Mesa Police Officer-Involved Shooting > Sensational Media Beat Reporting

Within the last 24 hours there have been more than 15 articles and reports in local and national media about this incident on 18 January at the La Quinta Inn. Unfortunately it's all getting more sensational all the time - now getting attention from Gawker and tabloid NY Daily News . . . tens of thousands of people have read online and social media or watched news coverage of this one incident here in Mesa.
With the release of a 12-page investigation report on Monday by the Mesa Police Department about officer Philip "Mitch" Brailsford, seen in the accompanying image from that report, headlines are multiplying.

Daniel Shaver, unarmed man killed by Arizona police officer, cried and begged for life before shooting
By Jason Silverstein NY Daily News/

Updated: Wednesday, March 30, 2016, 2:49 PM

An unarmed man who was shot and killed by an Arizona police officer in January cried, complied with police orders and begged for his life before the fatal firing, according to a newly released police report.
Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford has been charged with second-degree murder for the death of Daniel Shaver, a 26-year-old Texas man. Authorities have declined to release Brailsford’s body cam footage from the deadly encounter.Source: NY Daily News

Unarmed man begged for life before AZ cop with "YOU'RE FUCKED" sticker on rifle shot him to death
/ Cory Doctorow / 3:35 pm Wed Mar 30, 2016

The body-camera video that presumably shows the shooting of an unarmed man by a former Mesa police officer at a hotel will not be released . . .

From Singapore Today: SF Fed Prez John Williams | Janet Yellens US Fed Reserve Bank Chief @ NY Economic Club



Both in the same day, worlds apart, saying what they think about the global and U.S. economies + some other people talking about what they didn't say
Yellen - "mixed"
Williams - the spoiler alert is that it’s not as bad as everyone thinks.
[links and details to follow]

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the U.S. central bank should proceed only cautiously as it looks to raise interest rates, pushing back on a handful of her colleagues who have suggested another move may be just around the corner.

In her first comments since the Fed decided to hold rates steady two weeks ago, Yellen said inflation has not yet proven durable against the backdrop of looming global risks to the U.S economy, including still-low oil prices and concerns over China.

The comments, which boosted stocks and bonds and hit the dollar, come as healthier measures of U.S. inflation and manufacturing have prompted some other Fed officials to say another policy tightening could come as soon as April.










Trick of the Light?
The U.S. Economy, Global Growth, and International Risks in Perspective
http://www.frbsf.org/our-district/press/presidents-speeches/williams-speeches/2016/march/trick-of-the-light-us-economy-global-growth-international-risks/

A Lesson In Advertising For Visit Mesa: Millenials Don't Like to Get Targeted

Just a quick flashback to a post here on 14 March about the spoon-fed news published by reporters in certain media outlets.
Your MesaZona blogger posed a question: Why focus on millennials as one population group for this ad campaign-buy [contract price not disclosed] when you can easily see in the infographic from the U.S. Census Bureau from July 2014 that there's almost an even spread in generation lines from the ages of 25-65+?

Ten days later on March 24, 2016 Bloomberg Surveillance presented a discussion with Kevin Roberts, the Chairman of one of the world's most creative organizations - the highly  respected Advertising/Public Relations companies Saatchi & Saatchi, speaking from London.

Here's a link to watch >> A Lesson in Advertising
Some take-away, but take the time to see this video
1. Millennials want to be involved but they don't like being marketed to . . . that's a failure
2. Segmenting the public by age is over
3. We don't live in an age-based culture
4. Everything is available to all of us

If the tourism-marketing arm for the City of Mesa chooses to spend money to sell downtown Mesa as the playground for millennials, let's see some results for the 7-month campaign.

Owens Harley included a link to the video you can go to >> here
 "Our downtown Is Your Playground"
Downtown Mesa is a place bursting with energy and life. Between nightlife, festivals, funky little side shops, and proximity to light rail, Downtown Mesa has quickly become one of Arizona’s booming urban centers. So how does an agency tell this story? With a music video, of course.
From creative concept to song writing to drone flying, the OH team led all creative elements of Downtown Mesa’s music video production. We hope you’ll enjoy watching — and visiting — as much as we enjoyed making it.

