Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike SunnucksArizona’s home building industry is backing a bill to place a moratorium on new building code rules and development impact fees and would require voters to approve any increases to construction sales taxes.

Senate Bill 1035 has the support of the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, which contends new rules, fees and taxes on the struggling real estate and construction industry would further weaken Arizona’s fragile economy.

Arizona cities and towns oppose the plan that would restrict their ability to impose charges on new developments and subdivisions and change building codes for safety and other reasons. The moratoriums would start June 1 of this year and run through May 2012, if the bill is approved.

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More homeowners than ever before are falling behind on their mortgage payments and sliding into foreclosure, according to figures released on Thursday, a sign that the country’s housing crisis is spreading through the ranks of previously stable borrowers.

About 5.4 million of the country’s 45 million home loans were delinquent or in some stage of the foreclosure process in the first three months of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. About 12.07 percent of all mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure, up from 11.93 percent at the end of 2008.

Temporary halts on foreclosures imposed by lenders and mortgage underwriters have mostly ended, and banks are moving quickly against delinquent homeowners.

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Roughrider Soccer Camp

Roughrider Soccer Camp is from 8:30 to 11 a.m. June 8 - 11 at Ken Lindley Field. Yavapai College soccer players conduct the camp for boys and girls ages 5 to 12. Cost is $75 per child and includes instruction, soccer ball, camp shirt and Roughrider souvenirs. Register by calling 777-1122 or sign up at the activity center, 824 E. Gurley St.

Prescott Senior Olympics

Prescott Parks and Recreation will hold Senior Olympics events for men and women 50 and older. Events are scheduled from July 10 through July 26. Cost is $20 for registration and $5 for each individual event. To request a booklet, call 777-1122 or visit www.cityofprescott.net/services/parks/Olympics.

Trekabout Hiking Club

Trekabout Hiking Club meets from 8 to 9 a.m. every Tuesday and from 8 to 10 a.m. every Thursday for guided hikes. Locations vary and trails are rated from 1 to 4 for difficulty. Cost is $12 for annual membership. Visit the recreation office at 824 E. Gurley for a monthly schedule, or call 777-1122.

Yoga with Becky Lind

The City of Prescott is sponsoring yoga classes by certified instructor Becky Lind. All levels are invited to participate in this activity that is practiced to develop strength and flexibility and to reduce stress. Classes are scheduled from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Grace Sparkes Community Center, 824 E. Gurley. Cost is $30 or $35, depending on sessions. Call 777-1122 for more information.

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The rate of property price falls in some states in the US is accelerating, according to the latest national data to be published.

And it is not the states that were worst hit in 2008 that are suffering now. Indeed Nevada and California are experiencing a slowdown in devaluation although they are still the top ranked states in terms of annual price falls.

Property prices continue to fall across much of the nation with Nevada seeing an annual price drop of 25.9% and California down by 24.9%. In third place is Rhode Island with a 21.2% depreciation rate, the figures from First American CoreLogic show.

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Is there a better way to promote automotive and motorcycle classes than a hot rod car show?

Probably not.

The Yavapai College Career and Technical Education Center (C-TEC) is presenting Hot Rod Fever to benefit auto department scholarships.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, more than 200 vehicles will be on display at C-TEC, located at 220 Ruger Road in Prescott. There is limited parking at C-TEC, so organizers are asking the public to park at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church or at Rugers. Volunteers will shuttle people to C-TEC. VIP parking is available at C-TEC for those willing to pay $5.

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Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary will say thank you to zoo supporters with free admission on Community Appreciation Day Saturday, May 30.

The zoo, home to 125-plus animals, plans animal encounters every hour, and docents will be available throughout the park to tell each animal’s special story. The zoo will be offering membership discounts, and concessions will be on hand for those who want to have lunch at the park.

For more information, call 778-4242, ext. 0, or log onto www.heritageparkzoo.org.

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New figures from the Arizona Department of Commerce show the tri-city’s unemployment rate fell a tad in April.

The seasonally-adjusted rate fell from 8.9 percent in March to 8.8 percent in April.

A couple of economists said Thursday afternoon that the modest dip is nothing to get excited about.

Jack York, senior economist for the ADOC, said the April unemployment rate is basically static.

“It looks like our seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate model basically left the whole state, in every area, essentially unchanged,” he said. “It looks like things remain relatively stable in Prescott.”

Yavapai County continues to sit third behind Yuma County’s 23.3 percent unemployment rate and Mohave County’s 9.6 percent rate.

Statewide figures fell from 7.8 percent in March to 7.7 percent in April.

The national unemployment rate rose from 8.5 percent in March to 8.9 percent in April.

PRESCOTT VALLEY - A group of seven twenty-something adults took the stage at the Lonesome Valley Playhouse Wednesday evening while Clyde Neville listened intently.

Neville showed his appreciation after they finished singing the theme song from the Broadway musical, “Rent.”

He applauded and declared, “You guys nailed that sucker.”

The admiration is mutual toward Neville, the founder of the nonprofit playhouse, Prescott Valley’s first community theater.

Earlier in the evening, Jacob d’Armand, the 21-year-old co-artistic director of Prescott Independent Theater, had kind words to say about Neville, who is 40 years older.

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Tony Grahame gets a kick out of pushing environmentally friendly home design to the limits - testing what works and discarding what doesn’t to make everything fit into a tidy model.

As the director of Yavapai College’s Residential Building Technology Program, Grahame also enjoys teaching folks how to build energy-efficient homes from the latest high-tech construction materials available on the market.

Saturday in Chino Valley, Grahame shared with the public Arizona’s, the college’s and Habitat for Humanity’s first true, certified “zero-net energy” house, a grid-tied residence that generates all the power it uses on-site.

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by Alex Veiga

Toll Brothers Inc. said Wednesday more springtime homebuyers have come into its luxury home communities and left deposits on new orders - a sign that the battered housing market is improving.

Low interest rates and falling home prices are acting as a counter balance to the weak economy and rising unemployment. Since late March, Toll has seen an increase in deposits during seven of the past nine weeks, compared to weekly figures from fiscal 2008.

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