Voters in Bernalillo County, N.M. handily approved a total of $617 million in school construction funding during a special mill levy and general obligation bond election Feb. 2nd. Rendering: Claudio Vigil Architects The $24-million Food and Nutrition Services Building will be the first to be funded by the APS bond passage. The mill levy’s 68.3% ‘yes’ vote continues existing property taxes through 2015  while $225 million in general obligation bonds received 72.1% approval.  “The focus with this money will be on renewal and renovation of our older schools,” says Karen Alarid, AIA, executive director of capital operations and director of

In its final report on the collapse of the Dallas Cowboy�s practice facility that injured 12 people, the National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends owners of other fabric-covered, tubular-steel-framed structures have their buildings evaluated. Photo: put photo credit here Summit Structures designed the University of New Mexico Indoor Practice Facility Photo: UNM Photo: UNM Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers, Albuquerque, which completed a report for the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, about its indoor practice facility, found that wind pressure could enter the steel-and-fabric building through openings in the structure and not escape. This would overstress the training facility. In addition,

Plans for a Southern Nevada national nuclear waste repository are all but kaput. The U.S. Energy Dept. said Feb. 1 it will withdraw its Nuclear Regulatory Commission application within 30 days. The move comes after DOE spent nearly three decades and $38 billion on waste repository tests and studies at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The agency planned to store up to 77,000 tons of radioactive waste there from 80 sites in 35 states. Spent utility fuel and high-level defense waste would be placed in specially engineered containers housed inside a network of tunnels built deep within

Related Links: Nevada Contractors Association Names Award Winners EPA Recognizes Tempe for Smart Growth Achievements THOMAS Roger Thomas, LEED AP, senior project manager with Burke & Associates, was elected to the Las Vegas Chapter Board of Directors for the USGBC. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Idaho with a dual major in Forestry and Philosophy. Thomas is also a member of NAIOP and serves on their Sustainable Development Committee as well as the NV Energy Design Development Committee. BURKE Kevin Burke, President and CEO of Burke & Associates was named Chairman of the Nevada State Contractors Board. Burke has

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson recognized Tempe and three other diverse communities that are models of how to grow in ways that protect our nation’s air, land, and water; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; provide safe and affordable housing; and strengthen local economies.  Related Links: Nevada Contractors Association Names Award Winners Burke & Associates Employees Selected for USGBC, NSCB and AGC Leadership Roles "Every year the Smart Growth Achievement Award winners show us new and creative ways to bring environmental sustainability to our communities -- and this year is no exception," says EPA Administrator Jackson. "Smart Growth has an important

Related Links: Burke & Associates Employees Selected for USGBC, NSCB and AGC Leadership Roles EPA Recognizes Tempe for Smart Growth Achievements The Nevada Contractors Association named the winners of its 10th annual "Contractor of the Year" Awards. Perini Building Co. was named 2009 Contractor of the Year for its work on MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion CityCenter development on the Las Vegas Strip. Other award winners include: Aztech Inspections and Testing, Subcontractor of the Year; Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust, Associate of the Year; Peterbilt of Las Vegas, Supplier of the Year; North Corridor Constructors, Safest Contractor of the Year; Las

Our editors are everywhere — at all the industry events that matter most. When they're not speaking on panels, they're busy taking notes — and snapping photos — so they can inform their readers about what was said and who was there.

Gregs G. Thomopulos, P.E., Chairman & CEO of Stanley Consultants of Houston, was elected president of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers for a two-year term. FIDIC represents globally the consulting engineering industry. Thomopulos has been on the organization’s executive committee for six years. His election marks the first time in 20 years that a U.S. citizen holds the position, which only three other Americans have held in FIDIC’s nearly 100-year history. Dynamic Lighting Solutions in Pearland announced Robert C. Horswood joined the company as utility sales representative, Eastern Division. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s

Related Links: Merrick Awarded Sub-Contract at LANL Ascension Group Completes Roswell Project Thornburg Campus Achieves LEED Gold Six Stimulus Projects Added The Board of Directors of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority will establish a welcome center for Spaceport America in downtown Truth or Consequences. The NMSA has agreed to lease an old fire station from the city government. A welcome center is also planned for the village of Hatch, which is on the southern approach to Spaceport America. “We budgeted $500,000 for the Sierra County/T or C welcome center, and we will review renovating the approximately 6,000-sq-ft firehouse if we

Related Links: Merrick Awarded Sub-Contract at LANL Spaceport Plans T or C Visitor Center Ascension Group Completes Roswell Project Six Stimulus Projects Added The Thornburg Campus has been awarded LEED gold certification. The office building will use 47% less energy and 43% less water than a typical office building and 90% of construction waste was recycled. The Campus features significant environmental elements throughout the interior and exterior of the building. Noteworthy interior features include a highly efficient underfloor air delivery system, sensor-controlled T5 lighting, operable windows, low-emitting materials and extensive controlled daylighting. Passive water harvesting, an underground cistern and an