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Friday, March 23, 2018

PHX>EV: The New Zion: Intersection of Power Politics & Infrastructure Investment

This is a differential tangent and take-off point from an article by Rogue Columnist Jon Talton that was published on 15 March 2018.
It overlaps with a number of posts on this blog about the eastward Mesa suburban (and Boomburg) expansion into Phoenix's East Valley that's been 're-branded' by the East Valley Partnership as PHX>EV for farther real estate land holdings 'to the edge' creating clusters of Boomburgs and networks of new Edge-Cities including five or six new data centers and tech industrial/commercial corridors.
All that require both large amounts of electricity and water while creating few jobs except for 20th Century manufacturing facilities now getting automated. It explains why there's no Central Business District anymore, with the City of Mesa's $350,000,000 Bond Obligation Debts for two new Water Treatment Plants: Signal Butte WTP and the Greenfield WTP, as well as new connections made at the Val Vista WTP.
Jon Talton provides a short version of the Salt River Project, adding issues about renewable energy, Elon Musk's Solar City, and upcoming November elections.

The Kingdom and The Power

The Salt River Project was recently in the news, with proposed pay increases including $251,000 a year for board President David Rousseau. The story noted that this was more than Gov. Doug Ducey ($95,000) or Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton ($88,000). SRP backed off following the news in the Arizona Republic. The real day-to-day boss is the new general manager, Mike Hummel, who will make $1.04 million. Despite the modest title, this is a position of immense influence. Former general managers include heavyweights Jack Pfister and Dick Silverman.
Phoenix lacks engaged moneyed stewards such as Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Seattle, or major headquarters such as Amazon. This only magnifies the power of SRP. It is no ordinary utility, even though it supplies electricity to the Phoenix metropolitan area along with Arizona Public Service. But much of what it does happens behind the scenes. SRP likes it that way. . .
The Salt River Project is a unique entity. . . SRP is not a federal agency.
Rather, it is a hybrid private-state organization consisting of two arms.
First is the Salt River Valley Water Users Association, which began in 1903. The first Newlands Act reclamation project, the association consisted of farmers and ranchers who pledged their land as collateral for low-interest bonds to pay for Theodore Roosevelt Dam.
The second arm was created in 1936 when the Legislature took advantage of a New Deal program allowing no-interest bonds to be sold for agricultural improvement through state government districts. Named the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, it was shortened to Salt River Project.
Although it was pitched for decades as a way to sustain agriculture and stop groundwater pumping, California presciently argued that Arizona would use it for urban development. California was right, although it lost the landmark suit.. .
The kingdom and the power come with controversy . . .
Read more > http://www.roguecolumnist.com/rogue_columnist/2018/03/srp-the-kingdom-and-the-power.html

Stay Curious > Gracious Thank-YOU for 180,000+ Page-Views

Your MesaZona blogger never imagined three years ago when this blog site was started that an independent news source like this might be interesting to so many people ...
It's good to know
Some people have called yours truly a 'Rabble-Rouser' and a
'Trouble-Maker - they who they are . . .
Nevertheless, what you read see and hear is what you get, whether you like it or not.
This blog fills in a void in "The Old Donut-Hole': actively encouraging every one and every body to get more involved and engaged in what happens here in Mesa.
Heartfelt thanks ... Please be more curious. Stay woke.

Hello Who??? Inter-Active Art Sham > The City of Mesa Wants To Grab Your Data

Believe it or not, dear readers, YOU ARE A WALKING GOLDMINE OF DATA - Information about you that cities and for-profit companies want to use whether you know it or not, with or without your consent. SERIOUSLY, Folks! . . . Beware of schemes like this!

Like most things, Downtown Mesa is way behind-the-curve in schemes of any kind to resuscitate, to re-develop, to re-imagine, or to re-generate the distressed 'Old Donut-Hole".
If Downtown Mesa is to be eligible for new investor tax credits then it's got to get classified as a neglected. blighted, and low-income area for both 'Opportunity Zones" and Redevelopment Areas (RDA) by the Mesa Office of Economic Development. Vibrant? No. Distressed? Yes.

