MesaZona > Table of Contents : Here's The Menu. Enjoy

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

Heads Up Taxpayers! Have You Seen This > $1,670,000,000 Mesa Tentative Budge FY2016-2017

Time to do the hard work, dear readers ---- Can you follow the money - all tentative $1.67 BILLION DOLLARS?
The next fiscal year budget is buried in the agenda for Mesa City Council Session June 6, 2016 - it happened yesterday. How many members of the public attended the session or seen the councilmembers in action?
Who commented and what did they say?
How many taxpayers have even seen what the budget looks like ahead of time - or even now? For something as important as the city's budget it was placed at the end of the agenda for the regular council session. It's the last item for action to be taken: Item 10a 16-0398 - 5 pages skimpy on details and *footnotes at the page bottoms.
Why should your MesaZona blogger get angry? .... It's up to the public to take a look and understand where the money comes from and where does it go?
Big Slice of The Budget Pie: PERSONAL SERVICES [you mean "personnel" like ya know salaries, what departments get how much and what are the employees' salaries? That's a good question, huh? Confidential and private information? No - the public has a right to know ...and what about pensions, benefits and retirement? Costs have gone up 35% - did U know that from this tentative budget?

Links are provided to see original sources ---

1 SUMMARY OF RESOURCES BY SOURCE
Adopted Proposed Source Actuals Budget Budget Taxes Sales & Use Tax $146,336,886 $148,468,000 $156,328,000 Secondary Property Tax $34,022,086 $33,440,000 $33,441,000 Transient Occupancy Tax $3,079,912 $2,515,000 $3,000,000 Other Taxes $30,287 - Total Taxes $183,469,171 $184,423,000 $192,769,000 Intergovernmental Federal Grants and Reimbursements $32,018,752 $33,641,000 $45,227,000 State Shared Revenues $145,266,056 $146,376,000 $157,755,000 State Grants and Reimbursements $6,276,432 $6,888,000 $687,000 County and Other Governments Revenues $6,733,953 $29,836,000 $16,061,000 Total Intergovernmental $190,295,193 $216,741,000 $219,730,000 Sales and Charges for Services General $27,469,118 $31,205,000 $31,006,000 Culture and Recreation $7,589,146 $9,007,000 $7,578,000 Enterprise $333,112,938 $359,019,000 $370,230,000 Total Sales and Charges for Services $368,171,202 $399,231,000 $408,814,000 Licenses, Fees and Permits Business Licenses $4,298,337 $3,681,000 $4,309,000 Permits $12,089,180 $12,686,000 $12,392,000 Fees $17,585,005 $11,411,000 $10,698,000 Court Fees $4,482,327 $4,723,000 $4,438,000 Culture and Recreation $661,710 $426,000 $476,000 Total Licenses, Fees and Permits $39,116,558 $32,927,000 $32,313,000 Fines and Forfeitures Court Fines $4,493,789 $4,133,000 $3,989,000 Other Fines $549,961 $597,000 $471,000 Total Fines and Forfeitures $5,043,750 $4,730,000 $4,460,000 Self Insurance Contributions Self Insurance Contributions $78,370,011 $81,813,000 $89,652,000 Total Self Insurance Contributions $78,370,011 $81,813,000 $89,652,000 Other Revenue Interest $2,341,410 $791,000 $1,777,000 Contributions and Donations $8,098,657 $2,085,000 $4,351,000 Other Financing Sources $25,728,540 $24,412,000 $3,750,000 Sale of Property $619,318 $1,281,000 $23,866,000 Other Revenues $11,386,241 $15,029,000 $25,006,000 Total Other Revenue $48,174,166 $43,598,000 $58,750,000 Operating Resources Subtotal $912,640,051 $963,463,000 $1,006,488,000
Potential Bond Refunding Other Financing Sources - $166,742,000 $185,400,000 Total Potential Bond Refunding - $166,742,000 $185,400,000
Reimbursements/Previous Grant Awards Carried Over $24,333,486 $12,840,091 Funds Carried Forward $198,558,514 $206,690,909 Use of Fund Balance $(55,066,603) Total Non-Bond Resources $857,573,448 $1,353,097,000 $1,411,419,000
Existing Bond Proceeds $89,220,384 $57,778,188 $91,930,117 New Bond Proceeds $45,200,671 $207,048,000 $254,801,000 Ending Fund Balance $(33,465,030) $(7,923,188) $(88,150,117) Total Bond Resources $100,956,025 $256,903,000 $258,581,000
City Total Resources $958,529,474 $1,610,000,000 $1,670,000,000

