Wednesday, October 09, 2019

MEGA SHOUT-OUT > Jon Talton "The Rogue Columnist". . .He's been living a Double-Life - Make That A Triple-Life!

Best of Phoenix® /// Megalopolitan Life /// 2019 
Best Local Blog by a Non-Local
Rogue Columnist 
"Jon Talton is actually based in Seattle, but the fourth-generation Arizonan is a former columnist for the Arizona Republic, and his writing in his Rogue Columnist blog reflects a thorough, insightful knowledge of the players and dynamics of this city and state.
He still gets the occasional scoop, and he writes lovely, elegiac remembrances of the Phoenix that used to be, catching the finer human points of how the Valley has morphed and expanded over the years. He pulls no punches — only "fools" go hiking in a Phoenix summer, he writes in disgust — and the scope of Rogue Columnist is expansive.
This "pen warmed up in hell" tackles climate change, heat, train stations, the newspaper industry, and many other subjects, but it never lectures or grows too bitter. Instead, his blog posts are often a fusion of personal recollections and critical reflections on the small- and large-scale changes that will continue to mold Phoenix in the years to come."
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Five Ways to Be an Effective Activist
By Viri Hernandez
  1. Be aware of your own privilege. Think about identities you carry and those you don’t. Then reflect on how they make you privileged — or not.
  2. Be in places that fill your heart. Right now, things are really shitty, and you have to be able to go to a place that replenishes your heart and your soul, wherever that may be.
  3. Trust people who have been doing the work. Let the leaders lead, despite your biases about how they’re doing it.
  4. Be ready to do the work, even if the work is uncomfortable and you’re being confronted while you’re doing it. Deal with your discomfort and get the work done anyway.
  5. Do something. You don’t have to be at the forefront of a movement, getting arrested or anything. But we’re at a critical point in history when people are being hunted down and abused. Everyone needs to be doing something, anything, against that.
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PERSONAL NOTE FROM MESAZONA BLOGGER
Jon Talton has shown me, in his own way, to be fearless. He's lucky to have three different public personas + a career as a writer of 'mystery fiction' in a parallel universe.

19 February 2019

Going-to-Bat With Seattle Times Columnist Jon Talton Again!

Jon Talton
No doubt about it: when your MesaZona blogger likes a professional colleague he really unabashedly likes someone named Jon Talton. Talton has the advantage of living in both progressive Seattle and conservative Phoenix. How he manages to straddle both ends of the political spectrum at the same time is enough reason to respect his published points-of-view.
His latest - published today - on SOCIALISM deserves public attention, especially when The Donald hit on it last night . . . A bad word? NO.

23 December 2018

A Take-Off From Jon Talton in Seattle: Hyper-Localizing + Aligning Opportunity Industries & Opportunity Zones Here In Mesa

Probably getting way-over my meager pay-scale, but your MesaZona blogger does admire fellow journalism colleague Jon Talton whose day-job is writing a column for The Seattle Times. He also has two alter egos in Arizona as The Rogue Columnist and a writer of fiction. Any reasonable person might ask other than Jon Talton what-the-hell do Seattle and Phoenix Metro [Mesa] have in common? One is progressive and the other is not.
One thing we do have in common is Boeing - and that might give you a cue . . .   
Two days ago Talton penned a piece on rotten jobs, based on a study by The Brookings Institution that examined Opportunity Industries.
There are some differences evident right away between Seattle Metro and Phoenix/Mesa Metro:
Mesa has a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the state of Arizona
Mesa is a "Right-to-Work" state
Behind the low unemployment rate, too many Americans are stuck in rotten jobs     

Relatively few jobs provide the pay and benefits that once were taken for granted. The biggest losers are people without college degrees.
Special to The Seattle Times
by Jon Talton
 
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Affinity Fraud: How It Works

There's something about the two words 'TRUST ME' used by Jeff McVay, the City of Mesa's Director of Downtown Transformation, at a public meeting of the Planning & Zoning Board on September 25, 2019 for a Site Review in a zoning case that would allow "a university campus and a public plaza" in what is called Mesa City Center, better recognized for years as two parking lots adjacent to a Bureau of Land Management Conversion Grant Landscaping Project on Pepper Place. It's now a 360-Degree Dilemma *.
Here's a story, perhaps coincidental, where those two words "TRUST ME" are used - from a case last year in Kaysville, Utah (a predominantly LDS community 20 miles north of Salt Lake City) involving the U.S. Department of Justice in a fraud scheme using money given from friends and fellow church members, requiring the help of attorneys and bankers.    
Here in Downtown Mesa it is using taxpayer money that takes it to the next level . . . 
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Another Former LDS Stake President Indicted for Affinity Fraud
Posted on by Mark Pugsley 
"On Wednesday September 6, 2018 the US Department of Justice announced the indictment of Robert G. Mouritsen of Kaysville, Utah on three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.
The DOJ alleged that Mouritsen used a “position of prominence” to induce friends and fellow church members to give him money to further a fraud scheme he called “The Project” which targeted his fellow church members and was ongoing at the time the Indictment was filed. . .
The “position of prominence” the DOJ is referring to is the fact that Mouritsen was a stake president of the Kaysville Utah Crestwood Stake of the Mormon Church from 1989 to 1997.
. . . Mouritsen told prospective investors that The Project “involved a series of complicated international transactions” that “involved governments in Asia and Europe and required the help of attorneys and bankers.”  He also purportedly told investors that this investment opportunity had to be kept “strictly confidential” so he could not disclose many of the details.  Right.
Secrecy, unusually high returns and urgency are all significant red flags that should have caused investors to forego this investment opportunity, but unfortunately some folks fell for it.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Reference: https://rqn.com/blog/utahsecuritiesfraudifraud
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Other Recent Posts
 
