BUILDING BETTER CITIES > Different Scenarios | Peter Calthorpe

Sprawl is what separates people

Published on Aug 31, 2017

Views: 64,580

More than half of the world's population already lives in cities, and another 2.5 billion people are projected to move to urban areas by 2050. The way we build new cities will be at the heart of so much that matters, from climate change to economic vitality to our very well-being and sense of connectedness. Peter Calthorpe is already at work planning the cities of the future and advocating for community design that's focused on human interaction. He shares seven universal principles for solving sprawl and building smarter, more sustainable cities.

Check out more TED Talks: http://www.ted.com

You Are Not What You Earn

Nice thought, but ....

Published on Aug 31, 2017

Views: 4,094

The modern world firmly equates how much we earn with how good, noble, wise and worthy of honour we are. This is a brutal misunderstanding of how salaries are determined. We need to operate with a far more nuanced view of what the money we earn says about us. If you like our films, take a look at our shop (we ship worldwide):https://goo.gl/1PeSbY
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PUBLIC RIGHT-TO-KNOW: Something In The Water Here In Mesa?

An announcement from the City of Mesa Newsroom yesterday

Temporary change in water taste and odor

August 30, 2017 at 1:46 pm

Mesa residents may notice a slight change in the taste and odor of their water for the next few weeks.

Readers might like to take a look at this post from yesterday
https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2017/08/28m-arizonans-live-within-vulnerable.html

The temporary change is caused by a byproduct of seasonal algae in surface water called geosmin.    
Cyanobacteria: Anabaena solitaria ~ the organism associated with geosmin 

This it what it looks like >

Even at low concentrations, geosmin causes a musty or soil-like taste and odor in the water.

Geosmin is not harmful and the water is safe to drink and use in daily activities.
???

The City of Mesa's Brown Road Water Treatment Plant is using carbon treatment to reduce geosmin in the water distribution system.
Question: Reduce to what level that is safe and how fast does the carbon treatment produce results?
Here's an Info-Graphic with absorption rates >


Mesa's water continues to meet all state and federal drinking water standards.
That may be true, but there are certain potential carcinogens that are not required to be tested for. . .  the monitoring sites the City of Mesa uses may not be in sufficient numbers to do water sample testing nor may they be frequent enough to monitor and detect incidents.

For more information about water quality, the City of Mesa's Consumer Confidence Report can be found online at www.mesaaz.gov/ccr.


For questions or hard copies of the report, please contact (480) 644-6461 or water.quality@mesaaz.gov.

PUBLIC RIGHT-TO-KNOW: 2.8M Arizonans Live Within Vulnerable Zones from Toxic Chemical Leaks

2.8 million Arizonans live within vulnerable zones from toxic chemical leaks
[Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series of stories in which the ABC15 Investigators and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting collaborated to explore how Arizona regulates the storage and transportation of hazardous chemicals across the state.]
By Brandon Quester, AZCIR | Lauren Gilger and Maria Tomasch, ABC15 

BLOGGER NOTE: This study was done in 2014 and needs some updating.
Here in Mesa an additional facility needs to be added to the list of the four vulnerable sites farther on this post.
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PHOENIX – More than 2.8 million Arizona residents — or 44 percent of the state’s population — live within areas that are most vulnerable to a catastrophic accidental release of gaseous, and sometimes explosive hazardous chemicals.

