Columbus Ohio Building Expert Directory

Apartments pushed up US homebuilding in September

October 22, 2014 — Josh Boak – Bloomberg Businessweek
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction firms broke ground on more apartment complexes in September, pushing up the pace of U.S. homebuilding. Housing starts rose 6.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.017 million homes, the Commerce Department said Friday. Almost all of the gains came from apartment construction — a volatile category — which increased 18.5 percent after plunging in August. The sluggish recovery and meager wage growth has left more Americans renting instead of owning homes. Apartment construction has surged 30.3 percent over the past 12 months. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Josh Boak, Bloomberg Businessweek

Flint Water Crisis Prompts Call for More Federal Oversight

August 28, 2018 — Associated Press - Engineering News-Record
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its oversight of state drinking water systems nationally and respond more quickly to public health emergencies such as the lead-in-the water crisis in Flint, Michigan . In a 74-page report released Thursday, the EPA's inspector general report pointed to "oversight lapses" at the federal, state and local levels in the response to Flint's contaminated drinking water. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Engineering News-Record
ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com

Cutting the Salt Out: Tips for Avoiding Union Salting Charges

January 10, 2018 — Wally Zimolong - Zimolong LLC
The strategy to avoid union salts is rather simple. But, simplicity does not mean easy. The process requires discipline. A salt is a paid union organizer that attempts to gain employment with a non-union employer for the purpose of either (a) organizing the employers workforce or (b) bringing a costly unfair labor practice charge for discriminatory hiring practices. A “covert salt” is someone who conceals his union affiliation in order to gain employment with a non-union employer for the purpose of starting a union organizing campaign. Actually, conceal is an understatement. Covert salts actively lie to gain employment with a non-union employer. Covert salts apply for jobs under false names, social security numbers, and use bogus resumes. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Wally Zimolong, Zimolong LLC
Mr. Zimolong may be contacted at wally@zimolonglaw.com

Hammer & Hand’s Top Ten Predictions for US High Performance Building in 2014

January 22, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
On Hammer & Hand’s blog, Sam Hagerman, Skylar Swinford, and Dan Whitmore discuss how they expect US high performance building policy to evolve in 2014. The three consultants and builders have built “some of the most notable high performance green building projects around, including Karuna House,” “Pumpkin Ridge Passive House,” and the “Glasswood Commercial Passive House Retrofit,” according to the blog. Hagerman and Whitmore also have served on the Passive House Alliance US board. Predictions cover topics such as Net Zero Energy to Net Positive Energy buildings, renewable energy productions, building energy codes, CO2 heat pumps, and more. Read the court decision
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Ambiguous Application Questions Preclude Summary Judgment on Rescission Claim

July 19, 2017 — Christopher Kendrick & Valerie A. Moore – Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP
In Duarte v. Pacific Specialty Ins. (No. A143828; filed 6/12/17, ord. pub. 6/29/17) a California appeals court held that an insurer was not entitled to summary judgment on its rescission claim because the disputed questions in the insurance application were ambiguous. In Duarte, the insured/owner purchased a tenant-occupied property in Oakland. Several years later the tenant’s daughter moved in, and continued living there after the tenant died. The insured/owner served the daughter with an eviction notice and shortly thereafter applied for Owners, Landlords & Tenants (“OLT”) liability coverage. The tenant/daughter responded to the eviction notice by filing a habitability lawsuit, claiming emotional distress and physical injury, among other things. The insurer denied coverage and a defense, drawing a bad faith lawsuit for failure to defend and “wrongful cancellation” of the policy. The insurer answered and raised rescission as an affirmative defense, based on alleged fraud and misrepresentation in the OLT policy application. Reprinted courtesy of Christopher Kendrick, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP and Valerie A. Moore, Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP Mr. Kendrick may be contacted at ckendrick@hbblaw.com Ms. Moore may be contacted at vmoore@hbblaw.com Read the court decision
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Bally's Secures Funding for $1.7B Chicago Casino and Hotel Project

August 12, 2024 — Annemarie Mannion - Engineering News-Record
Plans for a $1.7-billion casino and adjacent 34-story hotel are advancing in Chicago as the gaming operator reports it has secured $940 million to complete funding for the project and has set demolition for a printing press building now occupying the site for this summer. Reprinted courtesy of Annemarie Mannion, Engineering News-Record Ms. Mannion may be contacted at manniona@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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No Bond, No Recovery: WA Contractors Must Comply With WA Statutory Requirements Or Risk Being Barred From Recovery If Their Client Refuses To Pay

September 18, 2018 — Joshua Lane - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
The risk that a contractor’s client may refuse to pay the full contract balance is a day-to-day reality for every contractor. That risk – and the stress it causes in the mind of any contractor – is tempered by the knowledge that Washington statutes provide contractors with ready access to the courts to file a lawsuit and be fully compensated for the work performed. But a recent case provides a grim reminder that the same statutes that giveth court access can also taketh away. Washington’s Contractor Registration Act (“WCRA”)[1] requires every contractor engaging or offering to engage in services in Washington to register with the Department of Labor and Industries (”L&I”). In order to sue to collect compensation for work or to enforce a contract, a contractor must prove that he/she “was a duly registered contractor and held a current and valid certificate of registration at the time he or she contracted for the performance of such work or entered into such contract.”[2] In order to conclude that a contractor has substantially comply with these requirements, a court must find that: (1) The department has on file the information required by RCW 18.27.030; (2) the contractor has at all times had in force a current bond or other security as required by RCW 18.27.040; and (3) the contractor has at all times had in force current insurance as required by RCW 18.27.050.[3] Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Joshua Lane, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLC
Mr. Lane may be contacted at joshua.lane@acslawyers.com

Women Make Their Mark on Construction Leadership

April 22, 2019 — Annalisa Enrile & Oliver Ritchie - Construction Executive
In the era of the Lean In movement and the Women’s March, women are finding their voices and using them. In politics, in the classroom and even on the playing field, women’s participation and leadership are breaking records. However, this is not the case in the board room—especialy in the C-suite. The Russell 3000 Index, a market index that benchmarks the U.S. Stock Market, found that only 9 percent of top executive positions were filled by women. The construction industry reflects this low participation of female executives. Women in construction only number 9 percent across the board of the industry. Seven percent of all construction executives are women and only 3 percent of the Fortune 500 construction companies have a female construction manager. Most are in sales and office roles (about 45 percent). Russell 3000 also found that women who are in the C-suite usually fill more HR- or administrative-related positions with very few in COO or CEO positions. Women in leadership need to have real decision making power to progress further. On the upside, women in construction tend to have less of a pay gap than other industries—about 5 percent compared to 20 percent. Though she be but little, She is Fierce Despite their small numbers, women executives in construction are paving the way for others to access leadership. In 1984, 11 women created Women Construction Owners and Executives, an organization for support and professional development. Their purpose is to promote women into leadership, assist women in executive positions and encourage more women to join the industry. The National Association of Women in Construction and Women in Construction Operations are also resources and networks with thousands of members. Reprinted courtesy of Annalisa Enrile & Oliver Ritchie, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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COLUMBUS OHIO BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES