Aw-Awh > Earth's Shields Collapse into the Satellite Band

Published on Jan 18, 2017

Views: 22,223

All Links @ http://www.BPEarthWatch.Com Sudden Spike in Radiation/Italy Quakes/Alaska Volcano Erupts.ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska volcano active since mid-December has erupted again.
Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutian lslands erupted at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday and sent up an ash cloud estimated at 31,000 feet.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the aviation threat code to red, the highest level. Ash clouds higher than 20,000 feet are a threat to intercontinental jet aircraft because ash can damage engines.
The cloud height was reported by pilots.

Satellite imagery indicates the cloud was moving to the northeast over the Bering Sea.

Bogoslof Volcano is 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. The volcano erupted Dec. 16 and more than a dozen times since

Mesa City Council Study Session with 3 New Members - 1/19/2017

What a difference! WATCH

...and finally action taken on city parks here, five years after taxpayer-approved funding for million$ in 2012

One LDS Story: Just Some of the History of Mesa Arizona

 Subject to revision of course ...

Uploaded on Nov 6, 2009

Views: 453

Story of the history of Mesa, Arizona

The New Mesa City Council? First Study Session Final Agenda for Jan 19, 2016 @

A week after the official Swearing-In ceremonies, the 'Men In Gray' are still on the official landing page for the city's official website retrieved=mqfter 5 pm 1.18.2017
The Mesa City Council believes that its people, not leaders, are what makes a City great and actively works to encourage citizen participation in the decision-making process. Whether it is through neighborhood meetings, advisory boards and committees, telephone calls and letters, or email, the Mesa City Council sets policies based on the input and needs of its citizens. 

Here are the members Link > http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/mayor-council
Mayor John Giles
Councilmember Mark Freeman - District 1
Councilmember Jeremy Whittaker - District 2
Councilmember Ryan Winkle - District 3
Councilmember Christopher Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna- District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6

Note: Excerpts from agendas from links provided > http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

City Council Study Session
Meeting Agenda - Final
Mesa Council Chambers 57 East First Street
7:30 AM Thursday, January 19, 2017

Mayor John Giles will be absent. Councilmember David Luna in charge 

Roll Call
Mesa City Councilmembers will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)

1 Review items on the agenda for the January 23, 2017 regular Council meeting.
PLEASE SEE the 6-page TENTATIVE AGENDA BELOW

2 Presentations/Action Items:
2-a 17-0092 Hear a presentation and discuss an update of the Parks and Recreation Bond Program
17-0081

3 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects

4 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees.
 
4-a 17-0078 Housing and Community Development Advisory Board meeting held on December 1, 2016.
4-b 17-0084 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting held on November 9, 2016.

5 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended.

6 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

7 Adjournment.
Any citizen wishing to speak on an agenda item should complete and turn in a blue card to the City Clerk before that item is presented.

Monday, January 23, 2017 5:45 PM
Mesa City Council Regular Meeting
Council Chambers 57 E. First Street
Meeting Agenda - Tentative
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION All citizens are permitted and encouraged to speak on agenda items including and preceding “Items from citizens present.” If you are interested in speaking on such an agenda item, please fill out a blue card in the back of the room and give it to the City Clerk.  When the Council considers the item, you will be called to the podium to provide your comments.
The City of Mesa is committed to making its public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities.  For special accommodations, please contact the City Manager’s Office at (480) 644-3333 or AzRelay 7-1-1 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
Si necesita asistencia o traducción en español, favor de llamar al menos 48 horas antes de la reunión al 480-644-2767.
CONSENT AGENDA All items listed with an asterisk (*) will be considered as a group by the City Council and will be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Councilmember or citizen requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item.  If a citizen wants an item removed from the consent agenda, a blue card must be completed and given to the City Clerk prior to the Council’s vote on the consent agenda.
City Council

Page 2
Mayor's Welcome
Roll Call (Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)
Invocation by Anita Rangaswami with the Hindu Faith.
Pledge of Allegiance
Awards, Recognitions and Announcements
1 Selection of the Vice Mayor
.
2 Take action on all consent agenda items.
Items on the Consent Agenda 17-0072