BLOGGER NOTE: Interactive map is included in the report using the link below

The toxic agents, which the Environmental Protection Agency deems extremely hazardous, include chemicals such as anhydrous ammonia, chlorine and hydrofluoric acid. They are stored in more than 100 facilities that dot the Arizona landscape and, when released, can cause temporary blindness, searing pain, suffocation, and even death.
The “worst-case” scenarios are part of  the EPA’s Risk Management Plan (RMP) law, which requires facilities storing large amounts of hazardous materials to file the plans for emergency planning and risk assessment purposes. The companies include water treatment plants, grocery store distribution centers and commonly known businesses such as Target, Wal-Mart and Shamrock Farms.
HOWEVER, as noted in the report Toxic and flammable worst-case scenarios are limited in scope
> the worst-case scenarios only describe leaks from the containers of specific chemicals that exceed storage thresholds. It doesn’t take into account the proximity of other containers storing the same chemical, the total amount of all chemicals stored at the facility, or the combination of different chemicals at that location.
> plans also fail to determine realistic estimates of residential populations surrounding these facilities. The estimates don’t include employees within the facility or the schools, hospitals, businesses and transportation routes nearby.
> it’s unclear whether facilities importing these chemicals are following RMP laws.
One Arizona facility was mentioned, but not identified, in a recent EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that questioned whether that facility was reporting its chemical imports. According to the OIG opinion, the chemicals weren’t identified on the company’s current RMP documents
“The public should be greatly concerned about these facilities,” said Sean Moulton, director of Open Government Policy, which is part of the Center for Effective Government, a nonprofit organization dedicated to government transparency and public access to information. “As a public, as a country, as a general population, we probably know less now and are less prepared for emergencies at these facilities than we were 15 years ago when the (Risk Management Program) started. . . The RMP is a great first step in terms of understanding the risks in our front yard, but it has a number of holes that prevent it from really giving us the full picture."
knowing this information is an important part of emergency planning for communities and first responders.

“. . . the most fundamental level in terms of emergency management, you can’t plan for an emergency if you don’t know that there’s a risk,” Moulton said.

 

Information exists on the EPA’s Vulnerable Zone Indicator website, which allows residents to search for RMP facilities to determine if their home is within a worst-case danger zone. The website will send an email notification to anyone searching for facilities and will inform them if an RMP facility is nearby.

Arizona is one of several states that are singled out in the report

Read More > http://azcir.org/az-risk-management-plans-epa/ 

VULNERABLE SITES IN MESA  
All sites can be located on the interactive map in the link

Not included in the 2014 report is the SIGNAL BUTTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
Here's an upload of City Manager Chris Brady talking about the new water treatment plant

 

 

Here's an image of the facility

And how the water treatment plant fits into development plans in SE Mesa











Facility Name: VAL VISTA WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Chemical: CHLORINE
Chemical Physical State: GAS LIQUIFIED BY PRESSURE
Scenario Type: GAS RELEASE
Hazard Zone: 0.9 miles
Population within hazard zone: 5,546 people
Schools: YES
Residences: YES
Hospitals: NO
Recreation areas: YES
Prisons or corrections: NO
Commercial and industrial: NO
Other: n/a

Facility Name: BROWN ROAD WATER TREATMENT PLANT
Chemical: CHLORINE
Chemical Physical State: GAS LIQUIFIED BY PRESSURE
Scenario Type: GAS RELEASE
Hazard Zone: 1.3 miles
Population within hazard zone: 8,400 people
Schools: YES
Residences: YES
Hospitals: NO
Recreation areas: YES
Prisons or corrections: NO
Commercial and industrial: NO
Other: RED MOUNTAIN MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER

Facility Name: MGC PURE CHEMICALS AMERICA, INC
Chemical: AMMONIA (ANHYDROUS)
Chemical Physical State: LIQUID
Scenario Type: LIQUID SPILL AND VAPORIZATION
Hazard Zone: 2.6 miles
Population within hazard zone: 898 people
Schools: NO
Residences: YES
Hospitals: NO
Recreation areas: YES
Prisons or corrections: NO
Commercial and industrial: YES
Other: n/a

Facility Name: S.W.D. URETHANE COMPANY
Chemical: FORMALDEHYDE (SOLUTION)
Chemical Physical State: LIQUID
Scenario Type: LIQUID SPILL AND VAPORIZATION
Hazard Zone: 0.1 miles
Population within hazard zone: 65 people
Schools: NO
Residences: YES
Hospitals: NO
Recreation areas: NO
Prisons or corrections: NO
Commercial and industrial: YES
Other: n/a
__________________________________________________________________________
Unless otherwise noted, all AZCIR content is covered by a BY-NC-ND 3.0 US Creative Commons license.