2 SUMMARY OF RESOURCES BY FUND
FY 2014/15 FY 2015/16 FY 2016/17 Adopted Proposed Fund Actuals Budget Budget
General Fund - Operations $256,568,364 $250,683,044 $265,801,099 General Fund - Capital $353,792 - Enterprise Fund - Operations $322,667,396 $337,742,467 $345,769,842 Enterprise Fund - Capital $4,400,451 $300,000 $300,000 Restricted Funds: Arts & Culture Fund $4,507 $6,815,915 $5,337,094 Community Facilities Districts $5,080,074 $24,559,668 $4,003,333 Environmental Compliance Fee $14,973,797 $14,802,000 $15,274,128 Falcon Field Airport $4,067,917 $3,720,977 $3,881,883 Joint Ventures $10,311,379 $24,674,243 $24,371,578 Quality of Life Sales Tax Fund $20,880,052 $21,209,736 $22,358,650 Transportation Related: Highway User Revenue Fund $33,951,174 $34,281,093 $37,691,409 Local Street Sales Tax Fund $26,114,851 $26,149,941 $28,082,740 Transit Fund $4,757,298 $5,122,684 $15,943,367 Transportation Fund $64,117 $19,126,332 $3,805,797 Other Restricted Funds $29,611,946 $31,149,703 $41,390,340 Grant Funds: General Governmental Grant Fund $9,651,407 $10,874,402 $8,639,770 Enterprise Grant Fund $2,551,080 $3,235,833 $2,788,178 Housing Grant Funds $19,706,888 $18,165,542 $20,641,639 Trust Funds $77,855,840 $82,145,565 $90,064,085 Debt Service Funds $69,067,718 $48,703,855 $70,343,068 Total Operating Revenues $912,640,051 $963,463,000 $1,006,488,000
Potential Bond Refunding - $166,742,000 $185,400,000
Reimbursements/Previous Grant Awards Carried Over - $24,333,486 $12,840,091 Funds Carried Forward - $198,558,514 $206,690,909 Use of Fund Balance $(55,066,603) - Total Non-Bond Resources $857,573,448 $1,353,097,000 $1,411,419,000
Existing Bond Proceeds $89,220,384 $57,778,188 $91,930,117 New Bond Proceeds $45,200,671 $207,048,000 $254,801,000 Ending Fund Balance $(33,465,030) $(7,923,188) $(88,150,117) Total Bond Resources $100,956,025 $256,903,000 $258,581,000
City Total Resources $958,529,474 $1,610,000,000 $1,670,000,0

