30 November 2015

Get In The Spirit > Re-Cycle, Re-Use + Re-Imagine Books/To Give and To Share

A world of information and ideas within reach of every resident . . . Yipes! That sounds too good to be true
For you, dear readers, bargains on pulp fiction and non-fiction at the Mesa Main Public Library thanks to Janice Dell, Volunteer Coordinator, and her merry band of helpers who have selected "nearly new" books going on sale at the lowest prices in town starting today through January 3, 2016.
They're too big to stick in a stocking, but you no doubt
get the idea
 
 
 
Hours of Operation
Monday10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Tuesday10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Wednesday10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Thursday10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Friday10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday10:00 am - 5:00 pm
SundayClosed

Find out what's going on all the time and every month > http://www.mesalibrary.org/
You can even find a link to register to vote.

MACFest + Downtown Mesa Indie Fest > THE BIG WE Take-Over on Main Street

Good Ole' Kris Kringle was getting his jollies on inside the window at Gunell's Jewelry Store seeing the turnout on Main Street for Small Business Saturday, November 28, 2015.
It's not quite all merry and a winter wonderland yet, but word is getting out when MACFest adds two more days to their calendar schedule to collaborate with the Downtown Merchants Association and The City of Mesa for a big promotion November 27-Jan 3, 2016.
Valley Metro Light Rail is pitching in giving free rides on all the stops at Main Street Light Rail station platforms downtown from Country Club to Main to Mesa Drive, but of course you're more than welcome to walk or bike. See >> merrymainstreet.com

The message is: Get here for sights you might have reminisced about from days gone-by or get here for sights you never could have imagined happening in downtown Mesa.

Another Article Re:The Twilight Garden [Post here 29 October, 2015]

[Updates 02 Dec about Creative Machine] Different style, different content and different focus in another feature on The Twilight Garden located close by the Valley Metro Light Rail Station at Main Street/Country Club.
Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:26 am

By Shelley Ridenour Tribune

28 November 2015

Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema helps United Food Bank

Separate from what they do on a national stage or how they might vote on international matters like refugees and emigrants from the wars in The Middle East, it's nice to see who we elect to Congress in Washington DC to represent voters' interests in the U.S. House of Representatives doing the right thing locally.

Smart Growth Here + Now ReSource > (Re)Building The New Urban DTMesa

Why would anyone want to live in downtown Mesa?
Smart Growth America finds that more and more Americans want to live in walkable, downtown neighborhoods, and companies want to locate in these places too.
These neighborhoods generate strong tax revenues and have lower municipal costs per capita. And they are the often the heart of a town or region’s economic activity.
. . .  one big question remains in your mind. HOW can center city Mesa do it?
Read more >> Comments are invited!

Canyon Winds Forecast For The Las Sendas Area

According to a report by Roland Murphy from Arizona Business Exchange on November 17, 2015, a new 261,380SF "Senior Community" [is there ever going to be a junior community??] is getting proposed with plans and zoning requests to the City of Mesa at the northwest corner of McDowell Road and Ridgecrest in the city’s Las Sendas area.

27 November 2015

A Not-So-Ordinary Property With A History + A Lot of Stories

Welcome to Nana'sGardena, or "Grandma's House", a Queen Ann-style brick home originally  built in 1901 that fills the northwest corner of Sirrine Street at 2nd Avenue.
Your MesaZona blogger was stunned at the sight of this historic property while walking around the block and neighborhood with Augie Gastelum, head of NEDCO the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, a couple of months ago.
We strolled and talked for two hours on both sides of the east-west expanse of 2nd Avenue from Mesa Drive to Center Street in a district called Southside Heights [Los Altos].
Augie and his wife Jennifer purchased their own home, built in 1935, here about a year ago, welcoming a new addition to their family about the same time.
2nd Avenue is regenerating with both the old and the new side-by-side, improving all the time into a very livable and diverse neighborhood.
There are single-family homes nestled in with multi-family units, at least one group home/service organization, Community Bridges, a recovery treatment center, Riversource, and directly across Sirrine is Nana's Garden.

