Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Elise Stefanik: New GOP Moderate GOP Stooge-For-Trump

Looks like The Donald has sourced a new apprentice and so far her on-air auditions at the Congressional Impeachment Hearings are getting good reviews from at least one side of those other GOP cast members in the Trump Circus.
(She's even mastered one finger-and-hand action already!)
There's a word of caution in a featured article from
The Trumpification of Elise Stefanik
"New York Rep. Elise Stefanik has opposed President Trump on Vladimir Putin, women, tariffs, the travel ban and the border wall — and then impeachment made her a star Trump defender and unlikely fundraising juggernaut.
Why it matters: Stefanik has become the youngest, most moderate example of voter-driven Trumpification of the GOP.
The big picture: Trump is highly popular in New York's 21st district. He won it by 14 points in 2016, though Barack Obama carried it in 2008 and 2012.
  • Stefanik won her first term in 2014, then the youngest woman to be elected to Congress, and built a reputation as a moderate.
  • But her fierce defense of Trump during the impeachment hearings — along with her attacks on House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff — has made her a champion among the pro-Trump community.
  • "She needs to be better aligned with [Trump] and the admin to stay on track," said one Republican aide working on impeachment. "She did a good job of framing centrist for 2018 during a Democrat year — and now the goal changes."
Stefanik pushed back against the notion that this is strategic. In an interview Tuesday night, she told Axios that "impeachment is a constitutional matter, and this is an important precedent for future Congresses."
READ MORE > Use the underlined link in the opening of this post
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Want to watch-and-hear Elise Stefanik in action? It's received over 73,000+  views
She's got all the talking-points
Published on Nov 15, 2019
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., read several news articles that quote Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee chair, talking about how lawmakers would hear from the whistleblower at the center of the impeachment inquiry.
Stefanik read the news headlines on Nov. 15, the second day of a public hearing as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Stefanik referred to the "abuse of power" in the proceedings by Schiff and the Democrats, citing the news articles to support her assertion.
Stefanik then yielded the rest of her time to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who continued the criticism of Schiff.
The impeachment probe centers around a July phone call in which Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate former vice president and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Yovanovitch has testified that she was forced out of her position after Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, engineered a smear campaign against her.

For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics...

 

Getting ready-To-Read?? . . . More Than A Few Things Up To Approve In Front of Mesa City Council in December

ARE YOU READY-TO-READ??
There's more than 'a few' - 100 Items to be exact on Legislation that is Agenda Ready. Readers of this blog can find the entire list here >
Council, Committee & Board Research Center
http://mesa.legistar.com/Legislation.aspx 

Extracts with Meeting Details and links to Attachments: Scroll down below . . .
These are only some highlights
#1 is the Second Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP No.2) ASU @ Mesa City Center >
You can see the JUMBOTRON vision in a larger-than-life exaggerated perspective for a less-than-spectacular schematic design that is intended to blur the distinction between ASU and city government.
The proposed CAD architecture has been described as mediocre-at-best. . . 
It's an insult to any creative future for a public plaza that upholds the high standards of the Mesa Arts Center.
The proposed production studios are usually located on back-lots - NOT relegated or badly planned and executed as the centerpiece of an URBAN PLAZA intended for the public.
How all this got connected with a staged-stunt by Hizzoner Mayor John Giles to benefit his close cohort of 'friends-and-family' out to gamble on rampant real estate speculation for their own private well-creation is the flimsy backbone of this behind-the-back planning nightmare . . . and the high price keeps escalating on the congested site selected. 
Why should Mesa taxpayers go into any more public debt to finance the schemes of millionaires?

The total authorized amount recommended for this contract is $X,XXX,XXX.XX, based upon a GMP of $X,XXX,XXX.00, plus an additional $XXX,XXX.00 (X%) as a change order allowance.  This project is funded by the Economic Investment and Excise Tax Obligation - Construction Funds.

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File #: 19-1296   
Type: Contract Status: Agenda Ready
In control: City Council
On agenda: 12/9/2019
Title: Mesa City Center - Second Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP No. 2) ASU @ Mesa City Center (District 4) 
 This GMP for site preparation and structure work for ASU @ Mesa City Center is the second of a series of GMP’s relating to City Center work. The scope of work includes removal of existing improvements within the new building footprint, excavation of the building site, preparation of the building pad, foundations, and the concrete structure of the building. The total authorized amount recommended for this contract is $X,XXX,XXX.XX, based upon a GMP of $X,XXX,XXX.00, plus an additional $XXX,XXX.00 (X%) as a change order allowance.  This project is funded by the Economic Investment and Excise Tax Obligation - Construction Funds.
Attachments: 1. CP0871ASU GMP2 Site Prep Council Report_20191118,
2. ASUAtMesaCityCenterASU_CouncilExhibit


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Changes Set In Primary Election 2020 For Offices of Mayor + Councilmembers