Approval of minutes of previous meetings as written.*3

4 Take action on the following liquor license application:
17-0061 Abate of Arizona Inc. 
This is a two-day charitable event to be held on Friday, March 31, 2017 from 12:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M., and Saturday, April 1, 2017 from 10:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., at 922 South Country Club Drive. (District 4)
*4-a

5 Take action on the following contracts:

17-0055
Three-Year Term Contract for Engineered Wood Fiber for the Parks Recreation and Community Facilities Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide the engineered virgin wood fiber that is used to refurbish the safety surface under and around playground equipment at various park playgrounds throughout the City. 
The Parks Recreation and Community Facilities Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing a three-year contract with the lowest, responsive and responsible bidder, Canyon Country Mill & Resources Inc., at $43,134 annually, based on estimated requirements.

Page 3
17-0068
 Purchase of 22 Height-Adjustable Workstations and Seven Tables for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department (Citywide)
This purchase will provide 22 height-adjustable workstations with monitor mounts, 6 stationary work tables, and 1 conference table for the new Regional Fire and Medical Dispatch and Emergency Operations Center facility.
The Fire and Medical Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing the purchase from the contract with WIST Office Supplies, at $40,839.32. 
This purchase is funded by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 12% Contribution Gaming Grant.
*5-b
17-0069 Three-Year Term Contract for Interpreter/Translation Services for the Police Department, Municipal Court, City Clerk, and Community Services Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide multiple qualified foreign language (certified interpreters and/or translators) to provide interpretation/translation services to the City on an as-needed basis to include in-person, over the phone, as well as document interpretation, American Sign Language, and/or translation services.
The evaluation committee recommends awarding the contract to the highest-scored proposals from:  AZ Language Solutions LLC; CyraCom International, Inc., dba Voiance Language Services, LLC; Finger Works, Inc.; Language Connection; Language Line Services, Inc.; Spanish Media & Translation Services, LLC (a Mesa business); and Topete/Stonefield, Inc.; cumulatively not to exceed $100,000 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*5-c
17-0023 Three-Year Term Contract for Microfilm Conversion Services for the Police Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide services to convert Police Department data from microfilm to digital media. The microfilm is becoming worn and damaged and the equipment to read the microfilm is outdated. This service will create redundancy and a recovery process in case of disaster. The conversion will also reduce the need for storage space and make records readily available for viewing.
The Police Department and Purchasing recommend awarding the contract to the highest-scored proposal from ICM Conversions, Inc., dba ICM Document Solutions, for a total contract amount of $300,000, based on estimated requirements.

4
17-0060 Purchase of Modular Furniture, Workstations and Chairs for the Police Department, Superstition Substation (District 6)
This purchase will provide updated modular furniture, workstations and chairs for the sergeant, CIU/SCU and report writing areas of the substation.
The Police Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing the purchase using the State of Arizona cooperative contract with Arizona Furnishings at $81,604.42.
*5-e
17-0054 Three-Year Term Contract to Provide and Install Traffic Delineators for the Transportation Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide a preformed curb and delineator system to be used as part of the establishment of separated bike lanes on City streets where identified. 
Transportation and Purchasing recommend authorizing a three-year contract with the lowest, responsive and responsible bidder, Five G Inc., at $165,000 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*5-f
17-0070 Dollar-Limit Adjustments for Solid Waste Disposal, Recyclable Material Processing, and Vegetative Waste Processing Services as requested by the Environmental Management and Sustainability Department (Citywide)
An increase is needed for the 2016 term (1/1/2016 to 12/31/2016) to pay the December 2016 invoices for tipping fees for solid waste and green waste, and recycling fees.  Environmental Management and Sustainability completed a tonnage analysis for the 2017 term (1/1/2017 through 12/31/2017), and is requesting a contract limit of $7,325,000, which includes the vendors’ rate increases, ranging from 1.64% to 2.3%, for refuse and green waste disposal, tonnage volume increases of 3%, as well as a contingency of 3%.
The Environmental Management and Sustainability Department and Purchasing recommend authorizing a dollar-limit increase of $155,000 for 2016, increasing the annual contract amount from $6,800,000 to $6,955,000; and authorizing a dollar-limit for the 2017 term contract in the amount of $7,325,000; with Salt River Commercial Landfill Company, dba Salt River Landfill; Republic Services, dba Allied Waste Transportation, Inc., Allied Transfer Services of Arizona, LLC, Allied Waste Transfer Services of Arizona, LLC; Waste Management of Arizona, Inc.; ReCommunity; United Fibers, LLC; and Waste Technologies, LLC, dba Right Away Disposal; based on estimated requirements.

