LDS First Presidency Releases New Guidelines for Interviewing Youth

First Presidency Letter

20 JUNE 2018 - SALT LAKE CITY

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/new-guidelines-for-interviewing-youth 

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the following letter to General Authorities; Area Seventies; General Auxiliary Presidencies; Stake, Mission, and District Presidents; Bishops and Branch Presidents; and Stake and Ward Young Women and Young Men Presidencies.

Interview Questions for a Limited-Use Temple Recommend

1. Do you have faith in and a testimony of God the Eternal Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost?
2. Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of Christ and of His role as Savior and Redeemer?
3. Do you have a testimony of the Restoration of the gospel in these, the latter days?
4. Do you sustain the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys? Do you sustain the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators? Do you sustain the other General Authorities and local authorities of the Church?
5. Do you live the law of chastity?
6. Is there anything in your conduct relating to members of your family that is not in harmony with the teachings of the Church?
7. Do you support any group or person whose teachings oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
8. Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and priesthood meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel?
9. Are you honest in your dealings with your fellowmen?
10. Are you a full-tithe payer?
11. Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?
12. Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?
13. Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?

What's This from Axios? The FEAR is the SEQUENCE

Analyzing language is a compulsive occupation on-the-side for your MesaZona blogger.
A degree in Psychology from the College of Arts & Sciences @ Georgetown University included concentrated studies in different areas, one of which was Linguistic Analysis - a strong  foundation for the digital publishing of this blog site where words [and images] are everything are you see.
Yes the medium - or the media - is the message. 
Following the story works well, but how about Getting Ahead of the story'?? 
. . . Creating intended consequences ahead of time or asserting a reality that just isn't there yet?

For example the recent Kim-Trump Singapore Summit that was called "historic" even before it happened!

Or this image >
Allies fear Trump-Putin summit 
Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
We are worried
"[W]e are all hoping
We're praying
Another senior European official: "The fear is the sequence — a bad NATO summit followed by a good Putin meeting, with the two leaders embracing."READ MORE >> www.axios.com
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< Here in Mesa we got this imaginary image - an architectural rendering - that was featured on the current 2018 cover of Compass Magazine produced by the Mesa Chamber of Commerce by Republic Media Custom Publishing, a division of The Arizona Republic.
Stakeholders Prospectus 2018 
Here's the reaction by your hyper-local independent digital online news source published here six months ago ... Since then, AZ Senator and Real Estate Speculator Bob Worsley announced he's pulled-out seeking another term

16 January 2018

Miixing-Up Real Estate Speculation + Politics > What Fun, Huh?

Say What?
Take a look at the new cover of Compass Magazine, a publication of The Times Media Group put out by The Mesa Chamber of Commerce that's registered as a non-profit organization with the Arizona Corporate Commission.

Perhaps the Office of The  Arizona State Attorney General - or an Arizona investigative reporter other than your MesaZona blogger - might want to look into what could be "stepping-over-the-line" here to publish A STAKEHOLDERS PROSPECTUS for a private development existing only-on-paper here in Mesa's historic district by a publicly-elected State Legislator doing some real estate speculation on-the-side of his official duties to serve the interests of the public in the conduct of his office.
Bob Worsley, seen in the image to the right, registered a limited liability corporation (LLC) with the ACC named MACDevLLC in June 2017 at his home address here in Mesa with a principal partner Ranches of America.
Is that a conflict of interest capitalizing on real estate holding while on the public payroll? The question needs to be asked.
The mag calls itself "Mesa, Arizona Resource Guide 2018" at the same time printed on the cover in bold red typeface that it is a Stakeholders Prospectus. . .  
WHAT IS A PROSPECTUS?
prospectus

Legally mandated document published by every firm offering its securities to public for purchase. It must comply with strict legal requirements and is filed for approval with the country's securities inspectorate such as the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) of the US, . . .

A prospectus must disclose essential information such as:

(1) firm's objectives

(2) primary business activity

(3) background and qualification of principal officers

(4) current financial position

(5) projected financial statements

(6) assumptions underlying the projections,

(7) foreseeable risks to the firm,

(8) offering price on the stock (shares)

(9) (in case of bonds and notes) how the interest and principal will be paid.

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Read more >> MesaZona

News from EPA: 2 Funding Grant Awards, Supressed PSFAs Study,

News Releases from Region 09

U.S. EPA awards $5 million grant to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality

Funds are part of a two-year grant for more than $19 million

06/07/2018

Contact Information: 

Margot Perez-Sullivan (perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov)

415-947-4149

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) a $5 million grant to help the state fund programs that protect human health and the environment throughout the state.

