The Dealmaker: 11/21/2017

Rose Law Group searching for… Corporate/Tax Attorney to join the RLG team. We are fairly sure our readers are not corporate or tax attorneys but betting you have relationships with some… so if they don’t already work at RLG, they are really good, and they are less than satisfied with their current situation, please encourage them to send their resume confidentially to the HR Director Hslaughter@roselawgroup.com.

Goldwater Institute and Rose Law Group team up to save Christmas! For 40 years Lee Sepanek has had a Christmas light display visited by people around the world. This year it will be dark as the City of Phoenix shut him down. Rose Law Group and Goldwater Institute are teaming up to save Christmas. –> http://bit.ly/2jdS1iy

JDM Partners planning 2 million square-foot “La Via” project on CrackerJax site.BREW reports that JDM Partners LLC [Jerry Colangelo, David Eaton and Mark Shultz] “has filed a zoning application to develop [a] mixed-use project called La Via.” Click through for a bird’s-eye rendering along with the price the partners could reportedly “pay… to buy the popular CrackerJax Family Fun and Sports Park.” http://bit.ly/2hTFF2m

Chicago group developing 30-story downtown Phoenix tower.“Construction has started on… Link PHX [at Third and Pierce]… a mixed-used apartment project that will have 257 units [or is it 600?]. It is being developed by Chicago-based CA Ventures and Diamond Realty Investments [and] is slated to open August 2019.” Read more about it at PBJ, where, hopefully, you’ll have more success than we did in nailing down exactly how many units are in this project. http://bit.ly/2hSF9BX

Villas at Cheney Estates unearths accurate flood plain, gains Paradise Valley OK. “Town Council approved several measures [last week] putting into motion the creation of a new [eight-lot] subdivision on a precarious piece of undeveloped land [at the N.W. corner of Northern and Scottsdale.]” Get details on the approved ordinances, plus find out why Rod Cullum of Cullum Homes appears to be on solid ground when he says that, as far as any flood-plain error is concerned, “We are not going to take on any of the costs…” in Paradise Valley Independent. http://bit.ly/2zU5NBg

Deal made for fewer homes at Deep Well Ranch. Developers had requested 10,00 homes, but “[u]nder a development agreement drafted between the City of Prescott and Deep Well Ranch developers, a maximum of 8,000 homes would be allowed on the 1,800-acre property — ‘until such time as’ an alternative water source is acquired.” The Daily Courier reports that this “is just one example of the points included in a 34-page draft agreement… that has been released by the City of Prescott.” –> http://bit.ly/2iE50ue

Court rules in favor of Eloy in Coolidge annexation dispute. “Eloy challenged the nearby city in 2015 after Coolidge passed an ordinance to annex 160 acres located near State Route 87 and Hanna Road… Pinal County Superior Court… ruled in favor of Coolidge earlier this year… On Friday, the Arizona Court of Appeals released a decision that sided with Eloy and vacated the Superior Court decision.” And the reason for the court’s ruling? It’s all about not obtaining enough signatures. Eloy Enterprise. http://bit.ly/2jcshmH

Marketplace made of shipping containers begins construction.“Construction has officially started on [The Churchill]… the Valley’s first micro-marketplace built of repurposed shipping containers… [Hartley] Rodie has joined forces with co-founder Kell Duncan and has teamed up with Local Studios to construct the 14,000 square-foot [marketplace]… at 901 N. First Street in Downtown Phoenix.” Details and renderings at AZRE. http://bit.ly/2zXFBVW

Is Ikea trying to take over the universe? With a “new 348,000-square-foot store… set to debut in spring of 2020” in Glendale, Phoenix New Times contributor Robert L. Pela grapples with a love-hate relationship with the “Swedish furniture giant,” noting: “It was only a matter of time, really. All those new apartment buildings going up all over town have to be furnished with something.” http://bit.ly/2hLclY1

Noise walls begin to rise along Pecos Road. “South Mountain Freeway construction crews have begun erecting 16- to 20-foot sound walls along Pecos Road as work steamrolls ahead toward the target opening date of late 2019.” And, as Ahwatukee Foothills News puts it, the walls are “another sign that ADOT doesn’t appear worried that a pending appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will halt the work.” http://bit.ly/2zpI1xD

Arizona ranks in bottom half of states for millennial home affordability.“GoBankingRate put out a study that ranked Arizona No. 30 for states that are affordable for millennials to buy houses. The report was based on home prices, monthly mortgage rates and how long it takes to save for a down payment, among other factors.” Access the full report at PBJ.http://bit.ly/2hKbG9B

