Town hall focuses on Pinal’s future workforce. “Pinal County is not going to suffer from a lack of employment opportunities in the future. The problem is that residents are not currently prepared to fill the needs of the future workforce. That was the message of the Pinal County Town Hall [where] leaders in local government, business and education met and presented their take on how to develop Pinal County’s workforce for tomorrow’s opportunities.” Tap through for the Town Hall recap along with this RELATED item, also from Pinal Central: “Pinal unemployment drops below 5 percent.”http://bit.ly/2yCwxVx
Letter: Facts every voter needs to know about Props 416/417. (Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents a coalition of property and business owners throughout Pinal County working to bring new transportation infrastructure to the county.) Armed with a list of ten “FACTS,” Maricopa councilmember Peggy Chapados clears up “a lot of misinformation and narrowly-focused misperceptions” about Propositions 416 & 417 and what they will do for the city. At InMaricopa. http://bit.ly/2ywEn3K
WHAT A DUMP! – Phoenix City Council votes to abandon Barrister alley.“The Jefferson Place Project [‘a 32-story residential building in conjunction with the Barrister Building’] located at the intersection of Central Avenue and Jefferson Street was involved in two agenda items: requesting abandonment of the 200 foot alley and appealing the request to abandon the Public Usage Effectiveness area (PUE) located behind the Barrister building.” On Wednesday, the first request was granted, the second wasn’t. Read the story in Downtown Devil.http://bit.ly/2yXypcH
A WELL-PRESERVED MUMMY? – Town council has eyes for hillside preservation in Paradise Valley. “Ultimately, the council is looking at reigniting the preservation efforts on unbuilt lots, Mummy Mountain especially,” and PV Councilwoman Julie “Pace is leading the charge on the efforts.” Paradise Valley Independent. http://bit.ly/2gr2lm6
Glendale continues to expand with three new housing projects. “Hartford Court, Marbella Ranch and Garden Grove were approved by council and rezoned during [recent meetings].” Details on each, including number of homes, lot size, location, and construction timeline, plus find out which of these developments is unincorporated and why it may remain so — in The Glendale Star.http://bit.ly/2zF2Od9
Most expensive home sales in Phoenix. Once again it’s time for another edition of “Sales of Homes Featuring Half-Baths Bigger Than Most Apartments.” Arizona Foothills Magazine has the top 10 sales for the week 10.9.17 – 10.15.17. Total sales climbed to “over $19 million,” which is UP $2 million from the previous week. http://bit.ly/2gvC4H6
2017’s Hottest ZIP Codes. “Realtor.com® analyzed 32,000 ZIP codes based on factors like the time it takes properties to sell and how frequently homes are viewed in each ZIP code.” Tap to REALTORMag to find out which East Valley city’s ZIP code made the list. (Here’s a hint from Dealmaker’s Department of Duh: The ZIP code starts with the number 8.) http://bit.ly/2xTmibM
The cities that have changed the most in the past 10 years. “MagnifyMoney[a subsidiary of LendingTree] analyzed home prices, crime rates, building permits, commute times and other elements to identify areas of high metropolitan change and give each city a ‘Change Score’ of 0 to 100… Austin, Dallas and Houston topped the list.” What score did Phoenix get? Find out in Builder. http://bit.ly/2xbxGjx
How will we live in 2027? (Or how ‘bout just “Will we live in 2027?” should the North Korea situation gets any toastier.) “Technology is permeating almost every aspect of our lives, including our homes. Vanessa Walker for New Atlas takes a hypothetical look at what our homes will look like 10 years from now, based on predictions from futurist Morris Miselowski…” Start reading about it and access a link to the full New Atlas piece, in Builder.http://bit.ly/2imNFIZ
CoreLogic releases first HPI Forecast Validation Report. The CoreLogicHPI Forecast Validation Report “publicly compares its 12-month CoreLogic HPI Forecast to the actual CoreLogic HPI Index.” Topping the list of the “15 Most Accurately Forecasted Core Based Statistical Areas”? Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale. –> http://bit.ly/2gxpDKQ
Existing home sales eke out a gain. Sales of existing home rose 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million in September from 5.35 million in August, [NAR] reported Friday. Still, last month’s sales pace was 1.5% below a year ago and the second slowest over the past year (behind August).“ In this report from Builder, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun puts much of the blame on Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. (BTW, “Hurricane Harvey” isn’t a bad nickname for a certain mogul from Hollywood, given all the harm he’s allegedly wreaked.) http://bit.ly/2yFlafF
‘MESAMAZON’?–Mesa mayor makes pitch to Amazon for secondheadquarters. “The bid listed four areas of the city where the company could locate: the Mesa Gateway Airport, Fiesta Mall, Riverview (near Loop 202 and Dobson Road) and downtown.” More about the bid in KTAR. http://bit.ly/2yw1s6H
