IMAGINE + Re/THINK > Urban Planning In Urban Cities

To start off with, your MesaZona blogger tries to be mellow most of the time; he's not a credentialized AICP and does not possess a Master's degree in urban planning.

With that being said forthright, he's a fortunate guy, having lived for years in urban cities' experiences [note the plural] before being transplanted here in Mesa: moving as a kid from The Midwest to rural ocean-side Rhode Island and country-side Connecticut to four years of undergraduate studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC, two years in post-graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, then onto harbor-side Boston for six years in the North End and The Warehouse District along Fort Channel in South Boston, to twenty-two years in Manhattan/New York City both uptown and downtown - all around a wonderful town! - on the lower eastside/Westside "villages" and the Upper East Side and Upper West Side [1 block from Riverside Park and the East River and 3 blocks to Central Park[ in one of the most dynamic and diverse urban cities in the world and now here in the most conservative city in America. Go figure, right? It's been an eye-opener to say the least.
Call me a visionary on a mission in this city of Mesa - the third largest in the State of Arizona, the 5th biggest city in the United States and now the fastest growing with a spread-out sprawling population approaching 500,000 people. 
Fastest growth, however might not be the smartest as we have seen over years of so-called "urban planning" that's made a few wrong moves in the way off-the-mark directions, only to get looked at in hindsight when the consequences are evident looking back after the fact of misguided urban planning fiascos.  
Transplanted here into fertile ground for the imagination first in 2014, to your MesaZona blogger it seemed like an episode from The Twilight Zone with soon-to-be Mesa Mayor John Giles saying Mesa reminds him of the homey fictional much-mythologized TV series Mayberry RFD who apparently enjoys both figments of the imagination and idealized episodes in 1950's America - when in real-time Mesa was booming in the post-World War II era expanding horizontally in suburban sprawl, building "master-planned" communities.

Yours truly is a member of that so-called "Baby-Boom Generation" that's also called the brightest generation and on-the-way over years getting tagged as a "Yuppie" [for young urban professional] and here and now most personally being called to his face by the mayor "a rabble-rouser" and by some un-named others as "a trouble-maker". . . a very warm welcome indeed...Perhaps it was the resounding overnight loud lightning-in-the-skies that made some things in-mind go off like booms-in-the-night:

For example the most recent public relations blast from John Giles for ImagineMesa, asking for ideas to fill-in the blanks and holes in his short-sighted vision in the election campaign for Next Mesa. [see image to left of Imagine Mesa kick-off with a very young audience of what looks like school kids representing a small segment of Mesa's population]
Why bother to try to IMAGINEMESA some might ask when an earlier public relations stunt by ex-mayor Scott Smith called iMesa came up short with ideas and didn't deliver any desirable outcomes?

Likewise we got Pie-In-The-Sky plans just last year for a another downtown transformation [after the failed City Center plans] proposed by Mayor John Giles and unanimously approved by the entire Mesa City Council that was overwhelmingly rejected by taxpayers in spite of a $500,000+ private-financed Public relations fiasco that turned into an admitted 'screw-up' to rob-the-pockets Mesa taxpayers to pay for a plan that would handed profits to undisclosed private investors with "special interests"    ....not a good track record for transformative ideas from the bright minds inside City Hall or their "special interests".   
With a newly-appointed board of 15 members and an October deadline, whatever the 13 members and 2 Co-Chairs of IMAGINE MESA come up with is up for 'possible implementation'. Huh???

Ya gotta wonder how this can work when three Mesa City Council members, supporting John Giles's newest waste-of-time gimmick, pose for a goofy group-selfie at the public kick-off event for IMAGINEMesa like the one inserted at the left.
Any reasonable person might also ask if the qualifications for some of those appointed to serve on the board are inclusive of the local brains-and-ideas talent that can move this city forward:
A shutters and window fashion company owner?
The general manager of a golf resort?
A realtor?
A well-connected attorney?
An 'accounting/consulting firm' in Gilbert?

