Getting Your Daily Dose If You Need It

A couple of headline stories from today's news:
1. Content warning: child deaths. Molly Oswaks, writing for Vice News' "Broadly" section, has a disturbing story today about finding an infant cemetery at the FLDS community of Short Creek, and trying to understand why "this polygamous community has buried so many of its children." The short answer? "Inbreeding, according to it's community members."

2.  Vocativ has a story today that is nothing short of sensational. Profiling the ExMormon subreddit, which they describe as something that is "dismantling the Mormon church." While the story is sensational, it is an interesting look at how the ExMormon subreddit has played a role in some of the discussions and narratives within the Mormon community at large. Personally, I find them to be full of hyperbole, sensationalism, angst, immaturity and to be a very similar style of annoying ultra-orthodox exMormon as they probably were when they were annoying ultra-orthodox Mormon. I can't deny that there IS something happening with that community that seems to be gaining steam. I just wish certain influential individuals who profess their newfound skepticism in the Online Mormon world would use a bit more of that skepticism, especially when it comes to rumors from an anonymous forum. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
3. Friend-of-the-Report Jana Riess has another FotR guest-blogging today at Flunking Sainthood - Mette Harrison, with a letter to her daughter's Mormon seminary teacher. From LGBT issues to allowing room for heterodoxy to gender roles, this has it all. I'll be intrigued to see if there's a follow-up response from the seminary teacher.
4. There have been some big Utah politics updates that seem to put the finishing touches on a few stories we have been following:

• Regarding the legalized marijuana bill, it looks like that one is dead . . . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also issued multiple statements opposing his bill."
• There were two LGBT-related bills proposed to the Utah legislature this year as well - Senate Bill 107 and House Bill 234 - that also failed among lawmakers. . . The measures stalled due partly to intervention from Utah's predominant faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, . . Mormon Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George sponsored SB107, "blamed his faith for killing the proposal, which died on a 17-11 Senate vote."
• Speaking of the FLDS federal ruling, the LA Times picked up on the story here.

DYK: Did You Know? Mesa Entertainment District Started A Long Time Ago

Dear readers - and thank you very much for the over 23,000 hits on this MesaZona blog !!! - if you keep your eyes open walking around The New Urban DTMesa there's a series of small bronze plaques mounted all over the place that don't jump out and catch your eyes immediately.
Some are way below eye-level on the ground, some are affixed to the fronts of original historic properties, and some are located in out-of-the-places on the inside of the shade-providing colonnades on the streetscapes of the central heart of this city.
The information about history is here if you look for it.

One of the initiatives in regenerating the new urban DTMesa is the promotion of downtown as an Entertainment District.
If truth be told it's not a new development at all - you can see as early as 1900 as noted in the plaque to the right, on the inside of a colorful column at the intersection of South MacDonald Street and the alley behind 101 West Main Street about Mesa's First Opera House.
The building was part of Mesa's early downtown entertainment district which included Barnett's Hall, Pomeroy Hall and the Zeno Co-Op.
The World Famous Nile Theater is the only one of the entertainment venues in close proximity go this original district that is still providing entertainment and has been doing that for decades, while the others are either vacant and empty or "re-purposed"

Is Our Mayor Passionate Re/Generating The New Urban DTMesa + Revitalization?

This July, local elected leaders from across the country will come together in Washington, DC to learn about rebuilding downtowns, revitalizing Main Streets, equitable development, and more as part of the Policy Forum 2016: Solutions for Local Success.

This annual gathering of our Local Leaders Council is a chance for local elected leaders interested in smart growth strategies to meet, network, brainstorm, and learn from one another. It is sponsored by Smart Growth America

 

Mesa City Councilmember Dave Richins [seen in the image below] was featured in an earlier post on this site if readers would like to go back and read it.

Here's a, link to a YouTube video from Sept 5, 2013 . . . take a look and see if what he talked about then has seen things accomplished during his tenure representing District 1.

Do you know an elected leader who should join this event?

Send them an email and tell them about it:

Registration for this conference is free! However, space is limited and preference will be given to Local Leaders Council members. Current Council members can register for the Forum now. If you are not currently a member of the Council, find out more about becoming a member.