3 SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES BY FUND
FY 2016/17 Adopted Proposed Fund Actuals Budget Budget
General Fund - Operations $318,210,846 $326,865,188 $343,532,587 General Fund - Capital $5,921,460 $5,759,446 $8,570,479 Enterprise Fund - Operations $146,753,186 $161,426,199 $163,210,880 Enterprise Fund - Capital $6,899,845 $4,228,397 $5,605,290 Restricted: Arts & Culture Fund $(1,533) $15,604,487 $15,411,083 Community Facilities Districts $5,056,067 $24,559,668 $4,003,333 Environmental Compliance Fee $11,212,537 $15,373,457 $18,385,744 Falcon Field Airport $4,235,731 $5,032,581 $3,692,409 Joint Ventures $10,323,937 $22,384,483 $24,266,957 Quality of Life Sales Tax Fund $21,541,989 $21,209,734 $24,702,684 Transportation Related: Highway User Revenue Fund $14,950,450 $21,955,280 $22,538,994 Local Street Sales Tax Fund $28,434,158 $38,156,267 $38,428,379 Transit Fund $7,561,346 $14,764,526 $25,816,087 Transportation Fund - $19,126,332 Other Restricted Funds $23,405,320 $27,675,240 $31,578,085 Grant Funds: General Governmental Grant Fund $9,718,788 $10,862,643 $8,625,162 Enterprise Grant Fund $2,551,080 $3,235,833 $2,788,178 Housing Grant Funds $20,307,608 $18,304,529 $20,634,979 Trust Funds $75,568,390 $78,817,073 $97,263,984 Debt Service Funds $144,922,246 $212,502,637 $179,472,706 Expenditure Subtotal $857,573,448 $1,047,844,000 $1,038,528,000
Operating Carryover - $39,523,000 $53,020,000 Capital Improvement Carryover: Non-Bond - $27,434,000 Total Carryover $66,957,000 $53,020,000
Potential Bond Refunding-$166,742,000$185,400,000
Contingency - $71,554,000 $134,471,000
Total Expenditure Non-Bond Funds $857,573,448 $1,353,097,000 $1,411,419,000
Bond Capital Improvement Scheduled $100,956,025 $145,057,000 $258,581,000 Bond Capital Improvement Carryover $111,846,000 Total Bonds Capital Improvement $100,956,025$256,903,000 $258,581,000
City Total Expenditures $958,529,474 $1,610,000,000 $1,670,000,000
Expenditure Limitation Comparison
Expenditures $958,529,474 $1,610,000,000 $1,670,000,000 Estimated Exclusions $(958,529,474) $(1,610,000,000) $(1,670,000,000) Estimated Expenditures Subject to Limitation --Expenditure Limitation $529,442,050 $545,882,614 $559,918,849 Over (Under) State Limit $(529,442,050) $(545,882,614) $(559,918,849)

4 SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES BY DEPARTMENT
2014/15 FY 2015/16 FY 2016/17 Adopted Proposed Department Actuals Budget Budget
Arts & Culture $14,823,089 $14,738,000 $14,293,000 Business Services $17,270,874 $14,437,000 $13,989,000 City Attorney $8,098,278 $11,426,000 $13,096,000 City Auditor $642,171 $674,000 $715,000 City Clerk $1,102,657 $851,000 $1,319,000 City Manager $5,086,595 $5,261,000 $5,574,000 Communications $4,774,155 $4,138,000 $3,582,000 Community Services $20,447,980 $19,741,000 $23,609,000 Development Services $8,786,628 $9,691,000 $7,765,000 Economic Development $7,870,631 $9,088,000 $9,474,000 Energy Resources $40,833,434 $42,811,000 $41,447,000 Engineering $2,836,567 $7,339,000 $7,648,000 Environmental Management & Sustainability $27,189,858 $28,360,000 $31,165,000 Facilities Maintenance * $10,396,421 $12,559,000 Falcon Field Airport $1,298,601 $1,706,000 $1,735,000 Financial Services $3,697,458 $3,621,000 $3,861,000 Fire and Medical Services $73,869,716 $73,556,000 $77,929,000 Fleet Services $28,943,189 $28,264,000 $27,576,000 Human Resources $73,854,380 $74,515,000 $92,235,000 Information Technology $25,190,851 $28,496,000 $33,726,000 Library Services $6,379,459 $7,171,000 $7,454,000 Mayor & Council $586,647 $935,000 $1,016,000 Municipal Court $7,914,965 $7,938,000 $8,304,000 Neighborhood Outreach & Animal Control * $1,122,574 $1,133,000 Office of Enterprise Resource Planning $519,443 $761,000 $788,000 Office of Management and Budget $1,598,762 $2,589,000 $2,740,000 Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities $26,255,906 $31,868,000 $46,753,000 Police $161,464,607 $165,816,000 $174,801,000 Public Information & Communications $1,290,604 $1,236,000 $1,423,000 Transit Services $6,187,944 $11,827,000 $13,415,000 Transportation $32,912,527 $42,166,000 $42,550,000 Water Resources $55,919,707 $67,258,000 $67,694,000 Project Management Program-Lifecycle/Infrastructure Projects $11,759,224 $10,046,000 $7,831,000 Centralized Appropriations $148,678,577 $248,630,000 $199,682,000
Operating Expenditure Subtotal $839,604,481 $990,646,000 $985,189,000
Operating Expenditure Carryover $39,523,000 $53,020,000
Operating and Carryover Expenditure Subtotal $839,604,481 $1,030,169,000 $1,038,209,000
Potential Bond Refunding - $166,742,000 $185,400,000
Contingency - $71,554,000 $134,471,000
Total Operating Expenditures $839,604,481 $1,268,465,000 $1,358,080,000
Capital Improvement Program: Non-Bond $17,968,967 $57,198,000 $53,339,000
Capital Improvement Program: Bond $100,956,025 $145,057,000 $258,581,000
Capital Improvement Program Subtotal $118,924,993 $202,255,000 $311,920,000
Non-Bond Capital Improvement Program Carryover - $27,434,000
Bond Capital Improvement Program Carryover - $111,846,000
Capital Improvement Program Carryover Subtotal - $139,280,000
Total Capital Improvement Program $118,924,993 $341,535,000 $311,920,000
City Total Expenditures $958,529,474 $1,610,000,000 $1,670,000,000
SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES BY DEPARTMENT
*Note: During FY15/16, Facilities Maintenance was combined with Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities and Neighborhood Outreach & Animal Control was combined with Community Services.