And, yes, Mesa Mayor John Giles does sometimes call his home-town weird in an attempt at humor - in the spirit of perhaps getting called another name by our charming mayor John Giles, it might be time to look ahead and take the next exit to the future.
Next Mesa - the name-of-the-game for your first term in-office is flat-lined growth followed by a downward slope where you can 'grease the skids' all you want.
Getting in the slow jam of the Giles Groove, even the Visitors Bureau for the City of Mesa had a good-go at WEIRD in this 3-minute video upload in 2014 [Complete copy of upload description inserted below after this post]

As you can see the 'weirdness' of the City of Mesa is limited to just a few points-of-view that do not engage the perspectives of everyone in the diverse population here.

We had a "Downtown Vision Committee" appointed by the mayor before 2014 - with no one who actually lived downtown on the committee!  
Now we have an ImagineMesa 15-member board tasked with what's outlined on these presentation boards shown to the right . . . a respected Co-Chair who will probably have to concede pre-determined results from a cohort of contacts nominated by the mayor, approved last week by the Mesa City Council. No questions asked.
We do have a wealth of human resources here to tap into to expand our shared imagination for this city in different forums, whether older ideas from the hometown base or newer ideas from those now living here from different backgrounds and different places in the world.
Perhaps we need to 'get out of-the-box' that's been back-pedaling on the future of Mesa, wondering what's next all the time . . . it's an inter-generational thing for sure, crossing the boundaries of an expansive imagination into real-life where experience counts.
Mesa is a Mecca for those who are 'retired'??? Retired from what? - from a job? from active life? from getting involved in everyday politics?  and things that go boom-in-the-night?

With all the talk for years here about "Transformation" here in The New Urban Downtown Mesa - we even have a person with the title of Director of Downtown Transformation - one of whose recent projects is a façade removal program from what was back in 1967 called "Beautification & Renewal" . . . but why deal with 'facades' when there just false fronts put up over mercantile storefronts with little or no outstanding architectural interest for a by-gone era when cars ruled Main Street?  
What is perhaps missing is a vision for A GREEN FUTURE that includes a more expansive vision to deal with what urban spaces can be including: loveable, live-able and walk-able open spaces, a mixed-residential/commercial integration of housing with more density, neighborhoods that are unique, renewable energy sources, transportation alternatives and reducing air pollution that's man-made using combustion and consumption of fossil-fuels.  
JUL 5: In an attempt to tackle air pollution, China is planning on building what it says is the first forest city. China Guangxi LiuzhouForestCity Pollution Forest Trees Video Environment City UrbanCity Climate BBCShorts BBCNews @BBCNews
Go here >> https://me.me/i/chinas-forest-city-jul-5-in-an-attempt-to-tackle-16217446

Reporter Trevor Nace on 30 June 2017contributed this article link on Forbes, writing: 
China's New 'Forest City' Will Make You Re/THINK
Urban Cities
"When China decides to do something, the country can be incredibly agile and quick in implementation.
One example is the construction of a "Forest City" that pushes the boundaries of sustainable urban planning and development, a concept the EPA [and the City of Mesa] should certainly take a look at.
The Chinese government has broken ground on this Forest City with the ambitious plan to have it fully completed by 2020, an urban development that will be covered in plants and solar panels. . . This concept may not work exactly as built here for every city but there are certainly ideas and best practices that can be implemented around the world. This is especially true in highly populated polluted areas that are badly in need of more green space.
Trevor Nace is a geologist, Forbes contributor, and adventurer. 
Follow him on Twitter @trevornace

_________________________________________________________________________

Here's the copy that goes with the video upload:

