Guest blog: Announcing the Open-Source beaR Library

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hey, R programmers! The beaR library is coming soon to help you search and visualize BEA’s economic data.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHOpenData?src=hash">#WHOpenData</a> <a href="https://t.co/zSv4TRs101">https://t.co/zSv4TRs101</a> <a href="https://t.co/zRaeBL2hwP">pic.twitter.com/zRaeBL2hwP</a></p>&mdash; BEA News (@BEA_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/BEA_News/status/781210753265180673">September 28, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

This is a guest blog by Justin Antonipillai – Counselor to Secretary Penny Pritzker, with the Delegated Duties of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
Open data is core to President Obama’s leadership and legacy with the most transparent and data-driven government in history. Today, September 28, 2016, the White House, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Data Foundation are hosting the first-ever White House Open Data Innovation Summit to showcase open data solutions and data-driven innovations at all scales of government.

At Commerce we understand the importance of data as a valuable national resource and a strategic asset to the U.S. government and its citizens. We are working diligently to develop new tools to make our data more open, accessible and easier to consume for data scientists, data journalists, statisticians and others.
To that end, I am pleased to announce the beaR Library, a new open-source tool developed with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) for users of the R programming language.
For those of you not familiar with R, it is an open-source programming language and one of the most popular tools in data science today. Over the last 20 years, statisticians from all parts of the world have contributed their innovations to open source R. These contributions mean that developers have access to a large library of cutting-edge scientific algorithms that make it possible to rapidly build intelligent analytic applications.
Read more >> https://blog.bea.gov/2016/09/28/guest-blog-white-house-open-data-innovation-summit/

Arizona-Sonora MegaRegion

DID YOU KNOW?         680 Million people within a one-hour drive

Published on Jun 26, 2016

Views: 600

Discover what the Arizona-Sonora Megaregion can do for your business!
Visit www.megaregion.com for more information

Even when your MesaZona blogger lived in New York City he was [and is] a big promoter for Mexico ...

Mesa City Council Meeting Mon 03 Oct 2016

More information
Link to access a.PDF for meeting agenda: http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Mayor's Welcome
Roll Call (Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)
Invocation by Pastor Ken Dutton with Without Walls Church.
Pledge of Allegiance
Awards, Recognitions and Announcements