“EPA is committed to working with states to address today’s environmental and public health challenges,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “This grant will enable Arizona to improve environmental protections and safeguard its natural resources, while being able to prioritize the most pressing issues.”

“This grant affords Arizona the flexibility to tackle the state’s unique environmental challenges and set priorities to accomplish their goals,” said EPA Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Mike Stoker.
“ADEQ very much appreciates the grant award. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to EPA Region 9 staff for collaborating with ADEQ to produce a streamlined and flexible process,” said ADEQ Director Misael Cabrera.


The grant was announced today during a meeting between Mr. Stoker and Mr. Cabrera. This funding is the first installment of an expected $19.1 million grant that will fund Arizona’s environmental work through 2020. ADEQ will use the resources for solid waste management programs, air quality monitoring and drinking water improvements.
As part of the funding agreement, Arizona will contribute nearly $10 million.
Unlike traditional grants for specific categories, Performance Partnership Grants allow recipients to use EPA funding with greater flexibility, prioritize environmental problems, streamline paperwork and accounting procedures to reduce administrative costs, and try cross-program initiatives and approaches.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region.
Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.
Link >> EPA News Releases

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News Releases from Region 09

U.S. EPA Announces New Funding for Water Infrastructure Projects

Funding will leverage public and private investments to keep lead and other contaminants out of drinking water and upgrade aging water infrastructure

04/04/2018

 

Contact Information: 

Margot Perez-Sullivan (perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov)

415-947-4149

________________________________________________________________________

SAN FRANCISCO –Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of funding that could provide as much as $5.5 billion in loans, which could leverage over $11 billion in water infrastructure projects through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program.

Prospective borrowers seeking WIFIA credit assistance must submit a letter of interest (LOI) by July 6, 2018.

“Thanks to the President’s leadership, this WIFIA funding will spark new investments to repair our nation’s crumbling water infrastructure,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “EPA will play a key role in the President's infrastructure efforts by incentivizing states, municipalities, and public-private partnerships to protect public health, fix local infrastructure problems, create jobs, and provide clean water to communities."

The WIFIA program received $63 million in funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 23, 2018. This more than doubles the program’s funding from 2017.

Leveraging private capital and other funding sources, these projects could support $11 billion in water infrastructure investment and create more than 170,000 jobs.

This year’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) highlights the importance of protecting public health including reducing exposure to lead and other contaminants in drinking water systems and updating the nation’s aging infrastructure.  

“These funds create opportunities for local communities to address crucial water infrastructure needs,” said Alexis Strauss, Acting Regional Administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest office. “Partnering with states and local communities to provide these low interest loans helps leverage the funding needed to protect public health and the environment.”

The WIFIA program will play an important part in making vital improvements to the nation’s water infrastructure and implementing the President’s Infrastructure Plan, which calls for increasing the program’s funding authorization and expanding project eligibility.

Background

Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program at EPA that aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental loans for regionally and nationally significant projects.

WIFIA credit assistance can be used for a wide range of projects, including:

• drinking water treatment and distribution projects
• wastewater conveyance and treatment projects
• enhanced energy efficiency projects at drinking water and wastewater facilities
• desalination, aquifer recharge, alternative water supply, and water recycling project
• drought prevention, reduction, or mitigation projects

EPA will evaluate proposed projects described in the LOIs using WIFIA’s statutory and regulatory criteria as described in the NOFA. Through this competitive process, EPA will select projects that it intends to fund and invite them to continue to the application process.

Suppressed Study: The EPA Underestimated Dangers of Widespread Chemicals

The CDC has quietly published a controversial review of perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that indicates more people are at risk of drinking contaminated water than previously thought.

by Abrahm Lustgarten, Lisa Song and Talia Buford June 20, 4:54 p.m. EDT

 

Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls

Draft for Public Comment
Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal here.
Comments must be submitted by July 23, 2018.

 

Toxicological Profile Information

The ATSDR toxicological profile succinctly characterizes the toxicology and adverse health effects information for the toxic substance described therein. Each peer-reviewed profile identifies and reviews the key literature that describes a substance's toxicological properties.

A useful two page information sheet, the ToxFAQs™, is also available.