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POSSIBLY RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG SITE
20 May 2018
More Transparency From The LDS Church & The City of Mesa?
Thanks to a series of media reports about a "Massive Mormon Temple Make-Over that could transform downtown",  the public is finding out more about the For-Profit real estate acquisition and expansion enterprises of The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints here in Mesa and the entire Phx East Valley.
Shall we call it "Preaching The Gospel of Prosperity" ?
More than likely it's bigger than an information-iceberg to show the overlapping intersections of business and religion, finance, insurance, real estate and related industries.
The Shroud of Secrecy on this contentious subject is slowly getting pulled-back by lifting the Zion Curtain with the revelation of some of the names holding ownership titles to real estate here in downtown Mesa and the entire Phx East Valley. 
Your MesaZona blogger is pleased to see that some of the go-to mainstream media writers are slacking off less regurgitating Spoon-Fed news by getting-down to some of the real Nitty-Gritty.
It takes guts to break out-of-the-mold as being the 'mouth-pieces' for the Mormon Political Machine that's monopolized Mesa for far too long.
Here's some recent reporting with excerpts:
. . . “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in private investment down there,’’ Barney said. “I think this will be a catalyst for future investment.’ . . Although a formal plan has not been submitted, Property Reserve Inc., the LDS church’s property wing, submitted requests to demolish nine houses to the west of the temple on two streets named after Mormon pioneers – Udall and Lesueur.
Now, the still unannounced plan and the controversy over that request have some Mesa residents demanding a more complete overview and more transparency from both the church and the city .
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Blogger Note: A good example of the public demanding more transparency is the image above from a Mesa City Council meeting where two local politicos, members of the LDS Church, came out in public to pitch their schemes for personal gains by private investors. 
Mesa Mega-Millionaire and AZ State Senator Bob Worsley gambling what he says $20M on real estate speculation downtown on Main Street
Sitting behind Worley is former U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon, who resigned when he got hired by ASU as a high-paid lobbyist Vice-President of Government Affairs
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Barney and his late father, T. Dennis Barney, a well-respected Gilbert developer, have quietly played a pivotal role in setting the stage for the redevelopment by acting in concert with the LDS church and acquiring numerous properties west of the Temple and turning them over to the church.
. . . his father started buying the properties at the LDS churches’ request in 2000 and that the purchases probably included 40-50 houses and other buildings.
 
 
 
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THE U.S. AIR FORCE'S XF-103: AMAZING KILLER OR SUPERSONIC WASTE? #WARTHO...


Published on Oct 9, 2019
Views:: 495++
The used audio is from the Youtube audio library
By Michael Peck, The National Interest
Before the advent of ICBMs in the 1950s, the horsemen of the nuclear apocalypse would have trampled Washington and Moscow in the form of high-altitude bombers.https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buz...
This video is made under fair use policy, also this material is made from public published domain for people with hearing and seeing disability
Warthog Defense members are sharing stories, insider tips, news from the front lines, and unique slices of military life including the tough stuff of war.
Warthog Defense provides headline news and technology updates since our community answers the call and makes news. We also cover the rest of the military experience —and in our military equipment guide we present what makes the military unique (and fun).
We also wan't to revolutionize the way for Americans with military affinity stay connected and informed
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New IMF Chief Says Global Economy Is in a Synchronized Slowdown

90% is De-Celerating . . .
ONE MORE WARNING
Published on Oct 8, 2019
Views: more than 6,200
Oct.08 -- International Monetary Fund Chair and Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks in Washington about the outlook for the global economy.
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Tuesday, October 08, 2019

While the U.S. is Starting To Adopt Electric Buses, The Mesa Public Schools is not . . .

