LISC Phoenix 2015 Annual Breakfast and Community Awards Recap

Viewers can scroll down on this site to a post from 19 November 2015

FAST Act > 5-Year Transportation Bill Approved by Congress + Signed by Obama

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, with the designation of two high priority Arizona transportation corridors in the five-year transportation bill represents a step forward for the planned Interstate 11 and the Sonoran Corridor in Tucson.
A step forward for sure, but no funding - it is the promise of both major projects to deliver a $32 Billion Dollar-boost in Arizona's economy, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation in a press release on 04 December 2015
Never say never Ask When. 

The FAST Act was approved on Friday by the Senate in an 83-16 vote, hours after the House passed it, 359-65.
The bill now goes to Obama. It was signed on 04 December.

Washington is doing something, dear readers!

Interstate 11 receives designation in federal transportation funding bill 
Sonoran Corridor in southern Arizona also gets designation
Interstate 11 received a congressional designation from Phoenix to Las Vegas in 2012 under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.
The FAST Act designation of Interstate 11, along with the Sonoran Corridor in southern Arizona, does not include funding, but makes the corridors eligible to be funded, along with other high-priority corridors throughout the nation.

Map of proposed Interstate 11 with Arizona and Mexico the first links in the supply-chain.

Why is Mesa The Most Conservative City?



Who's to say?
Here's what a group of personal injury attorneys has to say: please see link below farther on in this post
In New York City we called these guys "ambulance chasers", but here goes direct words from what they published:
"It holds true across the nation that when it comes to elections, research shows that the voters who go blue tend to live in more densely populated areas while the vast majority of the countryside votes red. While several attempts at an explanation as to why this is the case have been made, it’s a phenomenon that refuses to be pinned down to one particular factor. . . In a recent study conducted by researchers at MIT and UCLA, the trend is pretty much across the board, unless you include Mesa, Arizona in the picture.  . . "
. . . The religious beginnings of the city most likely play a major role . . .
. . . Mesa began as a Mormon settlement in the late 19th century, and although Mormons only constitute 13 percent of the population today, . . . [read the article]

A MINORITY MAJORITY FOR SURE
How can such a skewered representation leaving out 87% of the population go on year after year after year after year after year?

Who votes in elections?
What's the turn-out?
Are voters and the public engaged or have they given up?
LDS is a religion with an inordinate influence:
Is it also power and money that controls Mesa?

" . . . Mesa is also a sprawling city, covering nearly 140 square miles, with twice the area of Washington, D.C. . . While the exact reason may be difficult to pinpoint, and there are most likely several factors involved, an argument could be made that the effects of living in such an environment promote conservative values.. . "

While the demographics and the political landscape continues to change in Arizona, especially in the Valley of the Sun, Mesa’s heritage will most likely continue to inform the values of its citizens.
[Editorial note: Mesa mayor John Giles is a personal injury attorney]

Read the whole article here [no charge and no paywall]
http://www.myarizonainjurylawyers.com/mesa-the-most-conservative-city-in-america/

Welcome to Mesa, Arizona—
the land of Goldwater, Arpaio and a new kind of urbanism.
By Ethan Epstein
Mesa’s religious roots continue to influence the city heavily today. Mormons, though they now constitute only 13 percent * of its population (the Catholic population is twice as large, owing to the sizable Hispanic population, with the remaining balance mostly Evangelical Christian), hold FIVE of six City Council seats

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/mesa-arizona-are-conservative-cities-better-111069#ixzz3tf276fSx

While Mesa has long pursued the lightly regulated development patterns that one would expect from the wellspring of Goldwater Republicanism, change is afoot.
Over the past several years, the city has begun embracing development that’s downright trendy . . . Read more in Politico link

* Checking on that statistic. It may be even smaller at 6%

Re: Millenials | Do Demographics Change Mesa Local + State of Arizona Politics??

Millennials, the largest demographic in the country, overwhelmingly disapprove plans to deport all undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S.

First Posted: Dec 07, 2015 05:00 AM EST
Read the whole story > Millenials on Immigration
"Based on the latest national poll by CNN and the Opinion ResearchCorporation (ORC) International, millennials, an age group largely comprising of Americans between 18 and 34 years old, said the government's top priority in regards to immigration should be to provide employed immigrants with legal status. . . 26 percent wants a plan to stop illegal immigration. . . "
Millennials are being attracted here - in Mesa and the State of Arizona - with strong and concerted campaigns for economic development.
Will the seismic change in the demographics for Millennials and Latins  create major changes in local Mesa city and Arizona state politics > time will tell

SMART GROWTH > A New Transit-Oriented Development Initiative

An announcement :Transportation plays a crucial role in connecting Americans and communities to economic opportunity. Today, we’re excited to announce a new project that will help people connect to public transportation easily, efficiently, and affordably.

[Images of buildings with this post are here in The New Urban DTMesa - examples of transit-oriented development.]

  

Rancho del Arte

The Transit-Oriented Development technical assistance initiative, a project of the Federal Transit Administration in partnership with Smart Growth America, will provide state and local leaders with new ideas, resources, and capacity for building transit-oriented development, or "TOD". Well-done TOD takes advantage of nearby transit to create desirable places to live, work, and visit that feature amenities like entertainment venues, parks, retail, restaurants, an improved pedestrian environment and diverse housing choices.

Encore on First West

This project will include a competitively awarded technical assistance program, a peer-to-peer learning network, and a comprehensive online database of information related to transit-oriented development.

Technical assistance requests are now being accepted. Local or regional governments with an active federally funded transit project through New Starts, Small Starts, or Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) are eligible to apply.

Escobedo @ Verde Vista

To learn more about this technical assistance opportunity and the application process, join us for an informational webinar on Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 1:00 pm EST. This online event is free, but registration is required.
http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=gLqoRIU4PdizI4GD6umkxPIbyVb8w%2BbJ

Encore On First

The peer-to-peer network and online database, to launch in 2016, will feature resources and training on transit-oriented development, public transportation, affordable housing, and community-based economic development.Visit the project website to learn more about the new project and to add your name to become part of the network. We look forward to collaborating with you on this exciting new work.

Sincerely,

Chris Zimmerman
Vice President for Economic Development
Smart Growth America
http://www.grants.gov/search-grants.html?fundingCategories%3DT%7CTransportation

CONGRATULATIONS > Voices for Public Transit!

Congress has sent a fully funded, five-year transportation bill that increases public transit funding for communities of all sizes to President Obama. Both the House and Senate passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) by wide bipartisan margins . . . signed by President Obama on Friday

We’ve been working toward this goal for the past two years, and we couldn’t have succeeded without your hard work, especially over the past few months.

Born In Mesa > Marshall Trimble, Official Historian For The State of Arizona

At 10:00 o'clock this morning he entertained a small and enthusiastic group for a public performance in the Saguaro Room at the Main Public Library.
Yes, dear readers, Arizona's "official historian" is an entertainer + a good one to boot in Trimble's Tales today.
With an honored career in teaching and academics, receiving awards and citations, and more than 15 Arizona history books under his belt, he looked and talked more like a down-home genuine sitting-around-the-campfire singing cowboy.