New election date will be set for the FIRST TUESDAY IN AUGUST 2020 after actions to be taken up by the Mesa City Council on December 2, 2019 with approval for an ordinance on the scheduled agenda at that time.
2 new councilmembers in District 5 and District 6 will replace David Luna (D5) and Kevin Thompson (D6) who have served their time and are termed-out.
Both District 2 Mesa City Council member Jeremy Whittaker and Mayor John Giles can succeed to another term-in-office pending the outcomes of their election campaigns
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File #: 19-1260   
Type: Ordinance Status: Agenda Ready
In control: City Council
On agenda: 12/2/2019
Title: Amending Title 1, Chapter 33, Section 1 of the Mesa City Code relating to election dates for candidates for the offices of Mayor and Councilmember.  The amendment modifies the primary election dates to be in line with recent changes to state law. (Citywide)
Attachments: 1. Council Report, 2. Ordinance

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City Council Report  
Date:  November 19, 2019

To:  City Council Through: Chris Brady, City Manager 
From:  Dee Ann Mickelsen, City Clerk   

Subject: Text amendments to Mesa City Code Title 1, Chapter 33 entitled “Candidate Election Dates” (Citywide) 

Purpose and Recommendation 
To be consistent with state statute, consider an amendment to Title 1, Chapter 33 of the Mesa City Code entitled “Candidate Election Dates” to meet the requirements of A.R.S. § 16-201. To comply with state statute, staff recommends approval of the changes described below and contained in the corresponding ordinance.   
Background 
Section 701(A) of the Mesa City Charter, pursuant to Section 701(F) of the Mesa City Charter and Ordinance 5292, sets the primary election date for offices of Mayor and Councilmember on the tenth Tuesday before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years and sets the general election date on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.   
A.R.S. § 16-201 was recently amended by Senate Bill 1154 (Fifty-fourth Arizona Legislature, First Regular Session, 2019), modifying the primary election date to the first Tuesday in August in any year in which a general election or special election is held and at which candidates for public office are to be elected. In order to bring its primary election date in line with state law, the City must modify its primary election date set forth in the Title 1, Chapter 33 of the Mesa City Code

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

US TROOPS PREPARE TO FIGHT IN A WAY THAT LOOKS MORE LIKE WORLD WAR II #W...

Times are changing or so they say here for something called "Sabre Junction", post asymmetric warfare and back-to-basics

FIRED! Ember Conley - Mesa Public Schools Superintendent For 18 Months - NO EXPLANATION GIVEN??

TAKING STEPS TO FIRE HER. . .  "put on administrative leave'? DETAILS ARE SCANTY. Another city official gone
What are the downright nitty-gritty details?
More scandals in schools??
Perhaps when city officials can figure out what story they want to get told in some kind of feel-good narrative, then we can all just keep on being kept in the dark.
QUESTION:
Did the Mesa School Board wait to take action after two weeks past the November 5 Election 2019 to trick Mesa taxpayers into one more
THROW MONEY AT A PROBLEM AND HOPE IT GETS FIXED?
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This is an earlier post here from March 2018
11 March 2018
Is Importing A Small-City Utah Educator Gonna Fix Big-City Mesa Arizona Public Schools??
Time will tell. 30 years-of-time has not been so kind for either the nationwide bad reputation on the quality and performance of Arizona public schools frequently rated F for Failure at the bottom of rankings for all the States or the qualifications, teaching standards and salaries paid to Arizona educators - ranking #48 for elementary teachers and #49 for high schools.
Report cards on failures runs through Pre-K, K-12 and higher education: the entire system, with few bright spots, has failed abysmally across the board for more than three decades. Throwing more money at a problem won't fix it. Busting-up the education bureaucracy can work starting with a "Clean -Up".
In the case of the current Mesa Superintendent of Public Schools, Michael Cowan, during allegations of financial improprieties, tendered his resignation effective in June at the end of this school year, stating he got "a calling" to serve on an LDS mission to an undetermined location - a convenient and timely rescue mission out of a potentially tinged and sticky situation. That action effectively got him out-of-the-picture for more scrutiny to leave an empty slot at the top of the largest school district in Arizona - here in Mesa with a population of 0ver 500.00+ and growing growing fast in the 21st Century.
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Here's an infographic inserted here from http://www.proximityone.com/lgsd1.htm that clearly shows how big the MUSD is - it's the biggest public school district in the entire State of Arizona - and note the obvious economic disparities within the same boundaries
There are now different dynamic emerging and diversified demographics than those in the 19th Century when 'Pioneers' from Utah established the Mesa education system in Mormon meeting-houses and schools. The make-up of the public school administrations hasn't changed much since then with mixed results on performance.
Cowan's resignation opened the way to go in a different direction to shake-off those early entrenched roots by hiring someone from "outside the chain-of-command" with a track-record of proven success in a similar-sized city - that's a basic common-sense starting point to find a solution.
Instead, the MUSD Board of Directors has gone ahead to name someone who was Superintendent of the public schools in a small city in Utah with a population of less than 8,000: Ember Conley, Park City UT.
Negotiations on the contract are in-the-works. Let's first ask, as any reasonable person might, why is there already such a preponderous presence here in Mesa  governance of individuals and connections to Utah?     
The Law of Averages alone would tell us that we can expect to see a wider range of qualified talent from more than one geographic area. Perhaps Arizona's bad reputation scared-off potential candidates from applying, skewering and limiting the field of candidates for consideration.     
Nonetheless, according to information from sources, the selected candidate from Utah was the best-qualified from those who chose to apply for the job.
It's a tough job to take on an entire educational system here in Mesa and -in the State of Arizona - that has failed to educate students for more than 30 years to achievement basic proficiency outcomes and training for skilled jobs in the workforce. 
Here's the announcement from March 07, 2018
Mesa school board to offer Utah educator Ember Conley superintendent position 
, The Republic | azcentral.com      Updated 4:16 p.m. MT March 7, 2018  
"Mesa's school board may have just chosen the next leader of the biggest school district in Arizona. 
At the tail end of its search for a superintendent, Mesa Public Schools' board voted unanimously Tuesday to negotiate a contract with Ember Conley, superintendent at a school district in Utah.
Conley told The Arizona Republic Wednesday that she accepted the offer to negotiate and is sure she and the board "will come to an agreement." 
"I’m beyond excited," she said. "We’re thrilled and humbled to have this opportunity to come back to Arizona."
She said Mesa feels particularly unique to her in that despite the district's size, it has the "hometown feel and the support for public education." 
The school board concluded its meeting around 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening, after a marathon day of interviews with the three finalists for the job, a district spokeswoman confirmed. If contract negotiations are successful, Conley would replace outgoing superintendent Michael Cowan...
> She is a graduate of Arizona State University, with a Doctor of Education from Argosy University in Phoenix, according to MPS. She was once interim superintendent of the Maricopa Unified School District, according to her LinkedIn page. 
> Conley is at the helm of the Park City School District in Utah, but announced she would leave in December, reported ParkRecord.com.
Conley did not reveal why she was leaving Park City but admitted to the news site that some negative comments from community members weighed on her.
Link to entire article > https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa-education/
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Top stories