Published on May 30, 2014

Welcome to Mesa, Arizona. A gateway to one of the most dynamic regions in the
country. A gateway to discovery and adventure — A to Z.
Throughout our history and now a city on the move, Mesa is about limitless possibilities and opportunities for all visitors. A city that knows no bounds: from urban to rural, mountain peak to desert floor, arts and culture to sports and immeasurable outdoor recreation.
Mesa sits at the heart of a geographic wonderland. Close to the Tonto National Forest and the iconic Superstition Mountains, but far enough to experience the wide-open and true Arizona vacation. Each and every guest is given unparalleled access to one of the richest arrays of visitor offerings in the country. From Farm to Fork dining options, Western shopping, and local Native Artist shows to headlining live performances, Mesa may be off-Broadway but we're firmly on the country's arts and culture map.
Baseball fans may know Mesa as the home of the Chicago Cubs. Each February and March we welcome our beloved Cubbies to play another Spring Training in Mesa. They are such a great asset to our destination that in 2014, Mesa opened a brand new spring training facility; Cubs Park! Now more fans can come enjoy the sunshine and baseball.
From here, all things are possible. Timeless. Boundless. Fearless. Mesa is sure to show you why we are City Limitless.
The Chicago Cubs have called Mesa their winter home for over 50 years. This year was extra special because the team moved into a brand new Spring Training facility; Cubs Park. With seating for 15,000 fans, 60% of seats in the shade, an over-sized berm, fantastic food, tailgating - fans love Cubs Park! The stadium provides visitors a feel for Wrigley Field, but a unique experience only found at the Cubs Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Produced and directed by Los Angeles-based Face Head Media and edited by brand manager Mindset Inc., the three minute video connects Mesa's authentic travel experiences with the consumer seeking respite this winter in the Sonoran Desert. Visit Mesa called upon Weird is the New Cool, a popular band with a rapidly growing fan base, and commissioned lead singer and Mesa native Kyle Collins to pen an original anthem about 'a city so limitless.' The video and song lyrics reflect Collins' memories and favorite experiences such as water-skiing at Saguaro Lake, hiking the Superstition Mountains, and soaking up Mesa's regional restaurants and nightlife.

 

Climate Change Impacts Glass Panels @ MAC Extreme UV Radiation

For more than ten years on in the New Urban Downtown Mesa, the International Design Award-winning Mesa Arts Center has received outstanding recognition and attention for many of its outdoor features and architectural elements: one of which are the sequence of vertical glass panels running from behind the outdoor stage at the north campus on Main Street to an installation on the eastside of the south campus opening to First Avenue. In the past few months, your MesaZona blogger has noticed changes in the appearance of these glass panels that are exposed to sunlight for many hours, but why after ten years is this happening now? It could be the recent onslaught of days of excessive heat and increased exposure to higher-than-normal levels of ultraviolet radiation from corona mass ejections.

That might sound slightly crazy and far-fetched to some people, but there have been more than a few reports out there and posted on this blog site regarding holes created in the magnetosphere around our Planet Earth that usually acts as a shield to waves of radiation and photon flexes from cosmic disturbances impacting both the ionosphere interfering with satellite and radiation transmissions, creating unusual weather patterns and seismic earthquakes. The good news is there's been a crew of inspectors and engineers taking a look at the damage to remedy the problem.

The glass panels @ Encore On First at 25 W First Avenue don't appear to be affected, perhaps due to the abundant shade around the water pool and fountains at the front.









Solar CME Shockwave Hits Magnetosphere | S0 News July.16.2017

For your information there's a short video upload from YouTube about geomagnetic impacts

Published on Jul 16, 2017

July 16, 2017: CME STRIKE SPARKS GEOMAGNETIC STORMS: Geomagnetic storms are underway on July 16th following a CME strike at 0545 UT. Auroras have been sighted in New Zealand as well as US states such as Washington and Wyoming. The storms are intensifying as Earth moves into the CME's magnetized wake. They are currently category G2 (moderately strong). Arrived on schedule.

 

Today's Pie: All-Out Spunky for The Suggestion Box

Published on Jul 16, 2017

Views: 20,106

After May asks all parties for policy ideas Pie has a few suggestions of his own.

EDUCATING ARIZONA: All-Inclusive Culture

CULTURAL COALITION PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

MÁS: The Banning of Mexican American Studies in Tucson. 

Contact: Carmen Guerrero
7/13/2017

culturalcoalition@gmail.com

480.221-9639 mobile

480.834-5731 office 

 

 

 

MÁS: The Banning of Mexican American Studies in Tucson.

A courageous struggle to share a hidden history.

Link > http://culturalcoalition.com/project/mas-by-milta-ortiz/ 

The Banning of Mexican American studies in the Tucson School District was just one more of the many recent attacks on education in Arizona.  Highly regarded by the community that embraced the program, it was successful in keeping both students and families engaged in the relearning of ancient native knowledge and philosophy that otherwise is unknown by most Americans.  Data shows that the program was also successful in improving graduation rates, test scores and preparing students for higher education.