 

 

                                                        

 

 

 

 

 

If LISC Can Do This in Allentown Can LISC/PHX Do It Here?



The Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh has endured its fair share of blight and economic downturn. Today, an infusion of state dollars and attention from community developers reanimating the area’s partly-shuttered central corridor.
Allentown incubator to launch makers, artists and craftsmen with half-off rents 
 February 29, 2016 12:00 AM
    
LISC and others are offering half-off rents to entrepreneurs and artisans in exchange for new energy and help with public art on Allentown’s main street.
http://www.lisc.org/our-stories/story/lowered-rents-free-wifi-buzzier-neighborhood-pittsburgh?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LISC+%28Local+Initiatives+Support+Corporation%29

Contact:
Terry Benelli               Executive Director
602-252-6313tbenelli@lisc.org
After studying Political Science at Arizona State University Terry became involved in neighborhood issues and spent her volunteer time with community development organizations. As an entrepreneur who has started three businesses, she realized the significance of asset building through micro lending. That passion to help low-income entrepreneurs led her to Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) where she served as Executive Director for eight years.
She led the organization to become the prominent micro business lender in Mesa and the Valley. 
While growing NEDCO’s lending, Terry had the vision for a vibrant and connected Mesa, which led NEDCO to undertake community engagement. 
Now at LISC Phoenix, as Executive Director, Terry continues her leadership role in neighborhood revitalization.
In 2014 Terry was unanimously appointed to the Mesa, AZ City Council to fill an interim term. She remains active in the City of Mesa as a member of the Economic Development Advisory Board. As a Fellow of the Flinn Brown Civic Leadership cadre of future state leaders, she continually strengthens her skills to address Arizona’s long-term issues, with special interest in urban economic development strategies.

Mesa Musical Shadows | An Artwork-In-Progress > Here's More 411

Please note this is an update to a post on 03 March
[additional information provided courtesy of
Media Contact: Casey Blake, 480-644-6620, casey.blake@mesaartscenter.com
The interactive outdoor artwork Mesa Musical Shadows consists of light sensors and small speakers embedded in a geometric arrangement of colored concrete tiles, placed flush to the concrete plaza surface outside the north theater lobby, near the Main Street light rail station.

 The artwork will be activated by the motion and shadows cast by members of the public who walk near, and over, the light sensors.  Each sensor will identify specific changes of light which will trigger the computer program to project different melodic notes through the speakers.  Multiple activated sensors will create blended sounds that imitate music, driven by the interaction of people moving in tandem with others

Getting interactive public art installed in a high-visibility prime location in the New Urban DTMesa usually goes through a process that takes time and funding. For this project it was a span of one year and four months from the design concept, getting local input, going through the review procedures and grant applications, and approval of the over $400,000 contract that broke ground last month. The Mesa Arts Center contracted with the artist firm of Daily tous les jours in September, 2014 to conduct on-site research, define objectives, and develop a conceptual prototype of a public artwork to be located on the MAC’s north plaza.
[see image above right for street level view from north side of Main Street at the Valley Metro Light Rail station] 
To help develop their conceptual design, the firm conducted three public workshops to collect feedback, ideas, and recommendations.  The workshops were attended by about 60 local community members, as well as Arizona State University architecture students.
Once this preliminary work had been accomplished, the MAC signed Daily tous les jours to a second contract.  This contract covered preliminary design, prototyping of the project, refinements, final design, and ultimately installation of the final public art project on the north plaza. 
.
More details and information >> www.mesaartscenter.com/musicalshadows

 

 

 

Confident About Water Quality in City Zone? NOT > No Data/Not Available

Here in Mesa it's a BIG PROJECT - the biggest slice of the Pie Chart for GO bond city debt [see infographic in this post]Latest events in Flint, Michigan point to the fact if we truly believe in the value of water and the need to create a sustainable water future, we all need to get smarter than the apes with their hands on the water supply.

http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/02/michael-burry-water/

Between water infrastructure [$90 Million] and wastewater treatment [$50.1 Million] it's more than 50% of debt-obligation bonds financed by taxpayers here in the City of Mesa for FY 2015/2016.
7 times more than the $20.5 Million spent on Public Safety
6 times more than the $24.7 Million spent on Transportation & Streets.
A recent Consumer Confidence Report 2014 for water quality mandatory reports for lead and copper risks in the City Zone are marked NA - Not Available.

