Ronan Farrow: Effective Investigative Reporter & The Aftermath at M.I.T. Media Lab

Fast results from Farrow's reporting:
Update: On Saturday, less than a day after the publication of this story, Joi Ito, the director of the M.I.T. Media Lab, resigned from his position. . . The financial entanglement revealed in the documents goes well beyond what has been described in public statements by M.I.T. . . "
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Here's the headline:
Source> NewYorker.com/News Desk
University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
"The M.I.T. Media Lab, which has been embroiled in a scandal over accepting donations from the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had a deeper fund-raising relationship with Epstein than it has previously acknowledged, and it attempted to conceal the extent of its contacts with him. Dozens of pages of e-mails and other documents obtained by The New Yorker reveal that, although Epstein was listed as “disqualified” in M.I.T.’s official donor database, the Media Lab continued to accept gifts from him, consulted him about the use of the funds, and, by marking his contributions as anonymous, avoided disclosing their full extent, both publicly and within the university. Perhaps most notably, Epstein appeared to serve as an intermediary between the lab and other wealthy donors, soliciting millions of dollars in donations from individuals and organizations, . . "
> The e-mails show that Epstein was the point person for communication with the donors, including Gates and Black, the founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest private-equity firms.
> Black has downplayed his relationship with Epstein in recent months, describing it as limited and focussed on tax strategy, estate planning, and philanthropic advice. He has declined to answer questions about business dealings with Epstein that suggest a closer relationship. Several years after Epstein’s conviction, Black and his children and Epstein jointly invested in a company that makes emission-control products.
> When institutions try to hide the truth, it often takes a brave whistle-blower to step forward. But it can be dangerous, and whistle-blowers need support
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Ronan Farrow is a contributing writer to The New Yorker and the author of the forthcoming book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.”

His reporting for The New Yorker won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for public service.

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Mesa City Council Meeting Mon 09 Sept 2019

Mark Freeman, the Vice Mayor, is the presiding officer in the absence of John Giles (who is away "doing city business" as stated by the Vice Mayor doing the roll call) - he looks quite serious last week in his bolo tie as he's captured in this featured screen-grab with a closed-caption insert of just item that was taken off the extensive Consent Agenda for individual attention.
By the end of the end of the week there were 50 views.
Please take the time to watch-and-listen to this streaming video when architect Tim Boyle, who's a member of Mesa's Planning & Zoning Board, is given time to speak up with an opinion and comments he has about for ITEM 6-b . . . 
Notice the reaction of Vice Mayor Freeman and the other discussions from Mesa City Council members
This session is about 20 minutes long 
There are a number of blue cards submitted for items to be discussed individually.

Speaking at a Meeting

The Mesa City Council believes that providing access for citizens to communicate with the Council is vital for a strong representative local government.  The following are methods in which to express your opinion at various Council meetings.

Agenda Items

At regular Monday Council meetings, blue Speaker/Comment cards are available for citizens who wish to comment on agenda items. Or, you may download a copy of thecomment card [PDF] and hand it in at the Council meeting.

Please note items listed on the agenda with an asterisk are part of the consent agenda. Items on the consent agendas will be adopted with one motion and vote if no citizen or Councilmember requests that it be removed from the consent agenda for separate consideration.

If you wish to speak on a consent agenda item, you must submit your request to speak before the vote on the consent agenda.  Speakers are limited to three minutes each.

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Landing In An Opportunity Zone In District 6: First New Mult-Phase Big Box Industrial Space In Mesa's Gateway Area Turning Into A Hotbed of Development

Not the exact words from the featured headline in an announcement on September 12, 2019 from the City of Mesa Newsroom http://www.mesanow.org/news
"Today, Marwest Enterprises announced Landing 202, a 605,000-square-foot Class A industrial product on approximately 45 acres just south of Loop 202 and west of Hawes Road on the north side of Ray Road in Mesa's Gateway Area.
"Congratulations to Marwest Enterprises on the announcement of Landing 202. These brand-new buildings are in the heart of the Gateway area and close to multiple freeways; an awesome location for a wide range of businesses," Mayor John Giles said. "It's exciting to watch southeast Mesa maintain its momentum as a thriving economic engine for the entire city."
The development is zoned light-industrial and will be a multi-phase project. The first phase will include two buildings with building 1A being 486,000 square feet and building 1B 119,000 square feet for a total of 605,000 square feet. Phase one parking will include approximately 565 spaces. Construction has commenced and will be completed in the second quarter 2020. Once built, Landing 202 will be visible from Loop 202 with freeway access from the Power Road and Hawes Road exits.
"Ray Road has been a hotbed for development over the past several years," District 6 Councilmember Kevin Thompson said. "Landing 202 will provide even more Class A industrial space for businesses looking to relocate or expand to the Gateway Area, which has become an employment corridor for the region."

The new industrial development sits just north of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and within one of Mesa's newly announced, federally designated opportunity zones. Opportunity zones allow investors to defer and potentially reduce taxes on capital gains, so long as the gain is reinvested in a qualified opportunity fund that invests in a qualified opportunity zone.