"The Rise of Mesa's Innovation District"? When Mesa Mayor John Giles has admitted that
City planners had no idea what they were doing for years. Whoa!
Has anything changed when we have the same of characters who want to transform DTMesa their way, even after a successive history of failures and half-baked Pie-In-The-Sky schemes like $75,000 spent on proposals for City Center and a $150M bogus Bond for an ASU satellite campus here - with no alternatives presented except for their only one > ASU. _________________________________________________________________________

If anything can happen here at all here in Mesa, everyone needs to be invited to the table and interact with people at all levels. Citizens - the people who live here in Mesa - are simply not engaged and not involved in urban planning,in spite of an over-hyped Imagine Mesa campaign handled by a third-party, with foregone conclusions. Now we get the Hello Lamp Post project - to interact via text message with inanimate objects at the same time grabbing all your data.

Lamp posts, bus stops, benches, tables and other city objects have something to say - all coded and programmed to capture data when you use your 'Smartphone'. 32 total objects like lampposts, benches, newspaper boxes, public art, sculptures and the Mesa Arts Center building are given individual mobile phone codes allowing them to interact with anyone who texts them.
That's exclusionary for people who do not own or use smartphones.
How will the city - and other un-named institutions - use YOUR DATA from texting to inanimate objects?
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. . . it will help them think about how they will respond to what they call "our community's desires" ?????? (How about the plural communities?)
According to an article by East Valley Tribune go-to reporter Wayne Schutsky, " The objects initially will be preloaded with basic knowledge about themselves and the area to share with users. They will accumulate more information over time as more people interact with them.

What's missing in the picture? People!

In addition to providing visitors with information, the objects also will gather feedback about what users would like to see from downtown organizations.

The objects will “collect input from the public about how they feel about art in Mesa and downtown to gather input for our strategic planning,” said Cindy Ornstein, executive director of the Mesa Arts Center. . .

She added, “You are helping to inform Mesa Arts Center, Downtown Mesa Association and other institutions with information that will help us think about how we will respond to our community’s desires.”

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ALL THE HYPE:

Want to be heard? Text a lamppost or bench in Mesa | News ...

www.eastvalleytribune.com/...lamppost.../article_c1e6c8c0-2bbd-11e8-a4c0-fbb929d...

3 days ago - Lampposts, park benches and buildings are not typically the best conversationalists, but those inanimate objects will soon come to life in downtown Mesa with the help of the Hello Lamp Post project. The interactive digital art project – which debuted in Bristol, England, in 2013 and has since made its way...

Go talk to a lamp post or a park bench,... - City of Mesa, Arizona ...

https://www.facebook.com/CityofMesa/posts/10156213006194393

Go talk to a lamp post or a park bench, or maybe even a building in Downtown Mesa, Arizona. No, we're not joking. Mesa Arts Center's latest art...

Hello Lamp Post - Mesa, Arizona - Phoenix, Arizona - Mesa Arts Center

https://www.mesaartscenter.com/hellolamppost

Hello Lamp Post, a playful work of interactive public art by PAN Studios in London, invites you to pause in your tracks and interact via text message with everyday street objects like lamp posts, benches, buildings and drains. The project, which has only visited one other U.S. city prior to its installation in Mesa, includes 32 ...

Spring Events in Downtown Mesa - Downtown Mesa

www.downtownmesa.com/spring-events/

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Hearing voices? Company creates lampposts and bus stops that 'come alive' and can TALK

By Nicola Rowe and Victoria Woollaston

Published: 03:26 EDT, 21 June 2013 | Updated: 12:46 EDT, 21 June 2013
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2345212/Meet-lamp-posts-bus-stops-mind-Company-uses-new-technology-make-city-centre-landmarks-come-alive-chat-people.html#ixzz5AZzDnoiC
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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Invest It > Leverage It > Lift Up Under-Invested Neighborhoods > Develop Skills of Talented People

Here In Mesa and Here in Arizona
There’s still much to do to foster economic opportunity
What is LISC Phoenix doing RIGHT HERE??