5 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND PERSONNEL COMPENSATION FISCAL YEAR 2016/2017
Fund
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
Employee Salaries and Hourly Costs
Retirement Costs
Healthcare Costs
Other Benefit Costs
Total Estimated Personnel Compensation
General Fund - Operations* 2,496.8      $181,601,794 $44,324,535 $38,380,443 $1,101,228 $265,408,000 General Fund - Capital 1.1             $69,571 $8,939 $11,965 $7,668 $98,143 Enterprise Fund - Operations 518.3         $31,323,058 $3,777,323 $8,850,921 $16,656,173 $60,607,475 Enterprise Fund - Capital 0.1             $7,545 $969 $1,298 $832 $10,644 Restricted: Arts & Culture Fund 80.0           $4,595,155 $502,151 $954,850 $1,549,634 $7,601,790 Community Facilities Districts 0.4             $74,330 $5,656 $4,836 $24,236 $109,058 Falcon Field Airport 18.3           $1,343,770 $252,310 $301,023 $349,567 $2,246,670 Joint Ventures 27.3           $2,181,670 $220,125 $308,685 $716,170 $3,426,650 Quality of Life Sales Tax Fund 185.0         $14,203,369 $6,335,484 $2,484,298 $1,679,533 $24,702,684 Transportation Related: Highway User Revenue Fund 108.4         $6,693,710 $753,980 $1,207,502 $643,716 $9,298,908 Local Streets Sales Tax 33.0           $2,670,249 $320,046 $1,268,830 $2,487,211 $6,746,336 Transit Fund 3.6             $488,684 $31,639 $46,396 $281,259 $847,978 Other Restricted Funds 73.4           $4,205,674 $469,673 $778,114 $1,493,815 $6,947,276 Grant Funds: General Governmental Grant Fund 25.1           $1,775,263 $821,015 $307,464 $1,145,573 $4,049,315 Housing Grant Funds 25.3           $1,369,651 $155,872 $262,592 $114,396 $1,902,511 Trust Funds 117.5         $7,261,731 $835,597 $1,802,744 $3,492,368 $13,392,440 Total Non-Bond Funds 3,713.6      259,865,224 58,815,314 56,971,961 31,743,379     407,395,878
Bond Capital Improvement 91.5           $5,892,350$757,061$1,013,341$649,499$8,312,251
Total All Funds 3,805.1      $265,757,574 $59,572,375 $57,985,302 $32,392,878 $415,708,129

* Central administration positions are included in the General Fund but the costs are spread among multiple funds.