Phoenix makes top 10 for nation’s best places to retire. “Phoenix came in at eighth on the [BankRate] list, primarily because of its low tax rates, cost of living and crime rates.” However, KTAR reports that the city also “took a few hits… for its health care costs…” http://bit.ly/2mQ40b2

Q&A: Councilman Scott Moore talks Paradise Valley limited government.Paradise Valley Independent quizzes the PV Councilman on the town’s vision of limited government — what it means, how it can evolve over time, and the challenges it presents. http://bit.ly/2iDLKND

Pollack: Economy lookin’ good. The Monday Morning Quarterback tackles the Trump tax package, retails sales, and employment growth. ‘Snapshot’ data includes… U.S.: Consumer Prices, Manufacturing, Home Builder Confidence, Single Family Permits. AZ: Employment –Statewide (anemic), Greater Phoenix (not bad), Greater Tucson (not pretty). http://bit.ly/2Akhzp1

The “middle class tax” reform and why it is so difficult to achieve. “[O]ver the next few weeks, you are about to hear how every aspect of the tax reform proposal or today’s current tax structure either helps or screws the middle class.” Landmark Capital Advisors co-founder and frequent Builder contributor Adam Deermount wants us to “ignore the rhetoric that is being spewed on this issue.” He calls it “almost all politically charged nonsense… because there really is no middle class.” And one of the examples he uses to make his case? Housing. http://bit.ly/2zWrj8s

Isn’t it a PITI? “Doubling the standard deduction might go far to improving many households’ net financial gain, but will that be enough to offset the deductibility not only of interest on the mortgage, but property taxes as well as state and local tax? Builder looks at the potential impact of tax reform on the “principal, interest, [property] tax, and insurance” (PITI) calculation. http://bit.ly/2B0PYpr

Digital talent and housing’s labor shortages. Builder’s John McManus on “why young people are not breaking down the doors to sign up to be construction laborers.” (“Increasingly, tech skills are a non-negotiable key to higher pay and career adaptability,” while “construction laborers… rank among the ‘low-digital’ competence occupations.) http://bit.ly/2iEYhk3

Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2BbmrKg

ASU evaluating Charlie Rose’s reception of Cronkite award after sexual misconduct allegations. “Eight women accused Rose of sexual harassment, according to The Washington Post.” ASU calls the reports “deeply troubling” and said that it is “seeking more information and evaluating his receipt of the 2015 Cronkite award.” The State Press (BTW, we checked into it and Charlie has no relation to any Rose around these parts.) http://bit.ly/2AmdPn4

Poll queries voters on soda tax for schools, marijuana legalization and in-state tuition for immigrants. “A new Arizona poll shows voters, especially women, backing a new tax on sodas to boost school funding. The same poll by Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights shows opposition to legalizing marijuana and offering in-state tuition to immigrant students.” PBJ. http://bit.ly/2B0B9Tx

‘Untethered to the evidence’: Court reverses Department of Child Safety case that cut mom off from kids. “In a rare move, the state Court of Appeals has reversed a decision that severed a mother’s rights to her two children… The court cited numerous flaws in the evidence — or a lack thereof — presented by a Department of Child Safety caseworker, as well as a state-appointed psychologist who evaluated the mother.”AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2AXpBAr 

State asks judge to throw out libel suit of fired DES director, security chief. “At issue is a Department of Public Safety report about former DES Director Tim Jeffries and security chief Charles Loftus describing a cache of weapons and ammunition DES had accumulated, under the pair’s supervision… In a new legal filing, attorney for the state Daniel Dowd told a Maricopa County judge the report simply contained statements of facts and the state did nothing to defame or libel either man.” Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer has more on the matter at Arizona Daily Star. http://bit.ly/2z8iViD

Several firsts among Phoenix mayoral candidates. “If Councilwoman Kate Gallego wins, she’ll be the third-ever female mayor of Phoenix and the first since the 1990s… But Gallego has already made history as the first woman elected to represent District 8 on Phoenix City Council. On the other hand, Councilman Daniel Valenzuela would be the first-ever Latino mayor for the city.” Cronkite News. http://bit.ly/2iDbl9t

He won’t be broadcasting Coyotes games anytime soon. Chance The Rapper stole the spotlight as host of ‘Saturday Night Live’ this past weekend… Playing a New York Knicks basketball reporter, Mr. “The Rapper” fills in for a fellow reporter at a New York Rangers hockey game and has to recap the first two periods of action. Catch the entire, rinkside fish-out-of-frozen-water sketch right here: http://bit.ly/2zXKi20