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Toxicological Profile Access

In order to access the ATSDR toxicological profile PDF files below, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may download that program free from Adobe Adobe

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Complete Profile

Preface/Table of Contents

1. Relevance to Public Health

2. Health Effects

3. Toxicokinetics, Susceptible Populations, Biomarkers, Chemical Interactions

4. Chemical and Physical Information

5. Potential for Human Exposure

6. Adequacy of the Database

7. Regulations and Advisories

8. References

Appendices

Support Document

 

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Regulatory Developments - EPA Publishes Final Reporting Requirements for TSCA Mercury Inventory

Bergeson & Campbell PC

USA June 25 2018

On June 22, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a prepublication version of the final rule regarding reporting requirements for applicable persons to provide information to assist in the preparation of an “inventory of mercury supply, use, and trade in the United States,” where “mercury” is defined as “elemental mercury” and “a mercury compound” (mercury). Section 8(b)(10)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act), directs that “[n]ot later than April 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator shall carry out and publish” in the Federal Register such an inventory. The final rule applies to any person who manufactures (including imports) mercury or mercury-added products, or otherwise intentionally uses mercury in a manufacturing process (including processes traditionally not subject to TSCA, such as for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and pesticides). EPA will use data from the 2018 reporting year for the 2020 mercury inventory. . .

Read more >> https://www.lexology.com

 

 

Word-of-the-Day: Modernizing

Whatever the prevalent, current accepted meanings of a word might be, there's usually some unexpected interesting applied usage; for example just two applications of the word
Modernizing NAFTA 
Modernizing Mesa

The first involves re-negotiation of a 24-year old free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico
The second is the title of a presentation made by Aric H. Bopp at an AeroSpace/Defense Conference last week.
Readers can easily see in the opening featured image from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that talks have been dis-integrated by President Trump turning into ongoing 'trade wars'.
NAFTA Modernization Moves Forward

Jul 24, 2017 - 9:00am

"The debate over how to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has shifted into high gear. The Trump administration just released its objectives for modernizing the 23-year-old trade deal. And negotiators recently held three days of public hearings with more than 140 stakeholders from across the economy, during which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shared its recommendations for updating the agreement. . .

However, on one of the administration’s top objectives—cutting the U.S. trade deficit—we offer a word of caution. The U.S. trade balance—whether overall or with a specific partner—is not a fair measure of who’s “winning” on trade. Suggesting that imports are somehow a problem to be solved or that services trade is less important than goods trade would be a mistake. Attempting to chart a course for trade policy on such a basis is likely to lead to the wrong priorities.

Link >> https://www.uschamber.com 

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“Modernizing Mesa:
Turning up the HEAT in Advancing Manufacturing,”

It took place at the 7th Annual Conference for Arizona's AeroSpace, Aviation, Defense + Manufacturing Industries at a place called ASU SkySong for the commercial and private sectors and university programs that was hosted by 
Arizona Technology Council, Arizona Commerce Authority and RevAZ.

The Modernizing Mesa panel featured
> Aric H. Bopp (moderator) CEcD, deputy director of strategic initiative for the City of Mesa
> Rex Ginder, UND Aerospace; 

> Scott Burns, Orbital ATK

> Arnaldo Soto, AQST Space SystemsMichael Schachte, Attack Helicopter Programs chief engineer for Boeing

If you are interested to can read more >>

https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2018/06/modernizing-mesa-getting-excited-in.html 

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OTHER EXAMPLES USING THE WORD Modernizing : 

Follow the LMP road: Modernizing US Army logistics

DefenseNews.com-8 hours ago

The U.S. Army Logistics Modernization Program has had a nearly 20-year road to sustainment, which included several firsts and established ...

Modernizing Service Delivery with Multi-Cloud

MeriTalk (blog)-5 hours ago

FITARA, MGT, the latest IT Executive Order: all of these mandates underscore the same theme – our current approach to government IT isn't ...

Modernizing A Landmark Mid-Century Apartment Tower Into Luxury ...

Forbes-Jun 22, 2018

Cynthia Lescalleet , Contributor I profile intriguing real estate projects in and around Houston. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are ...

Modernizing the Extension Cord!

Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function-Jun 22, 2018

Cables are a nuisance that we have to put up with in everyday life, and extension cords just add to the issue; due to the sockets fixed ...

How to Modernize While Meeting Multiple Mandates

Nextgov-3 hours ago

With the passing of the Modernizing Government Technology Act as part of the last National Defense Authorization Act, federal agencies now ...

Modernizing Your Sexual Wellness Routine

The Connector-5 hours ago

There is a flagrant lack of information on women's sexual health, and a flagrant lack of priority on dispersing this information in an unbiased way ...

