COVID-19 News Round-up for December 4th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Senators Propose $908B in New Relief Following an appeal from Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed $908B in new relief and stimulus spending in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Components of the package include $288B in small business aid, $180B in unemployment benefits and $160B for state […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for December 1st
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Tucson Budget Remains Healthy Tucson’s municipal budget is faring better than originally projected at the onset of the pandemic crisis, bolstered in part by revenues from online purchases and construction activity. The city also still has approximately $17M in federal CARES Act funds to spend before the end of the […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for November 20th
Economic News Good News in Affordable Housing A recent report from MRI Software offers some hope for the affordable housing sector. Rent payments last month reached past 80 percent year-over-year for the first time since June. Payments rose to 82 percent, while public housing collections dropped slightly to 94 percent, compared to 98 percent in September. Another cause for optimism […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for November 17th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Federal Judge Delays PPP Info Release A federal judge has granted the U.S. Small Business Administration‘s request for a stay in lawsuit seeking detailed information about the $659B Paycheck Protection Program. The SBA had requested the delay while it considers an appeal to a previous ruling ordering the release of names, addresses and loan […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for November 13th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Phoenix May Extend Sky Harbor Rent Relief Having already reduced rents for concession companies at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport through the end of the year, Phoenix City Council wants to ensure companies are making efforts to take care of employees, including job restoration guarantees in some cases, before extending rent relief into the […]
Three Paths to Business Development in COVID Era
By Chad Schleicher for Weitz COVID-19 has changed our environment over the last eight months and forced us into a new modality of working and competing for business. While each state has certain restrictions in place, there is a common thread throughout the United States, and that is much of our interaction and communication is being done digitally; whether that […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for November 10th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Judge Orders PPP Loan Information Release Late last week a U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the Small Business Administration to release detailed information on Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Program loans by November 19th. The information to be released includes the names and addresses of all individuals and organizations that received loans under the […]
COVID-19 News Round-up for November 6th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News New SBA Forms Raise Concerns The Small Business Administration wants approval to send revised Paycheck Protection Program loan questionnaires to businesses that received more than $2M under the program. Some experts have expressed concern the forms may be used to deny loan forgiveness or as a basis for potential fraud investigations. (Source) Economic News Affordable Housing Rent Delinquencies […]
Arizona Cities See Higher Rents
While Apartment List’s National Rent Index is down 1.4 percent over the last year, rents in Tucson have increased 4.7 percent since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Since March, Tucson’s month-over-month rents are up 0.6 percent, and year-over-year increases total 5.9 percent. Phoenix’s year-over-year growth is 3.3 percent since March. (Source)
COVID-19 News Round-up for October 30th
Budget, Policy & Stimulus News Litchfield Park Revises Business Assistance Program Litchfield Park has eased the requirements for businesses and nonprofits seeking COVID-19-related relief grants under its Business Assistance Program. Despite putting $180K in federal CARES Act monies aside in August to provide grants of up to $10K, the initial qualification requirements and deadlines proved too cumbersome for some potential applicants. Nonprofits […]