http://mesa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2736428&GUID=31ADE986-3E13-41C1-A18A-81BC4FFE09E8

TENTATIVE BUDGET
CITY OF MESA, ARIZONA
FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2017

Proposed budget pie charts http://mesa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2736428&GUID=31ADE986-3E13-41C1-A18A-81BC4FFE09E8

COJONES [and Jibber-Jabber] > Word Taken Out of Context @ Economic Development Advisory Board Meeting Today

Brian Campbell

... Five women sitting on the EDAB during this morning's meeting at 7:30 a.m. and not a single one spoke up or got offended about a phrase in Spanish for a twin-piece of the male anatomy [ "balls" in plain English/"testicles" in science] when that was used referring to exaggerated job-hiring projections or 'jacking up the numbers' contained in a draft of a certain strategic plan that was being discussed not yet made public from a group in Phoenix.
Curious? .... you will have to wait > more later
Who said it? Brian Campbell, board member
It was also announced that two women will be leaving the board.

image from mesaaz.gov

Re: Jibber Jabber
Readers might have recognized the phrase "Quick Jab" - used in the quarterly Economic Development Newsletter for a column piece by the director for City of Mesa Office of Economic Development, Bill Jabjiniak.
Your MesaZona blogger listens to what's said at meetings and takes notes, but I swear by people in higher places that most of the words spoken from Bill's mouth yesterday were "jibber-jabber" . . . wanna translate that?
Some comments did make sense, for example

his comments made about a recent trade mission to Hannover, Germany by six [or was it eight?] city officials to promote Mesa at the tradeshow. The surprise? He stated that people in Germany/Europe didn't even know about Mesa or Arizona. . . hard to believe with all the million$ spent on promotions, marketing and public relations. Usually for trade missions, there is a schedule of meetings and itinerary posted publicly, if there was one. It was reported that over the course of eight days spent in Germany there were twelve contacts made with two engaging in more discussions about Mesa.
Bill also mentioned pursuing FDI [foreign direct investment] by Japanese companies. Not surprising at all when international major economies are experiencing uncertain global macroeconomic conditions and looking for "safe havens".
Mesa is only one city- out of many - competing for FDI dollars. It's a very competitive environment: example the announcement one week ago that a Swiss cybersecurity company is investing in a second headquarters here in Arizona, not in Mesa. Governor Doug Ducey claimed the negotiations took only three months, while Mr. Jabjiniak stated at the EDAB meeting talks were ongoing for 11 months . . . the successful city was Phoenix Arcadia District.
Re: Xavier University closing its doors in Gilbert Mr. Jabjiniak stated that it was "under-capitalized" at $35 Million [paid by Gilbert taxpayers] and the subject of an earlier post on this blog. When a comment was asked by another board member about financing details for the proposed ASU Downtown campus, another comment was made by Jo Wilson, recently retiring from EDAB, that BenU had invested $13 Million here for its downtown location ---- isn't that "under-capitalized" also by about three times of a smaller amount??

MRO for Able Aerospace

Able Aerospace signs MRO agreement for AgustaWestland products

Able Aerospace Services, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has been named by Leonardo-Finmeccanica, through AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation, as an approved supplier for maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) and testing for AgustaWestland products' components.

Under a newly signed agreement, Able becomes an official member of the Leonardo Helicopters’ worldwide service network and an approved supplier for maintenance, repair, overhaul and testing to AgustaWestland products’ dynamic components. Services under this agreement include a range of special processing and testing, of which Able completes 100 percent of all jobs in house.

“We have worked with Leonardo Helicopters for more than a decade, and applaud its commitment to strong aftermarket maintenance support,” said Able Aerospace Services vice president John Jackson. “This new agreement gives Able more efficient avenues to do what we do best, which is to support aircraft operators with safe, fast, cost-saving aftermarket MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul].”

From its headquarters and maintenance facilities on the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona, Able offers Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved component repair, overhaul and approved replacement parts solutions to commercial and military aviation fleets in more than 60 countries worldwide. This includes extensive in-house capabilities such as electroplating, chemical processing, machining, grinding, NDT testing, hydraulics, bearings services, and painting.

