From: Scott Costello <scott@advantagepublishinginc.com>
Subject: Building Edge March 24th E-News Briefs
Reply: scott@advantagepublishinginc.com
Building Edge Magazine - e-News Brief 

March 24, 2008      |      www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com

 

We had a successful move last week, and are up and running in our new office.  While there is still work to do, we are back to full speed.  As I wrote last week, we didn't have to go far.  Our address has changed from 4110 NW 37th PL Suite C to 4140 NW 37th PL Suite D. We have scheduled with the Gainesville Chamber an open house/ribbon cutting  for April 23rd. More information to come in the next few weeks.

 

We now have space in which to grow, and are continuing to look for a few good people. Do you know anyone who has a sales or advertising background that might be looking for all the benefits of entrepreneurship but not the risk? We are looking at filling three spots in Gainesville. Our next move will be to hire a tremendous person in Ocala and one in Lake City. Eventually, we will have offices in all three markets to best service you. If you know someone who might be looking for a career change, or a step up, have them contact me. If they get hired and stay three months, you will get a free ad in any one issue of one of our magazines.

 

Columbia County will be holding its Showcase of Homes next Saturday and Sunday, March 29th and 30th. In addition to featuring a number of homes, the Columbia County Builders' Association will have loan officers and builders on hand at their very own "Showcase Central" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday the 29th.  Lunch will be served and door prizes will be given away all day long.

 

The Habitat for Humanity Signature Event 2008 is also this week, on Friday night from from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., at the Haile Village Hall. This is the perfect event for people in the building industry. There are opportunities available for sponsorship and donations.

 

Finally, as we have been able to report in the last few weeks, there is continued good news about Marty McFall. As you may recall, it was only a little over a month ago that Marty, owner of Martin P. McFall Builders, Inc., fell through a skylight, and about 25 feet down into the building below. This is directly from the journal being kept about Marty at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/4martymcfall

"Today on this Full Moon Saturday, the day before Easter, Marty's trach was removed! He's able to talk quite freely now and his sense of humor is wide open! That's one thing that Marty never lost throughout this journey - his wonderful sense of humor!"  It is nice to see prayers answered.  We continue to wish Marty a speedy recovery.

 

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Our March issue is in the process of being reprinted.  We ran out of copies the first week.  Fortunately, it is available online. The cover story is on Jay and Randy Robinson with

G.W. Robinson Remodeling, LLC. The National Feature is on Windows: Style, efficiency, architecture, and glass technology. You can also view it online at www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com

 

Our April issue, with its annual spotlight on the Builders of the Parade of Homes™, is in production.  This issue continues to grow.  This year, we were able to spotlight 42 builders. The National Feature is on kitchens. Our Developer Spotlight in this issue is on Deltona Corporation. We will be covering the parades in Alachua and Marion counties. This issue will also include the inaugural Buyer's Guide. Once we finish producing the guide, it will be available through this email and online, as well as in print.  Look for this issue to arrive right before the start of the Parades.

Our May issue closes this week. It will feature, The Enclave Apartments developed by Collier Enterprises, and constructed by Davis and Sons Construction. The National Feature will be on Outdoor Living: decking, landscaping, fencing, outdoor lighting, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces. We will also recap the Columbia County Showcase of Homes and the BANCF Home Show.

 In June, we return to Ocala, and feature Claeys Construction. The National Feature will be on Doors: entry, interior, patio and overhead. This will be the issue that we recap the Spring Parade of Homes™.

We are excited about these issues, and look forward to your participation.

Our Winter 2008 Commercial issue, featuring Trunnell Construction, is online.

 

The Spring 2008 issue of Commercial Building Edge is in production. 2007 Marion County Small Business of the Year Stentiford Construction Services, led by Paul Stentiford is our cover story. Look for this issue to arrive the third week of April. We are also in the process of developing a website for Paul and his team with a hopeful launch date right around the time this issue is published. The temporary site will be up and running soon. Please call us for details.

 

In the Summer, we will feature Brian Crawford, owner of Concept Construction of North Florida. Brian is also the president of the Columbia County Builders Association.

 

In the Fall, we will feature Nathan Collier and Collier Enterprises.

