LEED war rages in Oregon

The forestry industry in Oregon is not pleased with LEED certification's position on its forests.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 26, 2013

New code sets up an efficiency competition among home builders in Lawrence, Kan.

In Lawrence, Kan., every new home now has to have an energy audit before the wallboard goes up, and the results are posted for everyone who wants to see them.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 22, 2013

Dallas code would take a lot of the shine off new downtown towers

New building code language awaiting a City Council decision would limit reflectivity of new buildings to 15% of the exterior surface in a war on glare.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 20, 2013

Hollywood skyscraper developer worried about fault line

Digging down will reveal whether 35- and 39-story towers can go up in Hollywood or if the Hollywood Fault runs under the project, which would kill it.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 20, 2013

AGC urges contractors to be heard on immigration reform

The construction industry has a significant stake in immigration reform, and Associated General Contractors is urging members and others to make sure members of Congress know it.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 16, 2013

Texas takes aim at bogus use of 'self-employed' workers

Claiming workers are not actually employees of any contractor or sub on a building project may leave them unpaid and the state without taxes it should collect on the wages.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 12, 2013

Industry says new study shows good hiring record for veterans, disabled

A new study that Associated General Contractors gave to the federal government says that veterans do better than nonveterans in being hired, and disabled workers have the same chances of being hired as others, so federal rules are unneeded.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 9, 2013

Amphibious foundations advocate floats her idea to federal officials

Architect, planner and engineer Elizabeth C. English believes she has an answer for flood protection.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 7, 2013

Improve construction site safety—with an iPhone app?

The iConstructSafe app provides videos for iPhones and iPads that cover best practices for equipment and personal protective equipment.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 6, 2013

U.S. is moving ahead with hiring rules that will add contractor expenses

Rules that require efforts to hire disabled people and veterans as well as more record-keeping by contractors have been sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

By Ron Gallagher • Aug. 5, 2013

Largest builder in nation settles utility dispute for $2.3M

Centex Homes will pay for connecting hundreds of homes to the city water system, although it had received authorization from the Florida city to do so.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 2, 2013

$1M earthquake simulation study may lead to changes in building code

Scientists and engineers are studying the effects of seismic activity on steel structures.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 1, 2013

China halts construction on world's tallest building

Construction of the Sky City tower was forced to stop, just days after it was started, due to lack of government approval in addition to safety concerns.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 1, 2013

New LEED standards adopted amid protest

Although the new LEED standards were approved by a majority of USGBC members, certain groups are vehemently opposed to the updated draft.

By Nicole Wrona • Aug. 1, 2013

A tale from the rails: How 'buy American' killed a project

A proposal to construct a high-speed rail link between Las Vegas and Los Angeles lost any chance of federal funding because of a rule saying it had to buy what doesn't exist.

By Ron Gallagher • July 29, 2013

China, Pentagon City and NYC plumbing: The week's most read construction news

These were the five most popular reads of the past week on Construction Dive.

By Brian Warmoth • July 29, 2013

Utility sues Bigge over fatal gantry collapse at nuke plant

Bihgge Cranes and Rigging had constructed a gantry to lift a large part from a generator at the Arkansas Nuclear One plant, and it let go while moving 550 tons, killing a worker.

By Ron Gallagher • July 25, 2013

Trade groups sue NYC over pre-installed plumbing

The new disagreement involves residential units in New York's Atlantic Yards.

By Ron Gallagher • July 24, 2013

Savings on site investigations can prove expensive later

Finding out about wet soils, unexpected rock, utility conflicts, hazardous materials and other issues can prove that savings a little on site investigation can cost a lot later.

By Ron Gallagher • July 23, 2013

Contractors' hiring-pool plan gets court backing, but it's only one case

A federal appeals court upheld a centralized hiring pool that independent electricians ran in Houston, but the ruling was a reversal of an NLRB action, not a general blessing of the idea.

By Ron Gallagher • July 21, 2013

Contractors urging Congress to beat EPA to fly ash rules

The clock is ticking with numerous construction operations likely to be impacted.

By Ron Gallagher • July 19, 2013

Skanksa, robots and China: This week's most read construction news

Head into your weekend better informed with this weeks most popular Construction Dive posts.

By Brian Warmoth • July 19, 2013

Look for new OSHA rules on silica dust by month's end

The American Subcontractors Association expects new permissible levels of silica-dust exposure for construction workers to be issued by July 31.

By Ron Gallagher • July 18, 2013

Employers Impacted by U.S. Supreme Court DOMA Ruling

The United States Supreme Court has issued two decisions that expand same-sex marriage rights. In the first, United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013), the Court ruled unconstitutional a law denying federal recognition of legally-married same-sex couples. In the second, Hollingsworth, ...

July 18, 2013

Less sulfur in diesel means bigger explosion risk, machinery-makers warn

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers says that newly-required low-sulfur diesel cannot dissipate static electricity as well as the old, so proper fueling is critical.

By Ron Gallagher • July 17, 2013