Following in the path of SB1070 this hostile act was one more way many see as a racist attack on the large demographic of our nation especially indigenous people.

Milta Ortiz’ theater production of MÁS, shares the emotional journey of the historical events surrounding the banning of the Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District and the people in the movement to save it.

The director is Borderlands Theater producing director Marc David Pinate. 

THE PLAY

Based on a true story. A community struggles to hold onto their history, identity, and humanity as they fight to save Mexican American Studies in the Tucson Unified School District.

Based on over 400 pages of interview transcripts, Más is a streamlined word for word recount of the movement to save the Mexican American Studies program at TUSD.  The play takes an intimate look at the people at the center of the movement, and how mounting pressure from the State affected their relationships. 

ABOUT THE CONFLICT 

Más explores the complexities of the ethnic studies controversy through a wide range of perspectives:

• the State’s efforts to ban the MAS program they saw as seditious;
• Mexican American Studies advocates faith in the program’s success;
• and as with many social movements, the issues of gender and ideological divides.

Although statistics demonstrated the program’s success, the Mexican American Studies program at TUSD was banned. The play depicts how a sound byte taken out of context led to fear and resentment towards a community, and the ensuing power of the state over one school district.

Más speaks to the need to stand up for what is right and the emotional toll of fighting a protracted battle against the state.

MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES STILL MAKING HEADLINE NEWS

The struggle continues. 

Currently in the courts in Tucson, a judge will decide whether Republicans discriminated against Hispanic students by banning classes that focused on Latino culture.  

As the battle continues over the Tucson classes, other districts around the country have adopted similar successful programs.

For more information:  http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-education/2017/07/03/arizona-mexican-american-studies-ban-back-court-hb-2281/437781001/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/arizona-mexican-american-studies_us_59510a8be4b0da2c731ce325

 

Additional background report:

“How one law banning Ethnic Studies led to its rise”
by J. Weston Phippen The Atlantic on July 19, 2015https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/how-one-law-banning-ethnic-studies-led-to-rise/398885/

 

 

PLAY’S FRAMEWORK ROOTED IN TUCSON

The MAS program was steeped in Indigenous epistemology. Several of the teachers and students in the MAS program regularly attended sweat lodge ceremonies as a cleansing ritual. In Más, the actors and audience are part of a Redemptive Remembrance, a collective reflection. The play is set as if inside a sweat lodge and the events unfold in a space of reflection. The play invokes ritual, with audience members having the option to be smudged with sage as they enter the theater.

Pinate’s direction employs dancers in masks (exquisitely sculpted by master mask maker, Zarco Guerrero) that coincide with the four Tezcatlipocas, deities that according to Mayan cosmology represent the four elemental energies that keep earthly existence in balance. 

COLLABORATORS

Cultural Coalition, Inc. is partnering with ASU’s Performance in the Borderlands to present this daring piece of theater on  Saturday Sept 23^rd at 2 and 7:30 pm at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.  

Other community partners include the Center for Neighborhood Leadership, Xico, Inc., CALA Alliance, Palabra Bookstore and the Frontera Fund.  

 

MORE ON THE PLAYWRIGHT:

Milta Ortiz is a Bay Area transplant to Tucson by way of Chicago. She relocated to Tucson for a National New Play Network (NNPN) playwright residency at Borderlands Theater to write Más. The ongoing headline news surrounding the MAS program prompted her to take up the docudrama format. A departure only in form, as this play speaks to her fascination with relationships and the effects of gender/class/race on these relationships. At the time, she had just finished working on the Chicago Chronicle docudrama playwriting team under the guidance of PJ Paparelli, author of Columbinus. “The last push came when my husband and I saw the documentary, Precious Knowledge. We knew we had to move to write this play. Little did I know about the conflict surrounding the impulse to move here.”

