Saturday, January 13, 2018

SOLD OUT Here In Mesa: An Intimate Portrait

Whoa! More frequently than not, your MesaZona blogger gets lucky when a story finds him. This sunny balmy Saturday afternoon was just like that walking into a crowd of people standing in-line wrapped up-and-around the entire North Campus of the Mesa Arts Center - 1600 had showed up here in the most conservative city in America for a Sell-Out Book Signing
Pete SouzaObama: An Intimate Portrait
Most were from out-of-town waiting patiently about two hours ahead of the doors to open.
Inside it looked like this from way up in the balconies at The Ikeda Theater - a full house
View image on Twitter

Talk and Slideshow Presentation
with former Chief Official White House
Photographer Pete Souza.
Changing Hands is proud to present Pete Souza with Obama: An Intimate Portrait, his visual biography of Barack Obama's historic presidency, presented in an oversize, 12"x10" exquisitely produced format, and featuring a foreword from the President himself

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ABOUT THE BOOK Pete Souza served as Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama's full two terms. He was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else--and he photographed them all.
Souza took nearly two million photographs of President Obama, capturing moments both highly classified and disarmingly candid.
Obama: An Intimate Portrait reproduces Souza's most iconic photographs in exquisite detail, more than three hundred in all.


Some have never been published.

These photographs document the most consequential hours of the Presidency--including the historic image of President Obama and his advisors in the Situation Room during the bin Laden mission--alongside unguarded moments with the President's family, his encounters with children, interactions with world leaders and cultural figures, and more.
Souza's photographs, with the behind-the-scenes captions and stories that accompany them, communicate the pace and power of our nation's highest office. They also reveal the spirit of the extraordinary man who became our President. We see President Obama lead our nation through monumental challenges, comfort us in calamity and loss, share in hard-won victories, and set a singular example to "be kind and be useful," as he would instruct his daughters.
The result is a portrait of exceptional intimacy and a stunning record of a landmark era in American history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PETE SOUZA was the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama and the Director of the White House Photo Office. Previously Souza was an Assistant Professor of Photojournalism at Ohio University, the national photographer for the Chicago Tribune, a freelancer for National Geographic, and an Official White House Photographer for President Reagan. His books include the New York Times bestseller The Rise of Barack Obama, which documents the president's meteoric ascent from his first day in the United States Senate through the 2008 Pennsylvania presidential primary. Souza is currently a freelance photographer based in Washington, D.C. and is a Professor Emeritus at Ohio University's School of Visual Communication.


Other stops on the Book Tour

Upcoming Events | Pete Souza Photography

www.petesouza.com/content.html?page=7
January 11, 2018 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wilshire Ebell Theater, with Writers Bloc Ticketed SOLD OUT Presentation (ticket price includes pre-signed book). January 13, 2018 - Phoenix, AZ - Mesa Arts Center, with Changing Hands Bookstore Ticketed SOLD OUT Presentation and book signing. January 16, 2018 - Boulder, ...

Friday, January 12, 2018

Carmen Guerrero/Cultural Coalition Discusses Community Engagement

El Rancho Community Engagement on Horizonte
Affordable housing development El Rancho (featured on a Local First Arizona Forum the "Mesa bus tour" ) and one of  its partners, Cultural Coalition, was featured on PBS's "Horizonte," discussing community engagement.
Sounds of Cultura: The Cultural Coalition
In this segment: Carmen Guerrero: Executive Director Cultural Coalition

