September 6th, 2010
By Cathryn Creno
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Department of Transportation is quietly buying Phoenix homes in the path of the planned South Mountain Freeway from people with special hardship cases, even though the state is strapped for cash and the agency is in talks to move the route.
For homeowners who qualify, ADOT’s hardship program is a financial godsend. For neighbors who also want to sell their homes but don’t meet the strict criteria, it can be frustrating, upsetting and seem plain unfair.
More: http://bit.ly/dxETkw
Posted in Municipal/county/state/federal gov't: issues, legislation, politics, Real estate/development/construction | No Comments »
September 6th, 2010
Arizona Public Service is working on getting 280-megawatt plant, called Solana, built. The plant could power 70,000 homes.
Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power have applied for approval of their renewable energy standard implementation plans from the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Read the plans here: APS REST Plan TEP REST Plan
Posted in Arizona Corporation Commission, Solar/Renewable Energy/Nuclear | No Comments »
September 6th, 2010
By David Streitfeld
The New York Times
The unexpectedly deep plunge in home sales this summer is likely to force the Obama Administration to choose between future homeowners and current ones, a predicament officials had been eager to avoid.
Over the last 18 months, the administration has rolled out just about every program it could think of to prop up the ailing housing market, using tax credits, mortgage modification programs, low interest rates, government-backed loans and other assistance intended to keep values up and delinquent borrowers out of foreclosure. The goal was to stabilize the market until a resurgent economy created new households that demanded places to live.
More: http://nyti.ms/cHs6jJ
Posted in Municipal/county/state/federal gov't: issues, legislation, politics, Real estate/development/construction | No Comments »
September 6th, 2010
By David Madrid
The Arizona Republic
Avondale is drafting a proposed sports-and-entertainment zoning district that would allow Phoenix International Raceway to expand near the racetrack.
PIR, which hosts NASCAR races in Avondale twice a year, needs the city to create the appropriate zoning so it can develop its property into a major regional and national destination.
More: http://bit.ly/cz2qmZ
Posted in Municipal/county/state/federal gov't: issues, legislation, politics, Real estate/development/construction | No Comments »
September 6th, 2010
The Arizona Republic
Those seeking money for a promising construction project or other capital-intensive venture must have the right answers to negotiate their way to financing, while those offering money must ask the right questions to ferret out the fools and frauds.
Phoenix real-estate analyst Jim Belfiore organized a one-day conference in September 2009 that sought to bring the two groups together for mutual education.
Belfiore, president of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting, said interest on both sides – he had planned for 250 attendees and more than 350 showed up – persuaded him to make it an annual event.
More: http://bit.ly/9VW4uA
Posted in Real estate/development/construction | No Comments »
September 6th, 2010
Coal ash spill in Tennessee
The New York Times
In December 2008, a gigantic storage pond belonging to the Tennessee Valley Authority near Kingston, Tenn., effectively burst at the seams, spilling a billion gallons of mainly toxic coal ash from a T.V.A. power plant into surrounding lands and rivers.
It was the perfect moment to right a long-festering environmental wrong. The Environmental Protection Agency promised tough new regulations governing the disposal of coal ash. Industry complained. The White House hesitated. Nothing happened.
More: http://nyti.ms/a3jnaN
Posted in Municipal/county/state/federal gov't: issues, legislation, politics, Uncategorized, Water/Land/Environment News | No Comments »