Here you'll find  a welcoming trellis arbor and a white picket fence, flowering shrubs, metal and stone sculptures,low-impact desert  landscaping, two pelapas, citrus trees, extensive plantings and gardens with benches, stone walkways, a grandchildren play area, and a surprising Koi Pond, with a close-up view in the image to the left.
Just the other day, "Grandma" Margaret Lambert and yours truly chatted under the shade of a tree enjoying the pleasant serenity by the water feature.
I apologized for maybe intruding on private property, after walking by a few times, but after seeing the welcome sign at the top of the arbor on a Sunday morning, ventured in.
Grandma, recently-divorced in 1979 decided to move to downtown Mesa with her two kids in 1979 buying this old house after looking at others.
It needed a lot of work thirty-five years inside and outside in the bare yard. Today it's  a work-in-progress.
Nana invited me into her office where's she's occupied with plans for the future and gathering historic photographs and documentation about the property and people who lived here starting in the last century . . . one of whom, Mrs. Wingar was married to an owner of The Mesa Ice Company.
Plans are underway with the City of Mesa Historic Preservation Board getting all the paperwork, approvals and research in place to establish the South Side Heights Historic District.





Update > Merry Main Street Holiday Tree PopsUp Out-of-the-Boxes

Here it is in all its glory [almost looks real] ... just an "un-intended" consequence for corporate branding - how many times can you see the Bank of America logo?
The 3-story high installation at the southeast intersection of Main/MacDonald Street is dwarfed by the real palm trees and the visual clutter all around this chosen location.
Take  an after-sunset walk all along Main Street - it's an illuminating pedestrian-friendly and welcoming experience.
The switch to throw on the electrified tree is scheduled to happen tonight @ 5:45.

Temporary Suspension of Valley Metro Light Rail Service

. . . in Tempe and Mesa > get up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter https://twitter.com/valleymetro

25 November 2015

Another Big Weekend in DTMesa Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday

The BIG WE [that catchy phrase from Natalie Lewis in the City Manager's office]  is all-hands-on in a public relations campaign regenerating The New Urban DT Mesa.          Public and private partnership forces are re-turning and targeting their interests to the heart and central core of Main Street. Make your mark and plan your time to be here.    Read more >>

24 November 2015

Right Out-of-the-Box Today : The Merry Main Street Winter Holiday Tree


Many hands - and two hydraulic lift trucks -  are right at work now unpacking, assembling, and lifting the pieces of a totally wired and decorated artificial tree into place, rising  today on the SE corner of Macdonald & Main Streets on the west side of The Bank of America Building.
Comments are welcome from readers on the choice of an artificial tree - "a one-time investment" - here in The New Urban Downtown Mesa, a living green city.
[anybody wanna make a bet if it's Made in China?]

23 November 2015

Central Mesa Hot-Spot @ Baseline & Val Vista Drive?


Yours truly is "hot" to promote and highlight investments and developments in Mesa all over the place with a focus on The New Urban Downtown Mesa - that is central on this BlogSpot.
Arizona Republic's reporter Maria Polletta published an article today about south-central Mesa
Central Mesa emerging as development hotspot
Proposed projects range from small-scale infill developments and academic facilities to lavish housing complexes — all welcome in District 2, a sector oft overlooked in favor of downtown's storied history or the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway area's tech-heavy allure.
Image from mesaaz.gov
Let's - for the sake of engaging readers - start with being open and transparent.
The reporter takes more than a few clues from Mesa City Council member Alex Finter who represents District 2 generally bounded by Baseline, Gilbert, Brown, and Power Roads.
[Image shown at left is from his webpage on the official City of Mesa website.] 
He served as Mesa’s Mayor until September 18, 2014, when he resumed his role as the District 2 Councilmember. Finter’s term on Council runs until January of 2017.
In the private-sector, Finter is a businessman and partner at Worldwide Investments LLC., a domestic LLC registered in Graham County - not here in Maricopa County - dealing in agricultural lands in Mesa and Australia.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/mayor-council/councilmember-alex-finter

City Councilmember Alex Finter pointed to chic shopping center Dana Park Village Square, the future Gilbert Road light rail extension and a blossoming rental market for young professionals as catalysts.

