AIA's Top Economist Speaks in Nebraska

On September 12th Kermit Baker, Chief Economist for AIA, was the keynote speaker at AIA-Nebraska’s Fall Conference. In a nutshell, he provided the following business trends in design and construction:

1.  Nationally, architectural firm billings and inquiries for new projects have declined this year through July.
2.  Nationally, residential and commercial/industrial billings have fallen, however institutional activity has held its own.
3.  While the Midwest Region has been the weakest in resent years, it is the first region to show signs of recovery. 

Click your region to view the meeting announcement and details. 

Northeast Nebraska - Norfolk: October 22nd (Program Info available very soon)
Omaha: October 30th, 7:30 am  
Lincoln: October 30th, 12:00 pm  
Central Nebraska - Kearney: October 30th, 4:00 pm   
Western Nebraska - Scottsbluff: Date and information out soon!  

The Impact of LEED on Construction Professionals

Simon Contractors, North Platte Recognized by U.S. Green Building Council

Simon Contractors has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council for their part in helping achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the US Forest Service’s  Bessey District Nursery Office at the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey.

The final LEED rating reflects 35 documented points which is a Silver certification under LEED for new construction standards.

This is the first LEED certified building in the US Forest Service and is also the first LEED certified building that Simon Contractors has constructed.

On May 24, 2007, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman signed LB 674, the Nebraska Credit Report Protection Act. All of the sections of LB 674 became effective on September 1, 2007 except for Section 16 dealing with the privacy of Social Security numbers. Section 16 became effective on September 1, 2008. Nebraska employers must now avoid publicly posting or publicly displaying in any manner more than the last four digits of an employee’s Social Security number. This provision also prohibits communication of more than the last four digits of the employee’s SSN to the general public or to an employee’s co-workers. Employers now need to be in compliance with the internal administrative control requirements of Section 16 of LB 674. 

The deadline to register for the first STP OnLine course of the season is October 5th. October 20th to November 30th - “Understanding and Managing Project Costs”. This cannot wait until the last minute. It takes about a week to get textbooks shipped out from AGCA and SCC needs time to register enrollees in the online system. We need a minimum of 10-12 participants to conduct each course.