Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Extreme Proton Wave Striking Earth Now!

Good narration, Heads up
Published on Dec 19, 2016
Views: 114,291
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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

HUD AWARDS NEARLY $2 BILLION FOR LOCAL HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD NEWS
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Julián Castro, Secretary
Office of Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20410                       
                                                                                                
FOR RELEASE
 
 
Shantae Goodloe                                                                                               Tuesday
202-708-0685                                                                                                   December 20, 2016
http://www.hud.gov/news/index.cfm
 
Funding supports thousands of local homeless housing and service programs across the U.S.
 
            WASHINGTON – As part of the Obama Administration’s effort to prevent and end homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded a record $1.95 billion in grants to nearly 7,600 homeless assistance programs across throughout the nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  HUD’s Continuum of Care grants provide critically needed support to local programs on the front lines of serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness. View a complete list of all the state and local homeless projects awarded funding.
 
This year, HUD continued to challenge state and local planning organizations called “Continuums of Care” to support their highest performing local programs that have proven most effective in meeting the needs of persons experiencing homelessness in their communities.  Many of these state and local planners also embraced HUD’s call to shift funds from existing underperforming projects to create new ones that are based on best practices that will further their efforts to prevent and end homelessness. 
 “Today marks another critical investment in support of those working each and every day to house and serve our most vulnerable neighbors,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “We know how to end homelessness and will continue to encourage our local partners to use the latest evidence to achieve success. These grants support proven strategies to end homelessness once and for all.” 
“Continuums of Care across the nation are acting with urgency and resolve, with a focus on using federal resources as effectively and efficiently as possible,” said Matthew Doherty, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “The investments being made through these grants are absolutely critical to sustaining and building upon the progress communities are making toward ending homelessness.”
In 2010, President Obama and 19 federal agencies and offices that form the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) launched the nation’s first-ever comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness.  Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness puts the country on a path to end veterans and chronic homelessness as well as to end homelessness among children, family, and youth.
 
Each year, more than one million people experiencing homelessness are provided emergency, transitional, and permanent housing. The Department estimates there were 549,928 persons experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2016.  Since the launch of Opening Doors in 2010, local communities around the country report:
 
Ø  The total number of individuals experiencing homelessness declined by 14 percent;
Ø  Veteran homelessness fell by 47 percent;
Ø  Chronic homelessness declined 27 percent; and
Ø  Family homelessness declined by nearly 23 percent.
 
HUD has launched a robust effort to more accurately account for the youth and young adult population in the nation’s next count slated for next month.  Once local communities gather and report their 2017 data, HUD will issue a new national estimate in the Fall of 2017.
 
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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. 
 
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Whoa-AH! There’s a Jet Stream In Our Core That's Speeding Up

European Space Agency SWARM satellites reveal our plant earth has a stormy heart
19 December 2016
We would normally associate jet streams with the weather but, thanks to ESA’s magnetic field mission, scientists have discovered a jet stream deep below Earth’s surface – and it’s speeding up.
Launched in 2013, the trio of Swarm satellites are measuring and untangling the different magnetic fields that stem from Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere.
Together, these signals form the magnetic field that protects us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that stream towards Earth in solar winds.
Measuring the magnetic field is one of the few ways we can look deep inside our planet. As Chris Finlay from the Technical University of Denmark noted, “We know more about the Sun than Earth’s core because the Sun is not hidden from us by 3000 km of rock.”
The field exists because of an ocean of superheated, swirling liquid iron that makes up the outer core. Like a spinning conductor in a bicycle dynamo, this moving iron creates electrical currents, which in turn generate our continuously changing magnetic field.
Tracking changes in the magnetic field can, therefore, tell researchers how the iron in the core moves.
The accurate measurements by the unique constellation of Swarm satellites allow the different sources of magnetism to be separated, making the contribution from the core much clearer.
Earth’s stormy heart
A paper published today in Nature Geoscience describes how Swarm’s measurements have led to the discovery of a jet stream in the core.
Phil Livermore from the University of Leeds in the UK and lead author of the paper said, “Thanks to the mission we have gained new insights into the dynamics of Earth’s core and it’s the first time this jet stream has been seen, and not only that – we also understand why it’s there.”
One feature is a pattern of ‘flux patches’ in the northern hemisphere, mostly under Alaska and Siberia.
“These high-latitude flux patches are like bright spots in the magnetic field and they make it easy to see changes in the field,” explained Dr Livermore.
Swarm reveals that these changes are actually a jet stream moving at more than 40 km a year – three times faster than typical outer-core speeds and hundreds of thousands of times faster than Earth’s tectonic plates move.
“We can explain it as acceleration in a band of core fluid circling the pole, like the jet stream in the atmosphere,” said Dr Livermore.
So, what is causing the jet stream and why is it speeding up so quickly?
The jet flows along a boundary between two different regions in the core. When material in the liquid core moves towards this boundary from both sides, the converging liquid is squeezed out sideways, forming the jet.
 
