Ahwatukee: Plenty to make 2017 here a year to remember – or forget. South Mountain Freeway construction along with golf courses — one “restored to lush,” the other “deader than a duff” — top this Ahwatukee Foothills News’ list of some of the past year’s “major news events and newsmakers.” http://bit.ly/2DSqr38
Politics, jackhammers will rattle East Valley in 2018. “The politicians will be jostling for office from city halls to the nation’s capital. The jackhammers will punctuate work on multimillion-dollar projects that continue to transform the growing region’s physical face.” East Valley Tribune. http://bit.ly/2lFgjUG
Big projects top Pinal stories of 2017. Several projects share the top spot for the No. 1 story of the year as chosen by PinalCentral. Among them: PhoenixMart, Dreamport Villages, Lucid Motors, and APEX. “Well-known economist Elliott Pollack said during a recent forum that success of one or two of these projects would mean major growth in the Casa Grande area.” High up on the list as well? Propositions 416 & 417. http://bit.ly/2Cub43F
More Pinal neighborhoods seek to become part of Queen Creek.“Ironwood Crossing isn’t the only community in San Tan Valley that has residents working to annex themselves into Queen Creek before the San Tan Valley incorporation issue goes to ballot.” Casa Grande Dispatch reports that “90 percent” of Morning Sun Farms and San Tan Heights residents say “they are in favor of annexing into Queen Creek.” And area resident JoAnn Pizzolo is organizing to make that happen. http://bit.ly/2Cdj9Gu
San Tan Valley’s future up in air after momentous 2017. More on the San Tan incorporation effort and Queen Creek annexations, along with eight other San Tan stories that dominated the headlines — in San Tan Valley Sentinel. http://bit.ly/2lHnpYL
Realtors forecasting slower growth in home prices for 2018. “Even so, home values will moderately appreciate due to limited supply.” That includes in the Prescott area, “a highly attractive location to live and retire in,” and where “developers and home builders are trying to make up ground lost during the recession years.” The Daily Courier. http://bit.ly/2lFRN5H
Zillow: Rent growth accelerates going into 2018. “After slow growth during 2017, rental prices have started to tick back up again, driven mainly by an increase in single-family rental prices, according to the November Zillow Real Estate Market Report.” Builder. http://bit.ly/2EFWHrt
[COLUMN] Prepaid property tax perplexity highlights the tax code’s confounding complexity. “Beyond the economic distortion caused by the tax code’s myriad deductions, credits, and exemptions, there is something fundamentally wrong with a system of revenue collection that can be navigated only with the help of experts — and in many cases (like this one) not even then.” Reason. http://bit.ly/2lJYvHl
Allhands: What Google Maps’ crazy level of detail means for Arizona.“The insane amount of detail on Google Maps isn’t just for show, columnist Joanna Allhands says. It has real-life business implications that could come to life on Phoenix-area streets.” AZCentral. http://bit.ly/2CtjwAe
Mesa: Falcon Tech Ctr needs master developer. “Mesa is specifically looking for a firm with experience creating office and industrial developments on or near airports and with expertise in dealing with [FAA] rules and regulations… FAA has approved the site [‘bordered on the east by N. Greenfield Road and on the west by the Roosevelt Canal’] for non-aviation uses provided Mesa retains ownership.” Get the lowdown on what’s “envisioned” for three-parcel, 70-acre site at AZBEX. –> http://bit.ly/2CuIqzv
Controversy in commercial real estate in 2017. REALTORMag’s “five most popular commercial articles this year”: “4 Issues to Watch for Property Managers”; “A Grander Vision for Short-Term Rentals”; “Multifamily Amenities Grow Up”; “Attract Young Pros to Commercial Real Estate”; “3 Commercial Real Estate Trends to Watch.” Read them all, here: http://bit.ly/2lJdvGf
Palm Creek adding more homes, rec center. “[In 2017, Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort] received approval from the [Casa Grande] Planning and Zoning Commission to develop 270 sites in the park… The new construction is the final phase of the park’s build-out, at 54 acres.” Casa Grande Dispatch. http://bit.ly/2DSUjwa
No, young people aren’t fleeing cities. “A recent article in Time… proclaims that U.S. cities are hitting “peak Millennial.” But as this piece in CityLab points out: “ ‘Peak Millennial’ doesn’t mean what it used to, because Millennials are getting older. And even still, they’re sticking around cities more than older generations.” http://bit.ly/2A7VDc8
Cameron’s $5M + deals of the day – http://bit.ly/2Cg5pLn
As a supplement to the Dealmaker, we thought you might enjoy these articles!
10 ways America is falling behind. “From health care to education, the U.S. is starting to see notable declines in the areas that matter the most to regular citizens.” But Axios says not to “despair,” because it also has “10 ways America is crushing it.” (Actually, it’s “9 ways.” See below.) http://bit.ly/2qeok7D
9 things America is getting right. “With a number of natural disasters raging across the country this year, and political discourse at its peak, it’s important to remember that there is good news out there… But, much of [it] never makes headlines.” Now some of it does, in Axios. http://bit.ly/2CdwZsx
Mixed feelings on NAFTA in Mexico. “[J]ust as some Mexican officials try to convince President Donald Trump that [NAFTA] has been beneficial for both countries, Mexican critics of the treaty think it’s time for their government to take a hard look at its shortcomings.”Cronkite News (RELATED, from PinalCentral:“Pinal-area congressional candidates support NAFTA.”) http://bit.ly/2CwSEPW
[SCIENCE] Arizona rancher on Mexico border breeding sustainable cattle. “[Cattle rancher Dean Fish] works to bring sustainable cattle raising from the fringes to the mainstream, conserving water and maintaining pasture health to make the land more productive. He marries those practices with feed efficiency and breeding practices that he says set his system apart from traditional ranching techniques.” A Cronkite News report at AZPBS. http://bit.ly/2qdso8p
Expert sees Republican blowout to replace shamed Franks. “[L]ittle attention – if any — has been paid to the two Democratic candidates running in the overwhelmingly red stronghold [‘Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, an emergency room physician, and Brianna Westbrook, a transgender woman working in the automotive industry’].” Former House Minority Leader Chad Campbell and political consultant Andy Barr weigh in on the Dems’ slim chances. (Also from Arizona Capitol Times, this RELATED piece: “Political experts ponder Franks endorsement – boost or baggage?”) http://bit.ly/2lFchvu
‘POLITICO’ lists an Arizona pol among its ‘10 must-watch candidates of 2018.’ It’s probably not that McDifficult to figure out who POLITICO has its eye on in the “Senate race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake.” If you haven’t McGuessed by now, click through to see who it is and to also find out about the other must-see McCandidates. http://bit.ly/2CtuNAt
Where you park might indicate how you vote. “[The Stanford University] car-image project involved 50 million images of street scenes gathered from Google Street View. In them, 22 million cars were identified, and then classified into more than 2,600 categories like their make and model, located in more than 3,000 ZIP codes and 39,000 voting districts.” The New York Times reports that the “project generated a host of intriguing connections.” http://bit.ly/2CuP9cx
Maybe the NFL is coming out of the fog on how it handles concussions.“The announced changes follow ‘an ugly incident in which Texans quarterback Tom Savage was allowed to return to the field after a hit left him on the ground, arms shaking.,’ ” Details on what those “changes will include,” in Axios. http://bit.ly/2Cg8vyI
Merriam-Webster’s top looked up words of the year. “Merriam-Webster dove deep and found the top ten most looked up words in 2017. While most words in the list have something to do with politics, there are a few words that are straight out of nowhere.” KTAR. http://bit.ly/2CGtITw
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