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The owners of second-story apartments in a new luxury residential tower in Givatayim called a professional apartment examiner in a panic. Signs of dampness had appeared in their bathrooms and the managment company could not find the source of the leak. Although no defect was found in the pipeline, there was water around the pipe.
The professionals followed the water's trail, which led to the third floor, then to the fourth and fifth floors, and finally to the penthouse, where they ultimately located the source of the leak in one of the air conditioning systems.
The contractor's work teams found it difficult to explain how a leak on the top floor had reached four floors below it, but the reason is quite simple: the installation team "forgot" that the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes used to drain the dirty water contract up to 10 times more than other sewage pipes, leaving space around them that can fill up with water.
LOS ANGELES For years, Parsons Corp. has profited from a steady stream of U.S. government contracts for everything from the disposal of hazardous weapons material to rebuilding hospitals, highways and other big-ticket infrastructure. Led by a retired Army colonel, the low-profile engineering giant has remained under the radar of most public interest groups and oversight bodies to become a key player in the reconstruction of Iraq, with contracts worth about $2 billion. But shoddy work recently prompted the U.S. Corps of Engineers to cancel its $75 million contract to renovate a critical police training academy in Baghdad. Parsons also lost deals to build a prison and dozens of medical clinics in that country after the government cited missed deadlines and cost problems. Parsons said it has done the best work possible under the conditions in Iraq, where its reliance on subcontractors fearful of attacks has led to the delays and cost overruns.
BOSTON -- Kerry Healey's campaign is criticizing Deval Patrick for hiring a firm that lobbies for the Big Dig's project manager to host a fundraiser. The firm, O'Neill and Associates, also hosted a fundraiser for Healey in February. The Patrick fundraiser on Oct. 3 raised about $20,000. O'Neill and Associates was founded by former Lt. Gov. Tom O'Neill, son of the late House Speaker Tip O'Neill. The firm's clients include Big Dig project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff. A Bechtel spokesman said at the request of the candidate, no one from the company was invited to Patrick's fundraiser. Nonetheless, Healey's campaign manager said it's an example of Patrick claiming to be an outsider, but "following the insider playbook to a tee." .
One Rancho Mirage man is still in the hospital with severe burns after his mobile home explodes overnight. It happened near the corner of Highway 111 and Peterson. Fire officials say a propane leak is to blame. Many residents at the Rancho Mirage RV Village couldn't take their eyes or their camera phones off this incredible sight: what's left of a neighbor's home. "We heard this horrible bang. It sounded like windows breaking. Our windows vibrating." "I looked outside the window. The whole trailer was just gone." The neighborhood's rude awakening occurred shortly before two o'clock Tuesday morning. "The trailer moved like this. I jumped out of bed." The Riverside County Fire Department says a leak in the home's propane tank caused the big bang shattering nearby windows and piercing through neighbor's walls." "I think it's nuts, really." Neighbors can't believe the man who lives in this home made it out alive.
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