Able operates from a broad platform of airworthiness certifications from entities including the FAA, European Aviation Safety Agency, Civil Aviation Administration of China, Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, DCAT, National Civil Aviation Agency – Brazil, and the Brazilian Navy.

NEWS 06.06.2016 from Vertical News

Able recently became an official member of the Leonardo Helicopters’ worldwide service network and an approved supplier for maintenance, repair, overhaul and testing to AgustaWestland products’ dynamic components. Pictured here: Able Aerospace Services vice president John Jackson. Able Aerospace Photo

Monday, June 06, 2016

Scorching Excessive Heat + High Pollution Advisories > There Are Consequences

News about the weather recently started with words like 'Scorching heat' - completely omitting serious health consequences including death from dangerously high levels of ozone and particulate matter in the air, while advising people with respiratory issues to simply stay indoors and don't drive . . . the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issues "alerts" for unhealthy air all the time and year-round while Maricopa County has consistently failed to meet federal requirements for clean air year-after-year. . . are we too dumb and happy living in Maricopa County?

Here are the conclusions from a somewhat detailed, technical, well-researched report from
2000-2008 by Environmental Health Perspectives, part of the National Institute for Health
Neighborhood Effects on Heat Deaths: Social and Environmental Predictors of Vulnerability in Maricopa County, Arizona
Research article volume 121 | Issue 2 | February 2013

Figure 1 – HVI scores (using a method modified from Reid et al. 2009) mapped for 2,081 census block groups (CGBs) in Maricopa County, Arizona. Higher scores represent higher vulnerability. The map inset in the lower right corner indicates the urbanized area of Maricopa County (red box) shown in the larger map. The county, which also contains a much larger area of uninhabited desert and sparse settlement, is outlined in blue. The urbanized area covers all the cities and all but one of the major towns in the county. Residences of only four people who died from heat exposure were located outside the urbanized area (green circles in inset).
View larger image (PNG File)

Figure 2 – Univariate analysis of the LISA-identified clusters of census block groups (CBGs) in Maricopa County, Arizona, with similar or dissimilar HVI scores (p-value ≤ 0.05). High/high areas in the map are clusters of neighboring CBGs with uniformly high vulnerability scores; low/low areas are clusters with low vulnerability scores; low/high areas represent a CBG with a low vulnerability score neighbored by high vulnerability CBGs; high/low areas represent a CBG with a high vulnerability score neighbored by low vulnerability CBGs. Entries in the legend (next to the colored boxes) also show the percentages of 2000–2008 heat-related decedents who were residents in each type of cluster.
View larger image (PNG File)
In the present study, we investigated neighborhood effects on heat exposure deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona, over a 9-year period (2000–2008). Extremely high temperatures occur almost daily for 6 months a year in this desert climate. The decedents were identified by the county health department using a surveillance system designed specifically to detect deaths caused by or related to environmental (weather-related) heat. Our question was “What characteristics of urban neighborhoods affect the risk of residents dying from extreme heat?”
Many studies on urban heat-related mortality examine individual-specific risk factors.
Commonly identified physiological risks include

advanced or young age,
underlying disease, disability, and pregnancy.
Cardiovascular disease and several other illnesses are risk factors for heat-related death
Deaths from heat exposure also occur among people who lack access to cool environments or are physically active in hot weather
Living in poverty is a key individual risk factor for death related to heat because it decreases the odds of access to medical care and protective resources

Neighborhoods are “ecological units nested within successively larger communities” and neighborhood effects on human development and life cycle events, individual behavior, social outcomes, and health risks have long been studied in the social and health sciences

Many indicators of poor health, such as low birth weight, obesity, and coronary heart disease are spatially clustered within neighborhoods.
Socioeconomic context is important because many poor neighborhoods lack institutional capacities for education, health care, and employment and have poor quality housing.
Many minorities live in low-income areas with high levels of social isolation and concentrated disadvantage

