Mustang Library gets a treasure / P. 29
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS ............................... 16 Parents lose bid to save Methodist preschool.
BUSINESS ...................... 27 Scottsdale man improving customer feedback.
ARTS................................ 30 Where to be wet, cool and hip.
NEIGHBORS .........................18 BUSINESS ............................. 27
OPINION ..............................28
ARTS ....................................29 FOOD & DRINK................... 32 CLASSIFIEDS .......................34
'Year of the Scottsdale Chorus' / P. 26
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Home affordability crisis hits local seniors hard BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
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s property values and rental rates continue to rise in Scottsdale, there is little incentive for developers and property owners to invest in more affordable housing production. That has created an especially insecure environment for some of the city’s oldest residents, who are disproportionately affected by the problem, according to multiple local of�icials and city staff. Beyond severely restricting the neighborhoods where low-income residents
can �ind housing, the problem has ancillary effects as well. Camaron Stevenson, spokesperson for the Arizona Housing Coalition, said if workers cannot afford to live in a city, that can increase commute times, pollution and wear and tear on transportation infrastructure. The affordable housing problem is acute in Arizona, which is third worst in the U.S. with only 25 affordable housing units available for every 100 extremely low-income families, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2019 GAP report. Scottsdale currently distributes federallyfunded vouchers through the Housing Choice
Voucher Program, also known as Section 8, to subsidize rents for quali�ied low-income families. The City of Scottsdale has 734 vouchers allotted to it from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city has 690 of those vouchers leased out and 6,211 families still on the waiting list, said Greg Bestgen, city human services director. Bestgen said there are also places called 202 properties in Scottsdale that take only one-third of a quali�ied low-income resident’s income for rent.
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Revered icon rides back into Old Town BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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n the morning of May 24, the iconic Porter’s horse returned to the second level of the Old Town building — and with a fresh coat of paint, to boot. “It needed to be brought up to date,” said Richard Garcia, the owner of the historic Porter’s building, which opened in 1929 and was originally the city’s first full-time post office. “It’s been up there for a number of years, and it needed some TLC,” he said. The fiberglass horse over the years acquired a dingy-brown hue, but was revived by southern Scottsdale resident and artist Patty Badenoch. “I love it. It turned out really great. Patty did a great job, and we’re just very happy with it,” Garcia said.
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The iconic Porter’s horse statue was lifted back onto the historic Porter’s Tavern building last month, a fully restored icon after it had grown a little weather-beaten over time. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)
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