Dollars and Sense: What Is a Stated Income Loan?

In the past, stated income mortgages* were home loans that did not require income verification or documentation. Lenders just needed a borrower’s stated income—hence the name “stated income” loans. Unfortunately, these risky loan types contributed to the 2008 housing market crash, and banks stopped issuing stated income loans as a result. This prevented banks from selling…

Backyard Bats

Zann Wilson Your SaddleBrooke/SaddleBrooke Ranch Master Gardeners invite you to join our virtual Community Education via Zoom on Thursday, September 17, at 1 p.m. Arizona time. Scott Richardson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist, will present “Backyard Bats.” Scott has responsibility over the previously endangered lesser long-nosed bat. Scott first became interested in bats while…

SBRPA Ladies Day on Court 1

(Left to right) Kathy Becker, Sheila Davidson, Doreen Reynolds, and Lori Page

Alastair Stone On July 21, there was another test. This time, Chris Logan was the referee, and with the help of testers Kathy Becker, Sheila Davidson, and Doreen Reynolds, Lori Page successfully tested up to 3.0. Wow, a lot of colorful attire on display!

Performance Updates from the Tucson Pops Orchestra

Norma Gentry This week the Board of Directors of the Tucson Pops Orchestra made the difficult decision to cancel the fall season of Music Under the Stars™, which was scheduled to begin on September 6. “With the pandemic still so active in our community, and gathering restrictions placed on public places throughout the city, we…

SBRPA Training Is in Full Swing—for All Levels!

Alastair Stone Even with our 24 courts being used so much, the SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SBRPA) has still found time for training sessions. On Monday mornings, Marti Gasser and Bill Reynolds, and Corine and Keith Sturdivant coach for 1.5 hours; on Thursday evenings, Corine and Keith do it again. Thank you to all of…

Back to the Garden—Ocotillo: Dead or Alive?

Sheilah Britton If you ventured from your shelter in place into Oro Valley or Tucson last spring, you might have seen a glorious array of flowering Ocotillo in the medians of nearly every street you traveled. The slim, un-branched gray spires are covered in thorns and close green leaves and topped with tubular clusters of…