Page 5
17-0051 Three-Year Term Contract to Repair and Refurbish Metal Bins and Roll-Off Containers for the Environmental Management and Sustainability Department (Citywide)
This contract will provide repair and refurbishment of the metal bins and roll-off containers used to service commercial and residential solid waste customers. These bins and containers become damaged over time due to normal usage, wear and tear.
The evaluation committee recommends awarding the contract to the two respondents: Wastebuilt LLC, and Colby Welding & Radiator Inc., cumulatively not to exceed $150,000 annually, based on estimated requirements.
*5-h
17-0033 Kleinman Park Renovation - Construction Manager at Risk (District 4)
In 2012, Mesa voters approved a Parks Bond Program.  Included in this bond program was the Kleinman Park Renovation Project. Through community outreach, the project was programmed to include the removal of the existing tennis concession building, removal and replacement of three existing tennis courts due to extensive concrete cracking,  four new pickle ball courts, replacement of perimeter court fencing, replacement of the existing asphaltic wheels court with a new lighted turf area, light emitting diode (LED) lighting upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking upgrades, ADA restroom renovation, new drinking fountain, new ballfield backstop and dugout fencing, and ADA concrete pavement improvements.  
Staff recommends awarding the contract for this project to D.L. Withers Construction in the amount of $1,243,748.10, based upon a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $1,184,522, plus an additional $59,226.10 (5%) as a change order allowance.  This allowance will only be utilized for approved change orders. Funding is available from the 2012 Parks Bond Program.
*5-i
6 Take action on the following resolution:
17-0058 Z16-058 (District 6)  6442 East Test Drive.  Located west of Power Road and south of US Highway 60 (1 ± acres).  Site Plan Review.  This request will allow for the development of an office building.  Paul E. Gilbert, Beus Gilbert PLLC, applicant; FCA Realty, LLC, owner. 
Staff Recommendation:  Approval with conditions P&Z Board Recommendation:  Approval with conditions (Vote:6-0)

 

 

7 Introduction of the following ordinances and setting February 6, 2017 as the date of the public hearing on these ordinances:

 

17-0052 Z16-057 (District 5) 

The 3200 to 3300 blocks of Red Mountain Drive (west side).  Located east of Power Road and north of the Loop 202 (13 ± acres).  Rezoning from RS-90 to RS-9-PAD; Site Plan Review.  Paul Dugas, Blandford Homes, applicant; Desert Vista 100, owner.
Staff Recommendation:  Approval with conditions P&Z Board Recommendation:  Approval with conditions (Vote:6-0)
*7-a

17-0053 Z16-059 (District 6) 

The 4200 block of South Power Road (east side).  Located north of Warner Road on the east side of Power Road (2.3 ± acres).  Rezoning from LC-AF-PAD to LI-AF-PAD; Site Plan Modification; and Council Use Permit to allow retail uses within the LI zoning district.  This request will allow development of office with light manufacturing and car wash.  Trudy Licano, applicant; Powergate Investments LLC & GBSP LLC, owner. 
Staff Recommendation:  Approval with conditions P&Z Board Recommendation:  Approval with conditions (Vote:6-0)
*7-b
Items not on the Consent Agenda
8 Items from citizens present.  (Maximum of three speakers for three minutes per speaker).
9 Adjournment.

Veterans Homelessness: Mesa Mayor John Giles Uses "Double-Talk" @ U.S. Conference of Mayors 2017

Last year - as noted on the blog site - mayors of two cities, New Orleans LA and Mesa AZ - were named as Co-Chairs for the Committee To End Veterans Homelessness in 2016 taking a pledge to do so One mayor accomplished that goal and one did not - Mitch Landrieu succeeded. John Giles did not. . . maybe he was too busy with his highly partisan privately-financed by special-interest groups $500,000 bogus PR campaign to sell a tax hike that got rejected by voters.

