Jon Stewart To The Media: It's Time To Get Your Groove Back

Published on Feb 27, 2017

Views: 290,123

Worried that the mainstream media's breakup with President Trump has reporters feeling blue, Jon Stewart stops by with relationship advice.

Mesa City Council Meeting Mon 27 Feb 2017

Note empty seat > public?
Views: 1
Running time about ten minutes
Items on Consent Agenda approved quickly as usual
The mayor didn't realize that instead of giving an award, he would be getting one [?]

Mesa City Council Study Session Mon 27 Feb 2017

Note empty seats : public??
Published 27 Feb 2017
Views: 4

Previously published agenda:
Source: http://mesa.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

1 Review items on the agenda for the February 27, 2017 regular Council meeting.

2 Presentations/Action Items:
2-a 17-0221
Hear a presentation, discuss and provide direction on the City Council priorities relating to the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grant, and the Human Services Programs funding
 
2-b 17-0230
Appointment to the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board

3 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended.

4 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

Mesa = a Crazy City

The Problem with Sales Tax
Source: http://www.andrewalexanderprice.blog.com
Mesa is one of those crazy cities where cities are mainly funded through sales tax.
This is a dumb system.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/office-of-management-budget

The problem with relying on sales tax is that everything other than retail becomes a burden. Shops generate revenue for the city, while houses, businesses, and factories that do not make any direct sales do not generate any direct tax revenue - yet consume infrastructure and services.
In an optimal sales tax based city, where the city government does everything to eliminate all burdens and only contains productive development, we will have a city that is purely retail - where everyone lives out of town and comes in to shop.
Here is what the optimal sales tax based city might look like;
The problem with relying on sales tax is that everything other than retail becomes a burden. Shops generate revenue for the city, while houses, businesses, and factories that do not make any direct sales do not generate any direct tax revenue - yet consume infrastructure and services.
In an optimal sales tax based city, where the city government does everything to eliminate all burdens and only contains productive development, we will have a city that is purely retail - where everyone lives out of town and comes in to shop.
Here is what the optimal sales tax based city might look like;
This is a little extreme, instead we can imagine a less harsh example - a sales tax based city where the city council wants residents to live there, but is fiscally responsible by only allowing revenue-generating development.
...and other mixed use developments, as long as they incorporate retail somehow, so that the development can generate tax revenue for the city.

City Manager Chris Brady

Other than form, the problem with sales tax based cities is that building more retail does not automatically mean more tax revenue. There are only so many toothbrushes, televisions, and cars a person will want to buy in a year. A new store opening up will not always mean we will buy more toothbrushes, televisions, or cars.
If a city invests downtown and that attracts more shoppers downtown, tax revenue won't necessarily increase as people are not necessarily spending more - they are just spending their money downtown instead of in the suburbs.
Building a new restaurant does not mean I will eat out more, only that I will have more choices of where to eat when I decide to eat out.
There is also the threat of online retail where people can bypass paying sales tax completely. Wealthier residents that travel frequently may do most of their spending out of state, or even in a foreign country. The city has access to none of this.
However, the largest problem with sales tax based cities is that they have no way of capturing or measuring the performance of their investments. Building a neighborhood park or cleaning up a residential street will not lead to people spending more. We end up with a delusion that cities are like charities - to provide services and infrastructure for the people no matter the cost, because there's no way to capture or measure it.
Basing cities around sales tax is a dumb system that we need to change.

Living Green Here in Mesa

Press release from The City of Mesa Newsroom Mesa to Host Green Living Magazine March 2017 Issue Launch Party 02-23-2017 at 12:42:00 PM

