Providence, RI: According to an article in the Providence Journal, federal stimulus grants announced yesterday should lead to tens of millions of dollars flowing into communities across Rhode Island for water and sewer projects by late summer. About $150 million in low-interest loans will be available for drinking water and sewer projects because of the federal stimulus legislation, according to Anthony B. Simeone, executive director of the Rhode Island Clean Water Finance Agency. Rhode Island also is receiving about $44 million for home weatherization and renewable energy projects, but there was no information yesterday on how or when that money will be spent. The broad...Read More

Comments (0)

New Haven, CT: The overthrow of the ancient doctrine of Nullum Tempus, or “no time runs against the king,” might sound like an academic abstraction that has little to do with the real-world work of architects, builders and suppliers. In reality, however, states often use this relic of English common law to sue such businesses for problems that pop up years after projects are complete. But thanks to a February court victory...Read More

Comments (0)

Providence, RI: Rhode Island cities and towns have put many planned new construction and renovation projects on hold due to the current economic climate. Among them are several public school projects in places such as Newport and North Kingstown. Unlike the federal grants made available for state application specifically for transportation infrastructure, the final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 did not include funds dedicated solely to school construction and renovation. Instead, the stimulus bill included school modernization funds within the $53.6 billion of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds to be distributed by the U.S. Department of Education. This leaves the budget for school modernization up to state and local governments. As of February 17, 2009, The U.S. Department of Education’s preliminary estimate of Rhode Island’s ...Read More

Comments (0)

Boston, MA: Representative Cory Atkins (D-Concord) is pleased to announce that anticipating the receipt of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for statewide infrastructure projects, Governor Deval Patrick has selected senior real estate professional Jeffrey A. Simon to lead the Administration’s economic recovery infrastructure program. Governor Patrick has been preparing to maximize the Commonwealth’s ability to create new jobs and lay a foundation for long-term economic growth. To ensure that taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects are completed with integrity and openness, the Governor will implement a series of accountability and transparency initiatives, including a central website with complete information about every project that receives federal stimulus funding. Taken together, these announcements represent another important step forward...Read More

Comments (0)

Boston, MA: Dan D’Alma, President of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council said today that “casino gaming legislation would allow for a proposed casino in Palmer, MA to be built across from the Massachusetts Turnpike at Exit 8. The casino would create thousands of jobs and the private capital ready and waiting for investment in both the construction and operation of the Palmer casino and others elsewhere in the state would provide a much needed, large scale stimulus for the Commonwealth and its residents.” 
D’Alma added that “upwards of three billion dollars of private economic stimulus, not taxpayer-funded stimulus, would be injected into the state’s economy through the construction of these projects. This would create good jobs with health care and retirement benefits. 
D’Alma’s comments...Read More

Comments (1)

Boston, MA: On Saturday morning February 7, a crane supporting two workers who were inspecting the roof of one of the buildings at Suffolk University, fell over and crashed to the ground. One of the workers was reportedly thrown from the crane's basket while the other worker crashed into the back of the building with such force that the metal basket split in half. At the time, both workers were injured but one has since died according to Boston news channels. According to spokespeople from Suffolk University, the school had contracted with Tremco, Inc of Lakeville, MA to inspect a number of buildings and rooftops. The work was subbed out to Reliable Roofing and Sheet Metal of Framingham, MA who then leased a crane from Height 4 Hire. According to a report, OSHA had fined Reliable Roofing $4,500 last year, for failing to provide various safety systems for employees working at a job site in Newburyport, MA. OSHA is investigating the incident.

Comments (0)

Boston, MA: According to a study funded by The Construction Institute and the Future of Work in Massachusetts the gaming industry – particularly the unionized sector of the casino hotel industry – provides good jobs with good wages and benefits for the parts of the workforce that are often neglected. The new study examines the quality of jobs in the United States gaming industry and analyzes enabling legislation in five states that have legalized gaming. The report entitled “Gaming in Massachusetts: Can Casinos Bring ‘Good Jobs’ to the Commonwealth?,” finds that among workers without a college education, gaming workers in casino hotels enjoy higher pay and more generou...Read More

Comments (1)

Montpelier, VT: During the third week of January, 2009, Gov. James Douglas appointed a man with three decades of experience in major transportation infrastructure projects to direct the state office that will be handling funds expected from the federal economic stimulus package. Jim Bush, 60, has spent four years as the assistant director of program development for the Vermont Agency of Transportation and 25 years in similar jobs with the Federal Highway Administration. For the foreseeable future, Bush will also be the director of the newly created Vermont Federal Recovery Office as the state prepares to take a slice of the $825 billion economic recovery package unveiled by leaders of the U.S. House this week. The Douglas administration has been working closely with Vermont's congressional delegation on the state's needs – including closing a gap of about $48 mil...Read More

Comments (1)

Boston, MA: According to an article in the Boston Globe, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that raising the gas tax could be a "serious alternative" to increasing tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike and Boston Harbor Tunnels, marking another step in the governor's developing views on the topic. "I hate the proposed toll increase, like everybody else," Patrick wrote during an online chat on boston.com, where he fielded six que...Read More

Comments (0)

Westfield, MA: According to a recent article in Traffic World, shippers who want to know how they'll benefit from the massive infrastructure spending and economic stimulus package being crafted in Washington should ask Lowe's and the Pioneer Valley Railroad in Massachusetts. The 27-mile short line brings roughly 1,500 carloads of plywood, boards, fencing and other building materials each year to the home improvement giant's Westfield, Mass., distribution center, a facility considered vital to Lowe's Northeast expansion. But Pioneer's service and Lowe's expansion could be slowed without an estimated $1 million construction project to lay new ties and replace the railroad's old 80-pound track with 105-pound track. That project isn't lik...Read More

Comments (0)

Hartford Ct: The Connecticut Laborers' District Council and the Connecticut First Coalition will be holding a major protest on Monday, January 5, 2009. The action is in light of Stamford, Connecticut Mayor Dannel Malloy's failure to get Connecticut companies and Connecticut workers hired at Connecticut's largest job site, Harbor Point Development project, located in the city's South end. The project is being developed by Building and Land Technology which is headed ...Read More

Comments (0)

Boston, MA: Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation adviser submitted his resignation this week adding a new level of uncertainty to the administration's increasingly high-profile effort to repair the state's crumbling road and public transit system. Bernard Cohen, the state transportation secretary, insisted in an interview with the Boston Globe that he was not being pushed out, despite his diminishing clout and discussions in government and transportation circles that Pat...Read More

Comments (0)