Veterans homelessness is a very visible "issue" here in Mesa in spite of all the hype from City Hall and the Mayor's office
Homeless camp threatened by ADOT, but can stay for now

By Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer Dec 23, 2016

A group of homeless veterans and non-veterans camped near a Mesa freeway won a temporary Christmas reprieve from the Arizona Department of Transportation, after ADOT initially told them they had to leave by Saturday.
“Camp Alpha,” run by Veterans on Patrol, has been operating west of Country Club Drive and north of McKellips Road for about a year, but is now at its third location after running into resistance from some businesses and government agencies.
Camp organizer Lewis Arthur said he has been on a “search and rescue mission” to find homeless veterans since the summer of 2015, after the U.S. government said they no longer existed. He readily admits that many people at the camps have substance abuse issues and psychological issues stemming from their military service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Read entire report from less than four weeks ago here

If you didn't get a chance to watch the live video yesterday, this article from Cronkite News written by Joseph Guzman appeared yesterday:
Giles says veteran homelessness in Mesa nears ‘functional zero’
Mesa Mayor John Giles, speaking at a conference of mayors in Washington, D.C., said his city’s efforts to help homeless veterans have brought it close to ‘functional zero’ for the number of vets in need of shelter. (Photo above left by Joseph Guzman/Cronkite News)
The Department of Housing and Urban Development gives cities the “functional zero” designation when they meet strict criteria in relation to permanent housing placement for veterans, the length of time vets are homeless and the number of homeless in the community.
Giles added that very few communities that have participated in the program have met the criteria to be considered a function zero city.
WHAT? All of these cities achieved their goal: [ Information from HUD Portal ]
Albany, NY
Austin, TX
Bergen County, NJ
Buffalo/Western New York
Commonwealth of Virginia
Cumberland County/Fayetteville, NC
Des Moines, IA
Flagler County, FL
Hattiesburg, MS
Houston, TX
Lancaster City & County, PA
Las Cruces, NM
Las Vegas, NV
Long Island, NY
Lynn, MA
Middlesex County, NJ
Mississippi Gulfport/Gulf Coast Regional CoC
Mobile, AL
Montgomery County, MD
New Orleans, LA
Philadelphia, PA
Reading/Berks County, PA
Rochester, NY
Rockford, IL
San Antonio, TX
Saratoga Springs, NY
Schenectady, NY
State of Connecticut
Syracuse, NY
Terrebonne Parish, LA
Troy, NY
Volusia County/Daytona Beach, FL
Winston-Salem, NCGiles noted that although Mesa has made significant strides in housing homeless veterans it has yet to be designated a functional zero city.


The United States Conference of Mayors' 85th Winter Meeting is taking place now January 17-19, 2017 in Washington, DC.
http://usmayors.org/85thWinterMeeting/

Mayor's Twitter account > https://twitter.com/MayorGiles

Game On This Weekend @ Mesa Convention Center

Board this weekend?

Arizona Game Fair launches in Mesa

January 18, 2017 

Source: Nerdvana Media

The first Arizona Game Fair gets rolling this weekend at the Mesa Convention Center’s Rendezvous Center.

In addition to more than 6,000 square feet of open gaming, badged attendees will find a huge library of board and card games they can “check out,” as well as organized board game, roleplaying game, card and miniature gaming events, vendors and encounters with guests who work in the game industry.
Never hopped aboard Ticket to Ride? Dying to try Boss Monster? Looking to stock up the game cupboard? This will be the time and place for all that and much, much more.
Industry guests include
Amanda and Edward from the Heavy Cardboard podcast (who will be at a meet-and-greet event 7 p.m. Friday)

• Tunnels & Trolls creator Ken St. Andre
• Flying Buffalo’s Rick Loomis
• game designer Michael Eskue
• Tasty Minstrel’s Seth Jaffe
• Game designer Daniel Keltner
• Game designer Tory Neumann
• Game designer David Short.

The fair runs 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Weekend badges cost $30, individual day badges $15 and under-12 “sidekick” badgets cost $10, all available online through Friday.

At the show, prices are $40 for the weekend, $20 individual day and also $10 for sidekicks.

For more information, see the Arizona Game Fair website, and be sure to read our interview with event mastermind Andrew Long — a longtime friend of mine and Nerdvana’s whom we’re proud to support.

