Owning an Opportunity

At a groundbreaking in Arizona earlier this year, Nancy Wakefield says she got to see firsthand the manifestation of the benefits of the new Opportunity Zone provision. As tax senior director at RSM US, she’s familiar with interpreting new tax law, but §§ 1400Z of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act offered something new. It created the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program. “If this code section works the way it’s supposed to, it should be a win-win for an investor and communities,” Wakefield says. “The purpose is to channel private-sector dollars into distressed communities, where 31 million Americans live.” Read more at www.rednews.com.

Raining Results

Inside the Observation and Response Center at WaterLogic’s Houston headquarters, John O’Donnell is focused on the computer screen in front of him. The company’s vice president of technology is setting up a new irrigation controller that was just installed the previous day at Sienna Plantation. Before it comes online, O’Donnell first has to program its surroundings, which are laid out in a multi-page document. “When we install the controller, we go through a station-by-station evaluation to tell us exactly what is out there. For example, we note what the slope is, whether there are flowers or turf,” O’Donnell explains. “It’s pretty in-depth.” Most of the properties where WaterLogic operates have multiple controllers, so they’re organized by program. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.