The Kids Are All Right



CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

IT'S WHAT YOU DO [Infographic in this post]

Hey! wazzup with that? We need both, right?

Big crowd of students today at Mesa Arts Center.

It was Manufacturing Day 2015 for Career and Technical Education students in Mesa Public Schools.
Today’s cutting-edge, rigorous and relevant career and technical education (CTE) prepares youth and adults for a wide range of high-wage, high-skill, high-demand careers.
The Arizona Regents, thanks to a change in education policy by Gov Ducey, are stating that CTE and Fine Arts credits will now be accepted on applications for higher learning by the state's universities - it's way overdue for that to get recognized. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxihu13fvT6BSVRldWttY2xOeVk/view?pli=1

 



Students from Westwood High were happy to get into the picture with a robot that took first prize at a statewide competition last year
Way to go Westwood!

3-D Printer Display

The Manufacturing industry offers over 17 million jobs in the United States. Career opportunities include engineers, machinists, computer programmers and so much more. Mesa Public School’s CTE department is proud to sponsor MFG 2015 and educate students on the vast college and career opportunities available in manufacturing.

Really Retro Big Picture Show in Vacant Lot on Main Street

Creative Place Making + Pop-UP > 
How to turn empty land into an outdoor entertainment venue

RAILmesa and Valley Metro have been screening family-oriented movies on a blank wall in a "sliver lot" on the south side of Main Street near Country Club Drive for quite some time now - now it's a billboard for free movies on 2nd Friday Night's Out in the new urban downtown Mesa that developed from an idea by business owner/artist + community-building activist Amy Castillo.
The empty lot was one of the locations that owner Brian Marshall of Village Bloom talked about in the July 14, 2015 visit here by John Williams, head of the San Francisco Federal Bank featured in a post on this blogsite August 06.
The downtown tour was organized by Terry Benelli, executive director of LISC/Phoenix to focus on local initiatives for sustainable communities.

Doing The Time Warp Again > The Rocky Horror Picture Show



WARNING: Viewer Discretion is Advised - Watch the trailer anyway
YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF MOVIES BUT NEVER ANYTHING LIKE THIS

 . . be it

[It isn't the Junior Chamber of
Commerce]

It's the 40th Anniversary of this campy cult classic - the storyline goes like this: sweethearts Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon), stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker (Meat Loaf) and a creepy butler (Richard O'Brien). Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named "Rocky."

 

It's here in Mesa, slightly south of downtown on Country Club for a Halloween Party on October 31 at the Arizona Event Center
[see 411 below]

 



Maker-Space in The New Urban Downtown Mesa

Yours truly has been "on the beat" walking, synchronizing, absorbing and getting in-touch all around downtown for nine months, not exactly the new kid on the block birthing this blog site. 

For some mysterious reason I was always put off by, yet on the other hand very curious about  this location with performance art-on-the-couch in the window in the "historic and authentic" downtown. Heat Sync Labs is wildly wonderful . . . maybe it brought back times gone by, the wild and wonderful good high-energy creative 20-something + 30-something [yea, 40- and 50-something also] years living in cities like Philadelphia, Boston and New York > getting excited all over again . . . but here in Mesa?
Believe it.

ICYMI > Why Should You Be a Voice For Public Transit?

In case you missed it, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed a transportation bill with three years of funding with the possibility of longer-term funding after the three-year period. With strong bipartisan support, the Committee approved the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, there could still be a long road ahead of us. The full House still needs to vote on the legislation, and we will continue to advocate for the funding levels to be increased for public transportation. The next step will include the House and Senate reconciling their two bills into a final bill and then sending it on to President Obama.

Even though the House bill raises concerns about the need to increase the funding levels, this development will at least enable the process to move forward. We are hopeful that Congress will be able to pass a final bill with increased investment in public transit before the end of the year.

This is it—crunch time. The deadline for Congress to pass long-term transportation funding is just around the corner.

http://www.publictransportation.org/Pages/default.aspx

Collaboration portal helping small business find funds

Arizona groups launch equity crowdfunding site to connect businesses with capital

By Devin Conley | Cronkite News | POSTED: Oct 23, 2015

The biggest challenge for Arizona entrepreneurs today is access to capital, said Dan Nienhauser, executive director of Arizona Collaboratory Inc.

To address the issue, the Arizona Technology Council has partnered with Arizona Collaboratory Inc. to launch the Arizona Collaboratory Capital Connectivity Portal.

ABOUT THE COUNCIL

The Arizona Technology Council is the driving force behind making our state the fastest growing technology hub in the nation; connecting and empowering Arizona’s technology community. As Arizona’s premier trade association for science and technology companies, the Council is recognized as having a diverse professional business community. The Arizona Technology Council offers numerous events, educational forums and business conferences that bring together leaders, managers, employees and visionaries to make an impact on the technology industry. Council members work toward furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation and social action. These interactions contribute to the Council’s culture of growing member businesses and transforming technology in Arizona.
This online platform is the first aimed strictly at Arizona technology companies and investors, organizers said.
The portal has two goals: connect startups with investors to generate capital and prepare businesses to manage the funds.

Technology Advocacy & Technology Public Policy

The Council is one of the state’s leaders in driving a pro-growth, business-focused state and federal technology agenda. The Council serves as a voice for the technology community, testifying before the legislature on a regular basis and as part of the Council’s annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation, its Public Policy Committee selects ten Arizona legislators with a track record of supporting the technology industry to be honored during the awards ceremony.

A Voice for the Technology Industry - The Council supports key ideas, goals, legislation, and initiatives that enable Arizona to:

• Create an environment that supports technology related jobs
• Improve the business climate for the technology industry
• Provide sources of capital that encourage entrepreneurship
• Train and attract the required talent to compete in a global innovation economy

New Fashion Center on Main Street? > It's More Than That

The grand old man on Main Street architecture, The Pomeroy Building - one of downtown's "beige" buildings with a colonnade and red tile roof - Pomeroy's Men's Store & Mission Outfitter @ 136 has leased adjoining space under the same roof to Backstage Attire @ 138 that's been opened for about three weeks now.
Some may say that's an unlikely [and surprising] side-by-side retail business pair, but it goes to show the unexpected positive developments for the future of retail in the New Urban Downtown Mesa where the old welcomes the new. Both attract their own customers in their own ways for clothing and accessories. Pomeroy's has been doing that since 1959.

Backstage Attire has just started around October 1, 2015 with an entry that draws you into the store with large windows in front and on both sides with mannequins in rock attire, graphics, sculptures, and custom furniture,
The store is the brainchild of a cool, industrious corporate refugee from Phoenix who one day decided, after telling his wife, he wanted to do something new and quit his job . . . 45 days later, plans were made, a lease signed and it happened.
It was a pleasure to stop by and talk with Jim today - a Monday when few businesses are open downtown.
Having just made a post about the First Mesa Music Fest 2015 this morning, in walks a guy named Spaggs, an owner of Motormedia, who started plans for this live music event after talking with Mike Milano after the Super Bowl game year, figuring to feature 20-30 bands . . . it's now at 220+ for the two days in November.
Go see this new store and what it offers, meet the owner Jim  [link below to Facebook page]

The bronze statue of Wayne Pomeroy seems pleased with the arrangements - giving Backstage Attire and the Mesa Music Fest  a big High-5

 

You can find the store on Facebook >

 https://www.facebook.com/Backstage-Attire-546689302147126/