construction

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NYC Crane Inspector Booked for Corruption

Not tied to recent collapse, city says

(Newser) - New York cops collared the city’s chief crane inspector on corruption charges today, but officials see no link to last week's fatal crane collapse. James Delayo, a 26-year Buildings Department veteran, is accused of taking money to issue fake crane appraisals and supplying cheat sheets for a city exam,...

Chinese Police Drag Parents From Protest

100 called for lawsuit over poorly-built schools

(Newser) - Chinese police cracked down on parents protesting today over poorly-constructed schools they say killed their children in last month’s earthquake, the AP reports. Protesters had been chanting “we want to sue” before police dragged them down the street away from a courthouse, with some yelling for an explanation....

Poorly Built Schools Stood No Chance in Earthquake

Up to 10K kids died; parents blame gov't

(Newser) - As a massive earthquake shook Sichuan province, subpar construction turned many Chinese schoolrooms into the mass graves of as many as 10,000 children, the New York Times reports, and grieving parents are pointing fingers at Beijing. The government, aware of the problem, had issued warnings on school safety in...

Bereaved Parents Question Quake School Safety

Outrage centers on public buildings that survived

(Newser) - Nearly 7,000 schools were destroyed in the Chinese earthquake, and parents want answers. In particular, they want to know why so many nearby government buildings survived while schoolchildren died, the Washington Post reports. “This building is totally a ‘bad tofu’ project,” said one grieving mother. “...

College Grads Learn the Fourth 'R': Recession

Job growth crawls to 5-year low as students prep their résumés

(Newser) - If college grads are looking glum this year, it's likely because they face a tighter job market once they turn their tassels. More than one million grads will look harder to find work, the Christian Science Monitor reports, and job growth has hit a 5-year low. Companies "are just...

Housing Starts Hit 17-Year Low

March starts plummet 11.9% as foreclosures create glut on market

(Newser) - Foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes flooding the market were blamed for an 11.9% drop in new housing starts last month, more than twice the slide economists had predicted, reports Bloomberg. Starts are at the lowest level since March 1991, according to the Commerce Department, casting a pall...

Condo Glut Floods Cities
 Condo Glut Floods Cities 
Mar 22, 2008 8:17 AM CDT

Condo Glut Floods Cities

Bargains abound as boom-time projects completed

(Newser) - A deluge of new condos is about to hit many American cities already flooded with an unprecedented number of unsold units, the Wall Street Journal reports. This year, thousands of projects started at the height of the housing boom will be completed; oversupply and economic slowdown are likely to cause...

Mortgage Meltdown Hits Small Builders

Wave of bankruptcies could in turn weaken regional banks

(Newser) - The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could...

Stanford Dig Combines Sleuthing, Classwork

Students look into why '06 quake toppled gym

(Newser) - Stanford University has found a way to give archeology students valuable excavation experience without leaving campus, Bloomberg reports, and hopes to find out why an enormous gymnasium couldn't withstand the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The gym was intended as a signature building for the young school. "They thought if...

Housing Starts Down; Producer Prices Up

Housing will hurt '08 growth

(Newser) - Housing starts fell yet again in February, and building permits hit a 16-year low, Bloomberg reports. The annual housing start rate fell to 1.065 million homes, a 0.6% drop from January, while permits sank 7.8%, indicating still bigger declines to come. “We don’t see it...

City Blew Off Crane Warning
 City Blew Off Crane Warning
Mar 16, 2008 10:29 AM CDT

City Blew Off Crane Warning

Construction site had received 32 complaints, numerous violations

(Newser) - Twelve days before the crane accident that killed four, the city of New York largely ignored a warning that the crane wasn't braced properly, reports the New York Daily News. An inspector responding to a retired contractor's complaint that the upper 100 feet of the crane was unsecured determined on...

Crane Crash Among Worst NY Accidents, Mayor Says

Ground-level pics depict shocking scene

(Newser) - A towering crane that ripped through two buildings and hit a third is one of the worst construction accidents in New York history, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today. "It is a tragic event," he said. "Our hearts go out to all the victims and their families."...

Crane Crash Kills 4 in Manhattan
 Crane Crash
  Kills 4 in
  Manhattan 
Updated
Mar 15, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Crane Crash Kills 4 in Manhattan

At least 4 people trapped; several buildings damaged

(Newser) - A gigantic crane collapsed in Manhattan today, killing four and putting several others in critical condition as it smashed into nearby buildings, Newsday reports. The crane was about 19 stories tall and demolished at least one building entirely. Police have swarmed the area as emergency crews try to rescue people...

US Sees Worst Decline in Jobs Since 2003

Payrolls dropped by 63,000; recession fears intensify

(Newser) - The US lost 63,000 jobs in February, the second straight month payrolls contracted and the worst drop since 2003, catching economists off guard and fanning fears of recession anew, Bloomberg reports. Economists hoped the economy would add 23,000 jobs after declining a modest 17,000 in January, when...

Construction Spending Tumbles
Construction Spending Tumbles
Mar 3, 2008 10:23 AM CST

Construction Spending Tumbles

Spending falls at fastest rate since 1994

(Newser) - Construction spending fell at its fastest rate in 14 years in January, the Commerce Department announced today, shattering expectations with a 1.7% drop. Analysts had expected just a 0.7% decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. Residential spending was the big drag, falling 2.9%, but non-residential spending was...

Dour Housing Market Slams Home Depot Q4 Results

Profits drop 27%, and the company says 2008 isn't looking very bright

(Newser) - Continuing US housing market woes, showing no signs of letting up, helped drag Home Depot’s fourth quarter profits down 27% over the same quarter last year, to $671 million from $925 million. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer also predicted fiscal-year earnings will drop 19% to 24%, more than...

Obama Debuts $210B Jobs Plan
Obama Debuts $210B Jobs Plan
Feb 13, 2008 5:20 PM CST

Obama Debuts $210B Jobs Plan

Democrat proposes $150B for environmental, $60B for infrastructure jobs

(Newser) - Democrat Barack Obama today laid out a $210 billion plan to create 2 million environmental and construction jobs over 10 years. “This agenda is paid for,” the Illinois senator said at a General Motors plant in Wisconsin, adding that the money would come from ending the Iraq war,...

Big Dig's Big Mess Nets Big Settlement

Authorities to receive $458M for bungled Boston project

(Newser) - Contractors on the botched Boston construction project dubbed the Big Dig will pay state and federal authorities $458 million for its “gross failures.” But Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff will avoid criminal charges for a fatal 2006 ceiling collapse and won’t be banned from future government contracts, the Boston Herald...

Housing Starts Nosedive to Lowest Level Since 1991

Can you even remember the last time a housing report wasn't worse-than-expected?

(Newser) - Housing starts plunged 14% in December, demolishing median analyst estimates, which foresaw a mere 5% dip. November’s numbers were also revised down, reports the Wall Street Journal, from the 3.7% drop originally reported to 7.9%. When the dust settled, construction was at its lowest point since 1991,...

Boston's $14.8B 'Big Dig' All Dug
Boston's $14.8B 'Big Dig' All Dug
Dec 26, 2007 3:00 AM CST

Boston's $14.8B 'Big Dig' All Dug

Costliest highway project in US history finally complete

(Newser) - The most complicated and expensive highway project in American history is finally complete, AP reports. After 16 years of excavating and building, the ambitious "Big Dig" tunnel project under Boston will be turned over to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority January 1. The final price tag was $14.8 billion—...

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