At the same time Mesa is trying to be a new proving ground for individual electric-battery powered automobiles, a more efficient way to transport thousands of students in electric school buses is an achievement not even in the test-stage for the city's sprawling schools.
The largest public school system has purchased 50 new school buses - of the old internal-combustion kind.

To make it even worse, the bureaucrats can't seem to be able to recruit, hire (or train) new drivers for a third of those! Drivers are run out on three shifts. Students are arriving late for classes.
Any reasonable person might ask and is entitled to ask as a concerned citizen,
What's going on with that?
Is that responsible operational leadership?  
Or just another clue that Mesa Public Schools  deserve some serious change for whoever is in 'the driver's seat' NOT keeping an eye on the road ahead.   
Here's an option from a company named ProTerra >
Zero-Emission Transportation for The Next Generation
Proterra has partnered with Thomas Built Buses to electrify their most popular vehicle, creating a 100% battery-electric bus designed to meet the needs of school bus fleets.
The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley powered by Proterra technology brings Proterra’s proven battery and drivetrain technologies to the North American school bus market, the next frontier for zero-emission commercial fleets.
Zero Emissions 100% battery-electric with no tailpipe, reducing exposure to emissions and improving air quality
Greater Efficiency Proterra drivetrain with unparalleled performance and regenerative braking for maximum range.
Lower Operating Costs Fewer moving parts for simplified maintenance and better MPGe for greater savings.
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YOU DECIDE . . .

Here from Axios is a report:
The U.S. is starting to adopt electric buses
 
What they're saying:
Nick Albanese of the research firm BloombergNEF tells Axios that electrification of bus fleets in the U.S. is happening slightly faster than they predicted.
  • They had previously forecast the U.S. fleet to reach 675 by year's end, but it has already surpassed 600.
  • "Growing concern about urban air quality and new financing mechanisms (like battery leasing) have been big drivers," he tells me via email. 
The electric bus maker Proterra announced yesterday that Miami-Dade County is buying 33 of its 40-foot, Proterra Catalyst E2 models.
Why it matters: California-based Proterra called it the "largest electric bus order on the East Coast." The order is the latest sign of growing global adoption of the technology that nonetheless remains very heavily concentrated in China.
Go deeper:
The evolving electric bus market
Electric vehicles
 
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AZ Republic "City Watch Dog Reporter" Snags A Story in Mesa About E-Scooters [Dumped On the Streets & Sidewalks Here Over A Year Ago w NO PUBLIC NOTICE)

WHAT A JOKE! Who is this EVT Staff Writer Alison Steinbach?
Hmmm... she likes to spoon-feed to the public all the dog food that city officials keep feeding themselves with! 
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BLOGGER NOTE: The "city watchdog reporter" is publishing something today that was mebbe "news" the week before last!
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"Mesa is making itself a far more scooter-friendly city than its Phoenix-area counterparts. 
The sprawling city had some 2,500 shared electric scooters last year, according to Transportation Director RJ Zeder. But that has dwindled to approximately 600 scooters operated by Lyft, Byrd, Lime and Spin, according to a city report. . . "
Alison Steinbach Reporter https://www.azcentral.com/
Image result for city watchdog





Alison Steinbach is a city watchdog reporter at The Arizona Republic covering Mesa and Gilbert.
WHAT IS "A CITY WATCHDOG"
Definition. noun. an independent person or organization whose task is to police a particular industry, ensuring that member companies do not act illegally. Usage
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Mesa launches scooter pilot program, relaxes rules and fees for companies

, Arizona RepublicPublished 6:00 a.m. MT Oct. 8, 2019 
Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com 
or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.
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Mesa Mayor John Giles Featured In His Own Guest Writer Opinion Piece. We are so blessed!

Image result for take me out to the ball game

Hizzoner Mesa Mayor John Giles was at it again in another one of those pitches as "Guest Writer' on the Opinion Page in Sunday's edition of the Times Media Group-owned The East Valley Tribune - for those who might have been out-of-town to escape the heat on beach or mountain vacations. 

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Summer was busy for Mesa city staffers

by Mayor John Giles, Tribune Guest Writer Oct 7. 2019
Image result for cracker jacks
If you want to read Hizzoner's Re-Cap, be my guest
Here's the Link > http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/
Here's the conclusion he wrote: 

". . . As you can see, Mesa is safe, prosperous, fiscally sound, affordable and on the move. America’s 35th-largest city continues to earn top spots on many “best of” lists. I’m committed to keeping the momentum going and building a city we can all be proud of – even in the summer!  
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BLOGGER NOTE: 
Hizzoner certainly likes 'to cherry-pick" what he calls top spots. However, WHAT'S NOT MENTIONED? Some spots no one can be proud of: concentrated extreme poverty, the lack of citizen engagement in their government, police-involved use of excessive force, politics-as-usual . . . and what about those "worst" lists??????
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Here's all the labels and tags included with the Guest Writer gig:

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