Happy to see another activist generation follow the 'sociopathetic Baby-Boomers' from the 1960's saying enough is enough with huge demonstrations in the U.S. and all over the world. They give credit to their teachers in Parkland, Florida.... here in Arizona, there's room for improvement.
Gotta wonder if that new HLP 'Interactive-Art' Project where Smartphone uses are encouraged to talk to inanimate objects like lamp posts, drainage pipes, and tables here in 'The Old Donut-Hole' can ever match the excitement of this crowd . . . your MezaZona blogger could hear the sounds of the huge gathering at The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, while Executive Chef for Special Events at this landmark location working with the food crew to stage an after-concert party. That was a different lifetime long ago and far away in a totally different universe, so please forgive yours truly for just having fun with HLP Mesa. Simon & Garfunkel - Feelin' Groovy (from The Concert in Central Park)
The low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program will receive a 12.5% increase for the next four years under a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending plan agreed to by Congress.
Maria Cantwell
“This is the first increase in over a decade,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who championed the LIHTC boost. “Nearly $3 billion is a good start toward tackling the housing crisis in our cities and rural communities. The increase couldn’t come at a better time. This down payment will help us deal with the tremendous deficit we have in affordable housing.”
Blogger Note:Images of Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton (above) and Mesa Mayor John Giles (below right) have been inserted in this blog post to highlight the fact that have sworn publicly to support more affordable housing. . . certain groups here in Mesa have routinely opposed more affordable, innovative, and equitable housing here.
Cantwell, who has beenpushing to expand the LIHTC programfor several years, cited how the recent tax reform bill harms future development of affordable housing. Although the 2017 tax legislation retained the housing credit program, several other measures in the bill are expected to significantly reduce the number of affordable homes built in the nation.
Congressional leaders reached a tentative deal on the new spending bill Wednesday night. President Donald Trump signed the bill Friday after both the Senate and House voted to approve the legislation.
"Enterprise is thrilled that the omnibus will strengthen and expand the low-income housing tax credit,” said Emily Cadik, senior director of public policy at Enterprise, in a written statement earlier in the week.“We especially want to thank Sen. Cantwell for her fierce determination to make more homes affordable to the 11 million households who struggle to keep a roof over their heads. These proposals from the Cantwell-Hatch Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act have been enacted at a time when they could not be more urgently needed.”
In addition to an increase in credits, the spending plan allows for an average income test, enabling the 60% of the area median income ceiling to apply to the average of all apartments in a development.
The omnibus bill also increases funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including public housing and HOME programs.
David M. Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, calls the fiscal 2018 funding bill "the most important housing legislation in many years."
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He cites the bill's inclusion of
> $1.36 billion for the HOME program
> $3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program
> A 10% increase over fiscal 2017 HUD funding, totaling more than $11 billion over the Trump administration budget proposal.
> It also includes $250 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which helps fund housing and community development projects throughout the nation.
“I am especially appreciative that the House and Senate leadership were able to come together after very difficult negotiations to reach a bipartisan compromise. Washington works best when it is working together on building our country. It’s gratifying that reconciliation and compromise are not the lost arts of political discourse,” says Dworkin.
2 days ago - This week, congressional leaders passed a spending bill that includes a significant increase in funding for affordable housing and community development programs at HUD and USDA. The spending bill also includes an increase in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and an important reform to the ...
3 days ago - Below are my highlights from the FY 2018 federal spending bill that was finalized yesterday by Congressional leaders. I am pleased to report that thanks to the heroic efforts of our national advocate allies and several members of our state's Congressional delegation, there is relatively good news to share:.
