Catalina Foothills Chess Academy is getting quite a bit of interest and is building momentum. As there are only a few spots left in the first group, I am seriously considering adding another one. Also, I received a number of requests to continue the program in the Fall, as many Tucson families are traveling during the summer, but want to be in the Chess Academy during the school year.
Here is a re-print from my Catalina Foothills Chess Academy flyer (you can find its online version at www.chessforparents.com):
|
|
and |
|
PRESENT
The Catalina Foothills Chess Academy is based on the famous “Soviet School” of chess which resulted in 7 of the last 8 undisputed World Chess Champions. Anjelina was fortunate to train under this system growing up as a chess prodigy in the U.S.S.R.
Moreover, the cornerstone of this program comes from Anjelina’s 5 years of study at the Botvinnik – Kasparov Chess Academy (the 6th and 13th World Champions), as well as her own achievements and ideas. It has been developed as a multi-dimensional training that encompasses chess strategy, intuition, logic, memory and imagination. This program was extensively tested in the New York City public schools, where Anjelina taught chess to over 1,000 students for over 5 years and it has been highly successful.
Now enrolling for the summer:
* 10-week program, Saturdays 9:30 – 10:30AM starting June 5th. (2nd class Sunday possible depending on demand)
* Price: $225 for 10 classes ($25 discount) if paid on or before June1st; $250 thereafter.
* Siblings discount – $75 off the 1st child’s payment ($150 or $175, accordingly).
* Spaces are very limited and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please call Anjelina Belakovskaia for availability, to register and with any questions: (520) 370-0700 or e-mail to: Anjelina@gmail.com. For payments please call Gabe Harris: (520) 529-7179.
For registration, please be ready to answer the following questions: o Preferred class time
o Child’s Name o Age o School o Grade o Knowledge of moves o Knowledge of notation o Tournament experience o Rating o Experience of playing with chess clock
About ANJELINA:
TESTIMONIALS
Gail Baptiste (Principal; P.S. #308, Brooklyn) “Anjelina has been working at our school for the past several months, and has done an excellent job teaching chess for us. She is a very professional teacher who has put a lot of thought and effort into the way she presents her lessons, and has very good classroom management technique. Her lessons captivate the students and teachers alike. The lessons and tests Anjelina uses are designed not only to teach the game of chess, but to benefit the students thinking, planning, and strategic skills. We here at P.S. #308 can highly recommend Anjelina to anyone who is interested in starting a chess program in their school.”
Helene Yavneh (2nd grade teacher; P.S. #308, Brooklyn) “If success can be measured by enthusiasm, then judging by the children’s excitement when Ms. Belakovskaia comes to teach chess, and their desire to continue playing when her lesson with them is over, “CHESS PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN” by Anjelina Belakovskaia has, indeed, been very successful.”
Bob Doyle “Ms. Belakovskaia’s presentation was absolutely wonderful. That she was a woman, an intellect, creative and bright, enhances the fact that there is never, ever a substitute for intelligence and style. Whenever we expose children to such competence we do them a great service.”
Dr. Jon Maksik “I was very impressed with Anjelina Belakovskaia’s presentation to our students. Ms. Belakovskaia spoke for nearly an hour to students of varied ages and chess experience. She was vital, compelling and personable; the students were riveted. I would be delighted to have her return to The Community School whenever she is able to do so and I recommend her, without reservation, to other schools.”