He is directly quoted saying: "These [development] folks are smart . . . they don't spend $100 million here, $25 million there, unless the support is going to be there".
It's a parallel universe of BIG MONEY who want to invest in real estate.
So, readers might wonder how that support - it boils down to a change in the City of Mesa's General Plan - is going to get "there"? . . . no doubt it helps to point out certain proposed actions to the media who in a perfect world are fair and balanced.
The article starts with "Enviable demographics and a few key amenities have helped south-central Mesa quietly catch the eyes of deep-pocketed developers, prompting a recent surge of investment that will likely top $200 million . . . Some of the sites in question have been vacant for decades, and there are plenty of others that could benefit from some TLC . . ."
Huh?? Tender Loving Care from "deep-pocketed developers" -that would be refreshing.
The article goes on to feature "some of the bigger-ticket items" [identified to the reporter] that are or could be on the way - readers will please notice the choice of words taking note that it's one thing to cite an example of a real estate  development success [Dana Park and adjacent "green apartments"] and another thing to advocate for a real estate development proposal [the Mark Taylor "posh apartments"] whose progress will depend on approval of an amendment and change in the General Plan for the City of Mesa to convert 21.85 acres from employment to mixed-use activity.
No mention of the pending public hearing on December 1, 2015 to approve/disapprove a significant change in the city's General Plan was made in the Arizona Republic report on Monday, November 23, 2015 @ 06:02 a.m.
Two days later - yesterday -
What does this change, if approved - it's not a small matter to amend the city's General Plan and must be done in a public hearing with The City Council whose members will vote on the issue after public discussion in favor or against it - mean?
A PUBLIC HEARING
In the example of Dana Park it's always been a highly-admired and successful suburban shopping center right on the borderline with the City of Gilbert that has one of the highest per-capita incomes in Arizona [location and demographics]. It has never been short on "amenities". Whitestone REIT is a real estate investment trust taking the 63-year old concept of shopping malls to the next level.
READERS PLEASE NOTE: The article does a great job covering all the council districts in Mesa in KNOW YOUR MESA DISTRICTS


 

MISS PIGGY: Official Diva for Small Business Saturday | American Express


And now for a très importante message from the fabulous Miss Piggy, official diva of Small Business Saturday®.
#SmallBizSat is Nov 28. Get up, get out, and #ShopSmall.

AND HERE A LOCAL DTMESA OFFICIAL NEWS RELEASE from Cori Garcia, Communications & Marketing Manager @ Downtown Merchants Association . . . [she's not a diva]

For Immediate Release 
November 19, 2015

2nd Annual Small Business Saturday Indie Fest in Downtown Mesa
Downtown Mesa embraces and celebrates the fact that a majority of it's businesses are locally and independently owned. Support the mom and pops and other small businesses from around the valley at the 2nd Annual Indie Fest, on Small Business Saturday, November 28th from 11am to 5pm. In addition to 50+ Main Street businesses opening their doors and offering specials, over 75 small businesses from across the valley will be participating in a vendor fair, accompanied by live music, art demonstrations and lots of prizes to be given away! Spend $35 at brick and mortar downtown businesses and redeem $5 in Downtown Dollars. 

Did you know that for every $100 spent at an independently owned business, $73 goes back to the local economy, versus only $42 when spending at a chain? Support your community by shopping small this holiday season. 

Another benefit to shopping downtown this season – any purchase at a participating business grants customers a $2 off coupon for the new ice skating rink at City Plaza! Be sure to check out all the Merry Main events at www.merrymainst.com.

For more Indie Fest information please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/511132042378871/. 

Cori Garcia
Marketing and Communications Manager
Downtown Mesa Association 501 c(6)
Ultimate Imaginations Inc. 501 c(3)
p
480.890.2613
Cori@DowntownMesa.com 

cid:D467CD3A-BE34-430E-95E9-9CFE1C886394

21 November 2015

All-New Residential Treatment Program @ River Source on 2nd Avenue


According to a press release
Mesa, AZ (PRWEB)
of Arizona’s leading drug and alcohol addiction recovery centers, The River Source, has announced the creation of an all-new residential treatment program that specifically caters to women. The new program will be located in downtown Mesa, Arizona, the third-largest city in the state.

In addition to integrative medical detox and holistic therapy services, the new program for women 18 years and older will include accommodations for pregnant mothers, as well as couples treatment and family therapy sessions. The women-only compound in Mesa features such amenities as a yoga ramada, dry sauna, basketball hoop, outdoor fire pit, lounge area with television, quiet seating areas and beautiful desert landscaping.
“We chose the Mesa location because of its year-round warm weather, sunny skies and great views of the nearby mountains,” Westbrooks said. “Hiking excursions will be offered as part of our holistic therapy services, since exercise is a key component of healing and recovery."
The River Source accepts clients who live in Arizona and all over the nation, offering customized recovery plans and the ability to treat co-occurring disorders. Located roughly 20 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the new women’s program will house clients for up to 90 days. The River Source also offers a recovery guarantee, meaning if any client completes 90 consecutive days of inpatient treatment or the Full Continuum of Care and relapses within one year, they can return to The River Source for additional treatment free of charge.


