That's right especially now when Main Street is once again undergoing another one of the endless 'make'-overs' and 'transformations' promising 're-vitalization' that's vibrant and exciting. Bill Wahl, the unassuming third-generation owner of Mesa Typewriter Exchange on South Macdonald Street, has heard all that before time-and-time again. He has no reason to change his business after it has been here for nearly 70 years He's not trying to fix-up his façade or preserve history - he is just doing what he knows and what he likes to do, not trying to preserve history, not making a big deal about that or making a lot of money. The word entrepreneur is simply not in his vocabulary. Bill learned his skills on-the-job from his father. He has worked for the better part of 40 years in the same location. He likes repairing typewriters. He knows his customers and how to keep the shop up and running. When your MesaZona blogger stopped by the other day to say what a nice article about the shop appeared in last Sunday's hardcopy edition of the East Valley Tribune, he said thanks for being one of the few people who reads those things - so here's that story for YOU TO START READING about one of downtown's small wonders: In an age of laptops and iPads, typewriters keep Mesa shop busy
By Brent Ruffner, Tribune Contributor Updated
(In the photo above taken from Brent Ruffner's report , Bill Wahl stands in front the typewriter repair shop in Mesa that he and his father worked in together since he was a young man. Despite the fact that the typewriter is seldom used in business, enough people hold on to their personal machines that Wahl never runs out of customers.
Brent Ruffner/Tribune) Contributor _________________________________________________________________________________"Bill Wahl and his family have been a part of Mesa’s history for three generations. Now, he is helping preserve that history – and a bit of the past that computers have nearly wiped off the map – typewriters.Wahl, 61, can still remember his grandfather taking him to the lunch counter at Everybody’s Drug Store, a popular Mesa spot, to get his regular hamburger. . . Wahl said he is “flooded” with business from an influx of people who want their old machines given new life. . .
Your MesaZona blogger first had the pleasure of meeting Bill Wahl back in 2014 and published a post about Mesa Typewriter Exchange on May 14, 2015 after living in the neighborhood for about six months and starting to publish this blog. If he was busy with customers I would just keep on walking-by and wave hello. It is definitely a pleasant step-back in time to walk into the shop to see decades of typewriters on display or ready-to-get picked by customers after getting repaired. Bill is usually in the back sitting at his work desk as you can see in the image to the left, or working and talking to customers on the phone at the same time. We chat mostly about downtown Mesa, what's here now and what's not here any more in the neighborhood. Nostalgia? . . . maybe.
" . . A few steps away under the veranda sidewalk shade structures in place since the 1980's you can find the locations on the west side of the street for more than 60 years of two of the oldest "Mom & Pop" or just "Pop" service establishments in downtown Mesa: Mesa Typewriter Exchange with 3rd-generation family owner Bill Wahl and Lamb's Shoe Repair where a new owner took over the business from his previous employer. When asked how business is going, both owners said "Business is booming" . . .good to knowthese hands-on owners in skilled manual trades have been keeping customers happy and coming back for so many years when a lot of storefronts and commercial properties on Main Street have stood vacant for far too long. Your blogger snapped Bill in the middle of taking a call from a customer from his office space at the back of the vintage typewriter displays. He's a busy guy but has taken the time on a number of days to chat about the business development of downtown and to exchange views about friendly politics.
Your MesaZona blogger wants to start off by going back to an opinion piece from the East Valley Tribune written by Mark J. Scarp on October 27, 2012 about Mesa: " . . . downtowns are more than just a collection of a few big-name projects. The large landmarks are the catalyst for an equally vital component to a strong downtown: small business. This includes places to eat, to be entertained, to buy interesting products and services not usually found in a shopping mall."
_______________________________________________________________________________ During the last few years there have been other reports about the 3-generation business:
Bring your notebook, your laptop, your typewriter, or even try one of the few available ones in the store provided by Mesa Typewriter Exchange. October writing ...