1 Take action on all consent agenda items.
Items on the Consent Agenda 16-1025 Approval of minutes of previous meetings as written.*2
3 Take action on the following liquor license applications: 16-1017 Grand Canyon Council, Boy Scouts of America
This is a one-day charitable event to be held on Saturday, December 03, 2016 from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., at 2100 West Rio Salado Parkway. (District 1)
*3-a
16-1018 East Mesa Aerie #4508 Fraternal Order of Eagles
A social club is requesting a new Series 14 Club License for East Mesa Aerie #4508 Fraternal Order of Eagles, 6215 East Main Street, Suite 2 - Robert George Schmidt, agent.  There is no existing license at this location. (District 2)
*3-b
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October 3, 2016City Council Meeting Agenda - Final
4 Take action on the following contracts: 16-1008 One-Year Renewal of the Term Contract for Hydraulic Hose and Fittings for the Fleet Services Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide for the purchase and delivery of Parker-brand automotive and truck hydraulic hose and fittings required for the City's medium and heavy-duty vehicles and equipment. 
Fleet Services and Purchasing recommend authorizing a renewal with FleetPride (a Mesa business), at $102,000 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*4-a
16-1009 Purchase of 32 Replacement Portable and 19 Replacement Mobile Two-Way Radios, Accessories and Related Equipment for the Fire and Medical Department (Citywide)
The Fire and Medical Department currently utilizes the Motorola APX series of portable and mobile two-way digital radios as their standard for the City’s firefighters, paramedics and fleet of emergency response apparatus.  These digital dual-band portable radios are part of the Fire and Medical Department replacement / upgrade program to allow for a one radio communication solution that ensures each firefighter and fire apparatus has the capability of communicating on dual frequency bands (700/800 MHz and VHF) prior to the entire Phoenix-Mesa metro region transitioning to VHF for hazard-zone communications in June 2017.
The Fire and Medical Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing the purchase using the Maricopa County cooperative contract with Motorola Solutions, Inc., at $389,840.31, based on estimated requirements.  This purchase is funded by the Capital - General Fund.
*4-b
16-1011 Three-Year Term Contract for Armored Car Services for Various City Locations and Departments (Single Proposal) (Citywide)
This contract provides armored car services and delivery of sealed shipments of cash and check deposits as required by various City locations including Mesa Police Records, Mesa Arts Center, East Mesa Service Center, Municipal Court, Customer Service, Parks and Recreation, and the Mesa Convention Center. 
The evaluation committee recommends awarding the contract to the single proposal from Dunbar Armored, Inc., at $29,500 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*4-c
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October 3, 2016City Council Meeting Agenda - Final
16-1012 One-Year Renewal of the Term Contract for Uniform Garment Rental for various City Departments (Citywide)
This contract provides for the rental of uniform garments to approximately 280 City employees from various departments. The garments furnished by the contractor will be maintained through routine laundering, pressing and repairing to provide a safe and clean appearance for City personnel. 
Purchasing recommends authorizing a renewal with Unifirst Corporation, at $160,000 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*4-d
16-1010 Contract Amendment and Dollar-Limit Increase to the Term Contract for Landscape Maintenance Services for Zones 1, 2 and 4 - Parks, Retention Basins and Sports Fields for the Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) Department (Districts 4 and 6)
The increase of $16,274.25 is necessary for the addition of landscaping maintenance services at Gene Autry Tennis Center in Zone 2, to include:  weekly cleaning, bi-weekly mowing and sprinkler system maintenance plus a 20% contingency for extra work, to meet the requirements through the end of the contract term.  With this request, the accumulated changes require Council action.
The Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing a contract amendment and dollar-limit increase of $16,274.75 with Mariposa Landscape Arizona, Inc., increasing the contract amount from $2,774,630.10 to $2,790,904.85 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*4-e
16-1014 Purchase of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Software, Licensing and Software Maintenance for the New Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant, as requested by the Water Resources Department (Sole Source) (Citywide)
SCADA software is used to monitor and control the four utilities; Water, Wastewater, Gas and Electric.  This software is the heart of the utilities system, which allows operations to monitor and control water pressures, monitor wastewater collection, monitor gas pressures, and monitor and control the electric substations.  This purchase will match existing SCADA software throughout the entire Utilities operation. 
The Water Resources Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing the purchase with the sole source vendor, GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc., at $53,502.24, based on estimated requirements.
*4-f
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October 3, 2016City Council Meeting Agenda - Final
5 Take action on the following resolutions: 16-1004 Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Arizona State Forestry Division for the protection of state forests and wildlands.  The agreement establishes the terms for allocation of resources and reimbursement for fire suppression, activities, equipment, and personnel services. (Citywide) *5-a 16-1006 Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Lease Agreement for the City-owned property located at 1240 East Main Street with Stacey and Witbeck/Sundt, the contractor for office space for the Gilbert Road Extension of the Light Rail Project. (District 4) *5-b 16-1013 Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Design and Construction Agreement with Valley Metro Rail, Inc. (METRO) for a pedestrian traffic signal at LeSueur and Main Street. (District 4)
Under this Agreement, the City is responsible for reimbursing METRO for the construction of the project.  The project construction cost is $165,398.24 with a 10% contingency of $16,539.82 for a total construction amount of $181,938.06.  Funding is available from Local Street Sales Tax.
*5-c
16-0971 Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for the receipt and distribution of Proposition 202 funds in the total amount $975,000. (Citywide)
Under this Agreement, $725,000 is awarded to the following City of Mesa programs:  the Mesa Fire and Medical Regional Dispatch Center and Emergency Operations Center ($500,180), the Fire and Medical Immunization program ($85,000), the Police Department License Plate Readers ($79,060), and Mesa Counts on College GED Prep ($60,760). The balance of the funds will be distributed to other local community agencies, including A New Leaf, Child Crisis Center, Gene Lewis Boxing Club, and United Food Bank.
*5-d
16-1035 Approving and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a First Amendment to the Pre-Annexation and Development Agreement with Empire Southwest, LLC and Mesa Campus, LLC extending the term of the Development Agreement and to maintain Empire Southwest, LLC’s principal corporate office in Mesa with job retention requirements. (District 4)
*5-e
Page 5 City of Mesa Printed on 9/29/2016
October 3, 2016City Council Meeting Agenda - Final
Items not on the Consent Agenda
6 Items from citizens present.  (Maximum of three speakers for three minutes per speaker).
7 Adjournment.
The Council may vote to hold an executive session for the purposes of obtaining legal advice from the City Attorney (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(3)) or to discuss and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))

Council Study Session - 9/29/2016

Fast Look Under 2 Minutes : Grand Opening of Southern Ave Villas

Narrated by Kevin Christopher

Published on Sep 29, 2016

Views: only 7

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the grand opening of Southern Ave. Villas in the Fiesta District.

Pie Commits A Hate Crime

 ???

 

Published on Oct 2, 2016

Views: 3,430

Freedom of speech is for everyone: including sexists and Trump!

Still Out There: Boy Band From Mesa: Jimmy Eat World

The good news for us old fogies is that the band from Mesa, Arizona is still out there making new albums ....
Watch video of the band performing on The Colbert Show
http://nerdist.com/jimmy-eat-world-played-new-song-sure-and-certain-on-colbert/