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The federal government will award $1.8 billion to New Orleans schools damaged by Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, said. A provision in an appropriations bill authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide a lump-sum payment for K-12 schools damaged by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, reported CNN. Full Story Twenty-two states are now in the process of drafting or seeking to pass legislation similar to Arizona's law against illegal immigration. This is occurring despite the fact that the Obama administration has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona law and a federal judge has ruled against portions of that law – a ruling that is now being appealed, reported CNSNews.com. Full Story Click here for Tax Rules You Should Know About for 2011. President Barack Obama on Aug. 30 said his economic team is working to identify new measures to stimulate U.S. growth as part of a "full-scale attack" to strengthen the lackluster economy, reported The Wall Street Journal. Obama said his economic team is "hard at work in identifying additional measures that could make a difference in both promoting growth and hiring in the short term, and increasing our economy's competitiveness in the long term." It's unclear what new measures the Obama administration is considering, though Obama mentioned previously discussed proposals such as cutting taxes, extending financing to small businesses and boosting investments in renewable energy. Full Story New York state's construction companies will be subject to new criminal and civil penalties if they misclassify employees as contractors to underpay them or dodge taxes, Governor David Paterson said on Aug. 31. In a statement issued after the bill's signing, Paterson said that studies found that as many as 15% of the state's construction workers are paid off-the-books or wrongly treated as independent contractors, reported Reuters. Full Story Industry Access AAMA's Door Council is working on three new and one revised standard. The new standards documents include, Voluntary Specification for Performance Testing of Side-Hinged Exterior Door Trim Sets, Voluntary Specification for Non-Integral Door Bottom Weatherseals, and Voluntary Specification for Cycle Performance and Testing of Side-Hinged Exterior Door Multipoint Locking Hardware and Trim. Full Story Assa Abloy acquired Security Metal Products, a maker of high-security custom commercial doors and frames based in Culver City, CA. SMP is a $20 million firm with 150 employees and seven regional offices. Its products, a mix of blast-resistant, bullet-proof, and sanitary door and frame solutions, are manufactured in Oklahoma and Mexico. Full Story UL Environment, a subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, has started work on sustainability standards for windows and doors. Its door standard has gone through an initial stakeholder comment period, and a draft of a window standard is expected to be completed by year end, reported Window & Door. Full Story Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products. * DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org Business Update Revenue for the Wood Window and Door Manufacturing Industry in the U.S. during 2009 was approximately $12.5 billion, with an estimated gross profit of 24.85%, according to a study from Research and Markets. Import was valued at $484.5 million from 64 countries. The industry also exported $180.4 million worth of merchandise to 119 countries. Adding import value to and subtracting export value from the industry's shipment value, the total domestic demand for the industry in 2009 was $12.8 billion. Full Story Construction job gains were more widespread across the country and job losses were generally less severe in July than in June, the Associated General Contractors of America reported in an analysis of state employment data released by the Labor Department. Twenty–six states added construction jobs in July, compared to 19 in June, while six states added construction jobs over the past year and most others are losing far fewer jobs than previously, association officials noted. Full Story At 51.3 for the third quarter of 2010, the Non Residential Construction Index is in growth territory for the second quarter in a row; however, it retreated somewhat from the more positive outlook of 54.5 last quarter, according to FMI Corporation. States and municipalities are expected to make significant budget cuts due to lower tax revenues next year, and the federal stimulus support for the market will start to wind down over the next year. The concern now is that banks and private investors are sitting back and waiting for stronger signs of economic improvement until they repair their balance sheets. Full Story Environmental Design & Construction offers some tips for assessing the credibility of third-party certifiers and certifications. Full Story Right now on the desks of Federal Trade Commissioners is the new set of so-called Green Guides that are used by the FTC to guide enforcement of existing laws, reported Advertising Age. They are the first environmental-marketing guidelines in 12 years and could radically reshape how far marketers can go in painting their products, packaging or even corporate images green. Full Story The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rose almost two full points in July. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the July ABI score was 47.9, up from a reading of 46.0 the previous month. This score reflects a continued decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index dropped substantially from 57.7 to 53.1. Full Story American School & University asked design professionals a few questions about how educational interior design has changed over the past 20 years, and what the future holds. Click here for their responses. Nonresidential building in July increased 3% to $160.0 billion (annual rate), moving up for the third straight month after very weak activity in April, reported McGraw Hill Construction. July's pace for nonresidential building was still quite low by recent standards – down 4% from the monthly average for 2009, as well as down 33% from the monthly average for the peak year 2008. Most of the lift to July's nonresidential total came from the office category, which soared 130% as the result of $1.3 billion related to the resumption of work on World