CHESS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* Woman International Grandmaster – the highest title a chess player can attain
* World Student Team Champion (USSR Team) – 1990
* 3-Time United States Women’s Chess Champion -1995, 1996 & 1999
* Leader of the US Olympic Women’s Chess Team – 1994, 1996 & 1998
* Honored by President of Brooklyn, City of New York for superlative skills and outstanding achievement (2000)
UNITED STATES CHESS EXPERIENCE
1991-2000 Professional Chess Player, member of the US Olympic Women’s Chess Team
1998-2000 Chairperson of Women’s Committee of the USCF
1994-2000 Chess Teacher: Public Schools # 217, 193, 208, 238, 251, 288, 308, Brooklyn, NY
1994-2000 Chess Principal, International Children’s Center For Performing Arts Inc
1997-1997 Chess Coach, FIDE World Youth Championship, France
1997-1997 Chess Consultant, IBM and Electric Minds Companies
PRESS COVERAGE
Multiple USSR and Worldwide publications
Sports Illustrated o The New York Times o Chess Life o Inside Chess
About MATHNASIUM Catalina Foothills: Mathnasium Catalina Foothills is a learning center where students go year-round to boost their math skills. It is located at: 4777 East Sunrise Drive, Suite #127. Tucson, AZ 85718. Phone: (520) 529-7179 Email: catalinafoothills@mathnasium.com
Gabe Harris, Owner/Director: “Our goal is to significantly increase your child’s math skills, understanding of math concepts, and overall school performance, while building confidence and forging a positive attitude toward the subject. We are proud to welcome Anjelina Belakovskaia and the Catalina Foothills Chess Academy, knowing that chess helps to develop and improve math and logic skills at all levels.”
Filed under Catalina Foothills Chess Academy, Foothills Insider News, Things To Do, Tucson News by 
Great news! I am opening a Catalina Foothills Chess Academy! For now, this will be just a Summer Program – 10 weeks in June and July. If you know someone who can benefit from joining it – please pass on the information. The flyer with details is below. You can save it on your computer or print it. Also, you can read the details at www.chessforparents.com
Filed under Catalina Foothills Chess Academy, Foothills Insider News, Things To Do, Tucson News by
It has been almost a month since I moved with Realty Executives Southern Arizona to a new franchise Keller Williams Southern Arizona.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t expect much from it. My clients know and trust me, so the change in the company name didn’t matter to any one of them. My transition into team work environment went even better than I expected and I was ready to get back into my reasonably successful daily routine, when I suddenly discovered that…
To my huge surprise, I became a big fan of Keller Williams Realty. From the first day of transition, the new company gave us ton of new and mostly free tools, training, books, resources and ideas. To make sure that we implement and use the resources provided, we got enrolled into BOLD training and competition – a 7 week adventure of reinventing ourselves. Read more at http://www.FoothillsInsider.com/desert-olympians/
Filed under Catalina Foothills Real Estate, Foothills Insider News, Tucson Real Estate by
It was Tuesday, March 9th 2010 and Realty Executives Southern Arizona held its company meeting at La Paloma. Meanwhile, I was on my way to Scottsdale, where that evening was planned an NYU Alumni networking reception. Suddenly the phone rang – “Have you heard the news? – one of my fellow real estate agents sounded somewhat shocked – Realty Executives Southern Arizona has canceled its affiliation with Realty Executives International and entered into a new affiliation with Keller Williams Realty.”
This was a beginning of a very interesting chain of events. In the next few weeks, I received a ton of e-mails and phone calls from known and unknown, large and small real estate companies from all over Tucson. I didn’t know half of them existed! Now, I needed to choose from among different cultures, varying commission splits and scattered office locations, etc.
The three main companies to consider were of course the newly established Keller Williams Southern Arizona; Realty Executives International, whose CEO came to Tucson in a heroic effort to save the Realty Executives brand, agents and presence in Tucson; and rapidly expanding low-office-fee Tierra Antigua Realty. Of course, I had no intention of returning to the extremely high split-commission-fee of Long Realty, nor join some unknown realty on the other side of town.
I’ve been in Real Estate long enough to understand that the company matters little, for as long as it doesn’t ruffle the agent’s business. To me, it was an even choice between inconvenience (having to change my business cards, marketing materials, Internet presence, and established connections) and excitement of change (new opportunities, new actions).