“Of course, you need a force to move the fluid towards the boundary,” says Prof. Rainer Hollerbach, also from the University of Leeds.
“This could be provided by buoyancy, or perhaps more likely from changes in the magnetic field within the core.”
As for what happens next, the Swarm team is watching and waiting.
Rune Floberghagen, ESA’s Swarm mission manager, added, “Further surprises are likely. The magnetic field is forever changing, and this could even make the jet stream switch direction.
“This feature is one of the first deep-Earth discoveries made possible by Swarm. With the unprecedented resolution now possible, it’s a very exciting time – we simply don’t know what we’ll discover next about our planet.”

Source : European Space Agency (ESA) - view original press release
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ADA COMPLIANCE: DECEMBER UPDATE from Mesa Chamber of Commerce

BACKGROUNDThanks to a Chamber member, we were informed a few months ago of the lawsuits being filed against businesses and property owners in and around Mesa. We held a small meeting right away, followed by a larger forum graciously hosted by Phoenix Marriott Mesa with Attorney Lindsay Leavitt from Jennings, Strouss, and Salmon, PLC presenting. We had a great forum and were able to share quite a bit of information.
Since that time the Arizona Attorney General's Office has taken action and is now working to resolve the legal challenges.


This is a recent update from the Arizona Attorney General's OfficeOn Wednesday, December 7, the Attorney General's Office just filed a Motion to Dismiss and Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, in which the AGO asked the Court to dismiss all of the 1,000+ Consolidated Cases without leave to amend.  Plaintiffs will now have a chance to respond to the Motion, and then we will have the ability to reply.  After that occurs, Judge Talamante may order oral argument, or may simply rule. 
 
 
In state court, the AGO's motion to dismiss is still pending, and AID's response is due December 27.
On December 12, Judge Wake held a hearing in federal court on whether to remand one case before him (AID v. MidFirst Bank) to state court.  Under the federal standard, if Judge Wake felt it was "absolutely certain" that a remand would be futile, he could dismiss the state claim instead of remanding.  As you'll recall, Judge Wake also raised some questions about potential ethical violations by AID's counsel.
The hearing lasted about two and a half hours.  Judge Wake extensively questioned AID about their injury (or lack thereof), their damages (or lack thereof), their settlement demands, their ethical responsibilities, and their theory of standing.  (Mr. Strojnik claimed that anyone, anywhere in the world could bring an AZDA claim as long as they had knowledge that any instance of non-compliance in Arizona existed.)  Notably, in this particular case, AID's settlement demand had dropped all the way down to $319.
Judge Wake allowed the State to participate as an amicus, and we were able to raise several points at the hearing, including: (1) AID's lack of standing under Arizona Supreme Court precedent; (2) AID's circumvention of the ADA by setting up an agreement with Mr. Strojnik in which Mr. Strojnik agrees to charge a $5,000 flat fee but then promises to "donate" the fee back to AID, thus allowing AID to collect more than it actually had to spend; and (3) the fact that many defendants are not, and were not, represented by counsel, and thus may not have realized how unreasonable AID's settlement demands were, or been able to see that AID presented inflated damages and fees amounts with no basis in fact or law. 
Judge Wake took the matter under advisement, and I will let you know when he issues a ruling.  Obviously, any ruling that he makes does not directly apply to any of the Consolidated Cases in state court, but his ruling could provide helpful information for Judge Talamante to consider when he is evaluating whether these cases should be dismissed and/or whether AID and its counsel should be sanctioned.
 
~Matthew
 Matthew du Mée | Office of the Arizona Attorney General
Senior Litigation Counsel

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Thanks to ABC15 Investigative Reporter, David Biscobing for his work on this story. Please follow David on his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/DaveBiscobing/
Aired on ABC15: August 3, 2016
 
Aired on ABC15: August 4, 2016
 
 
 
Link to story on KJZZ:
Pacific ADA Center
ADA questions and resources
 
Department of Justice's ADA Information Line
 
Aaron Ament
AEC Engineering
 
Peter Fischer
Access Architectural
 
Nick Ade
Signarama - East Mesa
 
Hank Drenth
Ace Asphalt
 
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?
Please do not hesitate to send any additional questions to Chamber CEO Sally Harrison, reach her by email at sharrison@mesachamber.org or by phone at (480) 481-7780.    
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Ducey Is Coming To Town


Governor's Breakfast 
When: January 12, 2017, 7:00am-9:00am
Where: Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West
Canyon Ballroom D, 860 N. Riverview, Mesa, AZ 85201 
Click the Image Below to Register Online:
 
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BEA Release: Decelarating State Personal Income: Third Quarter 2016

News Release
EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT
8:30 A.M. EST
State Personal Income: Q3 2016
State personal income growth decelerated to 1.1 percent on average in the third quarter of 2016 from 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal income grew in every state in the second-quarter with growth rates ranging from 0.4 percent in Oklahoma to 1.4 percent in South Dakota (table 1).
For the full release and tables, visit http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/sqpi_newsrelease.htm.