Trade Center Tower 3 in lower Manhattan NY. Full Story Developers are showing newfound interest in $4.9 billion in post-Katrina federal funding that has sat dormant for most of the past year. Recently, Mississippi, had about $1.7 billion in Gulf Opportunity Zone, or GO Zone, bonds that need to be issued by Dec. 31, reported The Clarion Ledger. Full Story The opening of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, with a price tag of $578 million, will mark the inauguration of the nation's most expensive public school ever, reported the New York Times on the Web. Full Story New York City's approval of an office tower near the Empire State Building is the latest reminder that New York is poised for one of its biggest waves of skyscraper development in decades - provided the economy cooperates. Developers are readying two residential towers that will rise above most of Midtown. The massive mixed-use development planned west of Penn Station would transform Manhattan's skyline as viewed from New Jersey. Downtown, the transformation is already happening, with the warped, metallic skin of Frank Gehry's Beekman Tower looming over the neighborhood around City Hall and, at Ground Zero, 1 World Trade Center already rising to 36 stories, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story Security & Safety The Security Industry Association (SIA) and the Canadian Security Association (CANASA) have written a joint letter to Natural Resources Canada - a government department responsible for natural resources and energy in the country - stating that electronic security and life-safety devices should be exempt from energy efficiency requirements that cannot realistically be applied to such appliances, reported Security Sales & Integration. Full Story Security Products magazine recently published a Top 10 list of things to do to improve campus security. Full Story UPDATE on Form 1099 Legislation The Senate did not complete work on the small business lending assistance and tax relief bill before leaving Washington. When the Senate returns in September, the small business bill is to be among the first items considered. Also pending will be an amendment by Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) to repeal the Form 1099 expanded requirement. However, there will be a second amendment by the Democrats to "mitigate" the impact that would exempt payments made by credit or debit card. In addition, with respect to payments for property it makes two changes. First, it increases the payment threshold to $5,000 (up from $600) for the year for payments made for property (i.e., goods). Second, small businesses with 25 or fewer employees would not have to issue a Form 1099 for payments made for property, regardless of the payment amounts. In addition, the amendment has a revenue offset eliminating a deduction for the oil and gas industry. The message is simple "Support the Johanns amendment to the pending small business lending assistance and tax relief bill to repeal the Form 1099 information reporting requirement. Amendments to try to fix the requirement will not work." Contact your Congressional Leaders: Foundation Presents FDAI (Fire Door Assembly Inspection) Seminar to California Coalition of Professional Construction Inspectors July 2010, Oceanside, CA - Members of the California Coalition of Professional Construction Inspectors go through extensive training to be certified by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) in California. Once the training is complete, these individuals receive a Hospital Inspector certification which enables them to oversee new hospital construction. To renew and maintain a valid certification, the Hospital Inspector must participate in a written recertification examination before the expiration of his/her certification. Click here to read more. For more information on The FDAI program, click here. For more information on the Foundation's efforts to advance the fire door inspection program in the AHJ community, click here. Q: How Best to Educate Local AHJs, Fire and Building Officials About Mandates for Annual Inspections of Fire-Rated Door Assemblies? A: Be the "Champion" in your area and bring the Foundation's work to your community...Door Security & Safety Foundation's Local Champion Campaign For more information visit www.doorsecuritysafety.org IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO PRE-REGISTER for DHI's Conference & Exposition, ...Please REGISTER ONLINE NOW -or- DOWNLOAD a registration form and fax to: 703/222-2410.
P.S. Don't forget about TEAM PRICING*, too! See you in Chicago in a few weeks! * Team Pricing $925 Member / $1,290 Non-Member. Available to distributors and sales agents only, Team Pricing allows an unlimited number of attendees to participate in two days of conference and exposition activities with full access to the Industry Marketplace, Tradeshow Floor, Opening Reception, Forum Breakout Sessions, and Closing Reception. Additionally, each Team will receive up to ten tickets to the Forum Kick-Off Luncheon and Forum Wrap-Up Luncheon. For additional tickets, please contact DHI. To learn more about team pricing and to register, call Linda Saylor, DHI Registrar at: 703.766.7021. Summer Edition of the Plan Room Newsletter is Online! Read updates about what activities and events are going on within YOUR association. Forum for YOUR Future: Top 10 Predictions for Our Industry Over the Next Five Years • According to research, our industry can expect that the Electronic Security Market will change more in the next 5 years than it has in the past ten! Even if only a FEW predictions come to fruition...big industry changes are in your future. • This year's Forum for the Future is a MUST ATTEND event. Find out why... BOG Election Time Take this opportunity to select additional members for the 2010-2011 DHI Board of Governors. DHI provides an online election process that will allow you to complete your ballot and submit it electronically. Click here to log in to the slate, candidate bios, and to cast your vote. DHI Canada Night 2010 DHI Canada paints the town red in Chicago on Thursday, September 23, 2010. Click here for more info. DHI Canada eNewsletter DHI Canada has launched their quarterly, online eNewsletter titled DHI Canada News, bringing you the latest trends, industry and association news, code updates and other important information. Click here to read the inaugural issue!
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