Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

No Hiring Surge by Homebuilders Says Industry Group

February 14, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Looking at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Association of Home Builders found that while hiring levels in construction remain strong, there hasn’t been a surge in hiring in this particular sector. December found 92,000 open construction position, with the NAHB noting that home builders are still concerned about finding qualified workers. While there has not been surge in hiring, home building is on the increase. The NAHB says that “this could be due to increased hours for existing workers,” which would not be “a sustainable situation.” Read the court decision
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Implications for Industry as Supreme Court Curbs EPA's Authority

August 15, 2022 — Pam McFarland & Jeff Yoders - Engineering News-Record
The U.S. Supreme Court has limited the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate power plant greenhouse gas emissions, and though the court’s opinion referred to a fairly narrow provision within the Clean Air Act, the ruling potentially places broad restrictions on the ability of federal agencies to enact regulations to address the climate crisis, according to several sources. Reprinted courtesy of Pam McFarland, Engineering News-Record and Jeff Yoders, Engineering News-Record Ms. McFarland may be contacted at mcfarlandp@enr.com Mr. Yoders may be contacted at yodersj@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Study Finds Construction Cranes Vulnerable to Hacking

May 20, 2019 — Jeff Rubenstone - Engineering News-Record
When securing a jobsite against malicious hackers, most go to protect computer files, and few look up and worry about the tower cranes. But many cranes—whether tower, mobile or industrial—can be remotely run via radio wireless controllers, a useful feature for when operators need a clearer view of the load from the ground. Unfortunately, these wireless signals are vulnerable to hijacking, according to a study released earlier this year by security research firm Trend Micro. It found that the radio signals these crane controllers use are not encrypted over the air in any way, and can be easily intercepted and spoofed using off-the-shelf equipment and a basic knowledge of electronics and radio engineering. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Jeff Rubenstone, ENR
Mr. Rubenstone may be contacted at rubenstonej@enr.com

California Court of Appeal Provides Clarity On What Triggers Supplemental Analysis Under California Environmental Quality Act

July 20, 2020 — Kelly Alhadeff-Black & Alexander N. Knaub - Lewis Brisbois
In a recent ruling, California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal clarified the need for supplemental environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Willow Glen Trestle Conservancy v. City of San Jose (6th Dist., May 18, 2020). Specifically, the court held that seeking additional discretionary approvals, such as regulatory permits, does not constitute a “new discretionary approval for the project” under the California Public Resources Code Section 21166 and the California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15162 (the CEQA Guidelines). In 2014, the City of San Jose approved a project that included the demolition and replacement of a wooden railroad bridge known as the Willow Glen Trestle (the Project). CEQA review for the Project was conducted via mitigated negative declaration (MND). The Project was quickly challenged by a local group called Friends of the Willow Glen Trestle, alleging that the City should have prepared an Environmental Impact Report based on the allegation that the Willow Glen Trestle constituted an historic resource for CEQA purposes. Ultimately, the City prevailed in that litigation (See Friends of the Willow Glen Trestle v. City of San Jose, et al. (6th Dist., 2016), which remanded the case to the trial court for further review consistent with the Court of Appeal’s verdict) with the court eventually finding that the City correctly analyzed and answered the question of historic resource classification and significance in reference to the Willow Glen Trestle. Reprinted courtesy of Kelly Alhadeff-Black, Lewis Brisbois and Alexander N. Knaub, Lewis Brisbois Ms. Alhadeff-Black may be contacted at Kelly.Black@lewisbrisbois.com Mr. Knaub may be contacted at Alexander.Knaub@lewisbrisbois.com Read the court decision
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Submitting Claims on Government Projects Can Be Tricky

March 19, 2015 — Craig Martin – Construction Contractor Advisor
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. United States illustrates the difficulties a contractor may face when pursuing a claim before a Contracting Officer. After nearly 10 years of litigation, the court found that the contractor’s claim to the Contracting Officer did not contain enough detail to allow the claim to proceed. That’s a lot of time and resources wasted on a claim that was dead from the start. K-Con was awarded a $582,000 job to design and build a Coast Guard support building in Michigan. K-Con was unable to complete the project by the finish date and the Coast Guard assessed liquidated damages of $109,554. K-Con contested the assessment of liquidated damages by submitting a one paragraph letter asserting that it was not the sole cause of the alleged delays; that the government was at fault for the delay; and the liquidated damages were an impermissible penalty. The Contracting Officer ultimately denied K-Con’s claim and K-Con appealed to the Court of Claims. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

Structural Problems May Cause Year-Long Delay Opening New Orleans School

January 29, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
According to the Uptown Messenger, structural issues found at Audubon Charter School’s Broadway campus in New Orleans, Louisiana, will require “selective demolition” and “could delay students’ return by as much as a full year.” Late September of last year, “officials discovered that some of the steel supports around the stair towers were not level—some of the steel beams lean out several inches, so that the floors are not parallel.” Discovering the problem will require some demolition, according to Chris Young of Blitch Knevel architects as quoted in the Uptown Messenger: “…we’re going to have to tear down a lot of this construction to expose that steel frame to make sure that every steel beam is straight and true and not deformed.” Read the court decision
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Administrative and Environmental Law Cases Decided During the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017-2018 Term

July 28, 2018 — Anthony B. Cavender & Amy L. Pierce - Gravel2Gavel
Unlike other Terms, only a handful of cases addressed administrative and environmental law issues in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017-2018 Term. However, the next Term of the Court promises to be more active in these areas.

On January 22, 2018, the Court issued a unanimous opinion in the Clean Water Act (CWA) case, Nat’l Assoc. of Mfrs. v. Dep’t of Defense, holding that the plain language of the CWA requires the appeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) redefinition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS Rule) must be heard first in the federal district courts. Whereas all appeals of most EPA CWA effluent limitation rules must be heard in the federal Courts of Appeals, Congress chose not to do this with respect to this definitional rule. The Court points out that reviews in the Courts of Appeals must take place within 120 days of the rule’s promulgation, but any review of a rule in the federal district court must take place within 6 years of the date the claim accrues.

Reprinted courtesy of Anthony B. Cavender, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Amy L. Pierce, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Mr. Cavender may be contacted at anthony.cavender@pillsburylaw.com Ms. Pierce may be contacted at amy.pierce@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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Living Not So Large: The sprawl of television shows about very small houses

March 12, 2015 — S Jhoanna Robledo – Bloomberg
Vince and Sam are newlywed twentysomethings who’ve been bunking with family for a year. Finally, they’ve saved up enough to buy a palace to call their own. Well, sort of: They want to shrink their footprint and expenses by living in a custom-built, 204-square-foot standalone house in southern New Jersey. It has to have room for gym equipment—they’re fitness buffs—and a study for Sam, who’s in medical school. Even Vince’s adorably headbanded mom isn’t sure how it will all fit. When Vince and Sam first see their new digs under construction, tall and narrow like a top-heavy garage, Vince admits they’re “freaking out on the inside.” So goes a standard episode of Tiny House Nation, the first of a half-dozen miniaturized real estate shows that have recently premiered. “We discovered that for millennials, there was an overriding social trend of extreme downsizing, and we wanted to dig deep into that,” says Gena McCarthy, executive producer of the show, which began airing last year after the Biography Channel morphed into the youth-focused FYI network. Last summer’s first season averaged 257,000 viewers per week, according to Nielsen; this season’s average viewership is up 77 percent, to 465,000. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of S Jhoanna Robledo, Bloomberg

FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES