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Thanks to a series of media reports about a "Massive Mormon Temple Make-Over that could transform downtown", the public is finding out more about the For-Profit real estate acquisition and expansion enterprises of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints here in Mesa and the entire Phx East Valley.
Shall we call it "Preaching The Gospel of Prosperity" ?
More than likely it's bigger than an information-iceberg to show the overlapping intersections of business and religion, finance, insurance, real estate and related industries.
The Shroud of Secrecy on this contentious subject is slowly getting pulled-back by lifting the Zion Curtain with the revelation of some of the names holding ownership titles to real estate here in downtown Mesa and the entire Phx East Valley.
Your MesaZona blogger is pleased to see that some of the go-to mainstream media writers are slacking off less regurgitating Spoon-Fed news by getting-down to some of the real Nitty-Gritty.
It takes guts to break out-of-the-mold as being the 'mouth-pieces' for the Mormon Political Machine that's monopolized Mesa for far too long.
Here's some recent reporting with excerpts:
. . . “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in private investment down there,’’ Barney said. “I think this will be a catalyst for future investment.’ . . Although a formal plan has not been submitted, Property Reserve Inc., the LDS church’s property wing, submitted requests to demolish nine houses to the west of the temple on two streets named after Mormon pioneers – Udall and Lesueur.
Now, the still unannounced plan and the controversy over that request have some Mesa residents demanding a more complete overview and more transparency from both the church and the city .
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Blogger Note: A good example of the public demanding more transparency is the image above from a Mesa City Council meeting where two local politicos, members of the LDS Church, came out in public to pitch their schemes for personal gains by private investors.
Mesa Mega-Millionaire and AZ State Senator Bob Worsley gambling what he says $20M on real estate speculation downtown on Main Street
Sitting behind Worley is former U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon, who resigned when he got hired by ASU as a high-paid lobbyist Vice-President of Government Affairs
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Barney and his late father, T. Dennis Barney, a well-respected Gilbert developer, have quietly played a pivotal role in setting the stage for the redevelopment by acting in concert with the LDS church and acquiring numerous properties west of the Temple and turning them over to the church.
. . . his father started buying the properties at the LDS churches’ request in 2000 and that the purchases probably included 40-50 houses and other buildings.