How Many Ways Can We Celebrate Mesa 2015 & EARTH WEEK?

Update by  Press Release April 16
Kevin Christopher from City of Mesa Public Information & Communications Office

". . . The City will have Arbor Day and Earth Day activities during Celebrate Mesa Saturday, April 18 from noon to 4 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 526 E. Main St.  A tree planting ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Tree value tags will be hung from trees throughout the park showing the dollar value of the environmental benefits including energy savings and carbon reduction.  A Living Green village will be set up with workshops from master planters, solar cooking demonstrations, garden tower exhibits, a tree hugging booth and a visit with Mother Nature. . . "  
A free family event that brings the community together to enjoy games, carnival rides, entertainment and more!
Some of the fun family activities include:

• Bounce houses and carnival rides
• Entertainment, contests and give-aways
• James Reid Magic Show
• Carter's Farm Petting Zoo
• Earth Day displays and activities see above update
• Uproar & Pirate Ship Rides ($2 each)
• Information vendors
• Food vendors

EARTH DAY

More than 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson founded the holiday. Your MesaZona blogger participated in that first Earth Day - while enrolled in a Masters in Teaching program at Temple University in Philadelphia ...The eco-friendly day began in the United States and became accepted globally in 1990. 

More than one billion people from around the world are expected to participate in Earth Day events this year - IT IS THE LARGEST CIVIC EVENT IN THE WORLD

You can recycle 84 percent of household waste.

It costs about 50 cents per year to drink eight glasses of water each day from the faucet. If you drink your water primarily from water bottles, then it can cost you as much as $1,400.00 annually.

Please click on the Read More Link below for more information, including volunteer and vendor opportunities [important to note the Sponsors also]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: 2015 Bike & Pedestrian Survey

The City of Mesa's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program wants the community's input in order to reach the goals and objectives of the Bicycle Master Plan and the needs of the residents.

The survey will take you just a few minutes and is a great way to be sure YOUR voice is heard. You also have a chance to win a Downtown Mesa gift certificate.

Take the Survey

After completing your survey, forward the link below to as many friends, family, and co-workers as you can. The more responses we have, the better our ability to know what the community really needs for our bicycle and pedestrian users.
 
For additional information on the City of Mesa's Bicycle and Pedestrian program, please contact James Hash, Bike/Pedestrian Coordinator at (480) 644-3556 or james.hash@mesaaz.gov.

Ready for this? It's the Biggest Biking Event of the Spring in The Valley!

Free Event for 3 Days in the New Urban Downtown Mesa

What's fast and wild - and yet geared for the whole family? The answer? CycloMesa! 
This up-and-coming event is back in downtown Mesa for the fourth year. Activities include Kids' Zone, Zip Line, Rock Wall, Kids Bicycle Rodeo, Bicycle Shows, BMX Stunt Show, Extreme Sports Demos, Live Music, Food Truck Alley, Beer Garden, Bicycle Games and much more!
Saturday's activities start at 6:15 a.m. with the El Tour de Mesa, a bike ride/race open to cyclists of all abilities.  Course distances vary from 6 to 70 miles.
The El Tour Criterium & Mesa Adventure Challenge will also coincide with this event.  Link for 2015 El Tour Criterium here: http://www.mesabikerace.com/
 
Sponsor Note: City of Mesa & Downtown Mesa Association

Please Click on the Read More arrows below to continue with this article
Visit www.cyclomesa.com for full details.

Rendezvous in New Urban Downtown Mesa ... Say What?

From the New Urban Dictionary
RENDEZVOUS 
is a French word meaning a predetermined place and time for meeting [among other things]
It had much greater meaning to the trappers and traders of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Of course since everyone knows a lot or a little about the New Urban Downtown Mesa, they may recognize that there's an eating place at the back of City Hall called "Downtown Rendezvous" and a public park called Rendezvous [there's quite a few public parks and "pocket parks" in downtown Mesa, believe it or not]  where there's a start for an event on Sunday morning . . . grab your bikes!
It's the first ever MESA ADVENTURE CHALLENGE

Q2 2015 Economic Development Report

The City of Mesa Office of Economic Development has just released an eight-page quarterly newsletter for Q2 of this year.

