The Arizona Commerce Authority announced it is accepting applications for the Fall 2025 Arizona Innovation Challenge, one of the nation’s largest business plan competitions. This year, the Arizona Innovation Challenge will feature a Fall 2025 cohort and Spring 2026 cohort, with investments for the most promising companies taking place in partnership with investors and venture … [More]
Ancestry.com Acquires Scottsdale-Based Media Preservation Co.
Ancestry, a leader in family history, today announced its acquisition of iMemories, a pioneer in media digitization and cloud-based content preservation. This is an important next step in enabling Ancestry to deliver on its mission to connect everyone to their past so they can discover, preserve and share their unique family stories. iMemories transforms analog … [More]
Phoenix Sky Harbor Celebrates 90 Years; Now Arizona’s Largest Economic Engine
America’s Friendliest Airport held the PAW-ty of the year to celebrate its 90th anniversary. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Phoenix City Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington, and city and aviation leaders gathered to commemorate the purchase of a rural airport 90 years ago. That rural airport, Sky Harbor, was nicknamed “the Farm” during that time because of its location. The city … [More]
Return‑to‑Work Drives Major Chandler Office Expansion
Toyota Financial Services, the finance brand for Toyota in the United States, is expanding its office presence in Chandler, Arizona, to support long-term operational needs. The company has leased an additional 40,000 square feet of office space at its current location, 1650 S. Price Road, and now occupies the entire 120,000-square-foot building. TFS first established a … [More]
Landmark Scottsdale Hotel Lands $23M Loan for Rebrand and Relaunch
Lionheart Strategic Management LLC, an affiliate of Fisher Brothers that manages capital on behalf of third-party investors, and Schroders Capital, the private assets division of Schroders, announced that it has provided a $23.5 million mezzanine loan to Namastay Development and Hospitality Capital Partners for the renovation and recapitalization of The Monarch, a 194-key hotel … [More]
The Death of Work-Life Balance: How to Protect Your Peace and Prioritize What Matters
Work-life balance is tough, and for most of us, it’s starting to feel like a thing of the past. Companies are demanding long hours and more hustle. Remote workers are being called back to the office and the ones still at home are stuck in “always on” mode. With layoffs happening left and right, everyone feels the pressure to constantly prove their worth. No surprise we’re all … [More]
Affordable Homes Outpace Market, Posting 4% Growth in June Sales
Sales of starter homes rose 3.9% year over year in June to the highest level in two years, a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish housing market where sales fell across other price tiers. That’s according to a new report from Redfin, the real estate brokerage powered by Rocket. June was the 10th consecutive month in which home sales rose year over year, indicating that … [More]
Western Alliance Bank Directs $800K Grant toward Affordable Tribal Housing
Western Alliance Bank announced, in collaboration with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, an $800,000 grant awarded to the Yavapai-Apache Nation to support capacity building for affordable housing development. This grant funding will support Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Housing construction of Yavapai-Apache Homes IX. This 38-unit new construction project offers a … [More]
Avondale Unveils Facility to Support Growing K‑9 Operations
Willmeng Construction and the City of Avondale recently celebrated the completion of the new Avondale Police Department K-9 Training Facility. This state-of-the-art training center, designed by Perlman Architects, was specifically designed to support the intensive training and operational needs of Avondale’s highly skilled K-9 teams. The facility, located at 50 N. Eliseo C. … [More]
Tempe Gains New Co‑Warehousing Facility Aimed at Supporting Small‑Scale Businesses
Design-build general contractor ARCO is partnering with WareSpace on the transformation of a 70,000-square-foot facility into a state-of-the-art, micro-bay industrial space and co-warehousing hub designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses in the Phoenix market. Located at 9801 S. 51st Street in South Tempe, the new WareSpace facility is strategically … [More]
Valley Schools Get a Security Boost with AI Technology
Verkada, a leader in AI-powered physical security technology, now partners with schools and universities that collectively serve an estimated 20 million students and 2.5 million teachers and staff worldwide, including schools that educate approximately half of the students in Arizona. With increasing demands on school safety and operations teams, many education leaders are … [More]
Island‑Inspired Fast-Casual Restaurant Expands with 8th Valley Location
Hawaiian Bros is bringing island flavors to more of Phoenix, with its eighth restaurant location in Arizona, opening July 28, 2025. Hawaiian Bros is hosting a grand opening celebration at their new location in Phoenix (9802 W. McDowell Road) on Monday, July 28 at 11am. At the grand opening, the first 100 customers in line will receive a free t-shirt and a Hawaiian Bros gift … [More]
Next‑Gen Banking Experience Opens in Scottsdale
U.S. Bank announced the grand opening of its new Raintree and 101 branch, which is located at 14900 N Pima Rd in Scottsdale. The branch features a new look and feel along with award-winning design enhancements to improve the banking experience for customers. A grand opening celebration was held on Wednesday, July 23. During the event, U.S. Bank donated $10,000 to Dress for … [More]
Sprouts Locks in $600M Credit Facility for Future Expansion
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. announced the closing of a $600 million revolving credit facility under a credit agreement dated as of July 25, 2025. The Revolving Credit Facility refinances the company’s previous $700 million revolving credit facility, which was replaced in connection with Sprouts’ entry into the Revolving Credit Facility. The Revolving Credit Facility … [More]
Sellers See Slight Profit Gains amid Record‑Setting Home Prices
ATTOM, a curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, released its second quarter 2025 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that homeowners, on average, made a 50 percent profit selling single-family homes and condos during the second quarter of the year. That was a marginal increase over the 48.9 percent national median profit margin posted in the first quarter of … [More]
Internet Fraud Complaints Ranked, Arizona Makes List
Arizona has the eighth highest rate of internet fraud complaints in the U.S., according to a new study. The research by personal injury law firm Simmrin Law Group analyzed internet fraud complaint data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) across all 50 U.S. states between 2020 and 2024. The average number of fraud reports per 100,000 residents was calculated to determine … [More]
Acquisition Positions Arizona as Hub for Semiconductor Waste Reuse and Innovation
Veolia, a leading integrated provider of environmental services in the U.S., announced that it has completed the acquisition of Chameleon Industries, a Texas-based producer of specialty chemicals. The company’s circular economy technology uses byproducts from the semiconductor manufacturing process in its proprietary applications, reduces waste and creates beneficial products … [More]
What Does the Revived PAID Program Mean for Employers?
The U.S. Department of Labor announced the return of the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. PAID is a voluntary compliance initiative that helps employers resolve inadvertent violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—such as unpaid overtime or minimum wage—without litigation or civil monetary penalties. This announcement extended the reach of PAID … [More]
