With his signature on June 20, Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Florida lawmakers disbanded the scandal-plagued Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and rechristened it as the Central Florida Expressway Authority, which has a new board. Three Florida counties already have appointed new board members, and Scott will appoint the remaining ones. Related Links: Beers, Burgers and a Bribe? The Case Against a Florida Expressway Official A grand jury indicted two board members, one for violating public-meeting laws in connection with a plan to oust former board Chairman Max Crumit. An engineer seen by many as a transparency advocate, he now works

In its latest report on Everglades restoration, the National Research Council tempered mild praise for "fairly modest progress" in the $13.5-billion plan with its concerns over climate change, rising sea levels and the invasion of non-native plant and animal species. Photo courtesy South Florida Water Management District The report highlighted successes, such as the 85-percent completion of the Kissimmee River Restoration project, which undoes a 1960s channelization of the river. Related Links: NRC Fifth Everglades Quality Report Expected Court OK Will Launch $880M Worth of Everglades Work The fifth congressionally mandated biennial report on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP),

GLF Construction Corp. has agreed to pay $42,000 in penalties to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the result of an accident that killed an 18-year-old who had just started working on a Taylor County, Fla., bridge project earlier this year. OSHA officials told ENR Southeast that GLF signed an Informal Settlement Agreement on June 30. Related Links: OSHA, Industry Launch Safety Push on Fall Protection According to OSHA, on Jan. 16, 2014, a nearly 1,800-pound Acrow bridge panel fell upon and killed David Kimberl while he was helping to dismantle a section of the Aucilla River Bridge

 GOUVEIAJeffrey Gouveia was named president of Suffolk Construction Co.'s Southeast region, based in West Palm Beach, Fla. Gouveia, who helped launch the firm's regional presence, replaces former region general manager Rex Kirby. Gouveia had served as Suffolk's executive vice president of operations and assisted with growing the Southeast office. Related Links: Call for Entries: Top 20 Under 40 Contest SLIDESHOW: The Southeast's Top 20 Under 40 Richard "Dick" Wells, vice president of Kleinfelder and its transportation market manager in Greensboro, N.C., has been elected chairman of the American Council of Engineering Cos. Wells had been president and a director of

The Florida Dept. of Transportation is seeking reimbursement from the U.S. Navy and federal subcontractors for $4.1 million in costs related to the state agency's emergency repairs to Jacksonville’s Mathews Bridge.

Duke Energy's efforts to remove a portion of an estimated 39,000 tons of coal ash spilled in February into the Dan River could signal the start of new responsibilities for North Carolina utilities in managing waste from coal-fired powerplants. Photo courtesy of Duke Energy Contractor Phillips & Jordan is performing vacuum dredging of the Dan River near Danville, Va. Related Links: Subpoenas Issued in North Carolina Coal Ash Spill Duke signed an "enforceable" agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 22 to clean up affected sites in the state and in Virginia about two weeks after its cleanup

Duke Energy says it will build a $1.5-billion, 1,640-MW natural gas-fired powerplant on a Citrus County, Fla., site adjacent to its  damaged Crystal River nuclear facility that the utility officially shuttered 15 months ago. Image courtesy Duke Energy Duke Energy announced plans to locate a $1.5-billion, 1,640-megawatt natural gas-fired powerplant on a site adjacent to its Crystal River complex in Citrus County, Fla. Related Links: Duke Decides to Shutter Damaged Crystal River Nuke Plant Duke Study: Crystal River Nuke Plant Repairs Could Hit $3.4B The Charlotte, N.C.-based utility stated that, after “a months-long request-for-proposals process,” it has decided its "self-build"

The general contractor of a partially complete, abandoned high-rise building in Jacksonville, Fla., is seeking a buyer for the property it recently acquired by foreclosure. When the developer defaulted on a $12.4-million civil award due the contractor for nonpayment and breach of contract, the court cleared the way for Choate Construction Co. to seize the project. Photo courtesy Choate Construction Co. The Berkman Plaza II project in Jacksonville, Fla., has been stalled since December 2007. Image courtesy Choate Construction A digital rendering of the Berkman Plaza II project. Related Links: Contractor: Panel Rejects Claims of Collapse Liability Dynamic Deeds Build

  TOWNSENDPamela Townsend has joined the Raleigh offices of Dewberry as senior vice president and director of Southeast strategic planning and growth. Townsend comes to Dewberry from AECOM, where she served as a senior vice president. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the consulting engineering business. Related Links: Designer of the Year LS3P Plans a Transformation As Design Activity Picks Up, Industry Sentiment Follows Robert "Skip" Notte was promoted to the position of vice president in Dewberry's Charlotte, N.C., office. He has more than 17 years of industry experience.Ken Hartmann has joined HNTB Corp.'s Tampa office as vice

The Dept. of Energy's $7.7-billion Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., isn't dead yet. But the Obama administration's March budget request to put the unfinished plutonium disposal facility into "cold standby" could sound the bedeviled project's death knell. Photo courtesy of the South Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club With construction costs soaring, and long-term operational costs doing the same, the Obama administration recommended halting the project and studying other alternatives for plutonium disposition. Related Links: DOE Looking at Cost, Schedule Problems at S.C. Nuclear Site Cold War Cleanup The lack of an