What started as an effort by Bob Nilsson, a U.S. Marine vet with a broken leg to help other Vietnam War wounded heal at a Navy hospital in Queens, N.Y., has grown decades later into a nationwide crusade to transition veterans, injured and not, into entrepreneurs in the construction sector—and beyond.
The Obama administration made construction careers for veterans a high-profile initiative, announced last year by First Lady Michele Obama, that asks industry firms to hire 100,000 vets in the next five years.
Related Links: Engineering News-Record Architectural Record The Associated Builders and Contractors has hired Gregory E. Sizemore as vice president of environment, health, safety and workforce development for the 21,000-member national open-shop group. He was senior manager of craft development at Zachry Industrial. Gregory E. SizemoreGregory L. Sizemore, no relation, remains executive vice president of the Construction Users Roundtable, a Cincinnati-based owners group.Michael A. Shamma has joined engineer HAKS, New York City, as president. He was chief engineer of the New York State Thruway Authority/Canal Corp. and a regional state transportation director.AECOM has named Jess Yoder vice president in San Francisco
Abba G. Lichtenstein, 92, a noted bridge engineer who helped develop key national load-rating and inspection standards and techniques and who was an expert in repair of historic spans and related structures, died on March 13 in Washington, D.C., his family confirms.
University of Maryland Clark (right) with fellow engineer and University of Maryland benefactor Jeong H. Kim at 2007 engineering building dedication. Related Links: Clark Construction website: A. James Clark obituary University of Maryland Mourns Passing of A.James Clark In 1969, when he took over an old-line Washington, D.C.-area construction firm that now bears his name, A. James "Jim" Clark had a growth vision that differed sharply from its founder. Decades later, the successor set the foundation that propelled George Hyman Construction Co. to become today's national industry giant Clark Construction Group, and transformed Clark himself into a billionaire philanthropist. Clark
Spending on outsourced worker services makes up the largest dollar chunk of U.S. government contracting, according to a March 11 Congressional Budget Office analysis for the House Budget Committee, but the agency can't determine how many jobs it funds.Spending for professional, administrative and management services from the private sector grew the most in real dollas between 2000 and 2012, says CBO in a letter to Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, ranking committee Democrat, who had requested information on the "size and cost of the federal government's contracted workforce."Of the $500 billion that federal agencies spent for contracted products and services
AP Oil giant's formerly owned Bayway refinery site in Elizabeth, N.J, which first began operation in 1909, has extensive petroleum and chemicals-related contamination on its 1,300 acres. Related Links: NJ Legislators Kick Off Hearings into Disputed Exxon Mobil Deal How clean is a cleanup? Exxon sites scrutinized as N.J. seeks settlement NJ Sierra Club: Attorney General Tries to Spin ExxonMobil Sellout NJ Announcement of Cleanup Pact for ExxonMobil Refinery Sites Document excerpts detail the state's case against ExxonMobil prior to settlement NJDEP 2006 Report: Natural Resource Damages at ExxonMobil Bayway and Bayonne Sites The huge oil Bayway refinery complex in
GreenTech Lead Non-compete restriction with firm Shaw buyer CB&I expires after two years. Related Links: Wood Group warns of further cuts over low oil price Former Shaw Group executives spearhead new $45M pipe fabrication facility Contractor Structure Tone Agrees to Pay $55 Million in Fraud Plea Global oil-and-gas services giant Wood Group plc has elevated Michele McNichol to CEO of its Houston engineering unit Wood Group Mustang Inc. Formerly executive vice president and president of its upstream business unit, she succeeds Steve Knowles, who will retire April 1, says the firm. Wood Group Mustang ranks at No. 17 on ENR’s
Related Links: RCMP Charges SNC-Lavalin SNC-Lavalin contests the federal charges by the public prosecution service of Canada, and will enter a non-guilty plea SNC case shows downside of Ottawa's strict anti-corruption regime Criminal charges brought by the Canadian government last month against Montreal-based engineer-construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., linked to past bribes on Libyan projects, have sparked a national debate over whether the firm should pay for departed executives' misdeeds or face a lesser penalty because new management instituted sweeping ethics changes beginning in 2012.Industry participants and other business groups are also raising concern that new "integrity" rules for federal
Related Links: SNC Lavalin Reaches Out to Employees in Scandal Probe Canada Financial Post: SNC Lavalin board goes into full combat mode after RCMP lays bribery and fraud charges Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Feb. 19 charged Montreal-based global engineer SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and its construction and international units with several counts of corruption and fraud related to alleged bribes by long-departed executives of officials in Libya linked to work on infrastructure projects.These are the first official charges against the firm, with RCMP noting that separate charges already have been brought against "three individuals" who were not named.RCMP