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.

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

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 >>