19 November 2015

See This > Live Action/Time-Lapse Video: Creative Place Making

Jesse Perry @ MrDowntownPhx does The New Urban DTMesa BIG TIME in a self-produced You Tube upload. He told your MesaZona blogger about it late-day yesterday.
[More background details to follow, with thanks to Cori Garcia, Communications & Marketing Manager for Downtown Mesa]
Completed Mural in Downtown Mesa right off the light rail on the Surf and Ski shop at 137 w Main St. Dedicated to the destroyed signs of historic mesa, this image is a compilation of two vintage neon signs of the Chicken & Waffles Marquee Drive-in the was once along Main Street in Mesa, AZ. Wall is done in spray paint and measures 14' wide by 9' high.

LISC Phoenix 2015 Annual Celebration & Awards Event

Yours truly took up the invitation from Terry Benelli [posted on this site 30 Sept 2015], Executive Director of Local Initiatives for Sustainable Communities LISC/Phoenix, for yesterday's well-attended breakfast at The Phoenix Art Museum presented by BBVA Compass with featured guest John Graham, President of Sunbelt Holdings, in an interview with Mark Sapp.
The program was opened by Bryce Lloyd with opening remarks by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Brad Parker, BBVA Compass.

The Awards Program featured exemplary citations for
- The Caterpillar Foundation's partnership and commitment to neighborhood revitalization. This is the first time the foundation has invested in the Phoenix area where LISC will use that investment to help expand employment and financial security for low-income families, as well as to turn blighted land into vibrant community space that adds value to the surrounding area.

Michael Trailor, in the image to left, for six years Director of the Arizona Department of Housing, exemplary advocate to understand housing issues and targeting resources and joining with other community leaders in an effort to end homelessness and build more sustainable communities
- Cloubreak Communities Victory Place 5-acre development that supports and creates transitional and permanent supportive housing for vets.
It's a four-phase project that will provide 273 residential units in a campus dedicated to both veterans' housing and service partners US VETS, Community Bridges, AZ Behavioral Health Corps, Phoenix VA, and Bethesda Community Baptist Church.

Due to limitations of space and time and high-tech equipment, your blogger will leave it to the able LISC video staff for a more complete professional presentation of the annual celebration and awards event with details of what said when the program started exactly on time @ 08:55 a.m. closing at 09:50 with Terry Benelli acknowledging thanks to LISC's community leaders and partners, community developer sponsors, community builder sponsors, and community planner sponsors.
The big roster includes BBVA Compass, AZ Community Foundation, Banks Nordstrom, State Farm, JP Morgan Chase, National Bank of Arizona, BMO Harris Bank, Northern Trust, Bank of America, US Bank, Alliance Bank of Arizona, AmTrust Bank, Cardinal Cap Management, and Wells Fargo.
27 Community Sponsors are featured in the awards program, among them the cities of Phoenix, Mesa and Tempe, Valley Metro, Friends of Transit, Gorman & Company [who built Escobedo @ Verde Vista here in DT Mesa], Community Development Partners + Perlman Architects who built El Rancho del Arte, Urban Development Partners with both Charles Huellmantel and Todd Marshall who built Encore on First in attendance.

Keep an eye out for a transcript and video of the whole interview with John Graham, seen in the image to the left.
To be brief and get to the point, recently Sunbelt Holdings has diversified away from suburban into new urban downtown infill development, currently on Marina Heights in Tempe and Portland Place in central downtown Phoenix - both transit-oriented along Valley Metro Light Rail.

There's plenty of potential for new urban DTMesa infill development - or as Mesa mayor John Giles puts it "20 acres of vacant City-owned properties" that can be connected to city-owned utilities - most notably the centrally-located on Main Street whole square block where Brown & Brown Chevrolet operated an autodealership for 85 years purchased a short time ago by John Graham and Sunbelt Holdings, who will be joining the other developers mentioned here investing and planning Mesa's future.
Site 17, part of where Rendezvous Park was the center of city life, remains the biggest piece of vacant real estate in the central urban core regeneration puzzle, after being demolished and cleared for a time-share development that didn't happen.