Each of the three companies had its own appeal. After three long weeks of deliberation, I finally decided to move to Keller Williams Southern Arizona. Why? Don’t expect me to give you the common BS reply: “Because it will serve better my clients”. I still have no idea how well it will serve both me and you. When I find out how good (or not), I’ll let you know.
The reason I’ve moved to Keller Williams Southern Arizona is … I have joined the Team of Ledford, Clark & Clark, with whom I was working closely in the last year or so. I found it to be a huge advantage to have the reliable agents whom I can trust with my business and who are ready to step up at any time when I get more business than I can handle by myself. So, when I got an offer from Cheryl, Dick and Karen to join their team, my choice boiled down to one question – is Foothills Insider® a lone wolf or a team player? By now, you already know the answer.
If you live in the Foothills area of Tucson, you might have noticed that the number of police cars in the area has increased.
Many of these cars aren’t cruising around to provide safety for the residents, but instead hide behind the curves to ticket you on Sunday morning, weekday afternoon or any other time you least expect them. One of the deputies’ favorite locations is Craycroft Road, North of Sunrise. They often hide in the cul-de-sacs on the East side of Craycroft, not-so-long ago developed and abandoned by a home builder.
There are plenty of other spots, some of them indicated on the map above. This map covers mostly Alta Vista, Finisterra, Silverton, Cimarron Foothils Estates, Ventana Canyon Estates and Miramist. If you are going North on Kolb, please make sure that you don’t cut traffic onto Sunrise Dr. through the SE business area. The article in one of the local newspapers indicated that 15 people were fined within one hour with $170 tickets.
Also, don’t expect this situation to get better anytime soon. With a forecast for Arizona to hit a 30 percent budget gap in 2010, many Pima county deputies might find it attractive to “taxate” wealthy citizens.
If you know of any other police traps in the Foothills area, please add it in the comments and I’d be happy to expand the map I created.
Filed under Foothills Insider News, Tucson Construction by
Do you remember George Orwell’s “1984″?
“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU” is now becoming a reality in Tucson and Pima County.
Every driver in Arizona is now under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by cameras installed at numerous intersections in Tucson, Pima County, Phoenix and other areas of Arizona. I don’t know about you, but it really gets on my nerves to see their eye pointing at my windshield like a gun.
Most of those cameras are surveillance cameras, but there are number of speed cameras that issue tickets as well.
Here is a map of those speed traps:
Remember the locations of speed cameras in Pima County (if you want to avoid getting speeding ticket):
* Northbound and southbound N. La Cholla at W. Sunset Road
* Northbound and southbound S. Mission Road at W. Nebraska Street
* Eastbound and westbound E. Ina Road at N. Camino de Las Candelas
* Northbound and southbound N. Swan Road at E. Calle Barril
* Northbound and southbound Alvernon Way near Station Master Drive
* Eastbound and westbound Valencia Road near Camino De La Tierra
* Eastbound and westbound Valencia Road near Wilmot Road
* Eastbound and westbound River Road near Country Club Road
* Northbound and southbound Ruthrauff Road near Rillito Street
* Northbound and southbound Nogales Highway near Hermans Road
For more information and amounts of the fine, visit http://www.pimasheriff.org/PhotoRadar/.
Meanwhile, if you already got speeding ticket in Arizona, read:
http://www.worldlawdirect.com/article/903/fighting-speeding-ticket.html
Filed under Foothills Insider News, Luxury Life Style, Tucson Construction, Tucson News by
The Auction has come and gone, but “Villas at Sabino Canyon” – luxurious Tucson Condos for sale are still there. If you didn’t have a chance to go to the Auction – you might have missed something, but not much. You can still own one of the Condos at a fraction of price, as 10 more Units are available for sale.
When I called J.P.King – an organization which ran the Condo Auction, I was told that only 18 Units out of 58 had been sold. 16 of them due to the Developer’s commitment and only 2 more after that. The price ranged from $72,500 to $120,000, but Buyers had to pay extra 10%. In the adjusted numbers it become: $79,750 – $132,000.