Owner Bill Wahl is the third generation of his family to operate the store. .... Plus, for someone in New York to send a typewriter to Arizona for work doesn't make ...
He is the owner and key operator of Mesa Typewriter Exchange, a company that since 1949 has sold, rented and repaired older typewriters. Contact is 30 S.
Because of the Mesa Typewriter Exchange and the general interest in mid-century items in Phoenix, Adney says, type-ins have grown in popularity since 2011, ...
Mesa Merchant Police closes doors after nearly 90 years ... Wilford, who earned the nickname “Whizzer,” would go on to become a football legend at Arizona State ... It has been a bit of an adjustment for Bill Wahl, owner of Mesa Typewriter ...
The little shop on MacDonald in Mesa has been serving the writers and ... In the back room of the Mesa Typewriter Exchange, owner Bill Wahl says he has a ...
The Americans in general and the Trump administration in particular are never shy of extolling their economic achievements and not without merit - the American economy of late has indeed been looking great. But there's an increasing number of economists who claim this boom may be short-lived and is setting the stage for yet another global crisis. If the fall indeed comes, how hard is it likely to be? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Brunello Rosa, founder and CEO at Rosa & Roubini Associates. ___________________________________________________________________________ Write to Worlds Apart! worldsapart [at] rttv.ru Follow Worlds Apart on Twitter http://twitter.com/WorldsApart_RT Like Worlds Apart on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WorldsApart.RT +1 Worlds Apart on Google+ https://www.google.com/+WorldsApartRT Listen to us on SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/rttv/sets/worl...
From our earliest days, all of us are set on a path towards physical growth and maturity. What is less well known is that there are forces within us that - in comparable ways - push us towards emotional growth and maturity. Throughout our lives, sometimes at considerable cost to our short term peace of mind, we're engaged on a journey of emotional development that we should learn to understand, recognise and honour. Sign up to our new newsletter and get 10% off your first online order of a book, product or class: https://bit.ly/2LayJ9F For gifts and more from The School of Life, visit our online shop: https://bit.ly/2Rt3lHX Our website has classes, articles and products to help you think and grow: https://bit.ly/2yb8YCt Download our App: https://bit.ly/2NwneKW
FURTHER READING You can read more on this and other subjects on our blog, here: https://bit.ly/2C4lqa5 “We know well enough that we are equipped with an innate drive for physical growth; that the human animal is geared to keep developing towards its outward mature form, adding muscle and bone and fatty tissue, in a spontaneous process of development that begins in our earliest days in the womb and ends around our sixteenth year…” _________________________________________________________________ MORE SCHOOL OF LIFE Visit us in person at our London HQ: https://bit.ly/2QBEujF Watch more films on SELF in our playlist: http://bit.ly/TSOLself You can submit translations and transcripts on all of our videos here: https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_... Find out how more here: https://support.google.com/youtube/an...
Who ya gonna call when we're all so confused all ready over the jammed-up ballot questions and ballot proposals and the city might lose control when a mysterious TXT message spoils the message they want to get told? . . . the East Valley Tribune City communications officials were the first-responders yesterday when Mayor John Giles got an alert from Tom Stapley that could have challenged their carefully-crafted public relations campaign to sell voters on approving another staggering $500,000,000 - that's half a billion bucks - in more public debt bond obligations to load more debt onto the already burdened backs of taxpayers. (See post from yesterday on this blog "Gas-Lighting") Let's have SOME MORE CONFUSION Stapley, disturbed by what he sees as a clearly false message, filed a complaint with the Mesa City Clerk on Monday. . .
"I understand campaign law enough to know that the way they sent the text is most likely a campaign-law violation because there is no source or group attached," he said.
His complaint notes that whoever is behind the message is trying to influence the vote on Question 1 and disparage the mayor.
