School board races set / P. 10
Legal weed may hit ballot / P. 21
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
NEIGHBORS ............ 23 Fire-displaced critters find home in Scottsdale.
BUSINESS .................. 29 Scottsdale app brings kids peace of mind.
FOOD............................. 33 Quarantine meant opportunity for caterer
NEIGHBORS ......................................... 23 BUSINESS .............................................. 29 OPINION ................................................ 32 FOOD ....................................................... 33 CLASSIFIEDS ....................................... 35
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Sunday, July 12, 2020
Federal loan program poured millions into Scottsdale BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
T
he federal government sent as much as $1.5 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans to Scottsdale companies to help small businesses and avoid layoffs during the initial months of the COVID19-fueled economic downtown.
But the Progress found some of that money went to businesses that had announced large layoffs and others with financial woes that predated the pandemic. The Progress reviewed data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration last week that included some information on the 10,353 Scottsdale companies that received PPP loans.
Overall, more than 65,500 Arizona companies received between $6.5 billion and $12.4 billion from the PPP program, according to the Progress analysis. Of that money, between $690 million and $1.5 billion went to businesses in Scottsdale. The PPP loan funds – described by the
Ready for a new year School starts Aug. 10, but not in classrooms
see PPP page 18
BY WAYNE SCHUTSKY Progress Managing Editor
S
cottsdale Unified School District has adopted a plan to offer in-person and online options for the next school year that start Aug. 10 – but students will not be allowed on campus before Sept. 8. The district administration recommended the post-Labor Day in-person start date even though Gov. Doug Ducey allows campuses to open as early as Aug. 17. “While we know that the governor has at the present time said August 17 is the date we can
see SUSD page 6
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Butterfly Wonderland hosted graduation and promotion ceremonites for grads and rising grade school kids who missed out on formal celebrations at their schools. Among them were Penny and Stela Simpson, 6 and 7, respectively. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff)
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