Nothing 'Phony' from Phoenix New Times

 
 
It is (Metro) Phoenix's independent source of local news and culture
Like they say, "Since its founding in 1970, New Times has kept the Valley of the Sun's feet to the fire.
The paper began as an aggressive, irascible alternative to the stuffy mainstream media, . ."
OFF TO A GOOD START, there is more
"The fuel for the paper’s creation was provided by opposition to the Vietnam War. . . Coupled with the intense anti-war sentiment of the time, the cartoon inspired a group of Arizona State University students, led by future owner and editor Michael Lacey, to begin publishing an alternative to the Republic. The New Times was born.
Thanks to its early commitment to digital journalism, New Times, now a part of Voice Media Group, draws more than 1 million monthly active users to its website, newtimes.com. They’re joined by more than 200,000 weekly print readers who consider the paper an unparalleled source of information and insight, from politics and business to music and the arts. Hard-hitting investigative reports on everything from the misadventures of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former Governor Jan Brewer to the state's troubled justice system have earned New Times a reputation for journalistic fearlessness, and its reporters have been named the Arizona Press Club’s Journalist of the Year more than ten times and also taken home numerous awards. . . The total package makes New Times a must-read for anyone interested in taking the temperature of the nation’s fifth-largest city
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Here's just one from reporter Meg O'Connor three days ago

BLOGGER NOTE:

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THAT $75-MILLION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF MESA?

It's been 3 years + 10 months since Daniel Shaver was killed!

Mesa Cop Calls People 'Idiots' for Bringing Up Shaver Shooting on Facebook

Meg O'Connor | October 17, 2019 | 9:16am

Philip Brailsford and recent comments on the Mesa Police Department Facebook page

Via social media

"On Saturday, the Mesa Police Department shared a post on Facebook encouraging people to apply to the Mesa Police Academy, but commenters aren't ready to let the department forget what happened to Daniel Shaver, who was killed by a Mesa officer three years ago.
On the post calling for recruits, one person asked whether "making innocent civilians crawl down a hotel hallway" was something that was "taught at the academy?"
In January 2016, Mesa police Officer Philip Brailsford shot and killed the 26-year-old Shaver after barking conflicting commands at the terrified man in a hotel hallway for several minutes. Bodycam footage later released of the Texas visitor begging for his life before he was shot went viral
. . . The Mesa Police Department itself briefly "liked" Flanigan's comment calling people bringing up Shaver's shooting "idiots," but Flanigan's comment has since been deleted. A Twitter account dedicated to calling out instances of alleged police misconduct, Mesa Police Accountability, took a screenshot of the post.
Asked why the Mesa Police Department liked the post, Detective Nik Rasheta, a department spokesperson, told Phoenix New Times it was an accident. . .
The shooting of Daniel Shaver brought national scrutiny to the Mesa Police Department: The Department of Justice is still investigating Shaver's death, and Shaver's family filed a $75 million lawsuit over Brailsford's actions. . . "





 

Take A Look > The Arizona Mirror Fair-and-Balanced

All's fair in love, war and politics for sure. It is, however, refreshing to hear that one news source is "amplifying the voices of Arizonans whose stories are unheard; shining a light on the relationships between people, power and policy; and holding public officials to account." . . . That's a mission supported by MesaZona in the public interest

Two recent articles:

Bipartisan condemnation of Trump’s Syria actions, but 3 AZ Republicans stand with him

Capitol Hill Robin Bravender | Jim Small - October 16, 2019

Three Arizona Republicans voted against a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday condemning President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria.

Dems lead AZGOP in 2020 election fundraising, but Ward improves on rough start

Politics Jeremy Duda - October 16, 2019

The Arizona Democratic Party is substantially outpacing its Republican rivals in fundraising so far in the 2020 election cycle, and the AZGOP has raised less money than in most recent election cycles

Arizona National-Level Politicians Fear Meeting Their Constitutents Face-To-Face

Congress has been on a two-week break - time to go back home to meet-and-talk with the people elected them. Right? Nah - Neither of the state’s senators have had a town hall this year and no Republicans in the state’s House delegation had done so, with Arizona joining Missouri as the only states where no Republicans had a single meeting.

Arizona lawmakers have held few town halls in 2019, and Republicans have had none

By Wissam Melhem/Cronkite News Service October 15, 2019

_________________________________________________________________________

If that doesn't bother you, please move on!

Your MesaZona blogger is committed to bring information to the attention of readers - it's right here at your fingertips.

What YOU DO with that information is up to you.

In a democracy, on the local level here in Mesa, on the state level in the Arizona State House in Phoenix, and on the national level in Congress, both Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen are elected to serve the public interests.

The news is good that in 2019: THE TOWN HALL IS BACK so let's look at Arizona from The Town Hall Project

TOWN HALL PROJECT - Jan-Sept 2019 Congressional Accessibility Report

- Revision10/11

In our third year conducting nationwide rapid research into the schedules of members of Congress--and encouraging Americans everywhere to show up and speak out to their elected officials . . . here in Arizona it looks 'one-sided' from the Town Hall Project report and from the Cronkite News story linked to in the opening.

WASHINGTON – "Congress returned this week from a two-week recess, a time when lawmakers can go home and meet with voters – except that many of them don’t. . .

Town Hall Project Executive Director Nathan Williams said there is a general disparity between Republicans and Democrats on the national level, but said he finds Arizona’s one-sidedness unusual.

“That’s unfortunate… We don’t see this as a partisan issue,” Williams said. “There shouldn’t be anything inherently conservative or progressive about meeting your constituents.”

Requests for comment from delegation members were not returned. But with the 2020 elections around the corner, challengers across Arizona were quick to turn the lack of town halls held by incumbents into a campaign talking point.

The Town Hall Project said Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko has not held a single town hall since she took office in 2018. She and other GOP delegation members were more likely to host telephone town halls, which they have defended in the past as allowing a larger number of people to participate in the conversation.

One reason for their reluctance may be the hostility some lawmakers faced in the months after President Donald Trump took office. After Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, was repeatedly booed at his last town hall in April 2017, he turned to telephone town halls – a method Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, also uses.

Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., was still a House member when she attended her last town hall in February 2017. She originally declined to attend what she said would be “about trapping people in a political ambush for political theater,” but later agreed to the event hosted by liberal-leaning groups – only to be berated for her statements over the course of the night.

David Barker, director of American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said Arizona could be a swing state in 2020, and with Trump under a microscope, state Republicans want to avoid having to defend or denounce his actions in front of a crowd.

“They’re going to potentially put you in a really difficult position of having to go on record there and either doubling down on your support for Trump, which might anger independent or swing voters you might need,” he said. “Or you’re going to have to voice your displeasure with Trump, which for a lot of these people could also spell doom.”

------

> The Town Hall Project only counts events held within a lawmaker’s district that is

free and open to the public

• announced at least 24 hours in advance
• has an open question-and-answer session.
• It does not include site visits to businesses or schools, and
• it does not include meetings on social media or by telephone.

> Unlike face-to-face meetings, “it is very common for questions to be screened at these telephone town halls,” Williams said.

“It is very easy to pick and choose the questions you want to answer and the people you want to answer.”

Democrat Anita Malik invited Rep. David Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, to a town hall in September that he did not attend. She said she was not surprised, as she said Schweikert has not hosted a town hall in his district in years.

Malik said Republicans argue that town halls lead to more divisiveness among voters, but she accuses Schweikert, currently the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation, of just trying to “stay under the radar.”

“They just wanted a platform to speak those words and feel like someone is paying attention,” she said of the people who turned out for her town hall.

Malik said it may not be fun to face critics and tough questions, but it is an essential duty of a representative’s job to listen to constituents – regardless of their views.

Muscato agreed, saying younger voters are seeking more transparency from their representatives than ever before.

“If we can’t do the most simple and commonsense representation, which is to simply listen in a public setting, then we don’t have representation,"he said.