 

AZ State Legislators + Business Leaders Return From Mexico Trip

Hamer Times:
1 Wrap-up from Mexico (Vol. 1): The World’s Most Consequential Trade Bloc
Posted on August 28, 2017 by Glenn Hamer 
2 Mexico trip wrap-up Vol. 2 – “What’s good for Arizona is good for Mexico”
Posted on August 29, 2017 by Glenn Hammer
Glenn Hamer returned Saturday from a visit to Mexico City that provided a large, bipartisan delegation of Arizona legislators and business community representatives an insider’s view of the Arizona-Mexico relationship and the gravity of the ongoing renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Link > http://www.azchamber.com/blog

1. Here are his takeaways from an outstanding trip (with more to come):
Twenty-six Arizona legislators – possibly the largest state delegation of lawmakers ever to visit Mexico City at the same time – Corporation Commissioner Andy Tobin and business leaders were promoting increased trade, and stronger educational and cultural ties between Arizona and our southern neighbor.
Kudos to Rep. Tony Rivero and his co-chair Rep. Gabaldón for pulling this off.A recurring theme of the trip was the importance of building on the prosperity of the North American economic bloc, and doing so in a way that’s a win-win-win for the United States, Mexico and Canada. Trade, despite the president’s rhetoric to the contrary, is not a zero-sum game. We can all grow and prosper. It’s about addition, not subtraction.
In addition to being our friend, Mexico is far and away Arizona’s largest trading partner. In fact, we trade more with Mexico than with our next four trading partners combined.

• About 40 percent of our exports go to Mexico.
• Approximately 100,000 Arizona jobs depend on trade with Mexico.
• Mexican visitors to Arizona spend over $7 million every day sleeping in our world-class hotels, eating in our restaurants, attending our sporting events, and shopping in our stores.
• Critical sectors of Arizona’s economy like tourism, mining, aerospace and semiconductors all enjoy a rich integrated relationship.
• Supply chains are developing in new areas, such as the modern auto industry.
• And a positive relationship with Mexico is important for Arizona to navigate its future water needs.

While the entire US economy generally would suffer were NAFTA to be dismantled – 14 million jobs, after all are tied to trade with Mexico and Canada – Arizona, as a border state, would get hit hard. The integration and increased trading volumes that have occurred in the past nearly 25 years are spectacular

2. More from Glenn Hamer on his recent participation in a historic bipartisan trade delegation to Mexico:

Our delegation met with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, who is leading the NAFTA talks for Mexico.

He could not have been any warmer in his desire to trade more with Arizona and he reiterated to our group how Arizona’s success is good for Mexico.

He also made clear of the stakes:

If the president were to terminate NAFTA, tariffs for US exports, such as milk and apples, would go from zero to double digits. That would mean the loss of US agribusiness jobs and higher prices for Mexican consumers; both bad outcomes. Instead of the win-win with trade, we would immediately feel the effects of a lose-lose.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

About Glenn Hamer

Glenn Hamer is the president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. View all posts by Glenn Hamer → 

Residential Rental Property Owners: A REMINDER about TPT

ADOR Reminding Residential Rental Property Owners To Obtain A Transaction Privilege Tax License

Property Management Companies also being advised of changes in licensing requirements.

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) is reminding property owners, who rent out residences in a city or town that levies transaction privilege tax (TPT) on residential rental activity, are required to obtain a TPT license with ADOR.

Also, property owners, who rent out residences for periods of less than 30 days, must have a TPT license and report and remit TPT under the transient lodging classification for State, County and City.

The Arizona Department of Revenue is the single point of central administration and collection of state and city taxes for all taxable businesses, including residential rental owners in the state. Owners of taxable residential rental properties are required to file one TPT return for all taxing jurisdictions with ADOR.

Residential rental owners can get license application forms, tax forms and other information regarding residential rental taxation from the ADOR website, www.azdor.gov. To file and pay taxes online, which is required for any taxpayer that has more than one taxable property, register for an account at www.AZTaxes.gov.

ADOR has a special hotline and dedicated email for residential rental taxpayers with questions about transaction privilege tax filing and payment. A residential rental owner can direct all TPT inquiries to: residentialrental@azdor.gov or by calling: 602-716-RENT (7368).

 Property Management Companies

The Arizona Department of Revenue is also reminding Property Management Companies (PMCs) to make sure their clients are properly licensed for TPT.

Additionally, the Agency is advising PMCs of the following licensing and filing changes:

• PMCs will no longer need a TPT license for filing residential rental TPT on behalf of their clients. PMCs that own taxable residential rental properties will still maintain their TPT licenses. 
• ADOR is currently working on a new electronic bulk upload function that will improve the filing process for Property Management Companies.
• The Arizona Department of Revenue is targeting January 2018 to have the new electronic licensing and filing functionality for customers.

 For more information on the TPT, please go to: https://www.azdor.gov/

Just saying THANK YOU, Dear Readers



 



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