 
A local nonprofit is providing opportunities for artists and art education by offering artistic opportunities in two Valley apartment complexes.
El Rancho del Arte and El Rancho del Sol showcase art and poetry throughout the complex, both by professional artists and by youth living in the apartments.
Cultural Coalition, an organization providing cultural programs for the development of artists in Arizona manages the after-school art and homework program for children living in the residences.
(Photographer Ray Hernández image > shows Carmen talking to the guests on the LFA Forum in the commercial kitchen facilities inside El Rancho Del Sol)
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For more information, details and how YOU can encourage, participate or support, please go to > Cultural Coalition
culturalcoalition.com/
2017 A Year of Highlights: Donate. Dec 21, 2017 | No Comments. The Cultural Coalition is a collective of artists who practice both visual and performing arts, and gather every year for a … Read More ...
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Here's an image from the Grand Opening Celebration of El Rancho Phase 2 that took place on  Tue 07 November 2017 for the ribbon cutting ceremony in front of one of the entry gates to the two buildings where design elements and words from Zarco Guerrero are incorporated into the design:
 
More about Zarco Guerrero can be found by clicking/hitting the following link
culturalcoalition.com/project/zarco-guerrero/
Zarco Guerrero [Juañeno/Acjachemem] has been a force in the Arizona art scene since the early seventies, as a multi-media artist and community arts advocate. He has participated in the Artist in Education program of the Arizona Arts Commission and has conducted workshops throughout the U.S. since 1972. The artist
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Phoenix Air Quality > Want to Call It 'Moderate' Instead of Contaminated + Polluted?

What's this friggin' designation of 'MODERATE' - it's still a measure of AIR POLLUTION
AQI
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Phoenix Air Quality Forecast

Issued: Friday, January 12, 2018
Camelback Mountain
Warming up, breezy Saturday, PM-2.5 increasing...
PhxAQI
Latest Air Quality Data For Maricopa County
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Current Weather DataLatest Radar                   [View]
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Aerospace, Defense & Aviation News Headlines + Events

Some snippets from recent Daily News Headlines Fri Jan 05, 2018
Orbital ATK Signs Cooperative Agreement with USAF Space and Missile Systems Center
Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). The CRADA provides the framework and plan for data exchanges needed to certify Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launch (NGL) system to carry National Security Space missions.
“Under this CRADA, Orbital ATK is better able to support SMC in being the guardians of assured access to space,” said Scott Lehr, President of Orbital ATK’s Flight Systems Group. “We look forward to certifying NGL to launch National Security Space Missions.”
Orbital ATK is currently in early production of development hardware for NGL. To date, the company has jointly invested with the Air Force more than $200 million to develop the NGL rocket family.
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Orbital ATK Receives Order for 2nd In-Orbit Satellite Servicing Vehicle
Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced it has been awarded a contract for a second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2). The vehicle was ordered by Intelsat S.A. to provide life extension services for an Intelsat satellite. Orbital ATK is now producing MEV-1, the industry’s first commercial in-space satellite servicing system, for Intelsat with launch scheduled for late 2018. Under this new agreement, Orbital ATK will manufacture, test and launch MEV-2 and begin mission extension services in mid-2020. The production of the second MEV is part of Orbital ATK’s longer-range plan to establish a fleet of in-orbit servicing vehicles that can address diverse space logistics needs including repair, assembly, refueling and in-space transportation.
“Work on MEV-1 is progressing rapidly toward a late 2018 launch with system-level testing beginning this spring,” said Tom Wilson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space Logistics, LLC subsidiary. “With the launch of MEV-2, Orbital ATK will continue to pioneer in-space satellite servicing for commercial operators. Intelsat’s commitment to a second MEV demonstrates not only the market demand for our servicing vehicles, but also the customer’s confidence in our product.”
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Biometrics for Government & Law Enforcement International Summit
26-28 February 2018, Washington, DC, United States
Identity Management & Biometrics
Returning for its 12th iteration, Biometrics for Government and Law Enforcements enables 150+ Directors of Security Agencies, Directors of Operations, Directors of Intelligence, Heads of Acquisition, Directors of Policy, Biometric Program Managers, Elected Officials, Industry Executives and Academia to learn, share and connect on the current and future challenges faced with biometrics and identity management systems.
Significant challenges are current being faced by the US Government in relation to biometrics due to a clear demand for far reaching, flexible biometric capabilities that enable speed and incredible accuracy. Additionally the management and development of more efficient and effective large-scale operational capabilities and the establishment of standards for plug-and-play performance and system interoperability will inform our discussion throughout the event.
Join us in February for the US's leading biometric and identity management summit.
What are the Benefits of Attending?
  • Learn the most up to date requirements for multi-modality and mobility in biometrics tools
  • Explore the latest technology for reducing error margins across multiple modes of identity recognition
  • Discover techniques for securing biometrics tools from spoofing
  • Hear the latest defense requirements for biometrics
  • Explore cloud-based solutions to large scale data requirements
Highlights of 2017
  • Mobile Biometric Technology = Learn the latest technology requirements to achieve mobile device biometric identification. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI’s) Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) is seeking vendors for the development of a mobile application that can capture biometrics on android-based devices.
  • Facial Recognition Modality at the Border - US Customs and Border protection is leveraging one of the most popular biometric modalities, facial recognition, as a tool at ports of entry. This technology is critical to identification of wanted persons and in border control deployments and can streamline security operations.
  • Video Analytics - According to a new report from Homeland Security Research, entitled “Video Analytics, ISR, Intelligent Video Surveillance & Object Recognition: Asia-Pacific Market-2015-2020“, the Asia Pacific video analytics market will undergo a growth of 19 percent between 2015 and 2020.
  • Rapid DNA - Rapid DNA Analysis technology brings full automation of profile development from a reference sample swab. The “swab in – profile out” process consists of automated extraction, amplification, separation, detection and allele calling without human intervention.
  • Multimodal Biometric Authentication - Multimodal biometric authentication systems take input from a single or multiple biometric devices for measurement of two or more different biometric characteristics to ensure authentication accuracy.
More > https://www.asdevents.com