Your MesaZona blogger must have been snoozing for the last three days to have missed an announcement in a paid press release about the adaptive re-use of an historically significant building on West Broadway close to Country Club Drive here in Mesa in the Original One-Square Mile or 'downtown'. There was nothing from the City of Mesa Newsroom (and consequently nothing from The East Valley Tribune, Arizona Republic, AZ Big Media or Phoenix Biz Journal). . . The story about the regeneration of this existing historically significant building from the city's earlier agriculture-based economy and its new owner's enterprise in Bitcoin changing the world of finance is another sign that the 4th Industrial Revolution has arrived here in the most conservative city in America. How did your MesaZona blogger get the story? Simply by chance in a social media posting on 21 March by savvy smart Mesa City Councilmember Jeremy Whittaker (see more below) According to this story by Parker Leavitt in mainstream media from February 2015, the 1930's-era shipping plant closed after nearly 70 years in 2010 with promises of 80 manufacturing jobs. Looks like that didn't happen just like so many things that city officials announce - so take some items like this one with 'a grain of salt'
Manufacturing, jobs for old Mesa Sunkist plant
"Once an icon of Mesa's thriving citrus industry, the historical Sunkist packing plant south of downtown may become the city's newest symbol of redevelopment and recovery in an economically-challenged area.
Autoline Industries, an auto-parts maker currently located in Gilbert, has acquired the property near Country Club Drive and Broadway Road and plans to invest $3.8 million into a manufacturing center and corporate headquarters, city officials announced Feb. 25.
The company expects to employ more than 80 people at the 70,000-square-foot facility over the next five years, according to the city. Construction is set to begin in April.
This was a quote from the mayor, typically using the tired worn-out word excited
"We are always excited to help growing companies bring their manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S.," Mesa Mayor John Giles said in a city press release. "Autoline Industries will be a great addition to the area, and I wish them the best of success."
PR: Bitcoin Miner Distributor BlokForge Opens US Retail Location
Please Note: This is a paid press release, which contains forward looking statements, and should be treated as advertising or promotional material. Bitcoin.com does not endorse nor support this product/service. Bitcoin.com is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy or quality within the press release.
BlokForge, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of cryptocurrency mining hardware, is announcing the grand opening of its 2,000 sq. ft. retail location in Mesa, Arizona. The new store will carry over 20 product SKU’s from the largest brands in the world such as Canaan Creative.
The U.S.-based retail location represents a physical presence and is the first to do so stateside. BlokForge will be offering sales, repair, and consulting, along with classes by the end of the year.
Despite being a relatively new entrant to the mining supply space, BlokForge is unique in that it originated as an import-export company with over 20 years of experience sourcing hardware from overseas manufacturers before segueing into cryptocurrency mining hardware. The U.S. based company has grown quickly, expanding to its current 100,000 sq ft. warehouse. Formerly the site of Sunkist Citrus Growers, it was acquired by BlokForge’s parent company in February of 2015 and redesigned by Arizona architect Debartolo Architects in an effort to preserve the historical significance of the building, while making it fully functional for the growing needs of the supplier.
"The company's location is no accident. The Arizona Senate passed a bill recently that would allow residents to pay their taxes using Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Representative Jeff Weninger who has sponsored similar bills in the past is “sending a signal to everyone in the United States and possibly throughout the world that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future.”
Despite being a relatively new entrant to the mining supply space, BlokForge is unique in that it originated as an import-export company with over 20 years of experience sourcing hardware from overseas manufacturers before segueing into cryptocurrency mining hardware.
The U.S. based company has grown quickly, expanding to its current 100,000 sq ft. warehouse. Formerly the site of Sunkist Citrus Growers, it was acquired by BlokForge’s parent company in February of 2015 and redesigned by Arizona architect Debartolo Architects in an effort to preserve the historical significance of the building, while making it fully functional for the growing needs of the supplier.
A nice link to an active page with a post about AZ State Historian Marshall Trimble on location at the Sunkist Citrus 254 W Broadway https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mesa-Citrus-Growers-Association/160698540620390
________________________________________________________________________________ ONLINE OPINION POLL
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Should the City of Mesa accept bitcoin as a method of payment for utilities assuming risk is negated using a 3rd party payment provider who will automatically convert it into US dollar?