  

HOME™:  Living in the Heart of Florida:

We are in production now on the Spring issue of HOME: Living in the Heart of Florida.  Distribution is at over 450 locations, including the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, Ocala Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Newberry/Jonesville Chamber of Commerce, Williston Chamber of Commerce and the Gainesville Regional Airport.  We ran out of copies long before the end of the quarter, so we are looking at ways to grow distribution.  If you would like to view the Winter issue online or subscribe to the magazine, please view us at www.LivingintheHeartofFlorida.com. The Spring issue should arrive the middle of April. 

gainesville ford

 

Homebuilders Bemoan Business Climate

Boosting home building in Florida means fighting impact fees and an atmosphere of fear, according to one industry leader. "Things are tough out there," Florida Homebuilders Association CEO Emmett Reed said of the current homebuilding market. Reed told local builders and students in a construction program Tuesday at Marion Technical Institute his 20,000-member group is lobbying state lawmakers for changes intended to improve the state's building climate. "It's going to get better when government seriously looks at overregulation of the industry," he said. Fees tied to new home building that proponents say help to offset corresponding increases in municipal and county services are hurting construction, Reed said.

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Energy-Efficient Homes Come Without Electric Bills

Finding a living space that is easy on the environment and uses no electricity is simple - just find a tent. But finding a home with all the comforts of modern living and without a monthly utility bill can be a lot more challenging. Enter local developer Richard Schackow. He's planning a unique community of energy efficient, solar-powered homes - and with two houses nearly done, his vision has already broken ground. Besides the solar panel units on the roofs, which provide clean energy at no cost, the houses look ordinary from outside. They sit at the future site of Forest Creek, a tree-flanked block about two miles north of campus at Northwest 17th Street and 34th Place. Both are around 1,600 square feet and have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

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Home Depot Deal Nets City a Park

The city of Gainesville's holdout paid off in the long run. They won not only a valuable tract of green space for a nature park but a hefty donation from a corporation and a retail center on the underdeveloped east side of town. "I think that if we had just said 'yes' to the first project that came along, we would not have gotten any one of these things," Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan said. Last week, city commissioners authorized the purchase of 70.4 acres for a nature park on the Hogtown Creek Headwaters Property. The $4.8 million contract has been signed and should close within the next month. When Home Depot bought the property in 2006, it entered into an agreement with the city to develop 16 acres on the corner of NW 53rd Avenue and U.S. 441.

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Millions Collected for UF Building

It's been a little more than a year since William Hough gave the University of Florida its largest single gift in history, and since that time other donors have been giving millions to help build a school in his name. UF has collected $9.7 million in recent private gifts for the construction of William R. Hough Hall, a $23 million building that will house UF's Hough School of Graduate Administration. The building is expected to be funded through the state's Courtelis matching gift program, so UF would need to raise a total of $11.5 million through donor contributions to fully fund the project. If the state funds come through, the building is expected to begin in May and the facility will be ready in December 2009, according to UF officials.

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Homes on Display

Local real estate agents and contractors will put their best homes on display during the Showcase of Homes, Buy Now event. Running Saturday through March 30, the event is sponsored by the Lake City Board of Realtors, Columbia County Builders Association and the Lake City Reporter. The idea of the Showcase of Homes, Buy Now event is to give local builders and realtors a chance to showcase homes currently on the market, said Lynda Strickland, marketing director for the Reporter. The Columbia County Builders Association usually surpervises the Parade of Homes, but due to certain association rules which don't allow homes to be showcased more than once, the organization was prevented from hosting the annual event, Strickland said. "The Showcase gives them the chance to advertise the homes," she said.

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Marion Schools Ask For Help With Growth

There were no sightings of Vito Corleone, Barzini or Tattaglia at Wednesday night's meeting of "families." Those characters represented New York crime organizations in the classic film "The Godfather." The folks at this meeting - members of the Ocala City Council, Belleview City Commission, County Commission and School Board - represent the people, and they gathered to seek an important accord on something known as school concurrency. Concurrency is a state requirement that local governments coordinate on the permitting of new developments that will add students to the school system, and work together on the planning of future school construction.