Some of the investment and expansion initiatives highlighted in the report are:  
See the whole newsletter after clicking on Read More

+ Morphing of vacant-in-2014 retail giant Macy's Fiesta Mall location into an office center for 1,300 employees to be developed by Verde Fiesta I LLC. It didn't take long for the city to plan and to regenerate a vacancy that was ripe for development - and find a developer .Construction of the remodel is scheduled to begin in Fall 2015.
Old shopping malls are regenerated into corporate campuses.

+ A $25 million dollar manufacturing expansion is planned at one of two AeroTropolis inside

the Mesa Micropolitan Area at the Mesa Falcon Field Economic Activity Area (FFEAA). The company, SDI, manufacturer of initiators used in the production of airbag inflators, broke ground last month on a 64,000 sq. ft. expansion of its facilities and acquired an additional 19.6 acres adjacent to its existing facility - Anybody else curious for what developments those extra 19.6 acres will be dedicated to??

An old World War II-era training site is regenerated into an AeroTropolis as an economic engine. Mesa has not just one but two!  EXCELLENCE IN AEROSPACE Click on Plaque

AEROTROPOLIS: 
"One of the ten ideas that will change the world "
                                             -Time Magazine 2011  


According to what's said on this 2008 plaque mounted on the City Hall Plaza Heritage Wall, in 2011 over 100 companies adjacent to Mesa's two "airports" employed more than 10,000 high valued jobs.  Now, just four years later, the two Aerotropolis in Mesa are propelling the growth of more than just jobs . . . stay tuned-in for a look at a report here on MesaZona blog
 

Happy April Fools' Day! ... you'd be a fool not to know about Mesa AmpiTheatre

The New Urban Downtown Mesa knocks me out with the mix and variety of events and activities going on. 
Friday night is the start of Passover
Sunday is Easter
. . .  and the Mesa AmpiTheatre is staging this event on Saturday 11:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.

See other downtown events using Link @ left

The Mesa AmphiTheatre is best known for its great location and tiered lawn - big enough for great acts, and intimate enough for everyone to have a great view of the stage!
It is owned and operated by the City of Mesa Parks, Recreation and Commercial Facilities Department.
Box Office Hours
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Monday - Friday

General Information: (480) 644-2560
http://www.wingstockaz.com/ 

UN-Covering Mesa: Light Rail Milestone

This blog doesn't attempt to cover Mesa - it's a dedicated initiative to discover the progress on The Regeneration of The New Urban Downtown Mesa.

To be clear, your blogger is not "an old root". 
He's a Latter Day transplant, somewhat like the pioneer Mormons who arrived here laying claim to the territory in the 19th Century in the original "One-Square Mile". 
Mesa today in the 21st Century is a multi-generational community evolving to become a Micropolitan area whose future will include mass public transportation.
Three articles on the extension of Valley Metro's Lightrail have already been posted here.  You can read them following this new entry. 
MesaZona blog connects with and features all different and local media that report news and information on the New Urban Downtown Mesa... here's a 1:16 minute video done by Mesa's one and only television station Channel 11 that was uploaded to You Tube on Wednesday March 25, 2015.
Channel 11's crew was on-location at the same time as your MesaZona guy on Monday from 1:00-2:00 for the Valley Metro Celebration for progress on the Central Mesa Light Rail Extension Project.
This video follows through on the theme of Old Roots New Growth - or Regeneration - as was done here in three different entries, and has live interviews with the Steve Banta, president of Valley Metro, together with Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh, and Mesa Mayor John Giles who states  "The economic salvation of downtown Mesa is riding on this train" 
SAY WHAT?. . . the light rail trains are good people-movers for sure, with the Mesa Arts Center likely the biggest and best downtown attraction to bring people downtown for a few hours and then they leave

Pay attention since this video goes quickly ... and you might want to turn down your volume at the start.