But don'tcha just wish Giles and his friends could be a little more original, instead of mimicking the all-too-tricky Trumpisms? Giles is now a political analyst
"Giles says he was concerned by the text, seeing it as similar to fake posts spread during the presidential election now sneaking into municipal politics.
"We've been obsessed with this as a country for a few years, but this is a very local example," he said. . . "
Here's some more from our goofy mayor: "The text goes beyond the usual removing-yard-signs shenanigans in local politics, Giles said. "This is a more sophisticated, evil version of that," he said. "This is people pretending to be someone they are not. They are promulgating lies. ... They are trying to confuse people. Question 1 has literally nothing to do with utility rates." ________________________________________________________________________ Here's the push-back barrage from EVT just after 'the news story' from KJZZ: Mesa investigating after voters hit with deceptive text messages aimed to confuse
"Many Mesa voters got text messages last week suggesting they were from "Democrats for Mayor John Giles," which should've been an indicator something was fishy. The mayor is a Republican.
The text message, sent to an unknown swath of voters, appears to be aimed at confusing voters about the city's "home rule" question on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Now, the Mesa Clerk's Office is investigating if the texts violated state election law.
Mayor: Fake posts hit local politics
Tom Stapley was among residents who received the text messagefrom a supposed group that is not registered in Mesa, a requirement for groups that collect or spend more than$1,100 to influence an election.
Stapley said he immediately sent a screenshot of the text to the mayor because he knew it was false.
The text appears to be designed to confuse, seeking to connect approval of the city's ballot Question 1 on home rule to a utility rate hike, which Giles says is false and a scare tactic. . .
The consequences of a 'yes' or 'no' vote
A "yes" vote would allow Mesa to continue with the spending provision that has been in place since the 2001 fiscal year. It is not a tax or utility hike, Giles said.
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More from EVT > click here
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Arizona company creates economically viable graphene concrete
An achievement that represents an industry breakthrough.
By Amit Malewar
Designed in collaboration with one of the world’s largest producers of lightweight concrete, Urbix’s solution delivers material performance improvements, but at a cost that is lower than current lightweight concrete alternatives. A graphene industry first.
Others have tested graphene as an additive in cement and concrete in the past, seeking to improve a variety of concrete’s performance characteristics. Urbix’s research and development team solved the challenge by creating what they call a Graphenesque™ additive that provides a 33 percent increase in compressive strength, a 32 percent reduction in CO2 emissions, and at a cost that is 16.6 percent lower than the next best lightweight concrete alternative on the market. “It is ultimately the cost of the additive versus benefits of performance that have to be compared with any incumbent technology, especially graphene products,” explains Urbix Chairman Nicolas Cuevas.“That cost versus benefit is the real barrier that’s been keeping graphene out of commercial products until now.” Urbix is known primarily for its low cost and environmentally friendly flake graphite purification for Li-ion batteries but is quickly establishing itself as one of the premier vertically integrated providers of graphene and Graphenesque™ products. “The material performance of our solution for lightweight concrete is great,” says Urbix Chief Marketing Officer Adam Small. “But the low costs and large-scale capabilities are what makes this achievement so profound. By leveraging our existing global graphite mining relationships, we offer near vertical integration, an aspect that is almost mandatory for any company entering the graphene space.” The additive is made in a way that is similar in infrastructure to Urbix’s proprietary purification process, for which a full-scale plant is currently being developed in the Phoenix area. At pilot scale production, it is expected the plant will be capable of producing in excess of 100 metric tons of the concrete additive monthly by the end of 2019. For reference, that amount will be enough material to produce between 10,000 and 40,000 metric tons of the new Urbix-enhanced lightweight concrete. This production figure will be scaled significantly higher beyond 2020. At present, testing and certification continue. Urbix and their associates anticipate that they will bring the technology to market in 2020.
Graphene is a two-dimensional form of carbon, with a hexagonal structure just one atom thick. Until now there has been a lot of hype about potential mind-blowing technologies but not a lot of end product. The FT's Andy Bounds reports