We estimated the neighborhood effects of population characteristics and features of the built and natural environments on deaths due to heat exposure in Maricopa County, Arizona (2000–2008).
Spatial patterns showed substantial variability between neighborhoods in vulnerability to heat, odds of residents dying from heat exposure, and locations of vulnerable neighborhood clusters.
Many inner-city neighborhoods had higher vulnerability scores and more deaths, whereas higher neighborhood income and education, younger white populations, greener landscapes, AC, and cooler microclimates in suburban neighborhoods were associated with reduced heat vulnerability and fewer deaths.
Heat deaths of homeless persons were reported primarily in the inner city. Many decedents, however, lived in neighborhoods with lower vulnerability scores and, therefore, place-based indicators of vulnerability are complements and not substitutes for person-level risk variables.
Surface temperature [from highways and "heat islands" like parking lots and unvegetated lands] might be used as a single indicator in Maricopa County to identify the most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods.
However, more attention to the socioecological complexities of climate mitigation and adaptation is a high public health priority.
There are major local challenges ahead in preventing heat-related deaths under global regimes of climate change and urbanization.

Wake-Up Mesa! Three Fails for Higher Education Initiatives

Ever since X-Mayor Scott Smith, who resigned from office here and lost his quest to become governor to Doug Ducey, brought the idea to attract educational institutions to downtown Mesa as part of H.E.A.T. initiative, there's been mixed results to say the least with the five lured here - sure they filled vacant or under-used buildings and were given the rave-treatment, Over-Hype and Hoop-La by both city officials and the mainstream media with exaggerated claims [wishful thinking] for the transformation of downtown, economic development, a big boost in retail sales with the word 're-vitalizing playing out nowhere.

Some might say disappointing, with overblown claims that Mr. Smith wanted to use for higher office. He didn't get there. The plans he had are just not delivering the hyped promises . . . now that he's the temporary CEO of Valley Metro he's trying take us all on "other ride" --- it'll be the gravy train for commercial real estate developers hitching a free ride on the back of taxpayers who - everyone - thanks to City Hall have a debt to pay off.

BETTER GET OUT THAT URBAN DEVELOPMENT TOOL-BOX and just stop repeating what doesn't work - for your information that's the clinical definition of insanity.

Two out of five have re-located elsewhere and two are simply under-delivering results here in Mesa . . . do taxpayers want more?

Starting June 1, 2106 - right in the midst of the Mesa City Council looking at multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded proposals by City Manager Chris Brady for an ASU Downtown Mesa "campus" - news was made by Xavier University in Gilbert that it would be "closing its doors".
Way to go, Xavier University! [shutting down in Gilbert]
Closing its doors on what?

The university is closing its campus in Gilbert that was built with taxpayer money.
Gilbert officials took out revenue bonds totaling $37 million to design and construct the campus .
Its seems oddly strange that both mayor of the respective towns have chosen religious imagery to refer to the university campuses - John Giles saying "it's a perfect marriage" and John Lewis saying "it's a blessing".
Come hell or high water - or unforeseen circumstances - we shall see how this goes
In this report from 2014 the news then for Gilbert has an eerie resonance with the same spin on the news here in Mesa in 2016
". . . in 2015, downtown Gilbert will be welcoming a new type of business that will further invigorate the local economy while adding to the vibrant success of the Heritage district. . .
. . . a Catholic university based out of Chicago has signed off on the establishment of a satellite campus in Gilbert. The four-story building, which boasts more than 80,000 square feet of space and is projected to accommodate upwards of 1,000 students . . . Scott Powell, an economic development administrator for the town of Gilbert, said that the student demographic will provide a new marketing base for businesses downtown while adding to the success of popular establishments . . .
“When it comes to businesses directly around the university, they’ll see more foot traffic,” Willman said. “Directly overall, the positive impacts that a small university has really depends on what town that is. The university seems to be a way for Gilbert to flesh out its identity, in a sense. It’s definitely a good thing.”
In addition to the continuation of economic success downtown, the students at St. Xavier have the potential to spark a wave of small-scale shops and retail boutiques catered directly to the college lifestyle.
“I think [St. Xavier] will attract a new crowd of college-aged people that will really diversify the community down here,” said Gilbert resident Taylor Bergholz. “I’m downtown all the time, so it’ll be interesting to see what new restaurants or shops come out of the university . . . “The hope is that these students will drive the demand to put in space for new developments to come in,” Powell said. “The university and any new development that will come with it is definitely going to have an invigorating impact on the downtown economy . . ."