Plans for Phase 2 of Rancho del Arte were on view at yesterday's event





18 November 2015

Bicycle-Friendly?? + A Silver Designation from The League of American Bicyclists

Way, to go Mesa! . . . a long way to go for "moving up" from Bronze in 2003 - 12 years.
WTFark is this? All about getting an award?
Via email @ 2:01 pm today from City of Mesa Newsroom
Mesa Earns Silver Award as a Bicycle Friendly Community
The League of American Bicyclists [LAB, logo to left] announced earlier this week that Mesa has earned the Silver designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community, moving up from the previous Bronze designation awarded in 2003.
Mesa’s designation was upped to Silver as a result of the great strides achieved . . . "
OK. That's all to the good, but what's totally ignored are some of the issues brought into focus by a post here on Nov 13 ... and -- speaking of strides --  the fact is that more people walk than bike.
As readers can see in the map to the right,
"bicycle commuting" has increased all over the country since 2003.
For everyday people using bikes it's not  a Silver Award, a one-day event like CycloMesa or short-term Bike2Work and School Day events that grab headlines and hype in emails and press releases - Bikes are survival.
The

Winners of Gold Awards had this to say: 'any city can be a great cycling city as long as there’s commitment from a broad range of city leaders and the population as a whole...The lesson we learned is that it has to be a broad-based effort, it can’t just come from the top.” -- Dave Cieslewicz, executive director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed and former mayor of Madison, a city that earned top designation in the same announcement. [link below].
Tucson and Scottsdale have received top designation. Flagstaff, Sedona and Tempe were recognized as well in other categories as well as Gilbert and Phoenix.
An image snapped in Phoenix today while waiting at a Valley Metro Light Right station to return to DT Mesa after attending the LISC annual event at the Phoenix Art Museum shows full racks of the rideshare Grid Bike program not being used, but available.
Original planning in Mesa was for 250 in 2015 that was reduced to100 for next year.

Granted that 'winning' a Bicycle Friendly Community designation shows a community's dedication to creating safer and better places to ride your bike, everyday people using bikes for years as a necessary low-cost self-empowering  way to get around - not "for fun" or to "save the planet" - have needed the same assurances getting attention now with increasing urban gentrification and the focus on recreation and physical fitness.
Street vandalism is not infrequent.
Some retail workers remove seats on bikes so they can't  get stolen.
Bikes need to be secured with locks to prevent theft. At the Mesa Main Public Library locks are available at the inside information desk for bikes parked in front.
Curious readers might wonder looking at the sign on Main Street to the right if the City is planning to continue being a Bicycle Friendly Community after this year . . .


Some information about The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) located in Washington DC is a non-profit membership organization which promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education
The League was a prominent advocacy group for the improvement of roads and highways in the United States[5] long before the advent of the automobile. The Good Roads Movement in the late 19th century was founded and led by the League, which began publishing Good Roads magazine in 1892.
In 1894 the League voted to prohibit membership by non-white people.[6] Since the League was the governing body for bicycle racing at that time, the League's action effectively banned non-white people from most races in the United States.[7] It was not until 1999 - more than ten years after the Civil Rights Act became the law of the land - the League disavowed the 1894 action.[8]
At its height in 1898, the League had over 103,000 members.[9] Early members included three of the wealthiest men of the Gilded Age: Newport socialites John Jacob Astor, Diamond Jim Brady, and John D. Rockefeller.[9]
The World War II contributed to the success of the League through rationing of motor vehicle fuel and tires. Membership was 614 in 1945, with 200 honorary members in the armed services. However, in the late 1940s, the League went into decline. Factors included the increasing availability of motor vehicles; the "baby boom", which made for difficulties in pursuing recreational cycling; narrow highways; and conformist social attitudes, with a perception of bicycling as a children's activity.
Through the end of the 20th century, the League existed as a national clearinghouse for cycling advocacy, but more so as a social organization, holding three or more regional rallies each year, usually in June, centered on public college campuses in various parts of the USA. Each of these rallies featured mapped rides of various lengths, dormitory housing and meals, a variety of cycling-related lectures, and vendors selling products.
In the late 20th century, the League was criticized for its name: League of American Wheelmen. Also, the term Wheelmen was becoming increasingly obscure. In response, the League began doing business as the League of American Bicyclists in 1994.[13]
The League reached a peak of 24,000 paid memberships in 1997, then declined to around 20,000, where it has remained since
A major change in the direction of the League occurred in 1997 when it moved its offices from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington, D.C., and focused increasingly on advocacy at the federal level
The League has continued to play a leading role in cycling issues into the 21st century. Its  Bicycle Friendly America program distributes awards to communities which have adopted measures to accommodate and encourage bicycle use.
http://www.bikeleague.org/

Green Build Gains Ground > Get A Buzz On!