"Landing 202 is a great addition of quality Class A industrial space to Mesa's Gateway Area and a great investment opportunity," Mesa Economic Development Director Bill Jabjiniak said. "We continue to see great interest in all of our opportunity zones."
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BLOGGER NOTE: Some OZones are getting "greater interest" than others as you can see from the right-hand sidebar in the inserted image above
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David Martens, Principal of Marwest Enterprises, LLC said, "Marwest is thrilled with the continued and increasing demand for tenants to reside and grow their businesses in Mesa, Arizona. We hope to fulfill the common theme of need for larger and more functional space that reflects modern standards."                                                                                      "CBRE is privileged to partner with Marwest Enterprises LLC, in bringing the first Industrial "Big Box" project to the Southeast Valley, in Mesa, Arizona," Pete Wentis of CBRE said. "CBRE is excited to represent Marwest on the leasing aspect of this new project."

"We are pleased to continue our vision to provide companies an exceptional place to do business in Southeast Mesa," Landing 202 Project Manager, Jeff Arnold of Cedar Point Enterprises, LLC, said.
To discuss leasing or investment opportunities, contact Pete Wentis of CBRE at 602-735-5591.
For more information regarding Mesa's Opportunity Zones, visit www.SelectMesa.com/OpportunityZones.

Office of Economic Development
Contact: Kim Lofgreen
Tel. 480-644-3962
kim.lofgreen@mesaaz.gov

Kelli Ward: Word-Killer-Bitch Attack-Dog For Arizona GOP

Tone-deaf, raving mad or just foaming-off-at-the-mouth, it doesn't look like any time soon that the Grand Old Party can muzzle or manage to tighten a restraint leash on Dr. Kelli Ward, top dog who's somehow managed rising to the top of the pack of the Republican Party . . . she got caught saying in an email that
"We'll stop gun-grabber Mark Kelly dead in his tracks"
Arizona G.O.P. Leader Said Party Would Stop Mark Kelly ‘Dead in His Tracks’

"Mr. Kelly, a Democrat running for Senate, is married to Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman who survived a gunshot to the head in a 2011 attack

“Support the Republican Party of Arizona today and, together, we’ll stop gun-grabber Mark Kelly dead in his tracks,” the chairwoman, Kelli Ward, wrote Thursday in a fund-raising email, The Associated Press reported.

> The email also targeted Mr. Kelly’s platform supporting gun safety.
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BLOGGER NOTE: "Gun Rights" are "a sacred cow" here in Arizona, no doubt about that and most Republicans diving into the tricky political waters here are still treading on what to do - most people say "Do something" but they haven't figured that out yet when the Democrats are getting the traction on solid grounds of public support.
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More details from the New York Times a week ago

> On Twitter on Friday, Ruben Gallego, a Democratic congressman from Arizona, called it “disgusting” and said that Senator Martha McSally, Republican of Arizona, should call on Ms. Ward to resign.

> A representative for Ms. McSally could not immediately be reached on Saturday.

> Jacob Peters, a spokesman for Mr. Kelly, said in a statement that Mr. Kelly was running for Senate “to overcome this type of nasty divisiveness that does nothing for Arizonans.”

“This dangerous rhetoric has absolutely no place in Arizona and is what’s wrong with our politics,”
the statement said.

> A spokesman for Ms. Ward did not directly address the criticism, but pointed to a series of tweets in which she had defended herself.

> “Utterly ridiculous!” Ms. Ward wrote on Twitter on Friday with a link to a Bloomberg article that cited the “stark wording” of the email.

> Ms. Ward said she did not wish Mr. Kelly harm.

“We disagree politically on the Constitution and the #2a, and I’m well aware of the harm his policies would cause should he ever be elected,” she wrote, using a hashtag referring to the Second Amendment. “Dishonest stories like this are dangerous and irresponsible.”

> Paul Gosar, a Republican congressman from Arizona, defended Ms. Ward.

"Differentiating between idioms, slang, analogies and metaphors from statement of facts” is learned in childhood, Mr. Gosar wrote on Twitter.

"Ignore #FakeNews and it’s handmaidens of stupid outrage.”

> On his website, Mr. Kelly, who is a Navy combat veteran and a retired astronaut, promised to work for universal background checks and to keep guns out of the hands of stalkers and domestic abusers. He also wants to reduce mass shootings and suicides.

More context:

Mr. Kelly announced in February his bid for the Senate in the 2020 election.

He is challenging Ms. McSally, who was a member of Congress when Gov. Doug Ducey appointed her in December to fill a seat left vacant by the death of John McCain. She was appointed after a placeholder appointee, Jon Kyl, resigned.

The race is being closely watched, as Arizona is one of several contests that could decide control of the Senate in 2020.

In 2018, Kyrsten Sinema became the first Democrat to win a United States Senate seat in Arizona since the 1980s.

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Kelli Ward is an American politician who has served as the Chair of the Arizona Republican Party since 2019.
 A Republican, she previously served in the Arizona State Senate from 2012 to 2015.
Ward challenged Senator John McCain in the Republican primary for the United States Senate in 2016.
She graduated from A.T. Stills in East Mesa
--- from Wikipedia 
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