August 18 – 31, 2012
www.SanTanSun.com
Jobs needed to sustain housing recovery
BY MIRIAM VAN SCOTT After a historic boom, then bust, followed by years of plummeting prices and market volatility where the only constant was unpredictability, the SanTan Sun area housing market is charging back with a vengeance. Local real estate agents are reporting a spike in
residential sales as well as a jump in home values, marking a significant turnaround for the industry. To sustain the positive momentum, experts caution, unemployment, wages and lending conditions need to improve.
“The market has changed completely during the last 18 months,” reports Michael Widmer, a Realtor with RE/MAX Infinity in Chandler. “We’re seeing conditions nearly identical to 2004, with multiple offers and homes being sold after just days on the market.” Recent figures from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) reflect this surge in activity and show a healthy increase in home values over the past months.
“The ARMLS indicates the average sales price in
Maricopa County is up nearly 25% over last year,” says Mary O’Hara of Chandler’s Keller Williams Legacy One SEE Housing PAGE 24
BACKPACKS FOR ICAN: Meghann Gintz from ICAN, a Chandler youth program, passes out new backpacks collected by Fulton Homes with KEZ Radio. The “Stuff the Bus” campaign, which started in July with a full-sized school bus parked inside the Chandler Fashion Center, filled more than 150 backpacks for ICAN children. More photos on Page 48. STSN photo
Live forum introduces council hopefuls
BY MARK J. SCARP Stepping out of their campaign literature and
websites, seven Chandler City Council candidates vying for three seats took time to present their views to voters three-dimensionally at a recent forum sponsored by the SanTan Sun News. Challengers Nora Ellen, Sam Huang, Terry Roe, Scott
Taylor and John Sibley Wolfe, and incumbents Rick Heumann and Jack Sellers spoke to a live audience of more than 50 as well as Internet and home television viewers of City Cable Channel 11. Voters will cast ballots in a primary election that
BACK TO BUSINESS: A dwindling supply of available homes for sale in Southern Chandler is feeding demand for new construction. STSN photo
Little dog lucks out Homeless pet problem persists
BY K. M. LANG Eevee has a full life. The 6-pound package of fur and
energy visits her local dog park with her owners, long- time Southern Chandler residents Sydney and Austin Bingham, sunbathes on the couple’s patio and spends weekdays at Sydney’s workplace, greeting visitors and employees with butterfly kisses and infectious enthusiasm. “Eevee’s goofy,” says Austin. “She’s playful and stubborn, and a little bit of a troublemaker, like any puppy.”
“But she’s very smart,” adds Sydney. Just a year ago, life didn’t look as rosy for the cheerful
concludes Tue., Aug. 28. Candidates not elected outright will face off in the general election Nov. 6. The candidates, each seeking a four-year term, talked about how they would apply their qualifications and
SEE Council candidates PAGE 8
little dog. Eevee is one of the countless pets left homeless after economic hard times hit the Valley in 2008. One of nine puppies born under the porch of a foreclosed home, she, her mother and litter mates endured the Valley’s August heat for several days before a passerby heard their cries. It’s a story that’s familiar to Lost Our Home Foundation founder and Executive Director Jodi Polanski, who explains that, although the housing market has improved in recent days, the plight of area pets has not. “We’re still seeing the same amount of abandoned
pets,” she says. “What’s happened now is that all these homeowners who’ve had foreclosures can’t qualify for homes, so now they’re renters. The rental market is very saturated, so landlords get to be a little pickier. People are having a hard time finding housing that allows for their pets.”
FORUM: Chandler council candidates square off at a forum sponsored by the SanTan Sun News and aired live and recorded on Chandler Channel 11. Screen shot photo courtesy of Chandler Channel 11
LUCKY DOG: Eevee, one of nine puppies born under a local foreclosed home, was rescued with her family a year ago on Aug. 18. Although she was unfortunate enough to start her life homeless, Eevee’s small size and appearance made it easier for her rescue organization to find her a family. The Valley’s larger dogs – and countless cats – haven’t been so lucky. The Arizona Humane Society alone took in nearly 40,000 pets in 2011. STSN photo by Ron Lang
SEE Homeless pets PAGE 10
F E AT U R E D S TO R I E S Intel begins $300 million project . . . . . . . COMMUNITY. . . . Page 4 Realtors learn trade secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . BUSINESS . . . . . .Page 15 Basha aims high. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YOUTH . . . . . . Page 29 Diners uncover Pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEIGHBORS . . . . Page 43 Stars are born at Copperstar . . . . . . . . . . . ARTS . . . . . . . . Page 59
CLIP IT! Coupons – Center Section More
Community . . . . . . . . 4-14 Business . . . . . . . . . . 15-26 Youth. . . . . . . . . . . . .29-36 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . .41-42 Neighbors. . . . . . . . . 43-53 Spirituality . . . . . . . .54-58 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59-64 Directory . . . . . . . . 66-68 Classifieds. . . . . . . . 69-70 Where to eat . . . . . .77-74
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