DOH!DUH, DUH + Duh! Any reasonable person might justifiably wonder WTFark is going on with the city's big-budgeted so-called 'newsroom' occupying space inside City Hall. Are they too pre-occupied and oh-so-bizzy getting their act together to come up with a plausible public relations campaign for next year's fiscal budget fiasco to finesse and underplay the games they play propagandizing another ploy to fool-the-public about more tricky financing schemes for ASU, that they didn't happen to see some International and Chinese VC-financed Bike-Share here on the sidewalks? Installations right in front of City Hall and around downtown? Your MesaZona blogger posted about this last month. It was an unusual rainy day here in the desert in The Valley of The Sun and here in 'The Od Donut-Hole' mid-week on Wednesday February 14th. The streets were empty as usual - even the homeless who usually are the only ones seen enjoying public spaces were seeking scant shelter from the elements. Yours truly stepped-out for a walk, seeing groups of bright yellow and lime green bikes in position on the perimeters of the Mesa Arts Center, calling Casey Blake, the Director of Public Relations, to find out what's happening. Surprisingly, Casey picked up the call herself filling in details she knew about. Here's a link to what was posted here on this blog: images by Tim Mello on 14 Feb. The opening image shows the bikes parked across Main Street from Mesa City Hall . . . did city officials not make some 'deal' with these companies or didn't know anything?
These self-propelled two-wheeled machines, funded by privately-owned Chinese VCs [venture capitalists[
are getting free parking on the public sidewalks - or maybe we should call it "foreign direct investment" in our
hyper-local "Donut-Hole" where we now see more bikes than people who might use them on the streets of
our downtown community where not everyone is affluent enough to own a Smartphone to download the app
on these bikes to pay to rent them
Now seeing a second and third company dumping on public sidewalks here this time dockless bikes that you can find all around to use and drop off any time and anywhere you like - if you use a Smartphone there's an app you can download to rent the bike. What they don't tell you is that you rent at the same a GPS tracker that can track everything you do and collect your data: that's the money-maker to get "big data" - your data - start-ups can capitalize on in the new Sharing Economy to deliver back dollars to initial funding investors
Feb 15, 2018 - Bike-Share War Here in Downtown Mesa??? NO, dear readers, IT'S PREMATURE OVERKILL! These self-propelled two-wheeled machines, funded by privately-owned Chinese VCs [venture capitalists[ are getting free parking on the public sidewalks - or maybe we should call it "foreign direct investment" in ...
Feb 15, 2018 - The Ofo bike share company officially began operating in Mesa last week while simultaneously dealing with issues previously confronted in Phoenix and Scottsdale over complaints about bikes abandoned on sidewalks and front lawns. Ofo's initial launch in Mesa will include 200 to 250 bikes and focus on ...
________________________________________________________________________ Here's the announcement dated March 22, 2018 from MesaNow about what started on February 14, 2018: THIS IS ALL THE CITY'S NEWSROOM HAS TO SAY:
Dockless Bicycles in Mesa
March 22, 2018 at 2:31 pm
"Dockless bike share companies have begun operations in Mesa and have placed bicycles around the city. These bike share companies are privately owned and operated and are not affiliated with the City of Mesa. The companies and their customers are responsible for obeying all state laws and city ordinances when using and parking bikes. If you have a concern about a bike's location, it's best to contact the appropriate company directly. Below is contact information for the companies currently operating in Mesa, or they can also each be contacted through their associated smartphone app: LimeBike (Green bikes with yellow fenders)support@limebike.com Call or text: 888-546-3345 Ofo (Yellow bikes)support@ofobike.com The Mesa City Code states "no person shall park a bicycle upon a street other than upon the roadway against the curb or upon the sidewalk in a rack to support the bicycle or against a building or at the curb in such manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic." (Title 10, Chapter 1, Section 14). "
