Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 76 No. 1
INSIDE
This Week THE VOICE OF BUSINESS
NEWS...............5 Glendale officer awarded Medal of Valor
NEWS...............5 Kidnapping, shooting suspect arrested
www.glendalestar.com
January 2, 2020
Cops ‘Ring’ in the New Year BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
Fueled by scanners that picked up police chatter, a small section of the population ardently started following law enforcement communications decades ago. In recent years, following the police has gone high tech. And the cops can follow right back. Indeed, police departments around the West Valley are Ring-ing in the New Year. Started as a home security device, Amazon-owned Ring now incorporates door-camera footage with comments and postings, primarily with its Neighbors app. While many users post videos of “porch pirates,” car break-ins and suspicious people wandering up to their front doors, a home security camera is not required to use Neighbors. Nearly every weekend night, Glendale residents post about hearing gunshots — or were they fireworks? Other users of the free app anonymously (the app assigns generic user names) post about stolen property, wonder about all the police activity up the street and ask for assistance finding lost pets.
The Neighbors app by Ring allows users to post crimes, videos and ask about police activity. It also has a map to show nearby incidents. (Image courtesy Ring)
“What the heck is going on? Over the last 15-20 minutes several loud pops heard in the distance then came closer,” someone near 47th Avenue and West Bethany Home Road posted after midnight Sunday, Dec. 29.
The police keep an eye on Ring. Occasionally, a community relations officer will post information to the community. On Dec. 26, the Phoenix Police Department posted this to Glendale Ring/Neighbors users: “Looking for Identification of suspect. “Dec. 13, 2019 between 9:20 - 9:45 p.m. (suspect) fled toward 2700 West Glendale (Avenue). Description black male wearing camouflage clothing- possible turned inside.” The Glendale Police Department is a partner of Neighbors by Ring. “Our community action team is most active on (Ring). It’s a two-way communication; there’s a lot of information they push out in regards to community events. At the same time they receive information,” said Jay O’Neill, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department. “It’s a helpful tool where we often see someone in the community where they have information about something happening, like a car break in.” Ring/Neighbors users can also view SEE RING PAGE 2
Glendale homes selling for top price BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
SPORTS ........ 16 Clemson wins a wild, controversial Fiesta Bowl
OPINION..................... 12 BUSINESS.................. 14 SPORTS ...................... 16 CALENDAR ................ 18 FEATURES.................. 20 RELIGION ................... 22 YOUTH........................ 24 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 27
A sage rock preacher once proclaimed, “You can’t always get what you want.” Sorry, Mick Jagger. The West Valley housing market is proving the Rolling Stones singer wrong on that note. According to RealtyHop, a national real estate listing company, “Glendale ranked in the top 10 hottest housing markets in December, with a -1.92% change in asking price.” That means Glendale home sellers got almost everything they wanted. On average, Glendale sellers were dropping prices less than 2%, giving them more than 98% of their asking prices. That landed Glen-
dale in the top five of the RealtyHop study. Glendale “increased three spots to become the fifth hottest market this December,” according to the RealtyHop report. “Similar to nearby cities in Arizona, Glendale properties required very small discounts from initial offering to sell.” Indeed, real estate people say West Valley home sell right and — and sometimes over — the asking price. “Most of Glendale and Peoria (sellers) are getting multiple offers in, which could lead to a sales price over asking price. Or at least minimizing the price drop,” said Elise Fay, of eXp Realty. Mason Oxendale, of the Realty One Group, said homes in Glendale and Peoria
are selling “at or above asking price, because people want to live in that specific location.” He added the sports stadiums and arenas are a big part of the attraction. RealtyHop’s analysis of more than 300,000 listings showed Glendale - and the rest of the West Valley - one of the healthiest real estate markets in the country, said Shane Lee, a data analyst for RealtyHop. A few other cities around the West Valley showed similar or even smaller price drops. “They’re all very healthy,” Lee noted of the West Valley. Peoria, Goodyear and Avondale didn’t make RealtyHop’s hot list only because SEE HOUSING PAGE 3