Cubbies Spring Training Is Serious Money - Too Early For Mesa To Get Excited?

Lots of pre-season news feeds coming from the billion-dollar franchise Chicago Cubs, hometown Chicago but not so much so far here in Mesa where the $200M taxpayer-funded Sloan Park hosts annual Spring Training in the Cactus League.
Serious money business awaits Cubs in coming days
by Bruce Miles Updated 10 Jan 2019  6:27 PM

Fans of the Chicago Cubs heard the words all baseball fans yearn to hear this time of year: Pitchers and catchers report.

There is also some serious business in the immediate future, too.Cubs pitches and catchers will report to the Sloan Park complex in Mesa, Arizona, on Feb. 12 with their first formal workout the next day. Position players will hold their first formal workout Feb. 18. Cactus League play opens for the Cubs Feb. 23 when they host the Milwaukee Brewers.

Serious money business awaits Cubs in coming days

Chicago Daily Herald-12 hours ago

Cubs pitches and catchers will report to the Sloan Park complex in Mesa, Arizona, on Feb. 12 with their first formal workout the next day. Position players will ...

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Now for the serious business.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, citing "sources," reported Thursday that "the Cubs would love a shot" at free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper but that "ownership approval continues to appear unlikely."

On Friday, the Cubs will exchange salary figures with seven of their players who are eligible for salary arbitration: Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Carl Edwards Jr., Kyle Hendricks, Mike Montgomery, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber.

The one to watch will be Baez, runner-up to Milwaukee's Christian Yelich for the National League Most Valuable Player award last year. Baez made $657,000 last season, and MLB Trade Rumors (mlbtradrumors.com) estimates he could get $7.1 million this year.

Bryant received $10.85 million last year, a record for a first-year arbitration-eligible player. The MLB Trade Rumors estimate for this year is $12.4 million.

The other estimates are

$7.6 million for Hendricks

$3 million for Montgomery

$4.3 million for Russell

$1.4 million for Edwards

$3.1 million for Schwarber.

 

Reference: https://www.dailyherald.com

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Cubs will start spring training on Feb. 12 in Arizona

Chicago Tribune-19 hours ago

12 when pitchers and catchers report to the Cubs' spring training complex in Mesa, Ariz. The first official workout for pitchers and catchers will be Feb. 13, and ...

Truth or Dare: The Game of Trump / The House of Cards

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More Financial Hanky-Panky At Arizona Charter Schools

Here's some more good probing and more in-depth investigative reporting from Craig Harris writing for The Arizona Republic . . .

Following the abrupt closure of at least three Arizona charter schools over the past year, a new report concludes more than 100 of the state's charters are in danger of closing because of excessive debt and other financial troubles. . .

Source: https://www.azcentral.com/ 

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The report [see underlined link] from the Grand Canyon Institute: you can save a download it to read the entire report, but here's what Craig Harris published

It's a "near certainty" that more than  50 of the state's 544 charter schools will close in the near future, according to the report by the Grand Canyon Institute, a self-described centrist think tank.

As a whole, Arizona's 544 charter schools owe more to creditors than they're worth as businesses contracted with the state to educate kindergarten to 12th-grade students, the report states. "Like any business, an overleveraged charter is financially vulnerable and could fail if it then suffers an income loss," the report states.

"You will see a bunch of charters folding suddenly," said Curt Cardine, the study's main author and a former charter executive for EdKey Inc., a large Arizona charter chain that had a $7.74 million net deficit as of June 30, 2018. . . 

The report, the third from the group on charter schools, follows a year-long Arizona Republic investigation that examined how minimal state regulation and oversight has produced multi-millionaire charter operators — sometimes through transactions that add significantly to the schools' debt. . .

Differing opinions from state's charter groups

Kathy Senseman, chairwoman of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, which regulates the schools, disputed that so many charters will close, saying Grand Canyon Institute's estimates are "a little inflated."

But, she said, she considers the institute's research to be "fair."

Arizona Charter Schools Association, a non-profit that represents the industry, was less diplomatic, calling the report “The Grand Canyon Institute’s latest unsubstantiated, anti-charter screed."

READ MORE by going to the underlined link at the top of this post  

 

Cubbies: The Boys of Spring Are Back! Play ball!

Thinking spring tickets:

The general sale for single-game tickets to Cubs spring-training games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, begins at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Fans can secure tickets one day earlier through the online MasterCard presale, beginning at 11 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m., pending availability.