Milta Ortiz is a playwright with an MFA from Northwestern University’s Writing for the Screen and Stage program. As an NNPN playwright in residence at Borderlands Theater for the 2013/14 season, she wrote and developed Más, featured at the Latino Theater Commons Carnaval play festival 2015, and the 18th Annual Tucson Pastorela. Plays include Disengaged (TYA) commissioned by Rising Youth Theater, premiered at the Phoenix Center for the Arts ‘2014; You, Me and Tuno, a finalist in NYC’s Downtown Urban Theater Festival 2013; Fleeing Blue won the 2012 Wichita State playwriting contest and a university production in 2012; Last of the Lilac Roses was a runner up finalists at NYC's Repertorio Español’s, Nuestra’s Voces play contest 2011.

MORE ON THE DIRECTOR:

Marc David Pinate is a theatre artist/performer and educator. Companies he is proud to have worked with include Teatro Visión, Shadowlight Productions, Campo Santo, The Magic, and El Teatro Campesino in the Bay Area; Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, and American Theatre Company in Chicago; Denver's Su Teatro, and Arizona Theatre Company and Borderlands Theater locally. Marc was the recipient of a three-year directing residency funded by the Doris Duke Foundation at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, California. During his residency he founded the Hybrid Performance Experiment (The HyPE) known for their site specific theatre performances on Bay Area Rapid Transit trains and mall food courts. He has an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. His artist interests lie in merging elements of ritual and ceremony with professional theatre aesthetics. 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Theater:
Phoenix Center for the Arts, 

1204 N. Third Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004. 

Tickets:
$15 with ASU students discounts. 

Director’s Talk:   Thursday, September 21 6:30 pm at Xico, Inc.

Workshop:          Saturday, September 23 10am  at Palabras Bookstor, Phoenix.

Saturday Sept 23^rd, 2017

2:00 pm    "Más" Matinée

3:30 pm    Youth Panel

7:00 pm    Pre Show:  Movement Speaks Performance

7:30 pm       "Más" Evening Performance

9:00 pm    Producers Talk & Reception

Get  your tickets here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mas-by-milta-ortiz-tickets-35522490726

2017 Arizona Open: Body-Building @ Mesa Arts Center

2017 NPC ARIZONA OPEN FINALS
SCHEDULE WITH TIMES / ORDER OF EVENTS
MESA ARTS CENTER
Saturday, July 15, 2017
http://npcmilesproductions.com/

2017 ARIZONA OPEN
GREAT Prejudging last night at the AZ Open! 
 Tonight's FINALS will be over the top!
Here are the stage times for each group:
Live-streaming tonight > hit this link at 7:00 pm 
On Facebook > https://www.facebook.com/NpcMilesProductions/
Order Of Events                                                          
FINALS TIME ARE +/- 15 MINS. Time Est.
MEN'S BODYBUILDING TEEN 6:10 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING MASTERS 40+ 6:16 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING MASTERS 50+ 6:22 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE MASTERS 35+  6:26 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE MASTERS 47+  6:29 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE NOVICE Class A  6:32 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE NOVICE Class B 6:36 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE OPEN Class A 6:40 PM
WOMEN'S FIGURE OPEN Class B 6:45 PM
OVERALL WOMEN'S FIGURE OPEN 6:50 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING NOVICE  6:54 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING OPEN Light Weight 7:02 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING OPEN Middle Weight 7:03 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING OPEN Light Heavy Weight 7:07 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING OPEN Heavy Weight  7:14 PM
MEN'S BODYBUILDING OPEN Super Heavy Weight 7:18 PM
OVERALL BODYBUILDING 7:19 PM
WOMEN'S PHYSIQUE OPEN 7:24 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE MASTERS 35+ 7:31 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE MASTERS 47+  7:38 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE NOVICE Class A  7:41 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE NOVICE Class B 7:48 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE OPEN Class A 7:56 PM
MEN'S CLASSIC PHYSIQUE OPEN Class B 8:04 PM
OVERALL CLASSIC PHYSIQUE 8:12 PM
CARLOTTI SURGICAL CENTER AD and SPECIAL PRESENTATION 8:17 PM
INTERMISSION 8:24 PM
BIKINI TEEN 8:34 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE MASTERS - 35+ 8:37 PM
PEAK NUTRITION AD 8:41 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI MASTERS 35+ Class A 8:44 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI MASTERS 35+ Class B 8:48 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE MASTERS 47+  8:52 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI MASTERS 47+  8:55 PM
MENS PHYSIQUE NOVICE Class A 8:57 PM
MENS PHYSIQUE NOVICE Class B 9:02 PM
MENS PHYSIQUE NOVICE Class C 9:07 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI NOVICE Class A 9:11 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI NOVICE Class B 9:16 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI NOVICE Class C 9:21 PM
WOMEN'S BIKINI NOVICE Class D 9:26 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE OPEN Class A 9:30 PM
BIKINI Class A 9:34 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE Class B 9:39 PM
BIKINI Class B 9:43 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE Class C 9:47 PM
BIKINI Class C 9:51 PM
MEN'S PHYSIQUE Class D 9:55 PM
BIKINI Class D 10:00 PM
BIKINI Class E 10:04 PM
OVERALL MENS PHYSIQUE 10:08 PM
OVERALL BIKINI 10:11 PM
END OF SHOW