 

 

Last Week's News Today: 2 Crime Reports

Sorry guys but there is no new "hot news anchor" here who has joined the staff on your hyper-local independent non-profit news source MesaZona: Table of Contents. Just like FOX NEWS it's one way to get your attention LOL.
As you can see this blog is not about 'cover-ups' or for that matter something called TOXIC POSITIVITY where every thing is just great with constant streams of spoon-fed news.
Nope. No way. However, by the time you read this post, take a look at the dashboard to the < left margin: 254,000 Page Views since this blog went online first in February 2015.
From Inside-The-Bubble of the most conservative city in America, your MesaZona blogger publishes in the good faith and confidence that there are more than 'boobs' out there who are both curious and interested in different points-of-views that might Bang Some Clangers for those who are blessed with a sense of humor. There's also a lot of serious stuff interspersed in the posts that usually appear on the same page at the same time.

Take for instance two reports from last week on Sunday - one at 3 o'clock in the morning and one around 8 o'clock at night.
Both happened in downtown.
Your MesaZona blogger didn't happen to notice either at that time one week ago, except when someone else happened to mention them days later.
They were crime reports shown on television and/or published online in news-feeds.
_________________________________________________________________________
The first crime report about damage to a store-front and sidewalk patio with the headline by an award-winning multimedia journalist was featured in an earlier post on this blog
Suspected DUI driver plows through downtown Mesa restaurant
Source: AZ Family.com/news
MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)--"The owners of a mom and pop restaurant in downtown Mesa are picking up the pieces after an alleged drunk driver crashed right though their storefront over the weekend. . .
_________________________________________________________________________
The second crime report about a shooting in Mesa [two brief versions]
Please note

• One of them omits naming the location - Pioneer Park
• Source for both - a police department spokesman
• One crime report from 13 Oct 2019 (same day) and one from 14 Oct 2019 (a day later)

1

Man wounded in shooting at Pioneer Park in Mesa  
By Mike Cruz 14 Oct 2019
Link > https://www.azcentral.com

"A man was shot and wounded Sunday night at Pioneer Park in Mesa, police officials said.

Officers responded to the park, east of Main Street and Mesa Drive, about 8 p.m. and found a 36-year-old man with a gunshot wound, according to an email from Detective Jason Flam, a department spokesman. 

The man's injury is potentially life threatening, Flam said.

The shooter has not been arrested, and no description was available.

The investigation is still active, and Flam said police were unable to release additional information."

2

Man injured following shooting in Mesa, police say
azfamily.com News Staff   13 Oct 2019
Link > https://www.azfamily.com/news
MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)-- The Mesa Police Department is investigating after a man was shot Sunday night. 
The incident occurred near the area of Main Street and Mesa Drive. 
According to Mesa police, officers found a 36-year-old man who was shot. He was taken to the hospital with possible life-threatening injuries.
At this time, police are looking for the suspect responsible.
No suspect description has been released. 

Worth-A-One-Sided-Story From An Award-Winning Multimedia Journalist? Drunk Driver Damages A Sandwich Shop In Downtown Mesa

Image capture today 19 Oct 2019

AZ Family 3TV/CBS 5 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation) thought so, when Lindsey Reiser published it with a video two days after it happened last weekend. It might tug your heart strings with 'Mom-and-Pop' and 'their dream' and their 'baby'. . . hang on it's more than that good old fashion American-as-Apple-Pie stuff - and it's way TMI too much information using only ONE SOURCE Jim Bob Strothers
> Perhaps just as likely it could be the case of a Wrong-Way Driver confused by street signage on Main Street here in Downtown Mesa.
__________________________________________________________________________
(Opening image above what the site looks like today: No "Open for Business" sign)
Suspected DUI driver plows through downtown Mesa restaurant
Source: AZ Family.com/news
MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)--"The owners of a mom and pop restaurant in downtown Mesa are picking up the pieces after an alleged drunk driver crashed right though their storefront over the weekend.
Note there is a video included in the source

[VIDEO: Mesa restaurant cleans up after alleged DUI driver plows through the storefront]
"They're worried the boarded-up windows makes it look like they're closed for business.Mesa Police said the suspect, 28-year-old Augustin Barron, was still in his car when an officer arrived on scene. They say he tried to run, but was arrested and taken to the hospital. He will be charged with DUI and criminal damage.
(2 Images are featured in Reiser's report /Source: Worth Takeaway restaurant)
THE TAKE-AWAY:
They're worried the boarded-up windows makes it look like they're closed for business. HUH???

