Today=Wednesday 23 December 2015 > It's Festivus | The Festival for The Rest of Us

Don't know about you, dear readers . . . anybody else gettin' really tired of all the so-called Christmas junk? . . . even if you know the words-by-heart to all those old tired songs and jingles, there's always another way to celebrate - from TVLand not the North Pole.

Time out from religions, based on those Middle East prophets from so long ago, that divide us now.
I don't care what you call it - Muslim, Mormon, Evangelical Christian or Jew.
It's the 21st Century

Re/Evolution of Pop-UP > Food Truck Forest Here + Gilbert Bans Food Trucks Downtown



Some critics of efforts at innovation coming out of City Hall simply say that Mesa is a "copy-cat" - high jacking resources and stealing ideas from other nearby municipalities.
Cityscape in Phoenix probably has a more successful rented ice skating rink than the one here with a City Council-directed expenditure of $40,000 and Gilbert has recently banned food trucks organized by a company called azfeastivals.com from downtown, giving them a one-week notice to leave after three years.
Street Eats food truck events have been all over for a long time.
Is Mesa "late-to-the-party" again or seeing an opportunity in the tool-box for urban development?
What's the take-away if there is one?

G-Force Shoes > Athalonz, A Sports Science Tech Company Here in Mesa

Hand-sketch from athalonz.com

... and you thought Cactus League MLB Spring Training here in Mesa was all a out balls and bats?
Or millions invested by the City of Mesa and baseball-franchise club-owners in two stadiums here, Sloan Park and Fitch Field that attract thousands of sports fans here?
Yes, those are some of "the fundamental forces" that have awakened real estate development - with a new massive sports complex proposed by Visit Mesa.
Let's re-think and expand that, dear readers, and see what  happens when sports, science and technology join forces at a company here in Mesa.

As reported by Digital Journal yesterday Athalon is promising  to redefine footwear in baseball using completely redesigned insoles, midsoles, and outsoles, G-Force shoes are currently in production, but Athalonz isn’t waiting to get involved in the MLB scene.. . . Tested by over 30 Major League players, Athalonz technology is quickly capturing the attention of players from high school to the big leagues. One MLB pitcher said, “I don't know how it works, I just know that I throw 6 mph harder with better control.”
Read more: http://m.digitaljournal.com/pr/2784758#ixzz3vA0nZbU5

Athalonz developed a technology that provides optimal engagement of the feet with the ground for all levels of players. G-Force Shoes by Athalonz are baseball cleats that are designed using 3 innovative, patented features. The insole, midsole, and outsole are uniquely designed to work together to place the player in the optimal athletic stance without even thinking about it.  
https://www.g-forceshoes.com/
G-Force Shoes by Athalonz are not a training aid. The premise of a training aid is that through repetitive use, the user will improve performance. Our shoes are scientifically designed and proven to position the feet so that the athlete is placed in the optimal athletic position; there is no repetitive training required, it happens automatically when you put on a pair of our baseball cleats.
You can order now - shipping begins December 2015 [hit website link just above] 

Headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, Athalonz was founded by a diverse group of experts united by their love of baseball and their passion for innovation. Led by Engineer Tim Markison, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Preston Wolin, Sports Scientist Gary McCoy, and joined by Major League Baseball Coaches Don Wakamatsu and Ty Van Burkleo, Athalonz is focused on creating breakthrough advances in Sports Science Technology.
Source: Athalonz, LLC

Update to Post from Sept 10: "Bread" was '60's-Slang for Money > Alpine Valley Sale Done

Mesa’s Alpine Valley Bread sells for $120M

Posted December 18, 2015 by AZ Business Magazine

The purchase by Flowers Foods, Inc. for $120 million in cash and stock. The acquisition was completed in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Alpine Valley Bread was founded in 1997 by the Wood family and operated its first small retail bakery from a Mesa strip mall. In 1998,
Their wholesome breads found their way into several local Kroger and Costco stores and, later, Sprouts Farmers Market.

From those early retail customer roots, and with a commitment in 2007 to create certified organic and non-GMO Project verified breads, Alpine Valley Bread grew rapidly into a regional and national wholesale bakery business.
Alpine today employs 282 employees and operates two bakeries in Mesa, with anticipated 2016 sales of more than $85 million.

Alpine Valley Bread CEO Todd Wood expressed confidence in the support Flowers Foods will offer to expand the reach of products made in its Mesa bakeries.

http://azbigmedia.com/ab/economy/mesas-alpine-valley-bread-sells-for-120m

 

 

 

 

Real ID or Real Nightmare?? RFID Chips? 1984 Deja VU

While visions of sugar plums might be dancing through people's heads, there's a mad dash at the Arizona State Legislature to pass through the current snow-job of fear-and-anger a clever provision crafted by Senator Bob Worsley, R-Mesa,  into this year’s legislation
to enact the Real ID Act - specifically barring the use of RFID technology in a half-measure step to total surveillance and/or supposedly giving Arizona drivers "a choice" for what kind of driver's license they want after April 1, 2016 . . . good choice of a date for that: April Fool's Day!

