Why does the Mesa Chamber of Commerce waste money and time on this - he's been cited for civil contempt for racial profiling and has cost Maricopa taxpayers over $50 Million for his 4-year defense . . . maybe it's time to go, Joe
Published on Jun 14, 2016 Category News & Politics
CIA Intelligence Activities CIA Director John Brennan testified at a hearing on his agency’s operations and resources. He called ISIS* in Libya the most… read more
CIA Intelligence Activities CIA Director John Brennan testified at a hearing on his agency’s operations and resources. He called ISIS* in Libya the most dangerous branch of the terror organization. He also outlined some key threats the next president will need to address, including cybersecurity, ISIS, and nuclear proliferation. * The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or DAISH/DAESH in Arabic is a militant group that has called itself the Islamic State
General Session 2: Transformative Transit: Lessons Learned from Healthy Cities Monday, June 27, 2016 Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Westin Town Center Join peer leaders, policy makers, and practitioners from across the United States who have successfully addressed challenges and have built livable communities through transit. Learn from business leaders who are capitalizing on transit and how they are extending the benefits of public transportation to meet the needs of the growing population.
Cities and regions around the country have committed to using rail investments to move their communities forward and to serve as economic engines. These investments have often been contentious and complicated, but the end results have been hugely positive and can provide good “lessons learned” for other communities contemplating similar investments.
In particular, Phoenix and Minneapolis-St. Paul recently have built successful coalitions that helped them move forward with major transformational rail investments focused on meeting the needs of their changing demographics, responding to sustainability and economic development desires, and providing mobility to all segments of their communities.
Leaders from those communities will share their stories and focus on their common challenges and successes.
Speakers:Tim Baldwin Moderator, Rocky Mountain West Transit and Urban Planning, Denver.Scott Smith Interim GM Valley Metro and former Mayor of Mesa, Arizona.Peter McLaughlin Hennepin County Commissioner, Chair Counties Transit Improvement Board, Minneapolis.
Scott Smith, Valley Metro Interim CEO Scott Smith is the interim CEO of Valley Metro responsible for the operation, design and construction of an expanding regional transit network in metro Phoenix, Arizona. The Valley Metro system is a partnership of 16 cities, towns and Maricopa County, offering bus, light rail, paratransit and vanpool services to more than 73 million riders annually. Smith’s leadership is a continuation of his public service as former Mayor of Mesa and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the only Arizona mayor to have served in this position. As Mayor, he strategically guided the 38th largest city in the U.S. to economic rebound between 2008 and 2014. He also has a wealth of experience in the private sector as a certified public accountant, lawyer and CEO of a regional homebuilding and development company. Last year, Smith served as a Resident Fellow in the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Smith’s passion for public transportation stems from his belief that transportation infrastructure is critically important to the regional, state and national economy and to improving the quality of life for those who need and choose transit as their mobility option. His strong customer service approach keeps the organization focused on serving the interests of several customer groups, including riders, voters, the business community and city leadership.
June 2016 Rail News: Passenger Rail Valley Metro is pursuing a bold expansion plan in Metro Phoenix Source: Progressive Railroading June 2016
"Valley Metro has been on a roll. In less than 18 months, the Arizona public transit agency serving the Phoenix-Mesa-Tempe area has opened two light-rail extensions as part of its aggressive plan to build 66 miles of light rail by 2034. The agency also has logged steady growth in rail ridership — including serving a record number of passengers during Super Bowl XLIX — and received word earlier this year that Tempe's streetcar proposal has been included in President Obama's fiscal-year 2017 budget. Moreover, in August 2015, Phoenix voters approved a referendum calling for a major boost in local transit funding, including additional dollars that will help pay for new Valley Metro light-rail lines.
At the same time the agency has logged a good deal of light-rail success in its relatively short history — Valley Metro Rail Inc. was founded in 2002 — it also hit a few speed bumps. The biggest hit came in late 2015, when then-Chief Executive Officer Stephen Banta stepped down after The Arizona Republic launched an investigation into his entertainment and travel expenses while at the agency.
In response to Banta's resignation, Valley Metro's board tapped former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith to fill in as interim CEO. A lawyer, accountant, former real estate developer and longtime advocate of public transit, Smith has spent the past few months trying to right the agency’s course so that Valley Metro staff members can refocus their attention to growing and operating a public transportation system . . . Since he arrived on the scene Feb. 1, Smith has taken steps to correct the problems uncovered in a recent audit of the agency, improve employee morale and keep staff focused on advancing the agency’s expansion plans. "I was recruited to come in, hopefully settle things down, deal with the issues that came out of the departure of our former CEO and work to restore trust in the agency," Smith says. "We've been working on initiatives to accomplish all three of those. . .
An Arizona Attorney General's Office criminal investigation of the situation is now underway In August 2015, Valley Metro opened the 3.1-mile Central Mesa Extension, which connects downtown Mesa businesses, the arts and entertainment district, Mesa City Plaza, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and special events in downtown Tempe and Phoenix. Valley Transit Constructors began building the extension in summer 2012. The project was funded by a $75 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), $71 million in countywide transportation tax funds and $53 million in federal air quality funds. . . . "There's no doubt that Phoenix is going to continue to grow. Even during the recession, we held steady," Smith says. "And now growth is back — not as much as the boom times, but it’s a significant number. We added over 100,000 people last year."
And transit can only help by moving that population growth from outlying suburbs back to the urban areas, he says.
"We fill in the hole of the doughnut with public transportation and that’s the exciting thing," Smith adds. "We are creating an opportunity to redevelop those areas that were left behind in urban sprawl. And we’re seeing a lot of new development touched by rail."
Valley Metro's Smith agrees that light rail has helped attract development to the region. In the future, he’d like the agency to work more with developers to foster projects that “connect” with light-rail service. "We're expanding our educational efforts to make sure that when developers look at areas along our rail line, they look at them not as just another piece of real estate, but as something that could have a higher value if it integrates light-rail into the development," says Smith. With all that to digest, Smith acknowledges he's balancing a full plate. But his charge is to get the agency back in order by the time the new executive steps in. The position is expected to be posted by early June — he will not be a candidate — and filled by year's end, Smith says.
According to a report in Plastics Today on June 22, 2016 manufacturing operations in the 180,000-square-foot facility are expected to commence by the second quarter of 2017. . . Mesa Mayor John Giles told KJJZ.org that the city is offering to pay Dexcom $750 for each Mesa resident it hires. The incentive is capped at 300 hires, which would represent atotalcosttothecityof$225,000. The company projects creating more than 500 jobs over the next several years.
Dexcom (Nasdaq: DXCM), a San Diego-based continuous glucose monitoring manufacturer, is taking a 216,000-square-foot building on South Dobson Road near Loop 101 in Mesa’s Fiesta District.
DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) insiders have most recently took part in a trading activity. On 6/9/2016 Lister John, General Manager, EMEA sold 3,560 shares ...
Dexcom (DXCM) was the worst-performing stock within the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI) on May 26, 2016. The stock went down by ...
DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued on Wednesday. They currently have a $112.00 price objective on the medical device company’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 52.59% from the company’s current price.
DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) opened at 73.40 on Wednesday. DexCom has a one year low of $47.92 and a one year high of $103.29. The company’s market capitalization is $6.12 billion. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.47 and its 200 day moving average is $69.38.
DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 27th. The medical device company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $116.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. DexCom’s revenue was up 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that DexCom will post ($0.36) EPS for the current year.In other DexCom news, insider Jorge A. Valdes sold 18,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $1,299,818.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 101,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,326,124.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jess Roper sold 3,470 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.00, for a total value of $239,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,361,110. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Other large investors recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Capital Management bought a new stake in DexCom during the third quarter worth $8,500,000. Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its position in shares of DexCom by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Shaker Investments LLC
OH now owns 96,165 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $7,876,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of DexCom by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 21,788 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. Russell Frank Co increased its position in shares of DexCom by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Frank Co now owns 205,160 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $16,897,000 after buying an additional 21,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of DexCom by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 90,342 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $7,399,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter.
A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on DXCM. Jefferies Group raised their price objective on DexCom from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 24th. Leerink Swann dropped their price target on DexCom from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of DexCom in a report on Wednesday, February 24th. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of DexCom in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of DexCom in a report on Monday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $94.09.
Dexcom, Inc (Dexcom) is a medical device company. The Company is focused on the design, development and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring systems for ambulatory use by people with diabetes and for use by healthcare providers for the treatment of people with and without diabetes. Its products include SEVEN PLUS, DexCom G4, DexCom G4 PLATINUM, DexCom Share System and DexCom G5 Mobile.
Dexcom won’t drive the artificial pancreas initiative. We will remain focused on our mission to replace finger-sticks. One thing that I learned long ago is to be really good at one thing, and don’t stray too far outside of that area expertise, because it will dilute your efforts.
Remarks from this online interview
We are the market leader in CGM. There are only two approved CGM devices on the U.S. market; the other is from my former company. We have over 50 percent share in the market despite being a much smaller company. Medtronic has actually made the public statement that Dexcom spends more money on CGM than it does, and that’s true, which is why we are in this position. MDO: Obviously, Medtronic is also a competitor in the CGM space. What is your strategy for competing with large, established players like them in this space?
There were times in Dexcom’s history that were extremely challenging. Back in late 2008, the markets had turned very bad. We were struggling as a company. We had introduced the Seven Plus CGM system, but we were running out of money. A large shareholder had to dump 3 million shares of our stock in a few days. As a result the share price plummeted to $1.39. Luckily, I had the wherewithal to step in and buy a significant number of shares in the open market to indicate my confidence in the company. Today, we trade at $50.00 a share, but there were very lean times.
However, we never lost our mission view. I never told anyone how dire our situation was — only a handful of people, including the board, knew. But we rallied. I said, “I’ll figure out a way to get us money.” That pit bull mentality is critical. Once you latch on to something, don’t let go. You’ll find a way. It may be tough, but you’ll find a way. Gregg: The biggest challenge I see in front of us is a very rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Under the Accountable Care Act and other activities, you can see the writing on the wall for physicians — they are going to get paid for performance. I think the medical device industry is slightly behind that revolution in the way healthcare is delivered...you will certainly see us move back into the hospital arena with a subcutaneous sensor
The sad thing right now is that there are 64-year-olds with private insurance who have had great success managing their diabetes with CGM, but they are facing the loss of reimbursement coverage as they migrate to Medicare. Dexcom is working on some initiatives to create opportunities for those truly needy patients. If they don’t have coverage, we will try to figure out something that can help them financially to acquire the product. For example, we have created a foundation that employees — including Dexcom executives — will spend their money to populate. It will be launched in the first part of 2015
