The Washington Post – Two of the biggest construction industry trade groups are denouncing a move by President Obama that they say could limit the number of workers hired on new federal jobs to build roads, bridges and buildings, at a time when construction employment is plummeting.

Obama issued an executive order Friday requiring federal agencies to consider putting in place agreements that set wages, work rules and other benefits when awarding major construction contracts. [read more…]

American City Business Journals/Buffalo, N.Y. – Gov. David Paterson is creating what he’s calling the New York State Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet to manage projects financed with money from the stimulus package passed by the U.S. Senate Tuesday. [read more…]

CNET – Google now wants to organize your home’s energy information.

The search giant on Tuesday muscled into the burgeoning smart-grid software business, showing off a prototype Web application that displays home energy consumption broken down by appliance. The software uses so-called smart meters, which can communicate home energy consumption back to utilities every few minutes. [read more…]

MSNBC/NBC San Diego – After decades of dithering over a new regional airport, the consensus of local governments now seems to be that upgrading Lindbergh Field is “the ticket’ for the foreseeable future.irport, the consensus of local government now seems to be that upgrading Lindbergh Field is ‘the ticket’ for the forseeable future.

The financial commitment: $4 billion over the next 20 years. The plan being advanced through the local decision making process is called Destination: San Diego. Its concept is to shift most basic passenger operations to a new transit center called the ITC on the north side of the airport and connect it to Interstate 5 and rail lines. [read more…]

Forbes/The Associated Press – In Albuquerque and Santa Fe, developers and local governments have staked claims to more than 350,000 acre feet of brackish water in deep underground aquifers since 1997. But the vast bulk of those claims – amounting to roughly 325,000 acre feet – have been filed in the past year. One acre-foot equals 325,821 gallons, which can meet the annual water needs of two U.S. households. [read more…]

The New York Times – While much of the sprawling $800 billion legislation consists of tax cuts and broad spending increases for existing programs, like $27 billion on highways and $8.4 billion on public transit, the biggest outlay on initiatives is essentially a technology industry wish list: in the Senate version, about $7 billion for expanding high-speed Internet access, some $20 billion for building a so-called smart grid power network and $20 billion for digitizing health records. [read more…]

Bloomberg – Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. plans to spend $773 million over five years to install solar panels on power poles and government buildings in New Jersey to meet the Garden State’s requirement for more renewable energy. [read more…]

Associated Construction Publications/Construction Digest – In southwestern Indiana, Bowen Engineering Corp. is proceeding with numerous upgrades to the Evansville Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant. Bowen Senior Project Engineer Homer Fruit says the $16-million project “will increase the capacity of the treatment plant from 20 million gallons a day to 40 million gallons a day.”

The plant upgrades, designed by Bernardin, Lochmueller & Associates Inc. (BLA) and Clark Dietz Inc., include the addition of the first biofiltration process in Indiana. According to BLA, the biofiltration process consists of a submerged floating media, like polystyrene beads, where bacteria grows. Wastewater and air are introduced through the bottom of the media-filled tanks. As the wastewater flows up through the media, the bacteria breaks down the organic matter in the wastewater. [read more…]

Houston Chronicle/The Associated Press – A Colorado Department of Transportation study says moving freight trains away from the Front Range and onto the eastern plains could have up to $1.5 billion in benefits over 19 years.

The Colorado Rail Relocation Implementation Study released Tuesday examined moving Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway and Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad trains to new or upgraded tracks east of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The study examined two routes roughly between Brush and Wiggins to the north and Las Animas to the south. [read more…]