooms for guests, The Compton means more event space, a cocktail bar and two new restaurants for the area.

The big picture: The Motto by Hilton opened last year off of South Main Street, meaning the downtown area quickly went from one hotel (21c Museum Hotel) to three. It's in line with a surge of hotels popping up in Northwest Arkansas, which experts say is the hospitality industry catching up with demand after years of more tourism in the region.

Zoom in: Sestina, a Tuscan steakhouse also serving pasta, will be open for dinner inside the hotel.

• The space also includes a café, Field Notes, serving pastries, breakfast, lunch and dinner plus an upscale cocktail lounge, The Eddy.
• A 3,700-square-foot ballroom is available to rent for weddings, conventions and other events, senior sales manager Bethany Stewart said during a tour. There are also other spaces for smaller gatherings.

The intrigue: The hotel, which was developed by Walmart heirs Steuart and Tom Walton's real estate company Blue Crane, will have artwork scattered throughout curated by OZ Art.

What's next: The hotel says the goal is for its public spaces, including the restaurants and bar, to open in early November. Reservations for rooms can be made now for January.

• Prices start at $350, according to the website.

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Editor's note: This story was updated after the hotel said a previously mentioned opening date (Nov. 4) was not certain.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a pilot program designed to connect some Arkansans in crisis with local faith and community partners.

The big picture: Named the 10:33 Initiative for the parable of the good Samaritan in the Bible's Luke 10:33, it will use Restore Hope's HopeHub online platform, which links people in need with community partners who can coordinate housing, health care and job assistance.

• It also will direct them to the Arkansas LAUNCH job portal, which uses skills assessments to align seekers with employers.

State of play: The 12-month pilot will focus on residents in Pulaski, Union and Pope counties and will serve an estimated 300 to 500 Arkansans.

• The program was developed through the governor's Faith-Based Initiatives office, the White House Faith Office, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the Arkansas Department of Commerce.

Arkansas "spends billions of dollars" overseeing federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Sanders said during an announcement yesterday.

• "We do a pretty good job of putting a temporary Band-Aid on problems, but we need to be doing more to move Arkansans from crisis to career and to let them know that they are loved and that there is hope for a better future," she said.

Follow the money: No new state funding will be needed. The initiative will use Restore Hope's existing funding, which is a mix of federal and state money, and charitable donations, Sanders spokesperson Sam Dubke told Axios in an email.

What they're saying: "Every day, in my [adviser] position up in D.C. — you have to drive things by data — and data shows us that faith-based programs and people of faith have an almost 80-plus percent success rate," Pastor Paula White-Cain, senior adviser to the White House Faith Office, said at the announcement.

• "Purely humanism and secular tend to have under 20%" success rates, while faith-based methods work "because they care and they have great programs," she said.

The bottom line: Anyone who'd like to learn about contributing to the 10:33 Initiative can download a one-page fact sheet.

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The Newton County Sheriff's Office believes the bear that attacked and killed a Missouri man while he was camping has been killed. (40/29)

✏️ Seven people applied for the vacant school board seat in Fayetteville. The seat was opened when Katrina Osborne resigned to move to Massachusetts. (Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

💵 The state has withheld some funding from 38 small Arkansas communities that have past-due audits for their water and sewer systems. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

• In all, the treasurer's office is withholding $477,498.

The Fayetteville City Council might decide tonight to call for an infrastructure bond election for March 3.

State of play: Voters would be asked to vote for or against allowing the city to issue about $320 million in sales tax bonds to finance projects and to refund the city's outstanding capital improvement bonds.

Projects include:

🐶 Constructing and equipping an animal shelter with increased space for adoptions, increased veterinary care and education.

💧 Water and sewer upgrades.

🚒 Building and equipping new fire stations plus any necessary fire trucks.

🌳 Expanding and renovating parks.

♻️ Building a new recycling drop-off facility on Fayetteville's west side.

🚧 Street, trail and sidewalk improvements.

🥽 Developing a year-round aquatic and recreation facility.

💦 Constructing a major wastewater treatment plant and system improvements.

📍 If you go: 5:30pm at City Hall.

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