Greenbuild International Conference and Expo
Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. The green building community gathers to share ideals and mutual passion at Greenbuild, sparking a contagious buzz throughout the week. 
. . . When industry leaders, experts and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable building in their everyday work come together, the result is a unique and palpable energy. Participants are invigorated and inspired. They find themselves equipped to return to their jobs with a renewed sense of purpose.
Greenbuild features three groundbreaking days of inspiring speakers, invaluable networking opportunities, industry showcases, LEED workshops and tours of the host city's green buildings. Join thousands of other people who agree that green building is a good idea and good for business. 

More 4 >> http://www.greenbuildexpo.com/Attendee/ShowInfo

17 November 2015

Centrica Hits The News Big Time



This just in four hours ago
Centrica signs global banking giant to 10 year deal

Creative Place Making > Re/Generating The New Urban DTMesa

Another "arts-inspired" initiative here in "downtown" - readers of this blog will note a change in that reference: nuttin' down about town with new works going UP all over the place and at least one new business opening the doors or soon-to-open the doors [see recent posts on this site] and another one expanding with a move to Main Street.
Here's Jesse Perry today during a quick-chat while he's in the middle of creating a new eye-popping neon-inspired visual on the west side of what-used-to-be in Mesa history the O.S. Stapley Store.
[See other posts on this site about Creative Place Making]



Finishing touches Wed 18 Nov
UPDATEA day later the work is done or with just one more "finishing touch" applied by Jesse standing on his tip-toes to do it. Another chance opportunity came up today when yours truly happened to walk east on Main Street from the Country Club/Main Light Rail, seeing a change from the day before and no artist . . . stopping to take a look. Seconds later Jesse drives into the alley; we talked again with him saying the mural was now done, then noticing one little line he gets right to making the change he wanted. Turns out he made a time-lapse video of the work-in-progress that will get uploaded to his website + social media.
Jesse Perry Art
 
Getting' down signing the work and applying the copyright symbol
 

It Ain't Rockefeller Center > Wanna Call It "A Winter Wonderland"?? or Rinky Dink?

Got an email | Subject: RE: Holiday Plans . . . sending it along, but don't know about the words it's BACK & BIGGER THAN EVER EVENT! But . . .                                       
[. . . maybe the Festival of Lights across from Pioneer Park that usually attracts 500,000 to 1,000,000 but nobody knows for sure how many?]
Now that Valley Metro Light Rail is gliding down the middle of Main Street the whole New Urban DTMesa is making a wish
Winter Wonderland Ice Rink?
Winter Wonderland Ice Rink is located on the east side of Mesa City Plaza at 20 E. Main Street
Open Nov. 27 – Jan. 3
Monday – Friday 5 – 10 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Rink holds 125 people at one time.
Price: $10 for one hour (includes skate rental)
No discount for personal skates

Keep an eye-out for affiliated tie-in when you shop on Main Street: Another benefit to shopping downtown this season – any purchase at a participating business grants customers a $2 off coupon for the new ice skating rink at City Plaza!

The rented rink is getting some strands of overhead lights and the sides getting hung with green garlands.
In the image to the left you can get a fix on the human scale of things installed on the parking lot next to City Hall.
If you sit in the upper levels of the bleachers you might be able to watch the skating or stand long the sides like these people inspecting the rink installation on Thursday
Imagine if you can 125 people all at the same time - of all skating skills - going round-and-round synchronized at the same speed skating along inside the rink . . . ya better watch out and ya better not pout if ya fall down or have wobbly ankles or lose your balance.

At full capacity [125 people per hour] each weekday will have 625 people, or $6,250 income.
For weekends, at full capacity, 2500 people for both days, or $25,000 income


Ooops! Modern Times @ The World-Famous Nile Theater


 “It’s a blast dude. I’ve met so many cool people. This is a great venue, it’s downtown Mesa. What else could you ask for?” 