Due to the outcome of the Auction, Developer is selling 10 Condos post-auction at $89,900+10% or $98,999 total.
Tucson MLS has it now as Listing #20909843:
7255 E SNYDER Rd, Tucson, AZ 85750 Active (03/05/09)
Beds: 3 Baths: 2
Sq Ft: 1209 Lot Sz: 7500sqft
Area: North Tucson
Year Built: 1995
Price/SqFt: 81.89
ONLY 10 UNITS AVAILABLE AT LOW POST-AUCTION PRICING OF $98,999/UNIT. THE AUCTION HELD ON APRIL 28 SAW VALUES AS HIGH AS $132,000/UNIT. Features: 2 & 3 bedroom floorplans * Quality, affordable living * Many units leased offering income potential * Excellent permanent residence, vacation home or rental investment opportunity! DEVELOPER WILL ONLY SELL 10 MORE UNITS. BUYER CAN PICK FROM REMAINING INVENTORY.
——————————————————————————–
The terms of sale include: 10% non-refundable down payment, 30 days closing time, Sold AS-IS and no financing available (except for private financing, if you can arrange one). The reason for no financing – the development doesn’t meet the guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
If you are interested in buying a Luxury Condo in Tucson and have cash for a low price tag of “Villas at Sabino Canyon” or interested in Tucson Foreclosures / Short Sales you can finance – give me a call at (520) 370-0700 Anjelina. I am licensed in Arizona Real Estate agent and I specialize in the Catalina Foothills area.
Unfortunately, I was right in my gloom prediction of Swine Flu finding its way to Tucson, AZ.
View 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map in a larger map
Don’t panic yet, though! Out of six cases of swine flu, also known as H1N1, confirmed in Pima County on Saturday, May 02, 2009 all six have recovered. Only two out of six were students in Tucson area.
So, lets hope the virus is not going to be as deadly as in Mexico and will pass by as a regular flu. What I still don’t understand though is why so many Mexicans have died from this virus?
- Is it just because swine flu is much more spread in Mexico than in the US?
- Is it because it began a month earlier in Mexico and US will follow the trend in a few weeks?
- Is there difference in climate or nutrition?
Does anyone have any ideas?
So far, the symptoms of swine flu in people are somewhat similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also indicated to have sore throat, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
However, someone with the flu symptoms would face a dilemma of going to the Doctor or Emergency Room and spend time around all other possible swine flu victims, or stay at home and guess on the nature of the disease. Not such a pleasant choice in my view.
Filed under Foothills Insider News, Tucson Health Care, Tucson News by
I don’t know about you guys, but we are taking the matter quite seriously. Many medical scientists and researchers are saying that a flu pandemic is overdue.
Here is the current map of 2009 Swine Flu outbreak:
View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map
Influenza A Evolution (History):
1874 — (H3N8)
1890 — (H2N2) …………………….Pandemic
1902 — (H3N2)
1918 — (H1N1)……………………..”Spanish” Pandemic
1933 — (H1N1)……………………..First strains isolated
1947 — (H1N1)……………………..Variation detected
1957 — (H2N2)……………………..”Asian” Flu pandemic
1968 — (H3N2)……………………..”Hong Kong” Flu pandemic
1976 — (H1N1)……………………..”Swine” Flu, non-epidemic
1977 — (H1N1) + (H3N2)………….”Russian” Flu epidemic
2003 — (H3N2)……………………..”Fujian” Flu outbreak
In 1918-1919 “Spanish” influenza pandemic affected about 30 percent (500 million people or so) of the total world population, leaving 50 million (and arguably as much as 100 million) dead. There were 3 waves, with first being the mildest.
Asian flu pandemic struck in two waves, in the autumn of 1957 and then in early 1958, with very high rates of illness and an increase in fatalities. One million people were killed worldwide, but only 70,000 people died in the U.S., thanks to the vaccines.
