Changing the Perception of Mesa

Did you know that Mesa has added 98 massage parlors since 2004? Great job former city council, just the image we were looking for, the "Massage Parlor Capital of the Southwest."

Anyway, it looks like the new council is taking a look at their image and realizing that massage parlors and the potential prostition involved is not the image we are looking for. Mesa clearly has the most lax massage parlor ordinances in the valley, something that needs to be fixed. In addition, I know money is tight, but code enforcement is one of the best ways to drive these shady establishments out of business.

I don't know about the legality of this, but Mesa should definitely require permits to open a parlor (like palm readers, pawn shops and others) and make the initial fee relatively normal, but make the fee go up astronomically for every violation they receive. Maybe that would drive these folks elsewhere, while not punishing the legitimate businesses.

It is downright unfathomable that Mesa has more massage parlors than pay day loan shops. Kudos to the Mesa Council for taking action to get something done.