Q2 Data from Bureau of Economic Analysis

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has issued the following news release today:
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2015. Overall, U.S. real GDP by state grew at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the second quarter of 2015 after increasing 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; and wholesale trade were the leading contributors to real U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.Finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; and wholesale trade were the leading contributors to real U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.

Mining decreased 17.9 percent and subtracted from growth in 49 states in the second quarter of 2015.
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/qgsp_newsrelease.htm

Mesa Now #35 - Merry Main Street > Chris Brady Reporting

Now doing on-air reporting from the Winter Wonderland Skating Rink next to City Hall Plaza - 
Here's television reporter Chris Brady who's now anchored three shows on Channel 11
just two guys playing sportscaster-bros on the sidelines??
What could they be up to?
Mayor John Giles -all dressed-up in a suit-and-tie - on City-owned Channel 11 . . . can you tell there's a re-election campaign?
Gotta wonder if these two bros will continue to use taxpayer-funded publicly-owned media to promote individual election campaigns

COMPASS > Who Points The Way To Go??

This could get embarrassing . . .maybe the title of this publication, put out by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce and published by Republic Media, gets it all wrong.
3 people who want to make themselves the center of attention on the front cover of
COMPASS
Mesa, Arizona Resource Guide 2016
It's out now for all next year . . . in what direction are we headed with this bald-faced self-promotion of three certain individual??? [one is now out of the picture due to a recent scandal]
Transparency + Accountability = WhatWorksMesa

REAUTHORIZATION! It Happened “FAST”

When the wheels begin to turn, sometimes they turn quickly, or in this case “FAST”. 

That’s the name of America’s newest transportation authorization, meaning “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation” (FAST).
Readers will note that Congressman Matt Salmon voted NO
s
A previous post here concentrated on two important items to build supply-chain logistics potentially with  $32.2 billion dollar impact in Arizona exports.
Funding was not included [see that article for details]
The FAST act, approved by Congress (*see how Arizona’s delegation voted below) and signed by President Obama on Friday, December 4, 2015, is a five year authorization.

According to a hot topic report from the Arizona Transit Association here are some excerpts from the terms of the authorization, starting with what Obama had to say: “This bill is not perfect, but it is a commonsense compromise, and an important first step in the right direction,” Obama said in a statement ahead of the bill signing on Friday.  “I look forward to signing this bill right away, so that we can put Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and transit systems, reauthorize the Export-Import Bank that helps our companies compete around the world, and give local and state governments and employers the certainty they need to invest and hire for the long term,” he continued. “As we applaud the kind of bipartisan compromise that was reached (last night), we should also recognize that we still have work to do.”
That’s enough of a history.  More importantly, what are the terms and conditions of this new authorization?  Has it emerged without controversy, competition, and compromise?  Knowing that the authorization primarily addresses half of the country’s four major transportation elements (highways and transit), this authorization was hoped to address two important components:  infrastructure maintenance and growth, and sustainable yet growing funding needs.  [Readers please go to report for more details]
Other items to note:
• A new pilot program is added, codified at Section 3005(b) of the FAST Act, for “Expedited project delivery for capital investment grants.” This seems to be the continuation of a pilot program previously authorized at Section 20008(b) of MAP-21.
• the USDOT believes it’s not enough to address transportation needs.  Secretary Foxx says the bill still falls far short of the $400 billion over six years that is necessary to keep traffic congestion from worsening, and it puts off the difficult decision of how to pay for transportation programs in a way that’s sustainable for the long term;
• there’s already debate about some of the details, and how they will be interpreted as part of the 1300 page bill. See more about the bill at:  https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr22/summary
• it does not raise gas taxes to help pay for transportation projects where buying power (inflation) and better fuel economy has reduced the value of the current tax.
• there remains question on whether the $70B additional revenue will materialize, and with each annual appropriation, that will become clear.

*The House vote was 359 – 65.  The Senate vote was 83—16. 

Here’s how Arizona’s Delegation voted:

In the House:
• Kirkpatrick (D) - Y
• McSally (R) - Y
• Grijalva (D) - Y
• Gosar (R) - N
• Salmon (R) - N
• Schwikert (R) - N
• Gallego (D) - Y
• Franks (R) - N
• Sinema (D) - Y
In the Senate:
• McCain (R) - Y
• Flake (R) - N



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%