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Munroe Eyes Taxpayer Support

After more than 15 years of operating independently, Munroe Regional Medical Center is considering once again getting financial support from taxpayers. The discussion was brought up by the Marion County Commission after hospital officials presented their annual report Tuesday. "The reimbursement rate is trending down," Commissioner Jim Payton said. "My observation is that this trend is not going to stop." So Payton asked Steve Purves, president and CEO of Munroe Regional, if he knew when the hospital might consider tapping into the taxpayers' support. "We would like to address this before it becomes critical," Payton said.

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$39.3 Million Will Help Lake County Offices Expand

County commissioners approved construction of more than $39.3 million in capital improvements Tuesday. The project will bring a multilevel parking lot, a government-office building and an energy plant to downtown. The facilities will be primarily for county staff. It's the first phase of a larger project that could cost up to $180 million once the second phase, an expansion of the county's judicial center, is complete.

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Fire Rating Boost Could Mean Lower Premiums

Leesburg residents could get a break on their property or homeowners insurance thanks to a boost in the city's fire protection rating. Visitors to the city's Web site - leesburgflorida.gov - can get a form letter to send to their insurance company showing the ISO rating change and requesting a reevaluation of their insurance rates. Years of work have gone into the upgrade, said Fire Chief Dennis Sargent. The city's rating was around four when Sargent arrived in 2002.

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Another School in Minneola?

Imagine a second charter school in Minneola. Minneola City Council members are considering annexing nine acres near Old Highway 50 and Hancock Road that Imagine Schools Inc., a charter school company, wants to use for a new kindergarten-through-eighth grade school.

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MCBIA Calendar of Events
 
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USGBC Heart of Florida Chapter
 


Property-Tax Plan Forces Hand of Lawmakers

The tax cut that voters will be asked to approve in November will do more than save property owners money. It will force lawmakers to do what they have refused to do for nearly 70 years: modernize sales-tax rules to raise revenue from products and services that have never been taxed. That is exactly what the powerful Taxation and Budget Reform Commission intended Monday when it asked voters to eliminate the schools portion of all property taxes and replace it with a penny hike in the sales tax and, potentially, new taxes on services such as charter boats, symphony tickets, dry cleaning and limousines. With a 21-4 vote, the politically diverse panel accomplished what former Senate President John McKay and current House Speaker Marco Rubio couldn't do at the height of their legislative power: produce a constitutional amendment that delivers property-tax cuts while broadening the state's sales-tax base. ''It's an attempt to change the structure and make it more fair and resilient,'' said McKay, a commission member and the amendment's sponsor.

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These Greenhouses Grow From Friends of the Earth

John Eriksen admits it. He's obsessed with energy consumption. When he flips on the eight-bulb light fixture in the bathroom of his Okeechobee home, the hand-held tracking device in his grip shows his costs per kilowatt hour spike from 2 cents to 10 cents. Eriksen cringes. He flips the incandescent bulbs back off. On the metal roof of his house, ultra-thin laminated strips of photovoltaic cells collect power from the sun. Eriksen gets a kick out of watching the watts stream in. And he gets a credit on his monthly Florida Power & Light Co. bill for the 10 kilowatts or so he generates daily, a little less than what he uses. But as consumption-conscious as he is, he didn't think it was possible to take his home-building business green - until recently.

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Crane Regulations Pending

Before news spread of Saturday's deadly New York City crane accident, state legislators and the Miami-Dade County Commission already had proposals for crane safety standards on the horizon. The main question at stake was who would get their regulations up first. Tuesday afternoon the Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously passed a measure allowing for county oversight of cranes and crane operators. But the county's swift approval has irked at least one state representative, who for the second year in a row is proposing legislation that would create a statewide standard. ''Because Miami has jumped the gun, it may hurt the other 66 counties [that] haven't gotten around to passing their own regulations,'' said Rep. Greg Evers, a Milton Republican who is pushing the House version of the bill. ``By not creating one standard, it could jeopardize all those crane operators.'' In Florida, where development has made cranes a fixture of many city skylines, the industry is neither licensed nor regulated.

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Energy Bills Favor New Nuclear Plants

Nuclear power plants could be built more quickly and power transmission lines installed faster under the first versions of energy legislation approved by House and Senate committees. Both chambers considered similar, broad-ranging legislation Wednesday. The bills that moved out of committees would mandate more energy-efficient new construction as well as the use of more renewable sources of energy by utility companies. Despite many similarities, the Senate bill puts a greater emphasis on energy efficiency. And while both bills call for the creation for a single board that would develop and implement energy policy for the state, they differ on the process for selecting members.

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Charlotte County Wants to Modify Impact Fees

Charlotte County Commissioner Adam Cummings thinks it's absurd to charge impact fees when someone adds a room to their home. Now, he wants to modify the fee schedule completely. Officials are looking at a tiered impact fee system that would reward residential development near existing public services. In the meantime, the county is giving residents a one-year reprieve by charging a flat fee of $2,510 for new homes. The rollback, approved in October 2007, temporarily replaces the system which bases residential impact fees on square footage.

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Senate Committee OKs Energy Reforms

Sweeping reforms to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in Florida were approved Wednesday by a Senate committee. SB 1544 includes major energy proposals by Gov. Charlie Crist. The bill directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop a proposal for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases and allowing the sale of credits for reductions. The bill also requires improved energy efficiency in new buildings and requires increasing amounts of ethanol in gasoline.

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Affordable Housing Bill Strikes at Impact Fees

Charlotte County's temporary impact-fee rollback played a role in setting the terms of an affordable housing bill that cleared the House Committee on Economic Development on Thursday. The bill sets aside $75 million in affordable housing assistance through the Florida Housing Finance Corp. But to qualify for a share of the pot, local governments have to reduce their impact fees at least 25 percent for 18 months. And they have to do it within 12 months of the law taking effect on July 1. That's the complicated option. Localities can also qualify if they're charging no impact fees at all or at least grant a blanket waiver for homes purchased under an assistance program.

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winter home cover

 

Regulations Are at the Root of U.S. Housing Mess

The smell of fear permeates Washington. With the U.S. economy on the ropes and esteemed financial institutions such as Bear Stearns Cos. and the Carlyle Group suffering major losses, policy makers are outdoing one another in the search for creative intensive care. The irony is that the latest research suggests that government policy makers started this mess in the first place. Mr. Hyde put us in the hospital. Dr. Jekyll has met us at the operating table.

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Americans Confident in 2009 Turnaround

Though times are tough now, Americans believe the economy will bounce back by next year, according to a survey released Friday. A national CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 60% of respondents think economic conditions in the United States will be "good" next year, as opposed to the 75% who think the economic situation is "poor" now. "Most people realize that the economy has cycles of ups and downs," said Wachovia economist Sam Bullard. "Fortunately, the last two recessions were some of the shortest on record, so in 2009 we should be pulling up out of this."

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Fed Acts to Rescue Financial Markets

Hoping to avoid a systemic meltdown in financial markets, the Federal Reserve on Sunday approved a $30 billion credit line to engineer the takeover of Bear Stearns and announced an open-ended lending program for the biggest investment firms on Wall Street. In a third move aimed at helping banks and thrifts, the Fed also lowered the rate for borrowing from its so-called discount window by a quarter of a percentage point, to 3.25 percent. The moves amounted to a sweeping and apparently unprecedented attempt by the Federal Reserve to rescue the nation's financial markets from what officials feared could be a chain reaction of defaults.

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Builder Confidence Remains Unchanged In March

Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes remained unchanged in March, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI held firm at 20, which is near its historic low of 18 set in December of 2007 (the series began in January of 1985). "Our surveys confirm what I've been hearing personally from builders across the country, which is that interested buyers are out there, but they are either reluctant to go ahead with a home purchase or they are unable to find mortgage financing they can afford," said NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W. Va.

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Treasury's Paulson Says U.S. Economy Resilient

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Sunday repeated comments that a strong dollar was in the U.S. interest and expressed confidence that financial markets would recover from their current turmoil. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday" Paulson said U.S. markets were "resilient" and that he felt the $152 billion economic stimulus plan would help lift the economy. Paulson said the Bush administration continued to believe that "long-term economic strength is going to be reflected in the dollar."