Link to National LISC Updates

Our Kind of March Madness

Posted: 21 Mar 2018 09:00 PM PDT

Winter may be hanging on longer than expected (in some parts of the country), but at LISC, the month of March has blossomed like never before. In the last three weeks, we raised $68 million—from longstanding donors such as State Farm and Wells Fargo, through new partnerships with ProMedica, Union Pacific and the San Francisco Foundation, and with expanded public resources from the CDFI Fund and the city of Washington, DC. We’ll invest it. We’ll leverage it. We’ll use it to lift up underinvested neighborhoods and develop the skills of talented people in our neighborhoods. There’s still much to do to foster economic opportunity in our communities and we are grateful for this support, which helps us do the job. What a month it’s been. And we've still got a week to go!

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LISC Awarded CDFI Fund’s Largest Capital Magnet Fund Grant
The Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund announced a new round of Capital Magnet Fund grants to spur an expected $3.2 billion in affordable housing and economic development. LISC will use its $7.5 million award—the largest in this round of funding—to seed $150 million in development activity in urban and rural communities.
State Farm Announces $4 Million Grant to LISC
LISC and State Farm expanded their long-time partnership this week with new funding to boost economic opportunities in 11 cities. "Millions of people are looking for opportunities to earn higher wages and build stronger futures for their families,” said Maurice Jones, LISC president and CEO. "Our partnership with State Farm is vital to advancing this important work.”
Wells Fargo Helps LISC Expand Financial Opportunity
LISC and Wells Fargo have a long history of collaboration on work to expand housing, economic development, health, safety and jobs. A new $2.5 million grant from the bank will help LISC expand Financial Opportunity Centers in 15 cities so they can reach more people with more services, and help people raise their incomes and overall standards of living.

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Bureau of Economic Analysis Release: State Personal Income: 2017 + Revisions/Updates to Personal Income

News Release
EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EDT Thursday, March 22, 2018

State Personal Income: 2017
State personal income increased 3.1 percent on average in 2017, after increasing 2.3 percent in 2016, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (table 1). In 2017, personal income increased in all states and the District of Columbia except one, North Dakota. The percent change in personal income across all states ranged from 4.8 percent in Washington to -0.3 percent in North Dakota.
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Pre-Note to this data: Revisions & Updates to Personal Income.
> Today, BEA also released revised quarterly estimates for 2017:Q1-2017:Q3.
Updates were made to incorporate source data that are more complete and more detailed than previously available and to align the states with revised national estimates.
> BEA also released:

Revised quarterly estimates of population and per capita personal income for 2010:Q1-2017:Q3
Revised annual estimates of population and per capita personal income for 2010-2016.

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Personal Income: Percent Change, 2016-2017

Earnings. Earnings increased 3.1 percent in 2017 and was the leading contributor to growth in personal income in most states, including the five fastest growing states—Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona (table 2).

Retail trade was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Washington (5.2 percent) (table 3). Retail trade earnings increased 15.3 percent in Washington compared with 2.9 percent for the nation (table 5).
Durable goods manufacturing was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Idaho (5.3 percent). Durable goods manufacturing increased 9.7 percent in Idaho compared with 2.0 percent for the nation.
Construction was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Nevada (4.3 percent). Construction earnings increased 13.2 percent in Nevada compared with 5.2 percent for the nation.
Professional, scientific, and technical services was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Utah (4.7 percent). Professional, scientific, and technical services earnings increased 7.6 percent in Utah compared with 3.7 percent for the nation.
Health care was the leading contributor to the earnings increase in Arizona (4.8 percent). Health care earnings increased 6.4 percent in Arizona compared with 4.1 percent for the nation.