Spicing Up Arizona Elections: Here's Cara Nicole Trujillo

...and you thought it was all the guys running for election to the Arizona State House having' so much fun!
Hold onto your seats fellas, there's a blonde bombshell cosplay costume artist who's shaking' up politics like we used to know it.
All sorts of characters run for seats in the Arizona Legislature. [You might remember Russell Pearce as just one]
Who could possibly want more in the world of entertainment we live in?
It's ripe > Comics/Cosplay + Art + Politics - O Yeah!

...but can we get serious for just one minute?
Cara Nicole Trujillo is staging a campaign for the seat in AZ Legislative District 26 that includes parts of Mesa and Tempe.
Cara Nicole Trujillo might be a new face on the Arizona political scene, but in the comic book world, she's a legend.
Phoenix New Times five days ago had this to say:
Faster than a spinning lobbyist, more powerful than a strike-all amendment — it's AZ Powergirl, celebrity cosplay model, swooping in to save the Arizona Legislature! . . .
On the heels of a successful signature drive and filing two weeks ago with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, Trujillo's name will appear on the November ballot as a Green Party candidate in the district, . .

Via Facebook

"I am serious about this," Trujillo says of her candidacy.
"I felt it was a good time to run.
I'm glad people are deciding they want to get more involved, and I want to give people the opportunity to choose something more outside the red-and-blue party system. . .

The Mesa resident also volunteers with Arizona Family Rights, a nonprofit activist group that helps people with divorce and custody issues. Trujillo says she has spoken at legislative hearings over the past few years, lobbying for laws that would give divorced parents equal time with their kids. (Both she and her husband were previously married.) Trujillo's experience also includes talking with the "everyday Joe" in her cross-country travels, she says.

AZ Powergirl presents herself as an outsider who may vote with Democrats or Republicans but won't feel beholden to either party. Environmental issues are important to the Green Party candidate — she's a big believer in reusing gray water, for example. She describes herself as "very pro-limited government." Her father is a gunsmith, she says, and she's pro-gun rights for the most part.
She wants to help local businesses, decentralize government power throughout the state, reform asset-forfeiture laws, and improve education. She's not running as a Clean Elections candidate, because she thinks doling out public money to candidates is a "scam." She has knocked on hundreds of doors in recent months and "talked to people personally."
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/state-house-candidate-and-az-powergirl-cara-nicole-trujillo-brings-politics-to-phoenix-comicon-2016-8338950

Just like nearly all candidates who are residents of Mesa and in the run for office, she has also worked with numerous hospitals and charitable foundations to hold events for children and promote fundraisers.
In an election year that’s been full of surprises, controversy and a reality star's campaign for president, it’s not unusual to see a candidate work to turn popularity into votes.

She knows how to use social media

Az Powergirl Cara Nicole - Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/AZPowergirl/

Az Powergirl Cara Nicole, Glendale, Arizona. 42584 likes · 4046 ... Welcome to the official page for Cara Nicole/AZ Powergirl! Here... ... Alfred Trujillo Artist

Cara Nicole (@AzPowergirl) | Twitter

https://twitter.com/azpowergirl?lang=en

9 hours ago - Cara Nicole Retweeted · Sara Moni ⭐ @KrayolaKid 1h1 hour ago. Love this shot of @AzPowergirl # @gglindsayelyse and I at the @azcentral booth

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Samantha Nutt >>The Real Harm of the Global Arms Trade.

Who's the biggest supplier of weapons for wars?
From her personal perspective Samantha Nutt tells about the deaths and disfigurements of hundreds of children resulting from the multi-billion dollars global weapons manufacture.