UPDATE: On March 2, Gov. Rick Scott filed a response to the senators’ lawsuit. Also, the Florida Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the case for Thursday, March 3. Florida state legislators have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott over his rejection of more than $2 billion in federal funding for a high-speed rail line. Related Links: Blog: Making the Case Against Gov. Scott Blog: ...And Gov. Rick Scott Responds Sen. Thad Altman (R) of Melbourne and Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D) of Tampa petitioned the Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 28, seeking an injunction “requiring that (Gov. Rick
UPDATE: On Feb. 28, Florida senators Thad Altman (R ) of Melbourne and Arthenia Joyner (D) of Tampa filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott that seeks an injunction halting his rejection of $2.4 billion of federal funding for the proposed Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail line. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has again rejected a proposal to build a $2.7-billion high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. The governor rebuffed a last-ditch attempt by local, state and federal officials to address his previously stated concerns over financial risks, thus closing the latest chapter in the state's decades-long drive to build high-speed
An arbitration panel overseeing a dispute between the general contractor and owner of a Jacksonville, Fla. garage that collapsed during construction has announced initial findings in favor of the contractor. Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta announced Feb. 7 that the panel ruled in its favor on all issues. Choate had faced claims related to the collapse and for breach of contract. The contractor also stated that it had received favorable rulings on its claims for breach of contract and wrongful termination. Berkman Plaza II LLC, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based developer Harbor Cos., was the owner of the 413-space parking garage
FELIX Composite-materials makers have announced a pledge to fight a pending designation of styrene as a health hazard by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Photo: Courtesy ACMA/Philippe Nobile On the expo floor in Ft. Lauderdale at the American Composites Manufacturers Association annual meeting, members of the fast-growing $17.7-billion-a-year industry talk business. Speaking at the American Composites Manufacturers Association 2011 exhibition and convention on Feb. 2-4 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the firms vowed to stage an aggressive congressional lobbying effort against the designation of styrene as a “reasonably anticipated” carcinogen. ACMA President Monty Felix, CEO of Alaglas Swimming
An arbitration panel overseeing a dispute between the general contractor and owner of a Jacksonville, Fla. garage that collapsed during construction has announced initial findings in favor of the contractor. Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta announced Feb. 7 that the panel ruled in its favor on all issues. Choate had faced claims related to the collapse and for breach of contract. The contractor also stated that it had received favorable rulings on its claims for breach of contract and wrongful termination. Berkman Plaza II LLC, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based developer Harbor Cos., was the owner of the 413-space parking garage
Plainly, 2009 was not a good year for Southeast contractors and designers. And judging from the data collected from Southeast Construction’s annual Top Specialty Contractors survey, for the ranking published here, specialty firms took a severe hit last year. Related Links: Specialty Contracting Slowdown KHS&S Gets Lean Top Specialty Contractor Rankings The number of responses to this most recent annual survey was down considerably. In itself, that’s a telling indicator. While each of the previous two Top Specialty Contractor rankings had reached a depth of 200, this latest “Top” survey generated only enough responses for a ranking of 150. Last
The last several years have been tough ones for many of the Southeast’s specialty contractors. On this year’s Top Specialty Contractors ranking, revenue is down almost across the board. Photo Courtesy KHS&S Contractors KHS&S of Tampa is installing more than 700 factory-built bathroom units on a dormitory project at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. The project is the contractor’s first as the exclusive installer of Eggrock bathrooms. Photo Courtesy KHS&S Contractors A view of the FAU dormitory project shows numerous of the bathroom units positioned for installation. Final installation occurs after the building is enclosed. Related Links: Top Specialty
Southeast Construction presents its third annual Top Design-Build Contractors ranking. Derived from information obtained during the Top Contractors survey conducted earlier this year, it documents the amount of revenue related to design-build activities by the contracting firms that participated in that ranking. Related Links: Top 50 Design Builders Ranking The Top Design-Build Contractors ranking is based upon 2009 regional revenue that each firm estimated came from design-build projects within the four-state region of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The ranking also includes more information about each firm, including the location of its main regional office, phone number and
Researchers reported results of two key studies—one on using real-time technology to reduce the danger of working around construction equipment and another on the impact of project-site leadership on safety—to the Construction Industry Institute’s annual conference held Aug. 4-5 in Orlando, Fla. Photo: Courtesy Of Georgia Institute Of Technology Warning device worn by a worker (below) approaching a danger zone emits a signal picked up by a device in the equipment’s cab (above). Photo: Courtesy Of Georgia Institute Of Technology Several safety-related topics were discussed at the event, including technology-based safety, which members and academics are researching in an effort