_________________________________________________________________________________

You see where that arrow in the street is pointed?

BLOGGER NOTES: More than any other new business that has opened downtown, The Struthers' sandwich-shop has gotten much more media push than any others.
It appears from the photos supplied to AZ Family that there was damage to the patio that encroaches over the public sidewalks extending to the curb on the north side of Main Street, and that the front windows of the newly-opened expansion at 216 West were shattered.
The original shop at 218 W Main Street looks intact from the images that were supplied to the AZ Family journalist for the story that appeared late last Tuesday.

It may be plausible the alleged DUI driver was unfamiliar with downtown streets, heading east, saw the big white arrow painted on Main Street possibly going the wrong way to make a U-Turn that landed him inadvertently on a trajectory that hit a light pole > take a look at the street scene from today.

216 W Main Street is boarded up.
218 W Main Street is not - either way

There is no 'OPEN FOR BUSINESS' Sign! A week later 
________________________________________________________________________________________

Here's the story from Jim Bob Strothers point-by-point

1 "We really wanted to invest in our community when it came time to possible open a restaurant," Strothers said.

2 And in February of 2016, their baby, Worth Takeaway, was born.  But Sunday morning around 3:30, Mesa police say a suspected drunk driver plowed through.

3 "[He] came through the patio, hit a light pole, hit the patio, and then they ended up taking out part of the whole storefront," Strothers said.

4 "It's anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 at least right now," Strothers said.

5 In addition to their deductible, they fear there could be a loss of business.

6 "The weather's starting to get nice, we just redid our patio again," Strothers said.

• 6-b And they're gearing up for their biggest event of the year - Jim Bob's Burgers, a pop-up event.
• 6-c Last year on Halloween, they sold 650 burgers. This year, they expanded it to a 2-day event.

HUH? And then they might sell twice as many Jim Bob's Burgers or 1300 in two days. . at the price of $10 for one of Jim Bob's Burgers that's a nice chunk of change - $13,000 bucks.

7 "It's pretty disappointing," he said. 
8  "My wife and I spend about 80-100 hours working in downtown Mesa.
9  "We also run a farmers market in downtown Mesa, so we’re really focused on making sure there's a community being built"

• SMS

Mesa Artist Zarco Guerrero: Opening Celebration @ Pueblo Grande Museum Tomorrow To Mark Our History. . .There Are More Pueblos In The Future For Zarco To Mark

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Let's try to locate them in history on this early map of the Hohokam irrigation canals here in The Rio Salado Valley - every one of them need a Portal to The Past to remind us of the people and cultures who lived on these lands for millennia and centuries before the arrival of 'The Pioneers' sent on a mission from Salt Lake City to colonize Arizona

One account in a 1991 edition of a book called "Our Town" stated there were 300 Mormon settlers and 5,000 Papago Indians already living here.

 

TAKE A LOOK AT THE MAP DETAILS:

You can see

• Pueblo Moroni at middle left with many small reservoirs and temples
• Pueblo Nephi: that was one of the first names Mormon settlers wanted to call Mesa

________________________________________________________________________

Here's an enlargement of the Omar-Turney Hohokam Canals Map that clearly documents and provides evidence of two cultures - both the Spanish and First Peoples Papago, who were here on the land for centuries before 'The Pioneers' arrived on their territory in the mid-!850's.

The 'Pre-Historic' map clearly shows Spanish place-names "Pueblo", "Plaza" - already existing and designated place names for established towns or settlements here in Rio Salado Valley.

The all have names from The Book of Mormon appended to them, like Lehi and Moroni and Nephi

Trump's Great and Unmatched Wisdom

WHAT A MOUTH :)

Published on Oct 18, 2019

Uploaded 2 minutes ago > more than 2,000 views!!

This week, Trump went from Cilla Black to The Wizard of Oz whilst screwing his fellow allies hard in the arse.

For tickets to see Jonathan Pie The FAKE NEWS Tour go to https://www.jonathanpie.com