1 March 2018

 

11 March 201Is Importing A Small-City Utah Educator Gonna Fix Big-City Mesa Arizona Public Schools??

 

APS + Political Power :: Reigning In A Monopoly


Image result for jeff guldner arizona public service

A new request for rate hikes has sparked a circuit to heat up more public oversight with a firestorm raging on spending $130M for politics and political campaign advertising. 
The APS is getting more scrutiny all the time from just one sensational episode - sometimes that's what it takes for the public and investigative reporters to buckle-down on just one more ticking time-bomb of corporate corruption in Arizona.
Elizabeth Whitman, posting in Phoenix New Times yesterday started off this way:
Petition Asks New CEO Jeff Guldner to 'Stop All APS Spending on Elections'
A new petition is asking Arizona Public Service's new CEO, Jeff Guldner, who ascended to the top office on Monday, to launch a new chapter and to pledge not to spend any company money on elections. Such a promise would be a tall order for a company with a tarnished recent history that is used to buying its way. . . .
"For years, APS was among the most trusted institutions in Arizona," says the petition, which was addressed to Guldner and published online by a nonprofit group on Monday. "As you are aware, that is no longer the case. Public trust in your company has eroded significantly due to aggressive efforts by your predecessor to use the company's financial power to influence elections."

Sep 4, 2019
He pressed Jeff Guldner, who takes over in November as chief executive of APS parent company Pinnacle ...






Opportunity Zones Podcast Hosted by OpportunityDb Founder Jimmy Atkinson

Industry Spotlight: Economic Innovation Group
Learn more about EIG at EIG.org.
EIG

Founded in 2015 by John Lettieri, Steve Glickman, and Sean Parker, Washington, DC-based Economic Innovation Group (EIG) is a bipartisan public policy organization credited with creating the Opportunity Zones legislation. Its mission is to empower entrepreneurs and investors to forge a more dynamic U.S. economy.

About the Opportunity Zones Podcast

Hosted by OpportunityDb.com founder Jimmy Atkinson, the Opportunity Zones Podcast features guest interviews from fund managers, advisors, policymakers, tax professionals, and other foremost experts in opportunity zones.
Click the play button below to listen to his conversation with John.

Episode Highlights

  • A high-level overview of what is happening in the Opportunity Zone space — early investment, use cases, and capital deployment.
  • The challenge of moving forward with making Opportunity Zone investments without final rules from IRS, and how lack of final regulatory guidance is holding back the scale and diversity of capital that could be flowing.
  • How the 2019 deadline for the full 15-percent basis step-up is meaningful but marginal, as this is meant to be a long-term incentive — and why John believes the majority of the investment will come in 2020 and 2021.
  • The importance of philanthropic capital to the success of Opportunity Zones, and the tepid response of the philanthropic community so far. Why the scale achieved so far has been pretty minimal.
  • To be answered in the next year: Will there be a proliferation of Opportunity Zone investment that moves the national needle or will the policy remain as small pockets of first movers without real meaningful scale nationwide?
  • John’s response to the August 31 New York Times article that was largely critical of Opportunity Zones.
  • The damage done to the reputation of Opportunity Zones by a handful of poor zone selections by state governors.
  • Why some level of required data collection and reporting on Qualified Opportunity Funds is a “no-brainer.”

Featured on This Episode