Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Jobs are falling short of meeting equity goals

By Charles Hallman

Staff Writer

Despite established equity goals now in place for publicly funded construction projects in Minnesota, many argue that barriers still exist for Black-owned businesses and that laborers from diverse racial backgrounds experience multiple challenges in competing for contracts and getting jobs.

All construction projects should be on a solid leverage for all citizens, stated First Covenant Church Pastor Dan Collison, who also is the East Side Downtown Council executive director. His church last month hosted a construction equity forum.

There are billions and billions of dollars in construction [projects] in our region scheduled to happen in the next eight-to-10 years. People of color are being left behind added St. Thomas Law Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds, who moderated the forum. She told the small audience (the event was open to the public), I dont know how many times Ive driven through parts of the Twin Cities and seen all-White construction crews, and this is 2014.

LifeSource building construction project, 22nd Ave and West River Road in Minneapolis MSR file photo

Levy-Pounds asked, Is this a question of practices that are perhaps unethical, or is this a matter of a lack of a solid infrastructure that creates access [for Blacks and other people of color]? Rethinking the way that [government agencies] do business I think is going to be vitally important. My hope is that the ordinary citizen will see that they need to be engaged if they want things to happen.

How much of that [construction-related] money do African Americans get as laborers? asked local business owner Lennie Chism, who agreed with Levy-Pounds. I havent seen many of my people on City of Minneapolis-funded projects, he added.

What we really are talking about is that people feel that they are not participating in economic development in our country in the way that they should, said State Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsay. One of the means to facilitate that is public construction projects.

Link:
Booming construction leaves states Blacks behind

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Even when youre not using electronics and appliances, they may still be sucking up energy and that can cost you hundreds of dollars each year.

The average American household spends between about $895 a year on electricity (in New Mexico, where it is least expensive) to $2,438 a year (in Hawaii, where it is most expensive), according to government data.

Whats more, roughly 10% of the average households energy bill is thanks to so-called vampire appliances items that suck up electricity even when families are not using them says Jeff Smith, a spokesman for utility company Pacific Gas and Electric.

That means a family who spends $2,000 on electricity each year would be wasting $200 (and sometimes far more, depending on what electronics they have in the home) simply by leaving certain items plugged in when theyre not using them. Vampire energy can cost your home hundreds of dollars each year, says Gene Wang, CEO of People Power. Adds Smith: This costs consumers more than $10 billion a year.

Here are some of the costliest and the most surprising vampire appliances that may be eating into your budget, according to PG&E.

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By Adam Shanks

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NORTH ADAMS >> At least nine people were displaced on Sunday after a fire spread quickly through their Loftus Street apartment building.

The North Adams Fire Department received word at 3:13 p.m. of smoke alarms activated at 5 Loftus St., and the fire was already spreading by the time firefighters arrived just three minutes later. But an "aggressive attack" contained the fire to a single apartment and nobody was injured, according to North Adams Fire Director Stephen Meranti.

"It was a really good stop by the guys," Meranti told The Eagle on Monday. "They did an excellent job keeping the fire to the one apartment."

The blaze appears to have been caused by the electrical failure of a porch light, Meranti said.

The building, owned by local developer Michael Deep, contained three occupied apartments, according to Meranti. Though the fire was contained to the single apartment, utilities to the to the entire building had to be shut off by city staff, forcing every apartment to evacuated. Deep and the Red Cross were able to help relocate the tenants, and Meranti hoped to have utilities turned back on by Monday afternoon.

The fire spread quickly from the first floor through the attic and roof, Meranti said. The building has what's known as "balloon frame construction," common in older homes throughout New England that allows fire to pass quickly from floor to floor.

"It's like a chimney, it goes right up through into the attic," Meranti said. "It's very common in this area. During renovations they install fire stops all that is they put a block of wood across at floor levels ... to prevent the fire from spreading."

North Adams Ambulance Service and North Adams Police, who had to shut down River Street while the fire was ongoing, also responded to the scene. All off-duty firefighters were called to the fire.

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