Press Release: 2nd Friday Presents: Film Frenzy!

Ooops! ...better late than never as they say or let's say it's almost a simultaneous announcement in real time. Many thanks and cheers to Suzanne Woodford who organized these events for years that have achieved a dynamic life of their own - activating downtown's historic district with night-time activities every month.

Contact: Suzanne Woodford FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email: thezanw@aol.com for more information
2ND FRIDAY NIGHT OUT  Film Frenzy
Historic Downtown Mesa is lovin’ the movies   
January 6, 2018   MESA, AZ. 2nd Friday Night Out presents Film Frenzy on January 12 from 6-10 PM. Come dressed as your favorite movie star and win prizes at the costume contest. Or enter the Movie Trivia Contest and compete for gift certificates. Both events will be held at 8PM on the OneOhOne patio at 101 W. Main. Plus there will be 50+ artists showcasing original artwork, live bands, entertainment, food booths, and shops and restaurants open late. It's free! Visit our Facebook page or www.2ndfridaynightout.com for more information. On Main Street between Center and Robson.
For more information call Suzanne at 602-318-5689.
Each month, 2nd Friday offers over 50 artists showcasing original art, fun entertainment, live bands, dining, gallery openings, and unique shopping opportunities with shops and restaurants open late.  And each month features a different theme!  Bring your dog, bring your kids, bring your sweetie, or bring your grandma, but don’t miss the fun from 6-10 PM every 2nd Friday. 
It’s all happening on Main Street in historic downtown Mesa on Main St. between Center and Robson.
Questions? Call Suzanne at 602-318-5689.  It's all FREE! 
For more information, go to www.2ndFridayNightOut.com.
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Mesa’s 2nd Friday is the winner of the 2010 New Times “Best of Phoenix – Block Party” and was nominated for the 2011 “Best Arts Festival!” 2nd Friday brings thousands of people together for an evening of fun, food and entertainment

5th Annual Southwest Maker Fest Announces Earlier Date, Upcoming Exhibition Deadline

