Tomorrow's GDP Report > Some data ahead of time from Bloomberg Business

Why does it matter?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2016-03-24/why-friday-s-u-s-gdp-report-matters

Out-To-Lunch Free Concert @ MAC : A Mixed Bag of Navy Brass + Island Calypso

Thanks to Casey Blake for sending this presser
Free Out to Lunch Concert series to host special double feature concert

Thursday, March 24

Didn't know it is Navy Week at all since we are are "land-locked" in the desert, but this double-feature concert should attract another big crowd. Maybe not cracking the recent attendance of 1,250 at these outdoor free events, but then again who knows?

 

Mesa, AZ – The free Out to Lunch Concert series at Mesa Arts Center will present Navy Band Southwest’s 32^nd Street Brass Band and JT’s Island Steel Drum Band Thursday, March 24 in the outdoor Wells Fargo Garden. Navy Band Southwest will perform 11 a.m. – noon and JT’s Island Steel will perform 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Both performances are free.

Navy Band Southwest will give a taste of New Orleans with its newest group, the 32nd Street Brass Band. In the spirit of Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, the band performs upbeat music for homecoming ship arrivals and Navy community events with the sounds and styles of Jazz, Funk, Dixieland, and R&B.

Island Steel is comprised of musicians experienced in all varieties of instruments from classical violin to jazz piano, expertly trained to create the calypso sound from the islands of the Caribbean. This island sound creates a relaxing and soothing tropical atmosphere with a festive, energetic performance in the tradition of Trinidad's Carnival. 

The weekly Out to Lunch Concerts at Mesa Arts Center offer free parking, hot and cold meal options for purchase, ample seating and a stunning outdoor setting. Mesa Arts Center is located at One East Main Street in downtown Mesa.

Here's a short video of the steel drum band to get you in the mood

 

 

Playing Politics? Officer-Involved Shootings Here in Mesa Rages On In The Media

Two recent episodes in the last couple of months with notices of claims in the millions of dollars filed against the City of Mesa continue to make international, national, state and local headlines.
Yesterday and today the incidents are taking on more attention with statements issued in the media by the Mesa chief of police terminating the employment of a policeman and attorneys representing officer Philip Brailsford accusing the city of "playing politics" in this report yesterday
"The Mesa Police Association said in an emailed statement Monday night that it was disappointed the city of Mesa "interfered with Officer Mitch Brailsford’s due process and allowed this case to be tried in the court of public opinion before being heard in the court of law."
More stories updated last night:
Craig Mehrens, the attorney for Brailsford, said the firing "represents pure politics." He said Meza called Brailsford four days after the shooting "and told him he had, with other senior officers, viewed the video; and they had all concluded that it was a `good shoot.' "
The Mesa Police Association said in a statement that firing Brailsford before his scheduled preliminary hearing Wednesday in the fatal shooting case "likely hurt his chances of receiving a fair trial. That is simply wrong."
Excerpts from this report by ABC 15 >>
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/philip-brailsford-update-mesa-officer-facing-murder-charge-fired

So far no statements about all this from the City, but Mesa mayor John Giles posted another selfie of himself on Facebook over the weekend on May 20 with this caption: My ride along with @mesapolice last night was very educational. Car crashes, drunk drivers, domestic violence. I have a lot of respect for our great public safety personnel. Thank you!Facebook

Orbital ATK

Recent recent expansion plans for this aerospace, ammunition, and integrated weapons system supplier will complement Arizona’s robust aerospace and defense sector that contributes $38bn annually to the Arizona economy and employs more than 52,000 workers.
Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, and satellite manufacturer, Orbital ATK, last Friday jointly announced that the company is expanding its engineering operations in Gilbert, Arizona.

Governor Doug Ducey had this to say in a flurry of press release announcements:
“I am thrilled that one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world once again has selected Arizona for its expansion plans, and to support its critical operations,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “Arizona is a major player globally when it comes to aerospace, defense and avionics – and we continue to grow. This is a great partnership."
John Lewis, the mayor of Gilbert, was equally enthusiastic:
“A company like Orbital ATK could have expanded its operations elsewhere in the country. The fact that they plan to continue to invest in our great community is a testament to our mutually beneficial relationship and Gilbert’s focus on growing STEM occupations in aerospace and manufacturing sectors,” said Gilbert Mayor John Lewis. “These are some of the best jobs in Arizona and I’m proud they are happening in Gilbert.”

With additional facilities in Chandler and Mesa, Arizona, Orbital ATK has a total footprint in the state of close to almost 800,000 sq ft, contributing to over 1,750 high-tech aerospace and defense jobs.

Orbital ATK ISS cargo delivery set to launch
Orbital has also announced that it is in final preparations for the company’s next enhanced Cygnus spacecraft cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
This will be Orbital ATK’s fifth operational mission (OA-6) to the ISS for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, and the first Cygnus to conduct scientific experiments onboard the spacecraft.
For the second time, Orbital ATK will launch Cygnus atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, carrying approximately 7,900 pounds (3,600 kilograms) of cargo to astronauts aboard the ISS and small satellites that will be deployed directly from Cygnus.
Pending completion of final vehicle testing and acceptable local weather conditions, the launch is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, at 11:05 p.m.
More details can be found here

Mesa Boeing Awarded New Apache-A64 Helo Contract for $184,930,000

A slew of over $1.5 B contracts  was announced in a press release from the Department of Defense yesterday for the Air Force, Army and Navy. Boeing here in Mesa is one.

Contracts

Press Operations

Release No: CR-052-16
March 21, 2016

Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded an $184,930,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the Apache helicopter full-rate production in Lot 7.  One bid was solicited with one received.  Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2017.  Fiscal 2016 other procurement funds in the amount of $184,930,000 were obligated at the time of the award.  Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-16-C-0023).
Source: http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/699213

Other awards made in an announcement from this news source included
Army Awards Oshkosh $433M in Heavy Tactical Vehicle Contract Modifications
RAND Corp. Lands $231M Air Force Research, Analysis Consulting Support IDIQ
CNA FFRDC to Support OPNAV Under Potential $558M Contract
Draper Lab Gets $164M Navy Award to Produce Guidance System for Lockheed-Built Missiles
General Dynamics’ Gulfstream Receives $92M Navy G-550 Green Aircraft Order
Exelis to Manufacture Navy Aircraft Electronic Countermeasures for $88M
Source: https://www.govconwire.com/category/contract_awards/

Open Secrets + City of Mesa Open Data Portal | Why Open Data?

Simply because citizens and voters don't know or understand government. Keeping us "in the dark" just does not work.
Putting data online and hoping for the best isn’t wrong, but it doesn’t do much unless it's reliable, documented, and easily-accessible.
Although the current open data movement is more than a decade old, Mesa didn't  catch up until an announcement in August of last year with an announcement that it had joined Bloomberg Philanthropies' WhatWorksCities, with an agreement not signed until October by the City of Mesa's executive officer Chris Brady, the city manager. It wasn't until 04 March 2016 - just in time for Open Data Day - that the city got the open data portal up and online with a press release: http://www.mesanow.org/article.php?id=1607.
It was featured in a post here 08 March 2016 . . . some are still asking why they should even bother.
In the interest of public information here are a few comments taken from an online article published on March 10, 2016 by Colin Wood:
"People still largely don’t know what their governments are doing and no one’s frequenting their city’s open data portal to find out — they read the news."
One recent case as an example: in a post here on March 17 Mesa mayor John Giles was quoted as saying in a panel at SXSW in Austin TX by the chat moderator Jessica Daly that "up to 800 new units of affordable housing have come online in the past year-and-a-half."
When that "news" was questioned in an email to the mayor's office for public information, a prompt reply came back the same day that the mayor had mis-spoken.
No need for that if people in government know the real data instead of making public statements that are questionable. It's not a matter of keeping elected officials honest; informed and accurate is the goal for accountability and transparency.

"Open data isn’t just about transparency and economic development. If it were, those things would have happened by now.  Open data portals haven’t stopped corruption; the unscrupulous simply reroute their activities around the spotlight. And if anyone’s using open data to build groundbreaking apps that improve the world and generate industry, they’re doing a great job keeping it a secret."
So who's the anyone - developers, designers, librarians, statisticians and citizens -  using open data?
A guy like Waldo Jaquith, the director of U.S. Open Data and one of the movement’s most active advocates. But he’s also a realist. Open data is struggling to gain financial and spiritual backing. Open data may fizzle out within the next two years, said Jaquith, and a glance at government’s attitude toward the entire “open” concept supports that timeline.
“Right now, it is irrational for almost anybody who works in government to open data. It makes no sense,” . .  “Most people, it’s not in their job description to open data . . ."
The disconnect between the massive operational potential that open data holds and government’s slow movement toward harnessing it can be explained simply. Government thinks open data is an add-on that boosts transparency, but it’s more than that. Open data isn’t a $2 side of guacamole that adds flavor to the burrito. It’s the restaurant’s mission statement.
Open data needs a clear plan, and it needs to come from a wide patronage within government.

6 Ideas to Help Government Realize Open Data's Transformative Power
by Colin Wood / March 10, 2016

Government thinks open data is an add-on that boosts transparency, but it’s more than that.

The Sharing Economy: Human Connections/Trust/Commerce > Incredible Results

Ah O Yes! A mellow Sunday night here in downtown . . . at least for a while.
Time to reflect on just one year getting online with the blog
MesaZona: Table of Contents
Re/Generating The New Urban DTMesa 
Much to my surprise, thank you dear readers for over 26,000 hits to date and landing on this page surprisingly with over 500 posts that were uploaded by yours truly.
One of the things that keeps me going is the strength and force of ideas, like featuring these talks from TED. You might ask What does that have to do with anything? Watch and listen and find out
The Sharing Economy is a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human and physical resources. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organisations.