For the nation, earnings increased in 22 of the 24 industries for which BEA prepares estimates (table 5).
Earnings growth in three industries—health care and social assistance; professional, scientific, and technical services; and construction—were the leading contributors to overall growth in personal income.
Farm earnings decreased 6.6 percent for the nation in 2017.
This was the fourth consecutive annual decrease in farm earnings and was the leading contributor to slow earnings growth in Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and to decreases in earnings in Iowa and North Dakota.
Mining earnings, which for the nation has decreased 35 percent since 2014, decreased 2.7 percent in 2017 and was the leading contributor to a decrease in earnings in Alaska.
Property income (dividends, interest, and rent).
Property Income increased 3.3 percent in 2017, after increasing 1.2 percent in 2016.
The percent change in property income ranged from 4.4 percent in Washington to 2.4 percent in Kentucky (table 2).
Personal current transfer receipts.
Transfer receipts increased 3.0 percent for the nation in 2017, after increasing 3.1 percent in 2016. The percent change in transfer receipts ranged from 8.3 percent in Louisiana to -1.1 percent in New Mexico.
Fourth quarter personal income.
State personal income increased 1.1 percent on average in the fourth quarter of 2017, after increasing 0.8 percent growth in the third quarter (table 6).
The percent change in personal income across all states ranged from 1.5 percent in Nevada to 0.2 percent in North Dakota.
Earnings increased 1.1 percent nationally, and was the leading contributor to growth in personal income in most states (table 7).
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Technical Contact
Matthew von Kerczek	(301) 278-9250	industryeconomicaccounts@bea.gov
David G. Lenze	(301) 278-9292
Media Contact
Jeannine Aversa	(301) 278-9003	jeannine.aversa@bea.gov
Thomas Dail		thomas.dail@bea.gov
twitter.com/BEA_News	blog.bea.gov	www.bea.gov/_subscribe

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

AZ State Senator Bob Worsley's Windfall Profits as DTMesa Real Estate Speculator in 'Innovation Districts' + 'Opportunity Zones'

Readers of this blog may have little noticed or don't remember that remark about "15-year moments" made in a rare appearance by Mesa Mega-Millionaire Bob Worsley at a recent meeting of the Mesa City Council . . or a remark made by Mesa Mayor John Giles that the city will need to figure out how to finance recent MOUs and IGAs - Looks like Jivin' John Giles will have to be looking for "more than an aircraft carrier" from the Federal Government to make reality out of all those half-baked Pie-In-The-Sky schemes financed by public taxpayer dollar$ for personal gain$ by his friends-and-family and their private $pecial intere$t$ - robbing from the poor and giving to the rich.

Here we go again! ...and here's a good question asked by https://news.impactalpha.com:
How do you ensure that wealth creation extends to the communities themselves, and not just the investors?
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The 90-day determination period for designating Opportunity Zones began in late December 2017 when the Opportunity Zones Program was created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Invested capital will flow through “Opportunity Funds,” new funds and vehicles required to invest 90% of their assets in economically distressed communities. Governors must nominate areas for inclusion by March 21.
According to the Economic Innovation Group, which helped craft the law, there is probably close to $6 trillion sitting around in capital gains
http://eig.org/opportunityzones
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Explore the map below (or click here) to see which communities in your state are eligible to be designated as Opportunity Zones:

Eligible for Opportunity Zone allocation based on low income community criteria

Eligible for Opportunity Zone allocation based on contiguity with low income community tracts

Not eligible for Opportunity Zone allocation based on low income community criteria

Insufficient data

Join the Coalition

EIG is in the process of organizing a broad coalition of organizations working together to ensure successful implementation of the Opportunity Zones program. The Opportunity Zones Coalition is being formed to work with a broad array of public and private stakeholders to ensure the timely and effective national implementation of Opportunity Zones. If you are interested in learning more or becoming a part of the coalition, please contact info@eig.org

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Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The Opportunity Zones program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized capital gains into Opportunity Funds that are dedicated to investing into Opportunity Zones designated by the chief executives of every U.S. state and territory. Read more below about how the Opportunity Zones program works, as well as its history and community of supporters.
All the bragging that Maricopa County and the City of Mesa are "doing great'' as the fastest growing in the country could backfire - The federal law is targeted - only census tracts that meet certain poverty or income criteria can be nominated.
The City of Mesa has 12 Census tracts to get what could be a crucial economic boost - tomorrow March 22nd is the deadline when Governor Ducey makes recommendations that have been reviewed by the Arizona Commerce Authority. The federal law allows Ducey to give the designation to 168.

