You’d think from the East Valley Tribune that my old hometown of Gilbert was just booming: Once again, the U.S. Census Bureau has named Gilbert one of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the nation. What’s perhaps more surprising in today’s economic climate is a jump in the number of new housing permits being issued by the town over the last two months. The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that Gilbert was the eighth-fastest-growing city with a population larger than 100,000 in the United States from July 2006 to July 2007, gaining 11,308 or 5.8 percent. The only other Arizona city…
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After a day like yesterday, I guess we have to take our humor where we can find it.  I thought the funniest statement to come out of the whole market debacle yesterday was this explanation for financing the homeowner "bailout" just passed by the Senate: Lawmakers and the Bush administration agree on the central concept behind the housing package: allowing the government to backstop new mortgages for struggling homeowners. To make it more palatable to Republicans, the Senate measure would take responsibility for any losses away from taxpayers and instead cover them by diverting a newly created affordable housing fund…
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