The person featured in this short segment is the recently appointed Co-Chair of the Mayor's IMAGINEMESA digital online campaign to 'engage the community' John Giles now realizes that after 2 years in-office he has failed to engage the community ---- apparently taxpayer-funded and city-owned Mesa Channel 11 cannot even get this MBA's name correct! He is Levi Leyba Published on Jul 18, 2017 Views: 5 Listen to John Giles as guest host with the video upload attracting 5 viewers : Hello! Mesa! We have a problem when the mayor admits he has no ideas of his own, and marches to the tune of what other people TELL HIM TO DO
The researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab are hard at work on a lot of cool ideas for reducing pollution and promoting greater energy efficiency. They’re figuring out ways to improve photovoltaics and increase the efficiency of wind energy generation, and are a research leader in integrating these renewable energy sources into utility scale energy systems. The staff are also developing biofuels that could one day replace fossil fuels in transportation and other uses. They have an entire program dedicated to transportation:
NREL research, development, and deployment (RD&D) accelerates widespread adoption of high-performance, low-emission, energy-saving strategies for passenger and freight transportation. Dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency, NREL and its industry, government, and academic partners use a whole-systems approach to create innovative components, fuels, and infrastructure for electric, hybrid, fuel cell, and conventional vehicles.
ALL THIS IS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING POLITICALLY & ENVIRONMENTALLY CORRECT....BUT READ ON > Net zero, provided you ignore what its used for. But there’s one big environmental (and energy) problem with this shiny new structure: It’s an 1,800 space parking garage. Not only that, but (if you’re Don Shoup, please don’t read this) they don’t charge employees anything to use the garage.
The whole thing strikes us as utterly tone deaf and a flat contradiction to the organization’s mission statement. So, in addition to the lab being located in a suburban office park on the fringe of the Denver metro area, its employees are strongly incentivized–nay, subsidized–to drive their private cars to work. And that’s exactly what an overwhelming majority of them do.
A giant, free garage encourages energy consumption and pollution
We contacted the Lab to learn more about commute patterns and parking policies. They shared with use the mode split from their latest (2014) commuting survey.
We asked about parking prices for commuters. Lissa Myers, who is the Lab’s Sustainable Transportation & Climate Change Resiliency Practice Leader told us:
Parking is free on our campus and we have an abundance of it.
That’s the problem, really. We have an abundance of proven technologies that are “high-performance, low-emission, energy-saving strategies”–they include dense cities, cycling, transit, walking and car pooling. But technologies don’t work, or don’t work well if we subsidize people to use energy-wasting alternatives and locate large concentrations of workers in places where they have few alternatives but to drive single-occupancy vehicles.
Location, location, location
And because the lab is located on the urban fringe, rather than in a central, transit served location (like say, downtown Denver) its employees have few nearby housing options that would let them bike, walk or take transit to work.
TAKE-AWAY: Promoting renewable energy is (and energy conservation and greenhouse gas reductions) is a matter of both technology and incentives. An agency that’s supposedly dedicated to these tasks ought to do a better job of aligning its policies with its mission. There’s little hope that people will use a non-polluting bicycle or take transit to work, for example, if they have free use of parking.
The claim that a parking garage can be “zero net energy” requires casting a blind eye to the structure’s central purpose. It’s only zero net energy if you completely ignore the energy used by the cars it’s designed to store, and that you ignore how building garages and subsidizing their use prompts more driving, more energy consumption and more pollution
The cities we live in are shaped by the way we get around them. Over the past 60 years, with more and more people opting to drive cars, the need for parking spaces has increased with the boom in driving. To accommodate that demand early on, cities and towns started requiring developers to include parking with their new buildings after World War II. These policies, known as mandatory parking minimums, set precise standards for parking spaces for each building. And these parking spaces don't come cheap.
PRE-NOTE: The following post is reprinted online in its original entirety with some minor editing in the formatting with the permission of this new groupcalledReport Mesa Corruption. The content and opinions expressed are those of the source. You can find them on Facebook The featured image to the left is from the source; the others are inserts by MesaZona The new citizen action group is asking a lot of questions for sure, but where is this going?
"I (that is the Report Mesa Corruption source NOT your MesaZona blogger) received some good information yesterday regarding the relationship between Lying John Giles and W. Dea Montague, Mormon Bishop, Stake President and Regional Representative and rumored to have sent Giles on his mission.
Dea is often seen around the city building and at Council Meetings with his small gang of followers. This seems to be the only group that Giles consistently listens to, his echo box, according to emails and work place chatter. Interestingly enough I received this info from someone claiming to be a member of the LDS church but is tired of this group.
Almost all of the people mentioned in this post are Mormon. Once again, I have nothing against any religion. This is just a Mesa reality. Mormons have run Mesa since 1878 and some would argue that this legacy club of old white male Mesa Mormons need to step aside and let some fresh air in. (This Includes letting young upcoming Mormon men and women have a chance)
Our little group has been trying to put all the somewhat unorganized emails and rumors together and so far this is the relationship map. It may not be 100% accurate but it will become more accurate as we get more info from people who want Mesa cronyism, nepotism and greed to see some sunlight. If you take the time to read the info below, you will see that the control that Dea has is pervasive and affects Mesa council, Mesa School board, Mesa staff, Mesa funding and Mesa Initiatives. What are your thoughts?