War for the Planet of the Apes | Final Trailer | 20th Century FOX

Published on May 16, 2017

Views: 7,969,806

In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

In Theaters - July 14, 2017

How's Your Fiscal Condition?

Hey! Thanks to Nolan Gray for bringing attention to this
Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition 2017 Edition

Research Paper / Study July 11, 2017

The fiscal health of America’s states affects all its citizens. Indicators of fiscal health come in a variety of forms—from a state’s ability to attract businesses and how much it taxes - to what services it provides and how well it keeps its promises to public-sector employees.

BLOGGER NOTE: Image insert shows CAFR for Mesa AZ 

 

To get a sense of a particular state’s fiscal outlook requires consulting a state’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR), which, at hundreds of pages, is unwieldy for even the most dedicated analyst.

PLEASE NOTE: The lessons from this year’s study demonstrate that policymakers should take stock of both their short- and longtermfiscal health before making public policy decisions.

The quality of financial reporting also plays a large role in what is known about the states’ fiscal health. This report attempts to make available financial information more accessible while also stressing the importance of improved reporting. These metrics, when used alongside other information, are intended to help policymakers identify trends in state finances and respond with policies to ensure short-run solvency and long-run fiscal stability.

 

But in the Mercatus Center at George Mason University’s “Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition,” now in its fourth year, Eileen Norcross and Olivia Gonzalez calculate indicators of fiscal health for all 50 states. Based on states’ 2015 financial statements, Florida ranks first as the most fiscally healthy state, while New Jersey ranks the lowest.

The study ranks each US state’s financial health based on short- and long-term debt and other key fiscal obligations, such as unfunded pensions and healthcare benefits. With refinements in its methodology, the 2017 edition updates the version that the Mercatus Center published in 2016. It presents information from each state’s audited financial report in an easily accessible format and is the most comprehensive snapshot of state financial health to date.

Growing long-term obligations for pensions and healthcare benefits continue to strain the finances of many state governments, and revenue drawn from volatile sources . . . continues to threaten the fiscal health of top-performing states. Both trends highlight the fact that state policymakers must be vigilant to consider both the short-term and the long-term consequences of their decisions.

ARIZONA IS #33

The study also highlights how recent changes in accounting standards affect what states reveal on their financial statements and what we know about the states’ financial health as a result. Due to the implementation of new government accounting standards, states are now reporting more of their pension liabilities on the balance sheet, which increases the average long-term liability metrics for the states. States have not applied these standards consistently, however, revealing that there is still room for improvement in the reporting of state financial information.

Summary and Key Findings 

The financial health of each state can be analyzed through the states’ own audited financial reports. By looking at states’ basic financial statistics on revenues, expenditures, cash, assets, liabilities, and debt, states may be ranked according to how easily they will be able to cover short-term and long-term bills, including pension obligations.

This ranking of the 50 states, reproduced from page 29 of the study, is based on their fiscal solvency in five separate categories:

• Cash solvency.  Does a state have enough cash on hand to cover its short-term bills?
• Budget solvency. Can a state cover its fiscal year spending with current revenues, or does it have a budget shortfall?
• Long-run solvency. Can a state meet its long-term spending commitments? Will there be enough money to cushion it from economic shocks or other long-term fiscal risks?
• Service-level solvency. How much “fiscal slack” does a state have to increase spending if citizens demand more services?
• Trust fund solvency. How large are each state’s unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities?