Luke Perkins - Thu April 20, 2017
Lawmakers Reach a Compromise on Construction Defects Bill
Efforts to loosen the construction defects litigation stranglehold on affordable housing in Colorado took a big step forward when a compromise was struck late Tuesday night between lawmakers, homeowners' groups and contractors....
Mon April 17, 2017
Demoing Helps Prevent Future Forest Fires in California
In 2015, more than 6,000 fires occurred in California, which saw just over 300,000 acres burned, according to the California government. Between that same time period the previous year, there were 2,000 fewer wildfires and over 100,000 fewer acres burned....
Fri April 14, 2017
Texas Senate Considers Mandatory Rest Breaks for Construction Workers
A Texas Senate panel considered legislation Tuesday that would require construction companies to give workers mandatory rest breaks — an effort to prevent illnesses and deaths from the sweltering Texas heat....
Mon April 17, 2017
Colorado DOT Could Receive $375M Annually If Senate Passes Roads Bill
Colorado's Democrat-led House has passed a transportation bill over objections from Republicans who oppose a proposed state sales tax hike. Other Republican lawmakers demanded transparency in what will be built with the $3.5 billion in bonds that the bill would finance....
Mead Gruver - ASSOCIATED PRESS - Mon April 17, 2017
Trump Eases Coal Regs
This hardscrabble Wyoming city of about 30,000 people proclaims itself the “Energy Capital of the Nation” on the mayor's blue blazer and even the parking ticket payment boxes. Nearby are some of the world's largest open-pit mines, where dump trucks the size of houses haul out more than 40 percent of the coal produced in the United States....
Jonathan J. Cooper - ASSOCIATED PRESS - Mon April 17, 2017
Governor Expects Tax Hike Will Yield $52B for Projects
California Gov. Jerry Brown employed all the tricks he's accumulated over a lifetime in politics to pass one of the largest state tax increases in recent memory in one frenzied week. Using a mix of public pressure, private arm-twisting, a late-night meeting at the governor's mansion and nearly $1 billion of pork, Brown showed the political acumen that's made him California's longest-serving chief executive....
Thu April 13, 2017
Wildlife Conservationists Sue over Proposed Border Wall
A conservation group and an Arizona congressman on Wednesday filed what they say is the first federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump's proposed border wall. It calls for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to put together a report on the environmental impact of construction of the wall and expanded patrolling operations on the U.S.-Mexico border....
Barry Lytton - Newstimes - Tue April 11, 2017
State Approves Construction of AgStem Academy In Washington State
The state department overseeing school construction has given its stamp of approval to Region 12's proposed Agriscience-STEM academy, after once casting doubt on the size of the proposal and even asking legislators to drop it from a list of projects the state should pay for next year....
Tue April 11, 2017
Gas Tax Prompts Vote for Change in Transportation Bill
An effort to strip a proposed gas tax hike from Gov. Bill Haslam's plan to boost transportation funding in Tennessee is scheduled for a vote in a key House committee on Tuesday. The change supported by Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell would rewrite the legislation to instead draw the bulk of the funding for new road and bridge construction from sales taxes paid on new and used vehicles....
Mon April 10, 2017
Light Rail Debate Continues to Divide
The Southwest Light Rail Transit project would add a third leg to the Twin Cities' still-young train system, and link the populous and affluent southern and western suburbs to the jobs, education and entertainment of the city center....