 

How can residents downtown feel "confident" about water quality when there is no data available?



$290.8 Million of City Outstanding Parity General Obligation Bonds > Expected Sale Date 15 March 2016

Hold on a minute! - that was yesterday's news in a press release from Moody's Investment Services. . . Two hours ago, via Reuters, there was this headline

Calpers, Moody's settle mortgage suit

The California Public Employees Retirement System, or Calpers, said it has reached a $130 million settlement with Moody's and Moody's Investors' Service to resolve a case involving mortgage deals.

The lawsuit stems from losses the pension fund suffered after the collapse of the housing market and defaults on formerly AAA-rated securities that were backed by pools of residential mortgages that turned out to be not so highly-rated but rather quite risky by Moody's and other rating agencies in 2009.

The settlements rank as the largest known recovery from Moody's and S&P in a private lawsuit for civil damages, Calpers said.

DEFINITION of 'Refunding' The process of retiring or redeeming an outstanding bond issue at maturity by using the proceeds from a new debt issue. The new issue is almost always issued at a lower rate of interest than the refunded issue, ensuring significant reduction in interest expense for the issuer.
Readers of this post can go the City of Mesa website for more details about debt-financing
http://www.mesaaz.gov/about-us/city-projects/bonds
The City issues debt in the form of bonds in order to finance long-term capital improvements such as streets, buildings, utility systems, etc. Bond funds cannot be used to fund City operations such as employee salaries, police vehicles or personal computers.
Issuing bonds allows the City to meet infrastructure needs while paying for the assets as they are used. Because municipal bonds are typically tax-exempt, they usually carry a lower interest rate than other types of debt, and are therefore an attractive source of financing. 

The City continues to place a high priority on infrastructure investment to attract and service future development.
Residents wishing to purchase City of Mesa bonds should contact a securities broker in order to purchase securities in the secondary market.
City bonds are not sold directly to the public. Rather, bonds are sold in bulk in order for the City to receive the most favorable interest rate. 

The City uses two main types of bond financing:
General Obligation
Utility Systems Revenue bonds.
The ratings for these bonds are show above.

General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are used to finance public safety, street, park, library, and storm sewer projects. They are repaid primarily through  secondary property tax, development impact fees, and sales tax revenue. G.O. Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the City.
Utility Revenue Bonds are used to finance gas, water, wastewater, electric, and solid waste projects. Utility Revenue bonds are repaid from revenues received from the customers of each particular utility.

Rating Action:
Moody's assigns Aa2 to City of Mesa's, (AZ) GO Refunding Bonds 2016
Global Credit Research - 09 Mar 2016
Source: Moody's Research PR_903163570 March 9, 2016 

- Issue: General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Tax-Exempt Series 2016A

Rating: Aa2

Sale Amount: $20,475,000

Expected Sale Date: 3/15/2016

Rating Description: General Obligation

- Issue: General Obligation Refunding Bonds, Taxable Series 2016B
Rating: Aa2
Sale Amount: $22,935,000
Expected Sale Date: 3/15/2016
Rating Description: General Obligation

Moody's has affirmed the Aa2 ratings on the city's approximately $290.8 million of outstanding, parity General Obligation (GO) bonds. The long term rating carries a stable outlook. 
The Aa2 reflects the city's large property tax base, which grew at a healthy rate in 2015 and 2016 after several years of declines; a diverse local economy that continues to expand at a pace that exceeds the nation; stable financial operations and strong management; and a moderate debt burden

Rating Outlook
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the city and regional economic recovery will continue and will support growth in primary operating revenues and that the city will continue to make timely budgetary adjustments, as necessary, to preserve financial flexibility.

Legal Security
The bonds are secured by the city's unlimited ad valorem tax general obligation (GO) pledge.

Use of Proceeds
Proceeds will be used to refund certain maturities of previously issued debt for annual debt service savings.

Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
250 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10007
U.S.A
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653

An infographic for comparison