MESA, ARIZ.It may not be St. Patrick's Day but it's a perfect time to show your 'GREEN' when the City of Mesa, in partnership with Benedictine University, hosts the Green Living Magazine March Issue Launch Party. The event will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 at Benedictine University, 225 E. Main St. "This is a great opportunity to showcase the programs that Mesa offers their residents to help them lead an earth-friendly lifestyle," said Environmental & Sustainability Deputy Director Laura Hyneman. "Over the years, Mesa has provided leadership in sustainability programs including the Water - Use It Wisely outreach campaign that now boasts seventeen Valleywide partners, and is promoted throughout the state and nationally. Mesa was also the first city to provide a Green Waste Barrel program in the state of Arizona." Other programs include: a Grass-to-Xeriscape rebate backyard composting paint reuse innovative recycling programs for cooking oil and textiles such as old clothing or stuffed animals too worn to donate. These programs not only offer customer convenience and dollar savings but also promote water conservation, save natural resources and reduce waste in the landfills. Household hazardous waste collection events and prescription drug disposal programs reduce harmful waste such as pharmaceuticals, oil, pesticides, electronics and appliances from contaminating soil and water. Mesa is also improving walkability and offering transportation options with Valley Metro Bus and Light Rail service and even GRID Bikes in downtown. Of course, nothing makes an area more 'green' than plants. Mesa has amazing city parks, will be celebrating its seventh year as a Tree City USA community and is proud to have one of the most successful valley community gardens, Mesa Urban Garden, in the downtown area. Launch parties promote the latest magazine issue and allow attendees to meet green businesses and enjoy appetizers and drinks from local vendors. For more information or to RSVP to attend the Green Living Magazine Launch Party, visit www.greenlivingaz.com. To learn more about Mesa's sustainability programs, visit www.mesaaz.gov/sustainability.   Environmental Management & Sustainability Contact: Mariano Reyes Tel. (480) 644-5005 mariano.reyes@mesaaz.gov

Homeless Vets @ Camp Alpha Here in Mesa Hit The Headlines Again

While Mesa Mayor John Giles took a vow last year to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2016, recently declaring the issue was 'a functional zero'  reality once again intrudes on yet another figment of the Mayor's imagination.
Nothing shows the continuing problem of veteran homelessness more than Camp Alpha, a camp set-up to help homeless veterans here in Mesa.

Other than denying there is a continuing problem, one way to deal with is to get it out of the picture in the media spotlight.
Your MesaZona blogger published this post more than a month ago:
 Veterans Homelessness: Mesa Mayor John Giles Uses "Double-Talk ...

https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2017/01/veterans-homelessness-mesa-mayor-john.html

Jan 18, 2017 - “Camp Alpha,” run by Veterans on Patrol, has been operating west of Country ... Mesa Mayor John Giles, speaking at a conference of mayors in ...

That reality hit the headlines again on Friday, reported by Jim Walsh
Mesa homeless camp told to vacate state land    

By Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer Feb 24, 2017

According to a published report in The East Valley Tribune the Arizona Department of Transportation served a notice-to-vacate on Friday afternoon at an encampment for homeless vets called Veterans on Patrol.The deadline now for the homeless to leave voluntarily is 9 a.m. on March 3, after a 30-day reprieve was granted in December to abandon Camp Alpha, a Mesa homeless camp started by a veterans’ organization near the Loop 202.
Tim Tait, an ADOT spokesman, said conditions at the camp have deteriorated since December.  “It is no longer safe to stay at the homeless camp,” Tait said.

Greg Rodriguez, an ADOT right-of-way and property manager, served the notice at about 5 p.m. to Art Hagberg, a volunteer who said he is not part of a council that will decide what Veterans on Patrol will do next. Rodriguez taped the notice to the No Trespassing sign and declined to comment.
“At the end of this time, ADOT will clear and secure this parcel,” the notice said. 

 

– Reach Jim Walsh at 480-898-5639 or at jwalsh@timespublications.com.

UPDATE Tue 28 Feb 2017
A group of homeless veterans who have been living in a camp near Loop 202 and the Salt River for the past year intend to relocate to private property in Chandler by the end of this week, a camp co-founder said Tuesday.
Lewis Arthur, co-founder of the camp and several other such camps in Arizona, told The Arizona Republic most of those living there intend to relocate to a 15-acre vacant parcel in north Chandler that is privately owned by a veteran. Arthur declined to identify the owner, and The Republic was not able to confirm the property owner's identity Tuesday.
More details >
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/chandler/2017/02/28/homeless-veterans-camp-near-mesa-plans-move-chandler/98551014/

My Man Pie Throws It Right In Your Face Again!

Telling his producer, Tim WHAT THE REAL NEWS is >>  The Corbyn Lie

Published on Feb 26, 2017

Views: 18,522

Labour's problems lie with the old leadership, not the new one!