- Those words are from a November 13 article by Ryan Scott that appeared in Modern Times Magazine about the Whisker Bent & HellBound 3 Competition November 7th.
 

Good News + Bad News > Call The House! Toll-Free

Whether you ride or not, public transportation benefits all of us. It reduces pollution, eases traffic congestion, and helps our communities thrive. In cities, suburbs, and rural America, public transit provides vital connections to jobs, education, medical care, and our larger communities. Help us keep America moving. - See more at: http://voicesforpublictransit.org/#sthash.TQ7ghjY2.dpuf
The good news is, both the Senate and the House have passed multi-year, comprehensive transportation bills.
The bad news is, the House legislation doesn’t significantly increase funding for public transit beyond current levels.
Please call the Voices for Public Transit Legislative Hotline now at (888) 443-5862 to urge Senators McCain and Flake and Representative Sinema to increase America’s investment in public transportation.
The call is free and will only require a few minutes of your time.
We have one last opportunity to make sure the final legislation Congress sends to President Obama funds public transit at the highest levels possible. We have to make it clear to Congress that America wants increased long-term funding for public transit.
Here’s all you have to do:
  • Call (888) 443-5862 and listen to our brief instructions
  • You’ll be connected to your U.S. Representative’s office first
  • Stay on the line and you’ll be connected to your Senators’ offices as well.
Congress will likely be voting on the final legislation in the next week or so. Calls from voters now will ensure they pass a long-term transportation bill that enables our nation to expand and improve public transit.
Let’s make the phones ring off the hook on Capitol Hill.
Call the Voices for Public Transit Legislative Hotline at (888) 443-5862 today!

Transit-Oriented Development TOD > New Urban DT Mesa

The largely Susan Tibschraeny-owned stretch of Main Street on the north side west of Robson near the Country Club/MainStreet Valley Metro Light Rail Station and adjacent to Courtyard Towers [that recently sold for $21 million dollars] will be the chosen site for a new food enterprise revamping what used to be Urban Picnic @ 216 that closed in June of this year [see post on this blog June 13].
After just signing a lease, the new business owners with management background at Postino's, were found on-site inside the location yesterday making preliminary plans to re-configure and re-equip the space to bring it up to code for the anticipated opening.
We talked for a brief time about the menu offerings and DT Mesa. Readers will eagerly wait to see how things develop here - more details will be forthcoming as progress moves ahead on this transit-oriented development that downtown residents, office/retail and city employees, plus other business owners look forward to on Main Street.

Just  a couple of doors away @ 202 W Main The Old Brick House usually open occasionally in the back garage of the Drew Building had this notice posted on the door:
 

16 November 2015

What Will Buildings In The Future Look Like?

Image sent by Matt Green Green Consulting LLC
High Tech with all the high-tech gizmos or  a living-green vertical forest?
Two different perspectives with two different timeframes:
One a hundred years from now
One now by Stefano Boeri in Lausanne, SwitzerWonderland
THE FUTURE IS NOW
[it's looking green, renewable, regenerative, energy-efficient + increasing the health, productivity and well-being of residents]
BTW: thanks to two contacts, the first and closest Matt Green who purchased a home here in Mesa in 2010 located in one of downtown's historic districts, studied architecture @ ASU and has worked on different projects in Harlem, the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, and sites in New Mexico. The other is BrianG.Donnelly, an "architectneur' based in Toronto.

The headline image is featured in TreeHugger | Making Sustainability Sexy [go figure] . . . and while you're on the site there's  very good report day 16 November titled
Daniel Wallach of Greensburg explains how to talk to a conservative about the environment.

In another report from the U.S.Department of Energy [ link here >> http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/buildings-future ] efforts are aimed to investigate key design and technology trends and current unknown areas that could revolutionize the built environment across the areas of energy and water use, greenhouse gas emissions, material consumption, building control and communication, resilient design, occupant health and productivity, and cyber and physical security . . . Group members also considered related topics that may directly impact the long-term trajectory of buildings, such as modes of transportation, electric grid integration, and community-scale planning,  . . Through surveys conducted by the Buildings of the Future participants, a next-generation building’s top attribute will be its ability to increase the health, productivity, and wellbeing of occupants.
http://www.achrnews.com/articles/131005-what-will-buildings-look-like-in-100-years#

Here are some other images to feast your eyes, get inspired and get seriously curious about >