Tags: advertising, Arizona, content marketing, Digital, digital advertising, Mesa, music, Music Video, Social Media, Tourism, Video

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Update from 10 March Post > Behind-the-Screen Installation for Mesa Musical Shadows

Here's a close-up look at the ongoing work - almost ready for going public this saturday

MESA MUSICAL SHADOWS

Mesa Arts Center

[North Campus @ Center Street]

Grand Opening & Public Unveiling: 

Sat 02 April 2016 2:00-3:30 PM

Your MesaZona just could not wait to take another look at what's going on since getting curious in a post here on 03 March seeing an area surveyed earlier and "under-wraps".

The finished lay-out and design is shown in the image to the right of tiles pink-and-blue - the artwork consists of light sensors and small speakers embedded in a geometric arrangement of colored concrete tiles, placed flush to the concrete plaza surface outside the north Ikeda Theater lobby opposite the Center Street light rail station.

Each sensor will respond to changes in light, which will trigger different melodic or percussive sounds, emitted through speakers embedded in the plaza.

If multiple sensors are activated by a group of people playing together, a complex composition can be created.

Artist: Daily tous les jours, from Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Mesa Musical Shadows is generously [over $400,000] supported by a grant from ArtPlace America.

It is part of the 21st Century Cafe Society Project, a multi-phase initiative to create a welcoming and activated environment at MAC's north entry plaza

[more details about Mesa 21st Century Café Society can be found in earlier posts here].

 

 

EVENT DETAILS: 

A special event to celebrate the completion of Mesa Musical Shadows, Saturday, April 2, 2-3:30 p.m. The event will include:

• music and refreshments,
• remarks from Mesa Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh and Councilmember Chris Glover,
• a special performance of a commissioned dance piece to be performed with the artwork
• ribbon cutting
• and an opportunity to be one of the first people to “play” the piece!

Let's see how exciting an over $4000,000 artwork can be . . .

From Arizona to International Space Station: Orbital ATK Cygnus Resupply Mission AOK

Just wanted to follow-through with a post from 22 March about a local aerospace business expansion to show global connections for unsuccessful launch and docking.
Image to the left shows Cygnus in red achieving berthing to the ISS on Saturday.
Some complications to get to the success with different teams and locations around the globe. Worth the read - and to know that Russian engines are used.
(Images: via NASA, ULA, Orbital ATK and Jacques van Oene/Spacepatches.nl – also L2 Artist Nathan Koga – plus L2’s Cygnus Section – Containing presentations, videos, a vast set of unreleased hi-res images, interactive high-level updates and more, with additional images via Orbital ATK and NASA)
It's from a very detailed article written on March 25, 2016 by Chris Gebhardt, Chris Bergin and William Graham that appeared on NASA Spaceflight.com

Cygnus completes ISS arrival as ULA investigate Atlas V launch

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/03/cygnus-final-atlas-iss/
Cygnus OA-6 Arrival:
Immediately following launch, Cygnus – named S.S. Rick Husband – successfully entered its target orbit and deployed its lightweight solar arrays.
Since then, Orbital ATK mission controllers in Dulles, Virginia, spent the early days of Cygnus’ mission uploading and executing the first of a series of rendezvous phasing burns (called DV – Delta Velocity burns) to refine the S.S. Rick Husband’s trajectory toward the Station.
The first DV burn occurred on Wednesday, lasted approximately 10 minutes, and was designed to raise Cygnus from its initial near-circular 230km orbit to the 400km orbit of the ISS.
A similarly long DV burn followed, again to raise Cygnus to its proper orbital altitude.
This was then followed by a planned phasing burn to align Cygnus into the exact orbital corridor of the Station and then by a final set of DV burns on Friday to bring Cygnus to its “Go/No-Go for Joint-Ops” decision point, which it reached roughly 5hrs prior to capture at approximately 01:40 EDT Saturday.
Once Cygnus received the “go” from MCC-H (Mission Control Center – Houston) for Joint Ops, Cygnus slowly approached the Station to the Joint Targeting Reference Point (JTRP), which it arrived at just over 3hrs prior to capture – at approximately 03:30 EDT
From this point until capture and berthing, every step of the rendezvous required a strong communications link through the JEM (Japanese Experiment Module) PROX system between Cygnus, the ISS, and ground controllers.

This communication structure ensured the ability to manually abort – or at least retreat – Cygnus’ approach to the Station in the event of a problem with the spacecraft or the ISS.
Once at the JTRP, Cygnus stopped relative motion with the ISS and awaited a second Go/No-Go decision from MCC-H.
At this point, Cygnus was in the Joint Operations Phase (JOPS) of approach, as overviewed in documentation acquired by L2..
Approximately 3hrs before capture, and with MCC-H providing a “go” to proceed, Cygnus performed the first of four ADV thruster burns (ADV1) to begin moving closer to Station.
During these proximity ADV burns, Cygnus – until capture – made use of the TriDAR vision system designed by Canadian company Neptec with the support of NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.
TriDAR – tested during several Space Shuttle missions and used by SpaceX’s Dragon – will provide Cygnus controllers with real-time visual guidance for navigation, rendezvous and docking procedures.

After Cygnus’ completed her first two ADV burns, the ISS maneuvered to capture attitude – a 5 minute process that took place just over 2hrs prior to targeted capture time.
Then, with just under 2hrs to go until capture, MCC-H issued another Go/No-Go decision regarding two more ADV burns for Cygnus, which took the spacecraft to its 250m hold point below the ISS.
An hour later, MCC-H gave the “go” for Cygnus to depart the 250m hold point and enter the Keep Out Sphere (KOS) of the ISS.Cygnus then pulsed its thrusters and enter the KOS.
Up until this point, Orbital ATK controllers at their facility in Dulles had full control over Cygnus.Once Cygnus entered the KOS, NASA controllers at MCC-H joined the Orbital ATK team for the tricky rendezvous and berthing of Cygnus.Just under half an hour prior to capture, Cygnus arrived at the 30m Hold Point.
Atlas V Launch:
The veteran Atlas V rocket launched on its first attempt at the opening of the available window on Tuesday, lighting up the sky as she gracefully departed SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral.Vulcan:
Despite Atlas V’s impressive track record, ULA is preparing to bring a new rocket online by the end of the decade.
Due in part to geopolitical and US political considerations regarding Russian-built engines for the Atlas V fleet and also to increasing competition from SpaceX, ULA announced in September 2014 that it had entered into a partnership with Blue Origin to develop a new series of liquid oxygen and methane engines for a new first stage booster.
The Vulcan is designed to launch with dual Blue Origin BE-4 engines. However, Aerojet Rocketdyne is also developing the AR1 engine which could power the Vulcan Centaur.
ULA notes that their strategic partnership for American main engines – along with Orbital ATK for the solid rocket boosters and RUAG Space for domestically-produced composite structures – enables collaborative development of Vulcan to maximize the value of this new launch capability.
“Vulcan Centaur will revolutionize spaceflight and provide affordable, reliable access to space with an American main engine,” added Mark Peller, ULA’s program manager for major development.

Maricopa County Prez Primary 2016 Election = A Fiasco + A National Disgrace

Outrage and investigations on the state and federal levels have been provoked by massive suppression of voters' rights here during last Tuesday's elections in Maricopa County for the presidential preference primary.
The reactions from voters were fierce, fast and furious even in districts where less than 50% of eligible voters took the time to get registered.
Both Arizona Governor Doug Ducey got involved and Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton asked for a Department of Justice investigation to confirm legal actions to examine the issues after voters raise their voices to complain. Your MesaZona blogger at this point in time has not heard a statement from Mayor John Giles.