Fans using a MasterCard can purchase single-game spring training tickets in advance of the general on-sale at a 15 percent premium in excess of face value, while fans using other forms of payment may purchase tickets at a 20 percent premium.

A limited number of tickets will be made available to each home game for the MasterCard Presale.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.cubs.com, over the phone at 800-THE-CUBS (800-843-2827) or in person beginning Saturday at the Sloan Park ticket office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST.

There is a limit of eight tickets per game and a maximum of eight games an order.
The Cubs open their 2019 spring home schedule against the Milwaukee Brewers on Feb. 23

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Chicago Cubs Spring Training Ticket Details Announced

NBC Chicago-15 hours ago

The general on-sale for single game tickets to Cubs Spring Training games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, begins Saturday at 11 a.m. CST. Fans can secure ...

Relieving The Boredom of Retirement: Art Morale Boost

Bits and pieces from a story published yesterday in Nearby News:

Mesa Couple Open Arizona’s Only Veteran-Owned Art Gallery

January 9, 2019 by Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

Mountain Bridge residents Susan Paige and her husband, Lt. Col. Barry Rosenblatt, are spreading their message that art boosts veterans’ morale by hosting exhibits at Paige Artists Studio/Gallery/Gifts in Downtown Mesa’s OneOhOne collective. . .
“My husband and I are exhibiting all our work throughout the building,” Paige said. “It’ll be a pretty big show highlighting the things he does and the work I do.”
Paige has an extensive past with the Arizona art scene. In the early 1980s, she owned the only avant-garde art gallery in Downtown Phoenix. She hosted emerging artists that Scottsdale galleries wouldn’t entertain because they weren’t well known.
“I did performance art, too,” she added. “I was the first gallery to do performance art and mixed media. It was a lot of fun. I’ve been doing art and been involved in the art world here and in Dallas and Chicago. Then I got into the healing arts and was a massage therapist.”
Rosenblatt was a dentist and engineer in the military. He learned art and the creative process helps with post-traumatic stress disorder. Paige said her husband doesn’t suffer from PTSD, but he saw those who did. For him, it relieves the boredom of retirement. . .
Paige, 64, said her gallery’s location is perfect, as she believes Downtown Mesa will become the Valley’s cultural center.
“It’s going in that direction, with The Nile and all the venues with entertainment,” Paige said. “There are so many open mic nights. Susan Woodruff, who created the Second Friday Night Out, owns our building.
“Downtown Mesa has a great energy for creative people. I just wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to give my husband the opportunity to have goals and have something to do.” . . .

READ MORE /Source: http://nearbynews.com/

New Times Reporter Joseph Flaherty: Fresh Hell For All of Us

Will politicians set Arizona's future aflame with some bone-headed idea or a brazenly unconstitutional scheme?

That's the opening question from a New Times local reporter starting off a new news story with some strong words.

Unlike some "contributing writers" writing stories for The East Valley Tribune and The Arizona Republic, Flaherty pours the fuel on the new legislative session, starting with the water fight. He's got credentials and bravado.

What Fresh Hell Awaits During Arizona's New Legislative Session?

Joseph Flaherty | January 7, 2019 | 7:30am

The Arizona Legislature, a notorious cauldron of bad ideas, will reconvene on Monday, January 14. What fresh hell awaits?
Gage Skidmore/Flickr; New Times illustration by Zac McDonald
Joe Flaherty's report 07 Jan 2019

Once again it's Mesa conservative Mormon Republican Rusty Bowers in the picture >
New legislators from Mesa represent LD 18,
LD 16 and LD 24
Over all these issues is the narrow Republican margin of control in the House. The Republicans lost seats in the House, reducing their margin from 35 during the last session to just 31. This 31-29 split between Republicans and Democrats means that one GOP dissenting voice can make life difficult for the majority.

Despite their efforts in several competitive districts, Democrats were unable to claw back the State Senate, so the 54th Legislature will be a continuation of last year's 17-13 Senate split

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Joseph Flaherty is a staff writer at New Times.
Originally from Wisconsin, he is a graduate of Middlebury College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism
Contact: Joseph Flaherty
Follow: Twitter: @flahertyjoseph

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martha McSally + East Valley Mayors

Martha makes more overtures meeting mayors in cities where the aerospace and defense industries have a big footprint and economic impact.
Where's Arizona's other senior U.S. Senator Synema?