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Jodie and Paul Samala's long journey from a cramped, overpriced apartment to the joys of owning a roomy, affordable house began soon after Hurricane Ivan's arrival two years ago."We were in a rental at the time," said Jodie Samala. "My husband and I almost bought a house before Ivan. But after the storm, the owners backed out."In the immediate wake of the hurricane, Paul Samala lost his job at the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand hotel, which is set to reopen in November after months of storm repairs.The couple and their small child were forced to move in with relatives.Because Ivan destroyed some 2,000 rental units in the greater Pensacola area, finding an affordable unit was a major challenge, Jodie Samala said.Eventually the Samalas found a rental apartment, but their monthly payments soared from $675 to $1,100, well beyond what they could afford."We knew we had to do something," she said.What they did was approach the City of Pensacola's Housing Department and apply for down-payment assistance through the state's Hurricane Housing Recovery Program.Because the Samalas' gross income was about 80 percent of the median average for the Pensacola area, the family of three qualified for a $50,000 grant, which would be held by the city and treated as a second mortgage.That grant money, coupled with the Samalas' conventional first mortgage, helped them purchase a new home in June and effectively lowered their monthly payments to a figure that, by general rule, must be less than 30 percent of gross family income.And to sweeten the deal, $10,000 of the Samalas' $50,000 second mortgage will be forgiven after the first year if they decide to sell the home, according to Jimmie McFall, manager of the city's SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) program.The remaining $40,000 will be forgiven once the mortgage is paid."We probably would have left Pensacola had we not be able to buy an affordable home," said Jodie Samala, a 1993 graduate of Catholic High School.McFall says Hurricane Housing Recovery Program money, which may run out within the year, is being maximized in the Escambia and Santa Rosa area.Using those funds, and taking advantage of several in-fill vacant lots, McFall says the city has more than 30 affordable housing units under construction, with more on the way.A home of her ownKaren Incera is another grateful recipient of Hurricane Housing Recovery Program money and was one of the fortunate ones to be given, at no cost to her, a vacant in-fill lot acquired by the city.The former Miami resident, who works for Deep South Crane Rentals Inc., said she expects to move into her new home on Coyle Street early next month."Someone mentioned the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program to me, and I called, and they gave me a pamphlet," said Incera, a single mother of three.
The chief financial officer of the now-defunct Westra Construction Company Inc. faces theft-by-contractor charges following a contract dispute between Westra, Green Valley Enterprises Inc. and Badger Excavation L.L.C. that allegedly occurred between July 2002 and September 2004.The contract was signed in July 2002 in the amount of $1.05 million to pay construction costs of a new Green Valley adult day care and warehouse at its Madison Street location in Beaver Dam, but the amount was appended to $1.43 million after various contractual changes. However, according to the criminal complaint, former chief financial officer of Westra Construction, Patrick H. Flynn, 58, Harrisburg, Pa., refused to make payment to a subcontractor in the amount of $106,358, resulting in a claim for lien against Green Valley by the subcontractor, Badger Excavation.According to the complaint, Green Valley officials were issued a waiver of lien by Westra Construction after making the final contract payment in the amount of $62,539 in October 2004.
A top lawmaker says he wants a guarantee from Gov. Haley Barbour that consumers, rather than contractors, will benefit from the governor's proposed tax cut on modular housing - the sole issue in a special legislative session that starts Thursday. "Usually, the homeowner does not pay the tax directly," House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, said in a written statement Wednesday. "Instead, it is paid by the contractor when he buys the modular home and simply becomes a part of the cost of construction. The homeowner never sees it." Barbour says decreasing the tax rate on modular homes could help speed up rebuilding in south Mississippi, where thousands of people are still waiting to rebuild their homes more than 13 months after Hurricane Katrina. The governor's spokesman, Pete Smith, said lowering the tax rate would benefit home buyers.
Gov. Haley Barbour has set a Thursday special session for lawmakers to consider proposals that would reduce the cost of modular home construction on the hurricane-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast. The special session will convene at noon, said Barbour spokesman Pete Smith. Specifically, lawmakers will be asked to reduce the state's tax on modular homes by $4,000 to $6,000 per home.It is the same proposal that passed the Senate but died in the House Ways and Means Committee when Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, didn't bring it up for a vote during a special session in August. Modular houses are made in factories then shipped to home sites and erected on slabs. Because modulars are made to meet local building codes, they're often allowed to be put in places where mobile homes are excluded from permanent placement.
Our interview today is with Tooey Courtemanche, CEO of Santa Barbara-based Procore Technologies (www.pro-core.com), which is developing software-as-a-service tools for the construction industry. We talked with Tooey about the firm, his stellar set of angel investors, and the interesting story on how the company grew out of his own efforts to build a house. Ben Kuo: What is ProCore's software is used for and who uses it? Tooey Courtemanche: Procore provides a construction project management tool, which a web-based, software-as-a-service tool that contractors can use to manage their projects online. It's currently called SitePro. The site is primarily a web portal that allows contractors to manage their schedules and communications online, and can be used to track who is accountable for a task and when they need to do them.
The 2006 Taipei International Electronics Autumn Show (Taitronics Autumn 2006), Asia's largest of its kind, was held at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Exhibition Hall 1, 2, and 3 from October 9-13.
This year's Taitronics saw over 1,100 exhibitors who showcased new and innovative products in over 2,600 booths, according to the organizers Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA).
Practically everything electronic under the sun was shown this year, including meters and instruments; electronic manufacturing equipment; electronic components and equipment; wires and cables; inspection equipment; computers and peripherals; security systems and products; wireless and networking products; components and equipment; telecom and satellite reception products; stage technology and illumination devices; consumer electronics; audio and video; auto electronics; and products by foreign exhibitors.
NEWARK -- Newark said today it plans to appeal the $38.4 million settlement a federal jury awarded to a contracting firm that claimed it was wrongly fired from the citys reservoir project.
The jury last week awarded Donald M. Durkin Contracting $38.4 million, well above the citys $30 million annual budget. Durkin received $13.4 million for being fired improperly from working on the citys reservoir in February 2004 and an additional $25 million for violation of the firms constitutional rights.
In a separate claim, the jury ordered Newark to pay $567,000 to reservoir designer URS Corp. for unpaid bills and legal fees related to the reservoir.
The original project cost was $19 million.
City leaders met in an executive session at the end of tonights regularly scheduled council meeting to discuss their next steps.
EDMONTON (CP) - A construction company received the highest penalty ever imposed in Alberta on Friday for a fatal accident involving the nephew of the company's directors. H & H Stucco and Siding Ltd. was fined $345,000 under the Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure the safety of the young man, who died after falling from a fourth-floor balcony. Alex Eisenkrein, 26, was passing materials to a co-worker at a condominium construction site in March 2003 when he fell about 10 metres onto the concrete below. Eisenkrein, who was the nephew of the company's directors, was blind in one eye. There was no guardrail on the balcony and Eisenkrein was not wearing any form of fall protection. Herman and Jeannie Eisenkrein stopped running the business, based in Beaumont, Alta., one week after their nephew's death.
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