Rules Or Not, Legislators in Many States Can Push Bills They’d Profit From . . .

Let's get right to it: Now who do you think this might be fair warning for elected and salaried officials here for what's called frequently called "The Mesa Way" ???????

Read this first:

Legislators in Many States Can Push Bills They’d Profit From

The laws vary by state. In some, lawmakers are told to recuse themselves from votes that could create even the “appearance of impropriety.” In others, overlapping interests are seen as “almost inevitable.”

by Decca Muldowney June 7, 4:59 a.m. EDT

Please note: As stated in the introduction: This article was produced in partnership with The Advocate, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.

Your MesaZona blogger claims no credit or connection, direct or indirect, to either source for the publication of this report.
It's information that  you, dear reader, can use. That is the only intended purpose of this post for your interest.           

"It’s a fundamental part of representative government in democracies:
Politicians are elected to advocate for their constituents, and not their own interests.
_______________________________________________________________

Now how did that work when a mayor named Brown somehow managed to nail-down agreements with the city council for all kinds of good deals for himself and his personal business interests worth thousands of dollars in 'concessions' and 'incentives' for a 10-acre site sales-and-service car lot right - with rows and rows of cars all lined up on Main Street half-a-block away from the International Design Award-winning Mesa Arts Center, smack dab in the middle of downtown. Brown & Brown Chevrolet and Auto Nation were relics and hold-overs in the urban cityscape from the bygone post-war era that drove out the central business district to suburbia  . . Did anyone take the time to speak up about cozy deals made at that time with city officials or any kind of questionable conduct?

Except for a huge sign on the showroom office windows that read "Thank you Mesa for 85 great years!" nothing remains of that bit of downtown history - the entire site of Auto Nation and Brown & Brown got demolished starting in May/June of last year and cleared of hazmat materials above ground leaving behind an entire 10-acre city-block of contaminated dirt under the asphalt. The parcel was sold off by the city to John Graham's Sunbelt Holdings; plans unclear for now. 

 

Or in another example of politics overlapping with "friends-and-family" and undisclosed connections, here is the current District 4 Councilmember Chris Glover endorsing his own second cousin, Jake Brown, saying,
"I am passionate about Mesa's future. In keeping with that spirit I am proud to endorse
Jake Brown for District 4.
Jake is the right person to serve the people of Mesa . . ."
It's common knowledge, and not new information to anyone, that Jake Brown "is involved in real estate", holding a job as prosecutor with the Office of the Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.
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Some people say that all's fair in love, war, and politics but there are rules.
Here's an example in the report from South Carolina:
"State Rep. Jim Merrill was earning money through his public relations company but did not have to disclose who was paying him. In December 2016, a grand jury investigation into corruption in the statehouse indicted Merrill on 30 charges of ethics violations.
Merrill was accused of using his company to accept more than $1 million from groups with interests in state legislation. In 2017, he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they continued their investigation, pleading guilty to one charge of misconduct in office. By May 2017, four South Carolina lawmakers had been indicted as part of the probe.
But in many states, laws and ethics rules allow representatives to advance bills that would benefit their own financial interests, as well . . "

Here in Mesa, except for the mayor who is paid a full-time salary of approximately $75,000 (plus a generous benefit package), all the other six elected members on the Mesa Council earn a part-time salary about half of that.

In part-time and citizen legislatures, in which lawmakers are not paid a full salary and often rely on other employment, this means people connected to certain industries or fields are not automatically barred from voting on legislation that might affect them financially.

Even when a lawmaker doesn’t have a conflict of interest according to ethics rules, some states try to prevent even the “appearance” of a conflict.

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What to Read Next

The Family Plan: In Louisiana, Lawmakers Promote Bills That Help Their Relatives and Clients

One lawmaker supported a bill that would help his brother, who owns truck stop casinos. Another, a lawyer who represents physicians, sponsored a bill that helps doctors under investigation by the state medical board.

Louisiana Lawmakers Are Pushing Bills That Benefit Their Own Businesses. And It’s Perfectly Legal.

Legislators own everything from gas stations to nursing homes, yet they rarely recuse themselves on bills that directly affect them.

Louisiana Legislators Are Earning Big Money From Government Agencies — But Don’t Have to Disclose It All

One state senator earned $836,000 in legal fees representing a sheriff. The amount he disclosed: $13,328. “The notion that you could get public money and not report it in our flim-flammery of an ethics system is ridiculous,” an ethics expert says.