Independent Journalist Jeremy Scahill Blows The Cover Off Shadow Trump Advisor Eric Prince

Story January 18, 2017
Blackwater Founder Erik Prince, the Brother of Betsy DeVos, Is Secretly Advising Trump

WATCH THE FULL SHOW >>

Source: Democracy Now 18 Jan 2017

 

The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill has revealed Betsy DeVos’s brother, Erik Prince, the founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater, has been quietly advising Trump’s transition team, including helping vet Cabinet picks. On election night, Prince’s wife, Stacy DeLuke, even posted pictures from inside Trump’s campaign headquarters. Democracy Now speaks to Scahill about his latest piece, "Notorious Mercenary Erik Prince Is Advising Trump from the Shadows."
GUEST: Jeremy Scahill

co-founder of The Intercept and author of the new article "Notorious Mercenary Erik Prince Is Advising Trump from the Shadows."

He is host of the new weekly podcast Intercepted, which premieres January 25.

Jeremy Scahill on Twitter >>   https://twitter.com/jeremyscahill

Blackwater Founder Forms Secret Army for Arab State - The New York ...

The New York Times190 × 285Search by image

Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi hired Erik Prince to build a fighting force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSCRIPT This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about Betsy DeVos’s brother, Erik Prince, who you’ve been talking about, the founder of Blackwater. In July, he spoke to Steve Bannon, who at the time was the head of Breitbart News, the white supremacist, white nationalist news site; Steve Bannon, who’s now Trump’s senior adviser. Prince said Trump should recreate a version of the Phoenix Program, the CIA assassination ring that operated during the Vietnam War, to fight ISIS.

ERIK PRINCE: It was a vicious, but very effective, kill/capture program in Vietnam that destroyed the Viet Cong as a military force. That’s what needs to be done to the funders of Islamic terror. And that would be even the—the wealthy radical Islamist billionaires funding it from the Middle East and any of the other illicit activities they’re in.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Erik Prince. The significance of what he’s saying here, Jeremy?
JEREMY SCAHILL: Well, you know, remember, Erik Prince views himself as the rightful heir to the legacy of "Wild Bill" Donovan, who was the head of the agency that was the precursor to the CIA. And, you know, immediately after 9/11, Erik Prince became very, very close to a number of people within the CIA and also Dick Cheney and Dick Cheney’s office. And they jointly came up with this idea that Erik Prince could run a kind of off-the-books hit squad that could roam the world conducting assassinations for the United States, and there would be no effective paper trail and no ability for Congress to engage in any oversight. Now, Leon Panetta, who was Obama’s CIA director early on in Obama’s term, said, "Oh, we shut down that program, and no one was ever killed." I don’t believe that for one moment. That was—that was part of the legacy of the Phoenix Program, that was a murderous death squad operation in Vietnam, that also included enhanced interrogation. What Erik Prince being around Trump indicates to me is that—
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about what you found out about election night and what his role is. We just have 50 seconds.
JEREMY SCAHILL: Right, well, Robert Mercer, the billionaire hedge funder, his daughter Rebekah ran one of the most important super PACs to Trump, Make America Number 1 super PAC. And Trump—and Erik Prince and his mother, Elsa, were two of the largest contributors to one of the most significant super PACs that supported Donald Trump. Erik Prince is very close to Robert Mercer. Prince was also at the "Heroes and Villains" party that Mercer threw in Long Island after the election. And, in fact, there’s a picture that Peter Thiel, the right-wing billionaire who destroyed Gawker—a picture of Peter Thiel, Donald Trump and Erik Prince, that Peter Thiel says is not safe for the internet. But it’s clear that Erik Prince, through Betsy DeVos, through Robert Mercer and through his very right-wing paramilitary crowd, has the ear of President-elect Donald Trump. And our understanding, from a very well-placed source, is that Prince has even been advising Trump on his selections for the staffing of the Defense Department and the State Department.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to have a post-show discussion and post it online at democracynow.org. That’s Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of The Intercept.

 

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Donald Trump's Top Foreign Adviser, Joseph Schmitz, is a Former Blackwater Executive

https://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/25/donald_trumps_top_foreign_adviser_joseph