State legislators approved a measure in 2008 prohibiting the MVD from producing a Real ID-compliant license, largely under the influence of then Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, who resigned from that office [leaving it to the nationally-embarrassing Republican Jan Brewer], to become "Big Sis" heading up the Department of Homeland Security until she resigned from that job too.
Napolitano rightfully called it "an unfunded mandate" at that time
http://www.azcentral.com/story/dougmaceachern/2015/04/03/napolitano-mandate-license-legislature/25269805/
Curiously, both sides of the political spectrum - The John Birch Society and the American Civil Liberties Union - were united in their concerns, proving the point that you can't fool all the people all of time.

AT A GLANCE . . .

The Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments – while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. As a result, it is stirring intense opposition from many groups across the political spectrum. This Web site provides information about opposing Real ID.

Read more: http://www.realnightmare.org/

Hey! Fast Forward >> 2016 Artists + Creative Place Makers > Poster Contest

SWMF 2016 Poster Design Contest
Southwest Maker Fest will celebrate its third annual festival on March 12, 2016 in downtown Mesa > seeking a design for the poster and other materials for this exciting event!
Time-Sensitive: Send by 25 January 2016 @ 11:59 p.m.

Submission must be completely original. All posters need to be submitted via email to info@southwestmakerfest.com.  
The design size of the file must not exceed printed size of 11”x17”. The design should be saved at a resolution that will enable us to zoom in to see details during judging, but the file size must not exceed 2MB (although a high resolution file will be requested from the winning artist).
Files accepted as .pdf only. Include your first and last name, email address, and phone #.
There is no entry fee.

Work must be the original work of the submitting artist and cannot have been previously published or used as a promotional image for any activity or event.
Maximum of 3 submissions per person. Entries will not be accepted after the deadline.

Southwest Maker Fest is an annual one-day festival in downtown Mesa. It is a place of ideas and action that celebrates the uniquely human power of creativity and invention, and the entrepreneurial spirit.  Visit SWMF to experience, learn, play and shop.  From new art forms to extraordinary inventions, from programs that explore new techniques to do-it-yourself on-site opportunities, from art to technology to food, SWMF will stimulate curiosity and inspire the maker inside you!

Are you ready to get creative?
We hope you are because Southwest Maker Fest is looking for the most creative image to market our THIRD ANNUAL MAKER FESTIVAL in Downtown Mesa – March 12, 2016.

Southwest Maker Fest’s Mission is to Celebrate, Engage and Inspire the Maker in Each of Us 

Vision =

A Connected Community, Empowered by Creativity.  

http://www.southwestmakerfest.com/

OpenGov //. The Sunlight Foundation Year-End Wrap-Up

Still on-hold pausing to hear from Mesa City Hall, but other Year-End Wrap-Ups are streaming into the Email Inbox: here's one from The Sunlight Foundation affiliated with Bloomberg's WhatWorksCities that the City of Mesa joined in August 2015.
From Capitol Hill to city hall to parliament, Sunlight made an impact opening governments large and small, engaging citizens at home and abroad. Take a look at some of our accomplishments for 2015 below. (And follow along with our work in 2016 by joining Sunlight's opengov community here!) 

For the state and local team @ Sunlight here's what they had to say:

2015 has been a landmark year for Sunlight’s local team, as we launched our largest project to date: the What Works Cities initiative.
This ambitious, multi-year effort means Sunlight will work with 100 mid-sized american cities to advance municipal open data policy and practice at scale.
Since our first announcement of the program in April, Sunlight’s team has supported open data efforts in 13 cities and has played a key role in the adoption of four new open data policies in Jackson, Miss., Mesa, Ariz., Kansas City, Mo., and as of Wednesday, Waco, Texas.
Keep up with the local policy team's progress by following along on our blog.

See the entire OpenGov Year-End Wrap-Up here >> http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2015/12/18/sunlight-in-2015-looking-back-on-the-world-of-opengov/

Here's a link to a very brief 1:56 You Tube video on Sunlight's Transparency Camp that was uploaded on 18 September 2015
  https://youtu.be/GqT-BXBqiHc

As the sun sets on 2015, we here at the Sunlight Foundation would like to thank all of you for helping us on our journey toward making our government more accountable and transparent. We appreciate all of your support, and we wouldn't be able to do such important work without your support. If you've read an article on our blog, dug through our open data or just want to support the cause of transparency, consider making a donation to Sunlight today. Thanks, and onward to 2016!