A provision buried deep in the new federal tax law allows the governors of all of the state to designate some areas as eligible to become “Opportunity Zones.'' What's significant is those that end up on the list are likely to become magnets for new investment

New ‘opportunity zones’ likely to become magnet for investment
Link > Howie Fischer 11 March 2018

What will entice people to invest in Opportunity Zones?
Much of that is wrapped up around unrealized capital gains -- and avoiding taxes.
According to the Economic Innovation Group, which helped craft the law, there is probably close to $6 trillion sitting around in capital gains -- money made on existing investments -- with the run-up of the stock market.
The new law envisions the creation of Opportunity Funds whose managers would look for eligible projects in the Opportunity Zones, things like new businesses, investing in existing ones, real estate projects or even infrastructure.
An investor who puts his or her existing capital gains into one of those funds gets to defer paying taxes on that gain.
More significant, if the money remains in that fund for seven years, the taxes due on those deferred gains are reduced by 15 percent.
And there’s another sweetener: If the funds remain for at least a decade, there are no taxes on what is earned from the investment in the Opportunity Fund.
Getting a designation does not, however, guarantee that investment dollars will pour in.
EIG, in a paper designed to help governors decide which census tracts to designate, suggested they look at which areas are best prepared and capable of absorbing the new capital that could become available.
There’s also the question of what kind of development the state seeks to spur.
For example, the EIG paper says
> one option would be to create Opportunity Zones on the edge of university campuses to encourage spin-offs and technology transfer.
> Other possibilities include things like redeveloping “brownfield’’ sites in communities.
But all that, in turn, is linked to what areas qualify for designation.Blogger Note: Keep in mind that the City of Mesa's Office for Economic Development pioneered a new RDA initiative back in September 2017 hiring on new employee
Sara Sorensen Project Manager
Office of Economic Development
Phone: 480-644-2773
in a project using the Utah-based Zion Public Finance Group to train other city employees for the classification of certain areas as blighted eligible for classifications as Redevelopment Areas RDAs...It started in The Fiesta District, got extended first to the Central Business District CBD or Town Center, then to East Mesa and more
What is a Redevelopment Area? A Redevelopment Area is an area of the City designated by City Council to be in need of revitalization. The City of Mesa has four existing Redevelopment Areas - the Town Center RDA (1999), the Southwest RDA (2016), the East RDA (2017) and the West RDA (2017).
Why are we doing this? Development interest is increasing in the proposed area and it is imperative we build upon this momentum. Designating the area, a Redevelopment Area will help reduce blight and spur development and adaptive re-use of vacant or underutilized structures
The mission of the Office of Economic Development is to enhance Mesa’s economy and create quality jobs . . .
LINK > http://www.mesaaz.gov/business/economic-development/redevelopment-area

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Opportunity Zones Resources - CDFI Fund

https://www.cdfifund.gov/Pages/Opportunity-Zones.aspx

Opportunity Zones. The authority to implement IRC 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2 has been delegated to the IRS. The CDFI Fund is supporting the IRS with the Opportunity Zone nomination and designation process under IRC 1400Z-1 only. IRS Revenue Procedure · Opportunity Zones Information Resource, with sortable lists by ...

Metrocenter, Desert Sky Mall Among Phoenix Opportunity Zones | KJZZ

https://kjzz.org/.../metrocenter-desert-sky-mall-among-phoenix-opportunity-zones

Feb 17, 2018 - Phoenix hopes to cash in on a provision in the federal tax bill approved by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump two months ago. The city has identified nearly 50 areas as opportunity zones.To qualify as an opportunity zone, at least 20 percent of the population must live below the ...

Opportunity Zones Program: States Have Less Than 90 Days to ...

https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/.../States_Have_Less_Than_90_Days_to_Desig...

Jan 17, 2018 - The 90-day determination period for designating Opportunity Zones began in late December when the Opportunity Zones Program was created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Governors in each state and U.S. territory (and the Mayor of Washington, D.C.) are now tasked with identifying a certain number of ...

Opportunity Zones - Economic Innovation Group

eig.org/opportunityzones

Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide. The Opportunity Zones program provides a tax incentive for investors to re-invest their unrealized ...

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Monday, March 19, 2018

It's Just a Party...they're probably foreigners LOL

The Rocky Horror Picture Show "Sweet Transvestite"
Views: 9,892,236