Hong Kong Flu 1968 pandemic was milder than that of 1957, and spread more slowly than previous pandemics. Between 1 million and 4 million people are estimated to have died worldwide, and around 34,000 people were killed in the U.S.
2009 Swine Flu outbreak has started in March and is widely compared to the 1918 pandemic. Virus type, time of the year, average mortality age – there are a lot of similarities. In a month, the flu virus spread enormously fast around Mexico, US and other countries due to a lot of travel activity, especially during the spring break season.
As such, just to be on the safe side, we are keeping kids at home since Monday. I have cut my participation in any meetings and didn’t even go to the “Villas at Sabino Canyon” Condominiums Auction.
Unfortunately, today the news broke out that Maricopa County, Arizona, US now has 1 confirmed case of Swine Flu and 20 suspected cases (24 total cases). One of the Phoenix schools has been closed. Meanwhile, Tucson is so close to Mexico, California and Phoenix, that it is probably just a matter of days, if not hours, until we hear about Swine Flu case in Tucson, AZ.
I hope I’d be wrong on that.
Filed under Foothills Insider News, Things To Do, Tucson Health Care by
Over the weekend I went with a prospective Buyer to Villas at Sabino Canyon. We went to preview some of the 2 and 3-bedroom units and were disappointed to find out that all but 2.5 Condos are not updated. This means that out of 58 Condo for sale at the Auction, 55 have basic interior – simple kitchen and bathroom cabinets, no granite, white appliances; 2 Condo are upgraded and one is half upgraded.
This is quite different compare to the previous Auction. Most of the Condos auctioned last year were nicely renovated with granite counters, tile and carpet flooring, stainless-steel appliances.
This however is not the ONLY difference with the last year Auction. It looks like J.P.King has a different style than Real Estate Disposition Corporation. Instead of Auctioning separate units from a certain base price, “16 Absolute sales” would mean the following to the Buyers:
• First 16 lots are comprised of ALL THE AVAILABLE CONDOS on the list.
• The highest bidder of the first lot WILL CHOOSE which Condo he likes to pick. This Condo is taken of the list.
• The same for the next 15 lots.
• The seller is committed to sell those Condos for the final bid price.
• For the rest of the Auction – 42 Condo Conversions left on the Auction list will be bid separately and it will be up to the Seller to Accept or Reject final bid price.
Nevertheless, the place seemed to be quite crowded with prospective Buyers and Investors and a brief interaction with one of them revealed the following:
The bids at the Auction are expected to be quite less than last year. The main reason of course is the overall Real Estate market deterioration. However, significant role will play Buyers’ increased difficulty in getting financing for Condo Conversions.
Most likely banks will require at least 40%-50% down payment, so everyone who is pre-qualified at 20% down doesn’t stand a chance. Lately, banks put Luxury Condo Conversions into HIGH RISK category. This statement didn’t sound as a specific to this particular development, Tucson or Arizona, but rather as a general observation or insider’s knowledge. After all, how much Real Estate market in Tucson is different than in Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Miami? Each market has its own specifics, but all of them got overbuild, over-converted, overpriced… Now they are full of short sales, foreclosures, auctions. Though, some might rightfully argue that Tucson is in better situation than other mentioned places.
Nevertheless, banks are especially cautious right now about lending money to the troubled areas. And Catalina Foothills’ Luxury Condominiums community – Villas at Sabino Canyon – is definitely one of them. At the first auction Condos were selling at about 50% discount… Most of the current owners are “upside down” on the property… Over 50% of the units are rentals… Special Assessment might be needed to boost HOA funding…
If all this doesn’t scare you and you are well capitalized to take a gamble, do your due diligence and come to the Auction. Bare in mind that the last few paragraphs are based on what we heard from the investor who already owns a few Condos in the Villas at Sabino Canyon and will probably acquire more.