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Fannie, Freddie May Get Some Slack

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to get further financial leeway from the government, enabling the mortgage-finance companies to expand their roles in the stricken housing market. The federal regulator that oversees Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) has been discussing with them an arrangement in which the cash cushion they are required to maintain - now nearly $20 billion for the two - could be reduced, several people familiar with the matter said Monday. Under a deal that could be announced as soon as this week, the freed-up money would be put into buying mortgages of struggling borrowers so they could refinance into more affordable loans, these people said.

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Good Start But More Is Needed, Home Builders Say on OFHEO Capital Adjustment for Fannie And Freddie

Jerry Howard, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), today issued the following statement on the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's (OFHEO) decision to reduce the capital surcharge levied on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: "While we appreciate this action, it falls short of providing the liquidity required to stabilize today's credit-squeezed mortgage market. We were expecting a much bolder step by OFHEO, with a greater reduction in the capital surcharge in light of the severity of the mortgage credit crunch. To get the most mileage out of these additional funds, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must target borrowers who have been shut out of the mortgage market by the financial sector meltdown. This action is a partial step to getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac back on the road to meeting their housing mission.

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Social Security Numbers Determine When Economic Stimulus Checks Go Out

The Internal Revenue Service outlined Monday how your Social Security number will determine when you probably will get your economic stimulus check this spring or summer. The IRS said it plans to deliver 130 million checks between May 2 and July 11 based on the last two digits of the recipient's Social Security number. According to the IRS, direct deposit payments will be made May 2 to recipients whose Social Security numbers end in 00-20. Direct deposit payments will be made a week later, May 9, to people whose numbers end in 21-75. The final round of direct deposit payments will be made May 16 to people whose numbers end in 76-99.

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Bush Says If More Action Is Needed to Stimulate Economy, 'We'll Take It'

President Bush, eager to reassure a rattled country, said Tuesday that his administration is ready to intervene again to stabilize the economy. "If there needs to be further action, we'll take it, in a way that does not damage the long-term financial health of our economy," Bush said along the docks of this port city. It was the second signal in two days from Bush about the possibility of more government action to help hurting consumers and a shaken financial market. Much of his agenda these days is meant to show he is engaged in fixing the economy but still confident in it.

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Fed News Pushes Dow Up 420 Points

Wall Street stormed higher Tuesday as investors, optimistic following stronger-than-expected earnings from two big investment banks, were also galvanized by the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 420 points, its biggest one-day point gain in more than five years. Many investors were expecting the Fed to cut rates a full point, but appeared to overcome their early disappointment, especially since a 0.75 point cut is still substantial. The central bank's benchmark fed funds rate is now at 2.25 percent - its lowest level since December 2004, and less than half what it was last summer. The Fed began lowering rates exactly six months ago, after the credit markets seized up due to soaring defaults in subprime mortgages.

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What's Right With This Picture?
New Orleans is going green as it never has before, and it isn't just because of St. Patrick's Day. We have Global Green, Historic Green, the National Association of Home Builders Model Green and Brad Pitt's Make It Right, just to name a few ecologically attuned building programs. Now, the American Society of Interior Designers is getting in on the act. Meeting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center this weekend, the group has just unveiled its ReGreen guidelines, a manual intended to reshape thinking about home renovations developed in partnership with the United States Green Building Council. Linda Sorrento, manager of the ReGreen program, said the new guidelines are the first comprehensive national directives for green renovations, as opposed to new construction.

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Innovative Apprenticeship Incentive to Help Local Building and Trades Industry

Commercial and residential builders who voluntarily implement an approved Apprenticeship Program to promote a highly skilled and quality workforce will be entitled to new incentives, including expedited permitting, the Town of Huntington announced today. This innovative legislation, sponsored by Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and Supervisor Frank P. Petrone, is an expansion of an existing partnership between the Town and the building trades industry to help workers get the necessary training and education. In 2005, the Town of Huntington mandated that all commercial buildings over 100,000sq ft. be developed using an approved Apprenticeship Program. This effort was universally endorsed by labor unions as benefiting the workforce, public safety and the economy. It eventually led to other towns on Long Island adopting similar measures.