Montague is on the governing board of West Mesa CDC who receives funding from the city with the following people:
Jerry Lewis (who's wife is related to the wife of Steven Peterson on Mesa Public Schools Governing Board, close friend of Giles),
Jake Brown (recently appointed to Imagine Mesa Committee),
Dave Richins (previous executive director of West Mesa CDC, previous council member who championed and from reports "bullied" people into funding West Mesa CDC against staff advisement, current president of the United Food Bank.
Jo Martin is an officer at the food bank
councilmember Kevin Thompson is on the board of the food bank.
Kevin Thompson and Dave Richins are close friends. .... hmmmm I wonder Richins got the job at the food bank...
Jo Martin was recently appointed to the Imagine Mesa Committee.
Jo Martin and Kevin Thompson are close friends)
Stephanie Wright (board member and paid employee of West Mesa CDC. Is that Illegal?)
Cynthia Dunham (former Gilbert mayor, executive director of west mesa CDC, exec director of the Leadership Centre, close family friends with Natalie Lewis in Mesa City Manager's office. Cynthia's yearly salary is paid by your tax dollars through Mesa funding. Funding is approved yearly and it is reported that Natalie Lewis has pushed funding for this organization against staff's advisement.)
Dea Montague is also on the board of shadow organization Mesa Grande Community Alliance.
Dea Montague has 9 children
Dea's son Tyler Montague is a political operative in Mesa helping with LDS Republican candidates such as John Giles (appointed then won unopposed), Bob Worsley (un-opposed), Don Stapley (lost), Jerry Lewis (great win in recall against Racist Russell Pearce, lost against Winkle), Mark Freeman (won), Shelley Allen (lost against Whittaker, now on P&Z board), and president & spin doctor of biased organization Public Integrity Alliance (biggest war was with Tom Horne). He is also heavily involved with the West Mesa CDC.
Dea's Daughter Jennifer Montague Richardson is on the Mesa Public Schools Governing Board and one of her children is married to Brandon Giles. Jenny was recently appointed to the Imagine Mesa committee.
Dea's daughter Kate Montague Arnett married to Jay Arnett of the Arnett Family. (Greg Arnett was recently appointed to the Imagine Mesa committee)
Molly Montague Wright is married to J.R. Wright of the Wright Family.
Steve Wright is Public Information Officer for the City of Mesa.
Mike Wright is heavily involved with West Mesa CDC.
Stephanie Wright is both a board member and employee of West Mesa CDC.
Jackson Wright runs a media company, with his brother J.R. Wright, who is heavily involved in West Mesa CDC)
No more tax initiatives, no more bonds until our leaders are accountable. If you have more info on this and you want to speak out, please email info to
If you have any info on West Mesa CDC, info on interaction between the Montagues, Wrights, Arnetts, Richardsons with Giles, Brady or other council, or any other acts of favoritism, Cronyism more nepotism please send it.
Fast punch? Your MesaZona blogger wants to hit-back at lame, weak so-called 'news' about economic development that is not open, transparent and accountable
See who is landing jobs and a $76M automated production center near Apple in Mesa
Here's the link to a report in Phoenix Business Journal used in the latest issue of the City of Mesa's 3rd Quarter 2017 Economic Reporter Newsletter from the Office of Economic Development > http://www.mesaaz.gov
You can't see anything . . . You get 're-directed' to Mike Sunnuck's article that's behind a pay-wall! That really SUCKS, Bill!
There were two articles about this highly automated manufacturing facility posted on this blog site on June 2/June 12, 2017. Take a look at some of the background and context for Niagara Water Bottling in the biggest expansion for bottling water in the Southwest - is there something wrong, impure or unsafe with the tap water supplied by the City of Mesa to homes here? Is Niagara planning to build a pipeline from Niagara Falls on the Canada-U.S. to sell spring-fed water, or are they getting special rates for the same clean and pure water provided by the same infrastructure pipelines to supply waters to homes here?
How many thousands of gallons per day will the facility use from the same source and same multi-million dollar taxpayer-financed pipeline - do they get "a special deal' while residents pay utilities use charges, fees and taxes?
Who'slanding jobs?? Whose land did Niagara buy and why? Highly-automated manufacturing jobs are usually neither 'high-quality jobs' nor even approaching paying the median salary levels, no matter what the article announces . . .
Views: 5,107,444 The Story of Bottled Water The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day), employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows virtually free from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call for viewers to make a personal commitment to avoid bottled water and support public investment in clean, available tap water for all. Credits
The Story of Bottled Water was co-created and released by The Story of Stuff Project and a coalition of partners, including Corporate Accountability International, Food & Water Watch, Polaris Institute, Pacific Institute and Environmental Working Group. The movie was produced by Free Range Studios.
Major destruction of biblical proportions with more weapons.
The first live firing of MBDA’s Brimstone air-to-surface missile from a Eurofighter Typhoon has been successfully completed as part of ongoing development work to significantly upgrade the capability of the aircraft. The trial is part of work to integrate the Phase 3 Enhancement (P3E) package for Typhoon, which will also deliver further sensor and mission system upgrades.
The P3E package forms part of Project Centurion – the programme to ensure a smooth transition of Tornado GR4 capabilities on to Typhoon for the Royal Air Force. The successful trial follows completion earlier this year of the flight trials programme for the MBDA Storm Shadow deep strike air-to-surface weapon and the MBDA Meteor ‘beyond visual range’ air-to-air missile. Operational testing and evaluation of those capabilities is currently ongoing with the Royal Air Force ahead of entry into service in 2018. Here's the installation on Apache Helicopters, from an upload published on Jan 21, 2017
An overview of the World Military videos on the navy, air force, army. From aircraft carriers to fighter planes, passing through tanks, infantry and special forces