The Arizona State Legislature is on schedule for hearings to start on Monday. Even in news outlets on the other side of the planet in the Arab world, this report from Gulf News had this to say:
[March 26, 2016 | Last updated less than one minute ago]
PHOENIX: Hours-long waits for some Arizona residents for presidential primary voting have led to accusations of voter suppression from Democrats and civil rights proponents who cite a decision by elections officials to slash the number of polling places this year.Residents in metro Phoenix have been bristling for years over a perception that state leaders want to make it harder for them to vote, and the mess at the polls Tuesday only heightened their frustration.

Helen Purcell, recorder for Maricopa County shown in the image to the left,  took responsibility for Tuesday’s foul-up and acknowledged she made a mistake. She said she relied on voter turnout expectations, the fact independents could not vote in the primary, and that most Arizonans are mailed early ballots. But she said the problems at the polls were in no way intended to suppress participation.

NBC News ran this piece by Raul A. Reyes yesterday Mar 25 2016, 2:50 pm ET 
Opinion: Latinos Disenfranchised in Arizona Primary Fiasco
What a mess. The big news out of Arizona on Tuesday night wasn't only the respective victories by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It was also the abject failure of Maricopa County officials to properly run the elections.
The 2016 Arizona primary was a disgrace. Not only did it reflect extraordinarily poor judgment by elected officials, Maricopa County in effect disenfranchised untold numbers of voters. This sorry state of affairs illustrates why Latinos still need the protections of the Voting Rights Act.

Tomorrow's GDP Report > Some data ahead of time from Bloomberg Business

Why does it matter?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-24/why-friday-s-u-s-gdp-report-matters

Out-To-Lunch Free Concert @ MAC : A Mixed Bag of Navy Brass + Island Calypso

Thanks to Casey Blake for sending this presser
Free Out to Lunch Concert series to host special double feature concert

Thursday, March 24

Didn't know it is Navy Week at all since we are are "land-locked" in the desert, but this double-feature concert should attract another big crowd. Maybe not cracking the recent attendance of 1,250 at these outdoor free events, but then again who knows?

 

Mesa, AZ – The free Out to Lunch Concert series at Mesa Arts Center will present Navy Band Southwest’s 32^nd Street Brass Band and JT’s Island Steel Drum Band Thursday, March 24 in the outdoor Wells Fargo Garden. Navy Band Southwest will perform 11 a.m. – noon and JT’s Island Steel will perform 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Both performances are free.

Navy Band Southwest will give a taste of New Orleans with its newest group, the 32nd Street Brass Band. In the spirit of Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, the band performs upbeat music for homecoming ship arrivals and Navy community events with the sounds and styles of Jazz, Funk, Dixieland, and R&B.

Island Steel is comprised of musicians experienced in all varieties of instruments from classical violin to jazz piano, expertly trained to create the calypso sound from the islands of the Caribbean. This island sound creates a relaxing and soothing tropical atmosphere with a festive, energetic performance in the tradition of Trinidad's Carnival. 

The weekly Out to Lunch Concerts at Mesa Arts Center offer free parking, hot and cold meal options for purchase, ample seating and a stunning outdoor setting. Mesa Arts Center is located at One East Main Street in downtown Mesa.

Here's a short video of the steel drum band to get you in the mood

 

 

Playing Politics? Officer-Involved Shootings Here in Mesa Rages On In The Media

Two recent episodes in the last couple of months with notices of claims in the millions of dollars filed against the City of Mesa continue to make international, national, state and local headlines.
Yesterday and today the incidents are taking on more attention with statements issued in the media by the Mesa chief of police terminating the employment of a policeman and attorneys representing officer Philip Brailsford accusing the city of "playing politics" in this report yesterday
"The Mesa Police Association said in an emailed statement Monday night that it was disappointed the city of Mesa "interfered with Officer Mitch Brailsford’s due process and allowed this case to be tried in the court of public opinion before being heard in the court of law."
More stories updated last night:
Craig Mehrens, the attorney for Brailsford, said the firing "represents pure politics." He said Meza called Brailsford four days after the shooting "and told him he had, with other senior officers, viewed the video; and they had all concluded that it was a `good shoot.' "
The Mesa Police Association said in a statement that firing Brailsford before his scheduled preliminary hearing Wednesday in the fatal shooting case "likely hurt his chances of receiving a fair trial. That is simply wrong."
Excerpts from this report by ABC 15 >>
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/philip-brailsford-update-mesa-officer-facing-murder-charge-fired

So far no statements about all this from the City, but Mesa mayor John Giles posted another selfie of himself on Facebook over the weekend on May 20 with this caption: My ride along with @mesapolice last night was very educational. Car crashes, drunk drivers, domestic violence. I have a lot of respect for our great public safety personnel. Thank you!Facebook

Orbital ATK

Recent recent expansion plans for this aerospace, ammunition, and integrated weapons system supplier will complement Arizona’s robust aerospace and defense sector that contributes $38bn annually to the Arizona economy and employs more than 52,000 workers.
Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, and satellite manufacturer, Orbital ATK, last Friday jointly announced that the company is expanding its engineering operations in Gilbert, Arizona.

Governor Doug Ducey had this to say in a flurry of press release announcements:
“I am thrilled that one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world once again has selected Arizona for its expansion plans, and to support its critical operations,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “Arizona is a major player globally when it comes to aerospace, defense and avionics – and we continue to grow. This is a great partnership."
John Lewis, the mayor of Gilbert, was equally enthusiastic:
“A company like Orbital ATK could have expanded its operations elsewhere in the country. The fact that they plan to continue to invest in our great community is a testament to our mutually beneficial relationship and Gilbert’s focus on growing STEM occupations in aerospace and manufacturing sectors,” said Gilbert Mayor John Lewis. “These are some of the best jobs in Arizona and I’m proud they are happening in Gilbert.”

With additional facilities in Chandler and Mesa, Arizona, Orbital ATK has a total footprint in the state of close to almost 800,000 sq ft, contributing to over 1,750 high-tech aerospace and defense jobs.

Orbital ATK ISS cargo delivery set to launch
Orbital has also announced that it is in final preparations for the company’s next enhanced Cygnus spacecraft cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be Orbital ATK’s fifth operational mission (OA-6) to the ISS for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, and the first Cygnus to conduct scientific experiments onboard the spacecraft.
For the second time, Orbital ATK will launch Cygnus atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, carrying approximately 7,900 pounds (3,600 kilograms) of cargo to astronauts aboard the ISS and small satellites that will be deployed directly from Cygnus.
Pending completion of final vehicle testing and acceptable local weather conditions, the launch is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, at 11:05 p.m.
More details can be found here

Mesa Boeing Awarded New Apache-A64 Helo Contract for $184,930,000

A slew of over $1.5 B contracts  was announced in a press release from the Department of Defense yesterday for the Air Force, Army and Navy. Boeing here in Mesa is one.

Contracts

Press Operations

Release No: CR-052-16
March 21, 2016

Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded an $184,930,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Apache helicopter full-rate production in Lot 7.  One bid was solicited with one received.  Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2017.  Fiscal 2016 other procurement funds in the amount of $184,930,000 were obligated at the time of the award.  Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-16-C-0023).
Source: http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/699213

Other awards made in an announcement from this news source included
Army Awards Oshkosh $433M in Heavy Tactical Vehicle Contract Modifications
RAND Corp. Lands $231M Air Force Research, Analysis Consulting Support IDIQ
CNA FFRDC to Support OPNAV Under Potential $558M Contract
Draper Lab Gets $164M Navy Award to Produce Guidance System for Lockheed-Built Missiles
General Dynamics’ Gulfstream Receives $92M Navy G-550 Green Aircraft Order
Exelis to Manufacture Navy Aircraft Electronic Countermeasures for $88M
Source: https://www.govconwire.com/category/contract_awards/

Open Secrets + City of Mesa Open Data Portal | Why Open Data?

Simply because citizens and voters don't know or understand government. Keeping us "in the dark" just does not work.
Putting data online and hoping for the best isn’t wrong, but it doesn’t do much unless it's reliable, documented, and easily-accessible.
Although the current open data movement is more than a decade old, Mesa didn't  catch up until an announcement in August of last year with an announcement that it had joined Bloomberg Philanthropies' WhatWorksCities, with an agreement not signed until October by the City of Mesa's executive officer Chris Brady, the city manager. It wasn't until 04 March 2016 - just in time for Open Data Day - that the city got the open data portal up and online with a press release: http://www.mesanow.org/article.php?id=1607.
It was featured in a post here 08 March 2016 . . . some are still asking why they should even bother.
In the interest of public information here are a few comments taken from an online article published on March 10, 2016 by Colin Wood:
"People still largely don’t know what their governments are doing and no one’s frequenting their city’s open data portal to find out — they read the news."
One recent case as an example: in a post here on March 17 Mesa mayor John Giles was quoted as saying in a panel at SXSW in Austin TX by the chat moderator Jessica Daly that "up to 800 new units of affordable housing have come online in the past year-and-a-half."
When that "news" was questioned in an email to the mayor's office for public information, a prompt reply came back the same day that the mayor had mis-spoken.
No need for that if people in government know the real data instead of making public statements that are questionable. It's not a matter of keeping elected officials honest; informed and accurate is the goal for accountability and transparency.

"Open data isn’t just about transparency and economic development. If it were, those things would have happened by now.  Open data portals haven’t stopped corruption; the unscrupulous simply reroute their activities around the spotlight. And if anyone’s using open data to build groundbreaking apps that improve the world and generate industry, they’re doing a great job keeping it a secret."
So who's the anyone - developers, designers, librarians, statisticians and citizens -  using open data?
A guy like Waldo Jaquith, the director of U.S. Open Data and one of the movement’s most active advocates. But he’s also a realist. Open data is struggling to gain financial and spiritual backing. Open data may fizzle out within the next two years, said Jaquith, and a glance at government’s attitude toward the entire “open” concept supports that timeline.
“Right now, it is irrational for almost anybody who works in government to open data. It makes no sense,” . .  “Most people, it’s not in their job description to open data . . ."
The disconnect between the massive operational potential that open data holds and government’s slow movement toward harnessing it can be explained simply. Government thinks open data is an add-on that boosts transparency, but it’s more than that. Open data isn’t a $2 side of guacamole that adds flavor to the burrito. It’s the restaurant’s mission statement.
Open data needs a clear plan, and it needs to come from a wide patronage within government.

6 Ideas to Help Government Realize Open Data's Transformative Power
by Colin Wood / March 10, 2016

Government thinks open data is an add-on that boosts transparency, but it’s more than that.

The Sharing Economy: Human Connections/Trust/Commerce > Incredible Results

Ah O Yes! A mellow Sunday night here in downtown . . . at least for a while.
Time to reflect on just one year getting online with the blog
MesaZona: Table of Contents
Re/Generating The New Urban DTMesa 
Much to my surprise, thank you dear readers for over 26,000 hits to date and landing on this page surprisingly with over 500 posts that were uploaded by yours truly.
One of the things that keeps me going is the strength and force of ideas, like featuring these talks from TED. You might ask What does that have to do with anything? Watch and listen and find out
The Sharing Economy is a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human and physical resources. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organisations.

Voter Turn Out: A Crisis > Skewed Bias Divides Class, Race, Age [and Gender]

Here's a reality check from Michele Reagan Arizona Secretary of State.
Looks like election outcomes are determined by half [or more likely less than half] of people eligible to vote.
The impact of going after votes is dramatic with constant bombarding on mainstream and social media: rallies all over the place, flying/fly-outs, news commentators, polls polls and more polls - everyone wants to get into that act with the level of participation this year increasing for those choosing to be "independent" of the two parties, either Republican or Democrat, who cannot vote in Tuesday's presidential preference election since they are not either.
Here in the image above is the latest as of two days from the SOS
 

 

Republican
 Higher voter turnout can change all that . . .

Democratic preferences

 











What's it all boil down to? According to recent research findings by Sean McEwlee in a Salon post yesterday, people need to have a material interest in the campaigns where the beneficiaries need to protect some kind of benefit they have. Unless they see a direct link to voting for a certain candidate, other issues and policy matters are less important
  

Cubic Bandit Board Overview

IllumiiBowl :Toilet Seat Night Light As Amazing As It Sounds

 A report from Deseret News about 2 LDS guys
Utah men make deal with Kevin O'Leary on 'Shark Tank' for toilet bowl night-light

Published: Tuesday, March 15 2016 10:05 a.m. MDT

Updated: yesterday

A trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night presents a dilemma: Turn on the light and be blinded, or use the bathroom in the dark.
Matt Alexander and his brother-in-law Michael Kannely, both Utah residents and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, decided there had to be another option. Their creation, the IllumiBowl, is a motion-activated night-light that can illuminate a toilet bowl in one of nine colors.

On Friday’s episode of “Shark Tank,” a reality show for entrepreneurs, Alexander and Kannely pitched their idea to the panel of investors

 

Straw, Sticks or Bricks: Urban Housing Issues From Two Points-of-View

Last Friday, two mayors from opposite sides of the country sat on a South by Southwest Interactive panel called “Straw, Sticks or Bricks: The Urban Housing Challenge” to discuss the peculiar character of the issues they face and the solutions they’re pursuing.
Mesa mayor John Giles noted his attendance in Austin on March 11 with this tweet:
A great downtown incs. innovative vibrant housing @sxsw w/ @Jorge_Elorza @jldailey618 & @MICDdotORG Trinity Simons

Curbed Managing Editor Jessica Dailey* moderated the chat with a panel featuring:

• John Giles, mayor of Mesa, Arizona
• Jorge Elorza, mayor of Providence, Rhode Island
• Trinity Simons, director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a Washington, D.C.-based group with a goal of preparing mayors “to be the chief urban designers of their cities.”

Giles said that his city of approximately 450,000 people has enticed developers to build what he called “capital-A Affordable housing” – that which is subsidized for its residents – by expanding a light rail route the city shares with its metropolitan neighbors, including Phoenix.

Giles said that up to 800 new units for low-income families have come online in the past year-and-a-half.

Jessica Dailey is Curbed's managing editor. She came to Curbed in 2012 and spent three years editing Curbed's New York site, where she gained extensive experience covering new residential developme...
Show the rest



Ongoing Issue: “That has created some pushback from some of the neighbors,” said Giles.

Solution: He explained that one way to overcome that opposition is to encourage high-quality design and to partner with committed groups to manage the developments.
[Blogger's note: most notably at Encore on First for design, and La Mesita, Escobedo at Verde Vista and Rancho del Arte]
Both Giles and Simons talked about the importance of openly communicating with residents and business owners who might stand athwart new urban infill projects.
[blogger's note: both images from Twitter.
Top image is the entire panel. Image above is U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx giving Mesa mayor Johan Giles a pat on the shoulder]

Key Players & Topics In This Article
Affordability: A multi-faceted discussion that centers around the relative cost-of-living in a given municipality. In Austin, this debate has returned discussions on such divers concepts as land use, density, living wages, and public transportation.

Jessica Dailey came to Curbed in 2012 and spent three years editing Curbed's New York site, where she gained extensive experience covering new residential development, the housing market, urban planning, and architecture. As managing editor, she now works with writers and editors across the country to make connections between Curbed's 14 local markets. She previously wrote about sustainable design for Inhabitat, covered the arts for publications in her hometown of Pittsburgh, and contributed to a variety of local New York outlets.