GOODWILL / BAD LOCATION? –Glendale citizens argue against proposed Goodwill. “The planning commission gave tentative approval for a new Goodwill at the northwest corner of 59th Avenue and Loop 101, but numerous citizens are arguing that is it not allowed at this location, based on the original development agreement to build the center.” This Glendale Star story has been UPDATED, big league. See Mayor Jerry Weiers’ statement in the article’s sidebar Goodwill’s decision “to withdraw their intent to occupy… the former Staples building.” http://bit.ly/2gruuJS
Florence historic building owner gets more time. “[Stephen] Smallidge was the high bidder on the [historic Francisco Cuen] building, and received it from the town in 2015… with an agreement that he would rehabilitate it…” But Florence Reminder reports that rehab of the building has been “held up.” Even so, “[a]ction to take the… building away from [Smallidge] and return title to the town was tabled by the Town Council, in hopes the parties can agree on an action plan before the council’s next regular meeting.” http://bit.ly/2gUg85C
El Mirage City Manager fired over tensions with public safety workers. “A divided El Mirage City Council fired seven-year City Manager Spencer Isom… Councilman Ray Delgado told The Arizona Republic on Thursday that the termination stemmed from strained relations with police and fire. The city’s fire union said Isom created a ‘toxic environment’ for police and fire personnel. Isom said it was about public safety demanding more money.” http://bit.ly/2gwXfIT
BARNEY: Maricopa County’s largest investments are paying off. In this opinion piece for Queen Creek Independent, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member, Denny Barney, touts “‘Building A Stronger Maricopa County,’ as a website where “you can see how wisely spent tax dollars translate into progress we can measure,” for such projects as “newly-constructed buildings, major upgrades to existing buildings and other investments in infrastructure or technology.” http://bit.ly/2xTOZ8d
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day –http://bit.ly/2yWrDnB
Election 2018 Preview. Cronkite School of Journalism Professor, Fernanda Santos, “talked to pollsters, campaign consultants and political operatives; read Jeff Flake’s book and President Trump’s tweets; and played match after match of political dominoes to flesh out a trail of possibilities that runs from the Phoenix mayor’s office all the way to the United States Senate.” In this look-ahead in Phoenix Magazine, Santos keys in on those possibilities through the use of “five burning questions” concerning Flake, Sinema, Stanton, schools, and Latino voters –> http://bit.ly/2xTRnRf
Moderate GOP lawmakers exist in name only, study finds. (This headline got some of us here at Dealmaker HQ wondering if we’ll ever see the headline, “Moderate Democratic lawmakers exist in name only, study finds.” Or could it be that we’ll NEVER see such a headline since “moderate” Democrats don’t actually exist — not even in name? Just askin’. Anywho…) “Only a handful of Republican senators and representatives vote alike with a few Democrats in their respective chambers, according to an analysis by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.” (Also available with a tap, these RELATED subscriber-only articles, also from Arizona Capitol Times: “Some GOP lawmakers vote solid red, support caucus bills”; “Small group of Republicans buck their party, vote their conscience.”) http://bit.ly/2goSWLX
Senators say feds leave local officials on their own on cybersecurity. “An empty chair fielded question after question from an angry Senate panel Thursday,after a White House cybersecurity coordinator invoked executive privilege and skipped the hearing.” And while reps “from the FBI, the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security testified,” Cronkite News reports that “much of the hearing was focused on Rob Joyce’s empty chair…” — a bizarre scene that seems to underscore the “lack of federal coordination” and what Sen. John McCain called “a fundamental misalignment between authority and accountability.” http://bit.ly/2xVlXdz
Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio loses bid to have his criminal record wiped clean. District Court Judge Susan Bolton: “The pardon undoubtedly spared defendant from any punishment that might otherwise have been imposed… It did not, however, revise the historical facts of this case.” But, as AZCentral reports, ex-Sheriff Joe “is not willing to simply enjoy his freedom,” telling Capitol Media Services that the matter is “not going to be dropped.” http://bit.ly/2ywg1Hk
Woodruff: Journalists are allies of the public. “Former White House correspondent and veteran journalist Judy Woodruff… along with the late Gwen Ifill” were recipients of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in Phoenix on Thursday. “Woodruff and Ifill were co-anchors on PBS NewsHour from 2013-16.” During the award presentation, Woodruff “had some choice statements for journalists and for President Donald Trump.” Check out her remarks at AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2zo9pro
[COLUMN] This is what really happens when Amazon comes to your town. “[As] cities go all-out to win Amazon’s affections, they might take a lesson from the city where those same affections have dimmed: Seattle.” That’s the view of Seattle journalist Paul Roberts, who details in POLITICO how he “saw [his] city transform — and not always for the better.” http://bit.ly/2yCms9n
