Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

Home Prices Rose in Fewer U.S. Markets in Fourth Quarter

February 12, 2014 — Prashant Gopal – Bloomberg
Prices for single-family homes rose in 73 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter, fewer than in the previous three months, as surging values in the past two years started to reduce affordability. The median transaction price for an existing home climbed from a year earlier in 119 of 164 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. In the third quarter, 88 percent of markets had increases. While tight inventories and improving employment are bolstering the housing recovery, home-price gains are poised to decelerate as an increase in mortgage rates from record lows cuts into affordability. Values have been rising faster than incomes, particularly in the West, the Realtors group said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg
Mr. Gopal may be contacted at pgopal2@bloomberg.net

Naples, Florida, Is Getting So Expensive That City Workers Can’t Afford It

April 10, 2023 — Amanda Albright - Bloomberg
The city of Naples on Florida’s Gulf Coast is paradise on Earth, if you believe those slick websites that rank the best US cities to live in or retire in. But if you talk with the people who work in its hospitals, restaurants and city government, you’ll get another story. They’d like to live in Naples, too, but most of them can’t afford to. The city of 19,000 is home to the second-richest ZIP code in the US, after Miami Beach. Median household income stood at about $125,000 in 2021, compared with about $62,000 in Florida overall, according to the Census Bureau. Naples landed on a 2022 list of least affordable places for renters compiled by the National Apartment Association. Amid a dearth of reasonably priced housing, at least 90% of city employees live outside Naples. Job vacancies are going unfilled, leading to chronic staffing shortages. The shortfall among firefighters, police officers and other essential workers in Collier County, which includes Naples, verges on unsafe, according to one local advocate. Private-sector employers have converted a hotel into apartments for workers as a temporary fix. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Amanda Albright, Bloomberg

Michigan Claims Engineers’ Errors Prolonged Corrosion

June 30, 2016 — Richard Korman & Erin Richey – Engineering News-Record
Only a few months ago, Michigan’s state agencies stood at the center of a circle of blame for the Flint water crisis. A special advisory task force had condemned the state’s use of an emergency manager to make key decisions about the city, including, in 2014, the money-saving switch of the water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River and the state Dept. of Environmental Quality’s slow response to citizen reports of smelly, discolored water. On June 22, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette started working to expand the circle via a new lawsuit in a Genesee County state court, accusing engineers Veolia N.A. and Houston-based Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) and its parent company, Leo A Daly Co., of professional negligence. Reprinted courtesy of Richard Korman, Engineering News-Record and Erin Richey, Engineering News-Record Mr. Korman may be contacted at kormanr@enr.com Read the court decision
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XL Group Pairs with America Contractor’s Insurance Group to Improve Quality of Construction

November 13, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Insurers XL Group and America Contractor’s Insurance Group have teamed up to use “Big Data” to help their clients maintain quality in construction. “Quality is the second leading cause of subcontractor defaults, and one of the biggest areas of profit loss for a General Contractor,” said Jason LaMonica, the profit center head for XL Group’s Subcontractor Default business. ACIG says that their methods “allow us to correlate their quality assurance programs with actual claims results.” ACIG will be adding XL Group’s data to their own, which will allow contractors to “implement best practices leading to continuous improvement in their quality assurance program.” Read the court decision
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Before Collapse, Communications Failed to Save Bridge Project

December 30, 2019 — Scott Judy - Engineering News-Record
The National Transportation Safety Board’s Oct. 8 release of documents related to its FIU bridge collapse investigation raises questions but provides no definitive conclusions about why the partially built structure suddenly crashed to the ground on March 15, 2018, killing six. The last official word on the cause of the fatal collapse will have to await the agency’s final report, scheduled to be released on Oct. 22. Scott Judy, Engineering News-Record Mr. Judy may be contacted at judys@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Data Is Critical for the Future of Construction

April 19, 2022 — Raghi Iyengar - Construction Executive
According to a recent study, real-time visibility and access to critical data and insights are vital for rapid construction decision-making. Notably, inaccurate and missing data cost the industry almost $2 trillion in 2020. Even more surprising, construction companies often don’t know if they’ve made or lost money until the job is complete or if they’re on schedule until they start falling behind. These findings portray an important reality for the industry: Construction needs to establish and optimize data strategies to ensure it has the visibility control, and transparency needed to improve efficiency and productivity on projects. Luckily, while historically slow to change, the construction industry has begun to adopt technologies that help firms improve efficiency and productivity on projects. With this technology, contractors can establish and optimize data strategies to ensure they have visibility, control and transparency. Embracing data is a game changer as the industry continues to expand. In fact, the report from Autodesk and FMI cited above found that the construction companies using data technologies and strategies saw fewer project delays, less rework and fewer change orders. Reprinted courtesy of Raghi Iyengar, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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No Repeal Process for Rejected Superstorm Sandy Grant Applications

February 12, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Even though it’s been revealed that “faulty data” was used to reject many New Jersey recovery grants for victims of Superstorm Sandy, the state has announced that it’s too late to appeal, according to The Wall Street Journal. “The applicants were informed by letter that they weren't eligible,” state officials told The Wall Street Journal, “and it should have been clear that they needed to appeal last year, so the application process won't be reopened.” The majority of the rejected applicants that did appeal within the open period were found to be eligible for the grant: “Nearly 80% of people who appealed their rejections ended up winning their cases, according to data released by the Fair Share Housing Center, a public-interest law firm critical of the Christie administration. And of the 8,007 applicants rejected from both programs, 5,583 didn't appeal, or 70%, according to Fair Share Housing Center's analysis.” U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell called for “an independent monitor” to be “appointed to oversee the state’s storm spending ‘to ensure there isn’t further mismanagement.’” Read the court decision
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The End of Eroding Limits Policies in Nevada is Just the Beginning

August 28, 2023 — Payne & Fears LLP
On June 3, 2023, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law AB 398 (the Act) which modifies the Nevada insurance code by restricting the types of liability policies that can be offered in the state. The End of Eroding Limits Policies in Nevada First, the Act prohibits liability insurers from issuing “eroding limits” or “burning limits” policies. These are insurance policies under which defense costs decrease policy limits. Most professional liability policies are eroding limits policies. As of Oct. 1, 2023, insurers in Nevada may no longer issue or renew any policy where policy limits are eroded by defense costs. This change may result in higher premiums on these types of policies to compensate for the higher payouts they will now have to provide in Nevada. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Payne & Fears LLP

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