BASIS planning new charter school on Tucson’s south side. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents BASIS.) “The new school will be the fourth Basis campus in the Tucson area… The Tucson South campus would serve ‘a somewhat different target population than Basis Tucson Primary…” As Arizona Daily Star reports, the campus is “part of an initiative to bring its challenging curriculum to underserved areas.” http://bit.ly/2qaXOqT
As people hightail it out of Calif., some go no farther than Phoenix. Net outflow? Net inflow? Top destinations? Top cities of origin? Check out the trends that “dominated the migration patterns seen [from] nearly one million Redfin… users searching for homes across 75 metro areas…” This “Migration Report” also features a “Find your Metro” interactive map which deserves high marks for fantabulous clickability. It’s taptastic! http://bit.ly/2oIyfxj
Spring housing: ‘Strongest seller’s market ever.’ “Even as more homes come on the market for this traditionally popular sales season, they’re flying off fast (even faster than bounce houses?), with bidding wars par for the course…. [S]ellers are firmly in the driver’s seat.” KEY STAT: “Properties sold in March were on the market for an average 34 days, down from 45 in February and 47 in March 2016.” CNBC http://bit.ly/2pwpv1h
‘ATTRACTING BRAINIACS’ – Tempe listed as part of ‘Silicon Valley Shake-Up:’ The next top tech towns. “[Realtor.com®] ranked the 500 largest U.S. cities by [various] tech-savvy factors — and then eliminated those where housing affordability is out of whack, even for a decently paid engineer or developer.” See where Tempe lands on the list and find out what factors — other than a median home price of $320,000 and an average engineering salary of $80,200 — will cause the city to “get its geek on.” http://bit.ly/2peYLz7
Less expensive mortgages could spur housing market. “The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.97% for the week ended April 20… The drop could help encourage buyers who had been put off by rising mortgage rates to dive into the market…” How low would rates have to go before they start “to have a significant impact on refinancing and purchase activity”? Find out in the WSJ. Also see what recent events have “washed away” the “Trump bump [to mortgage rates].” http://bit.ly/2qbdAC5
As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!
BASIS Arizona locations ranked top public high schools in entire United States (#1, 2, 3, 5 and 7)! (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents BASIS.) Congratulations to BASIS! Its schools — Scottsdale, Tucson North, Oro Valley, Peoria, and Chandler — have captured the top five spots in this U.S. News and World Report list of the nation’s top public schools.” The fact that Arizona is home to the best free public education in the country… now that is an economic development driver! http://bit.ly/2osDGUO
The emerging strategy for capitalizing on women’s unprecedented interest in politics. “The overwhelming interest from female candidates has many hoping that significant progress toward equal representation will be made in the next two years. But this kind of mobilization has happened before, so organizers are challenged with figuring out how to keep the current energy going.” Tap through for this piece from Governing, and also for a related item on Arizona being among top 10 for women legislators. http://bit.ly/2pi1YjC
Governor distancing himself from education ballot initiatives. “The first initiative would require 60 percent of Arizona public schools’ funding be spent in the classroom… The second initiative would cap executive pay in K-12 public schools… Ducey spokesman Daniel Scarpinato: “This, like some of the other ideas being discussed, does not seem well-conceived.” More on the measures along with school advocates’ reaction to them, in Arizona Capitol Times. http://bit.ly/2oIS0V6
Republicans consider adding Schweikert-backed reinsurance program to health care plan. “Two members of the Freedom Caucus, including Arizona Congressman David Schweikert (R-6), want to re-establish a… risk sharing… program [which] would provide $15 billion over nine years to insurance companies to cover the care of high-cost patients, with the aim of keeping a lid on premiums…” But would it be “enough money to make a difference”? Experts weigh in, at Arizona Business Daily. (BTW, doesn’t the term “caucus” sound like a weird disease that would require high-cost care?) http://bit.ly/2pi2vCh
Tempe streetcar construction starts soon. “Tempe’s $177 million… streetcar project, slated for completion in fall 2020, will include three miles of track that loops around downtown Tempe, connecting riders to neighborhoods, business centers and regional destinations.” More on the project — including details on possible “paint schemes” for the streetcar along with June and July construction schedules — at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2piasHA
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