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winter home cover

 

Greenbacks for Green Businesses

First Green Bank of Eustis filed its charter Friday to become the first bank in the Southeast to promote environmentally conscious companies. The bank will offer low-interest loans for commercial projects that follow the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system. "We are very excited about this business model," said Ken LaRoe, the bank's CEO, in a press release. "This will be the first bank of its kind to promote ... environmental and social responsibility while providing increased profits for investors and clients." The bank's goal in the first year is for 20 percent of commercial loans to go to developers who are building green.

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Lake School Officials Get Creative

The Lake County School Board doesn't want to postpone any construction projects and, with very little funding, is being forced to exercise some creative thinking. Board members met with the district's finance, building and growth departments Friday to talk about school construction. Facing a tight budget year due to a declining housing market, the property tax amendment and rsing construction and energy costs, the school district has less revenue than expected, officials said. The district wanted to borrow more than a $132 million to pay for construction projects, but with economic uncertainty looming, it's considering less - $72 million.

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17th Street Overpass Construction on Schedule

A steady rain blanketed Southwest 17th Street last Friday, but the "beep-beep" of construction equipment and dump trucks in reverse still rang out above the traffic. When you plan to finish a $25 million overpass project in 18 months, like contractor Kiewit Corp. does, there's not much time for rain delays. "They have a very aggressive schedule," said Mike McCammon, the Ocala operations engineer for the Florida Department of Transportation. If rain holds off, traffic within 200 feet of the CSX rail crossing could be diverted to sections of the new frontage roads later this week. Crews then would start putting in the concrete piles for the bridge over the railway.

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Construction Underway on Shands Underground Tunnel

Construction on an underground tunnel linking Shands at UF with its new cancer hospital began Monday. The tunnel, scheduled for completion in late November, will give hospital staff, patients and visitors a 440-foot path they can walk through instead of having to cross Southwest Archer Road. The underground entrance will be separated into two 13-foot-wide paths, giving patients and staff a different route than visitors, said Kimberly Jamerson, a Shands spokeswoman.

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Georgia Branch, Agc Wins 2007 Chapter of Year Award

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) awarded Georgia Branch, AGC the 2007 Chapter of the Year Award for its emphasis on member communication, improved member retention and growth and leadership on legislative issues. The Georgia Branch, AGC is one of 96 nationwide AGC Chapters. "AGC's Chapters are the parts that make up the whole of our organization," said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer of AGC. "For that reason, we recognize their contributions each year with this award." In 2007, Georgia Branch, AGC recruited 86 new member companies and counted the highest level of member participation in its history. The organization also launched work force alliance task forces around the state in order to address work force development, which was identified as the most important issue facing Georgia Branch, AGC members.

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ABC Names Florida Welder Jennifer Jeffords Craft Professional of the Year

ABC presented its Craft Professional of the Year award to Jennifer Jeffords, a certified welder, welding inspector and welding instructor for BE&K Industrial Services at International Paper's plant in Pensacola, Fla. The award was presented during ABC's 2008 National Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Each year, ABC presents the Craft Professional of the Year to a construction craft professional who excels in his or her field, maintains a lifelong commitment to training and upholds the merit shop philosophy. "I am proud to honor Jennifer Jeffords with ABC's most prestigious craft award, the Craft Professional of the Year," said 2008 ABC National Chairman Bill Fairchild. "Jennifer's dedication to becoming one of the nation's top welders and her generosity serving as a mentor and teacher for others in her field have made her an outstanding choice for this year's award." 

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ABC Submits Comments On Dol Effort To Update Apprenticeship Rules

In comments submitted March 12 to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), ABC expressed support for the agency's efforts to update federal apprenticeship rules by incorporating the use of competency-based training, recognizing technological advances in the delivery of technical instruction and adding flexibility to the registration and oversight of apprentices. "ABC has long advocated increased recognition by the Labor Department of the benefits of competency-based training in apprenticeship programs," ABC stated. "The traditional time-based model requiring a set number of years and hours of classroom instruction for every apprentice has acted to discourage some apprentices from entering or completing their apprenticeship training, as it has been evident for some time that 'one size does not fit all.' 

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