Earnings. Earnings increased 1.3 percent in the third quarter of 2016 and was the leading contributor to growth in personal income in most states (table 2).
Both personal income and earnings grew faster in South Dakota than in any other state. Growth in farm earnings and in finance and insurance earnings were the leading contributors to the 1.8 percent growth in total earnings (table 3).
The next fastest growing states were Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Oregon where personal income grew 1.3 percent.
In Pennsylvania, growth in health care and social assistance earnings and in professional, scientific, and technical services earnings were the leading contributors to the 1.4 percent growth in total earnings.
In Minnesota, growth in health care and social assistance earnings and in finance and insurance earnings were the leading contributors to the 1.6 percent growth in total earnings.
In Massachusetts, growth in professional , scientific, and technical services earnings and in finance and insurance earnings were the leading contributors to the 1.5 percent growth in total earnings.
In Oregon, growth in state and local government earnings and in professional, scientific, and technical services earnings were the leading contributors to the 1.7 percent growth in total earnings.For the nation, earnings grew in 22 of the 24 industries for which BEA prepares quarterly estimates (table 5). Growth in professional, scientific, and technical services; health care and social assistance; and finance and insurance were the leading contributors to overall growth in personal income.
Mining earnings fell 1.4 percent nationally in the third quarter, the eighth consecutive quarterly decline. Lower mining earnings contributed to below average earnings and personal income growth in the five slowest growing states: Montana, New Mexico, West Virginia, Wyoming and Oklahoma. In Montana, the leading contributor to slower income growth was the health care and social assistance industry where earnings declined in the third quarter after bonuses were paid in the second quarter. In West Virginia and Oklahoma, declines in state and local government earnings were the leading contributors to slower income growth.
Updates to Personal Income. Today, BEA also released revised quarterly personal income estimates for 2016:Q1 to 2016:Q2. Revisions were made to incorporate source data that are more complete and more detailed than previously available, and to align the states with revised national estimates.
###
Technical Contact
Matthew von Kerczek(301) 278-9250reis@bea.gov
David Lenze(301) 278-9292 
Media Contact
Jeannine Aversa(301) 278-9003jeannine.aversa@bea.gov
Thomas Dail thomas.dail@bea.gov
twitter.com/BEA_Newsblog.bea.govwww.bea.gov/_subscribe
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Ideas for Shopping Local: Cheers!

10 cool gift ideas for the holidays or anytime
Post Date: 12/19/2016 10:25 AM     
It’s the most wonderful time of the year when we’re filled with holiday cheer.
If you’re in the giving spirit, we offer a few fun gift suggestions for the season or for any time.  



Under $5
Mars Mud putty (ages 5+) - $3.49
Teeny Tys stuffed characters (ages 3+) - $3.99
Hape Mighty Mini bamboo toy cars (ages 3+) - $4.99
Water Wow! water reveal pads (ages 3+) - $4.99 
Under $10
Switch Pitch Ball (ages 4+) - $8.99
Play Foam sets (ages 3+) - $9.99
Hape magnetic train sets (ages 3+) - $9.99
Under $25
4D Master Amazing MaBoRun educational science toy (ages 6+) - $19.99
Stickbot Studio Pro animation toy (ages 4+) - $24.99
Learning Resources STEM Gears Starter Building Set (ages 3+) - $24.99 
“The museum features a wide variety of educational and creative toys that inspire imagination and fun,” said i.d.e.a. Museum Membership Director Darlene Zajda. “Our staff can help you select the perfect gift. Plus, museum members get 10 percent off regular shop prices.”  
Also, several books and toys are currently discounted 50 percent off. Check with Visitor Services staff for details.  
Memberships start at $55. Select memberships are on sale through Dec. 30. 
The museum shop is open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays and most government holidays.
Learn more: ideaMuseum.org.
-30-
Dec. 19, 2016 
i.d.e.a. Museum
Yvette Armendariz
Marketing and Public Relations Director
480.644.4129
Yvette.Armendariz@mesaaz.gov
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