Catching up on upcoming events unique to Metro Mesa's Heart-of-the-City
For information contact:
Cindy Ornstein 480-644-6601
Southwest Maker Fest Announces Earlier Mid-February Date This Year;
Applications to Exhibit Accepted Until January 26
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThe fifth annual Southwest Maker Fest (SWMF) arrives earlier this year—moving from mid-March to February 17, 2018.
SWMF will offer participatory activities in the arts, technology, science, sustainability and more to festival visitors from 10am to 4pm on Pepper Street and at the i.d.e.a. Museum, which will be open free to the public for the event. 
The free festival, located in the heart of downtown Mesa, just off Main Street and Macdonald Streets, will offer exhibits, demonstrations, community art projects, and lots of opportunities to try your hand at new things. The deadline to apply as an exhibitor is fast approaching on January 26.
It is free to exhibit, as long as the exhibit features active public engagement, such as hands-on activities or demonstrations. Apply at SouthwestMakerFest.com.
> This year, the event is partnering with the Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts, so handmade creations sold by their makers can be explored there, immediately adjacent to SWMF on Macdonald Street.
Exhibitors wishing to sell their own “made by me” items at the event should register through dtmesafest.com. Food and music will round out the day’s experiences.
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Southwest Maker Fest is a collaborative one-day festival and community of makers seeking to achieve the vision of a connected community, empowered by creativity. SWMF’s mission is to celebrate, engage, and inspire the maker in each of us. Last year’s event welcomed about 5,000 visitors.
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SWMF is once again a signature event of the Arizona SciTech Festival. The event is being held under the auspices of Ultimate Imagination Inc., the 501(c)3 non-profit arm of the Downtown Mesa Association. 
Event details and volunteer sign-up is available at the event website at SouthwestMakerFest.com.

Economic Development News + Industry Articles from Expansion Solutions

2018 Digital Magazine: Here's the current issue with links to some of the published articles accessible online
Here's the front cover - what caught your MesaZona blogger's attention were some industries important in Arizona and Mexico
Medical Device Manufacturing
Data Centers (some recent posts right here on this blog)
Shovel-Ready Sites: that's Certified Shovel-Ready Sites
Green Development (that Mesa doesn't have enough of yet)


Link > http://www.expansionsolutionsmagazine.com/home
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First A TEASER to get you more interested in Green Development:
Tuesday, 09 January 2018
By Amanda Taylor, Senior Consultant and Director of Research, McCallum Sweeney Consulting
Corporate sustainability strategies have become common at companies large and small, establishing initiatives and targets for economic, environmental, and social performance of the company. Sustainability is about taking a long-term view when making corporate investments, which can be difficult in a competitive economic environment that rewards short-term gains. To meet sustainability targets, sustainability-driven companies take a systems approach, meaning all material inputs and outputs are elements in an ecosystem that are continually put back into service. Companies with sustainability strategies are driven not only by economic gains, but environmental and social principles. Sustainability-driven manufacturers will place importance on the selection of production locations that will align with and support their corporate performance targets. Companies will invest in locations where the community is a willing partner towards achieving sustainability targets. Communities that are prepared to be a partner are best poised to benefit from the sustainability movement. . .
READ MORE > Either hit/hover on the last industry article line-up below or go directly to the this: http://www.expansionsolutionsmagazine.com/industry_articles/view/13546/alignment_of_corporate_and_community_sustainability_strategies

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Catching Up > Here's a dump of recent articles and reporting from
Industry Articles 
Wednesday, 10 January 2018
In this brave new world of two day delivery being the norm for online purchases, it seems people expect speedy delivery of just about everything that . . .
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Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Plastics continue to thrive and grow in spite of the press it periodically receives
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Wednesday, 10 January 2018
It is virtually impossible to take an analytical look at the medical device manufacturing sector without first looking at the 500 pound gorilla in the
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Tuesday, 09 January 2018
Transportation and Logistics is a central component of the economy. It not only supports numerous jobs and output within its own sector, but also enables . . .
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Tuesday, 09 January 2018
Corporate sustainability strategies have become common at companies large and small, establishing initiatives and targets for economic, environmental,