Valentine’s Day History Impacts Today’s Market

Posted on | January 29, 2010 | No Comments

Valentine’s Day

There are many different legends of how Valentine’s Day originated and the true creation is still a mystery. ..

My favorite legend is not that of St. Valentine, but of the story of mating birds.  It is said that in the Middle Ages, birds began to look for a mate on February 14^th, which over time marked this day as a day for love and romance.  Lovers began celebrating this day with the exchanging of gifts such as love notes and flowers.

Valentine’s Day today is still celebrated by showering that special someone with gifts of chocolate, greeting cards or flowers to let them know just how much we care for them.  It’s a day to stop your busy schedule and take time to spend with the person that you love and adore. 

February 14^th also has a significant impact on our economy.  For the businesses in the gift-giving industry, Valentine’s Day is one of the largest revenue generating holidays of the year.  These businesses are preparing months in advance for a flawless execution of high volumes in a short period of time.  By hiring additional staff, purchasing additional goods, paying for more advertising, generating more TPT for our cities and state, this industry will circulate Valentine’s Day revenue back into our local markets and communities.

This Valentine’s Day consumers will be cost conscious while looking the utmost value.  At Edible Arrangements we offer gifts to meet all budgets and needs of our customers. Flowers that you can eat?  That’s value!

Written by Sandra Lembke of Edible Arrangements. For more information or special offers on Valentine’s Day gifts contact them at (480) 921-3660.

US Congressman Harry Mitchell to Give Federal Update to Tempe Chamber, Community

Posted on | January 27, 2010 | No Comments

Sean Donovan

The Tempe Chamber of Commerce welcomes US Congressman Harry Mitchell as he delivers the State of the District: A Federal Update address on Friday, Jan. 29 at the Conference Center @ Rio Salado College, 2323 W. 14^th St. in Tempe. Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. and the breakfast and presentation begin at 7:30 a.m.

At this event, Congressman Mitchell will share his thoughts and visions with the audience, forecasting what the 2010 Congressional session will bring. A native Arizonan, he was elected to represent Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006.

During his tenure as Tempe’s mayor he created thousands of jobs, increased mass transportation efforts, revitalized the downtown area and laid the foundation for Tempe Town Lake. 

Tickets are $55 for Tempe Chamber members and $65 for the public and include admission and breakfast.

RSVPs are required online here, at www.tempechamber.org or to (480) 967-7891. The event is hosted by Rio Salado College.

Real Estate: HUD to Waive 90-Day Flip Rule

Posted on | January 20, 2010 | No Comments

Content provided by Steve Trang from Occasio Realty

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made a major announcement last Friday.  Effective February 1, 2010, HUD will waive the 90-day flip rule for FHA loans for one year.  Before I explain the implications of the change in the 90-day flip rule, let’s understand why the rule existed in the first place.

FHA loans are insured by the federal government.  As such, they place multiple measures to protect the prospective home buyer.  There are many rules in place when using an FHA loan to purchase a home, and that is why many banks are less willing to sell their homes to FHA buyers.  One of the most important safeguards is the 90-day flipping rule.

That means that any property that changed hands within the last 90 days cannot be resold to an FHA buyer.  For example, if John (investor) buys a foreclosure on January 1, 2010, then he cannot even accept a contract from Bill (FHA buyer) until April 1, 2010.  In the mean time, John can accept any cash or conventional offer from anybody else.  The 90-day period is referred to as the seasoning period.  This safeguard was put in place to make sure than an unsuspecting homebuyer was not tricked into paying too much for a home. Read more

Regulating Social Networking

Posted on | January 6, 2010 | No Comments

I came across this great article by Matt Bunk from the Arizona Capitol Times about social networking. I want to share it with all of you because it has some very interesting and potentially serious ramifications for all employers who make use of social networking. It could be a good time to get some internal policies in place to protect yourself and your staff.
-Sean Donovan, Communications Director, Tempe Chamber of Comemrce

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Uncharted Territory - Regulating Social Networking

By Matt Burk

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is about to tread into uncharted territory: regulating what employers can purposefully view on social networking sites.

It’s become routine for employers to use search engines such as Google to learn more about job applicants. Those searches often take hiring managers to personal Web pages such as those on Facebook and MySpace, which have become hubs for postings that are both personal and professional. It’s also common for supervisors and their employees to become Facebook “friends” or to share information on LinkedIn.

Soon, however, the federal government may choose to regulate how employers can use social networking sites to access genetic information about job candidates and employees already on the payroll. Read more

Report Shows ARRA Funds Are Benefitting Arizona

Posted on | December 15, 2009 | No Comments

Stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are helping to save thousands of Arizona jobs, help families survive the recession, and cushion state and local budget cuts according to a new publication released by Children’s Action Alliance.

Arizona governments will have received more than $6.2 billion in ARRA funds by December, 2010, for state government, cities, towns, school districts, and Indian tribes. The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that ARRA has saved or created about 21,400 jobs in Arizona as of August 2009. In addition to state and local budgets, ARRA includes provisions which benefit Arizona families directly, including extended and increased unemployment insurance benefits, higher food stamp benefits, and increased Pell grants. Read more

2010 Business Excellence Awards Finalists Announced

Posted on | December 10, 2009 | No Comments

Sean Donovan

 

The Tempe Chamber is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2010 Business Excellence Awards. These awards promote the advancement of responsible business leadership in the community and publicly recognize local businesses demonstrating a passion for excellence.

Through the awards, the Tempe Chamber identifies companies whose practices in business growth, employee development, community involvement and customer service exemplify excellence. This year’s six finalists admirably embody those characteristics and are being recognized for that distinction.

The recipients of the 2010 Business Excellence Awards will be announced and honored at the Breakfast for Chamber Champions next month. Please call (480) 967-7891 or visit www.tempechamber.org for details or to register.

The 2010 finalists are listed below: Read more

School Tax Credit Benefits Education

Posted on | December 8, 2009 | No Comments