Category Archives: Uncategorized

High-speed rail is coming to the Central Valley. Residents see a new life in the fast lane

FRESNO, Calif. —  The piling rig was in position, ready to drive a concrete pillar 40 feet into the ground. Just beyond the rig on this winter afternoon, trucks and cars continued streaming down State Road 198 in Hanford, separated from the construction site by white dividers. Then, the pile-driving began. Foot by foot, the rig’s […]

California launches site to track $180B in infrastructure investment

California launched a new state website this week to track $180 billion in infrastructure projects over the next 10 years, according to the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Build.ca.gov tracks projects that have benefited from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and includes fast-tracked jobs aimed at building a 100% clean electric grid, boosting the state’s […]

US to award $6.1 billion to Las Vegas, California high-speed rail projects

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department is awarding $3 billion for a $12 billion Las Vegas to Southern California high-speed rail project and $3.07 billion to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles. The Las Vegas to Los Angeles project aims to finish before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, while the California high-speed […]

Army Corps, elected officials agree to expedite new Pajaro River levee construction

WATSONVILLE — Construction of a new levee will begin on the Pajaro River next summer. This was made official with the signing of a Project Partnership Agreement between local elected officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday. Local, state and federal representatives gathered in the Community Room at the Watsonville Civic Plaza to […]

US manufacturing boom unlocks ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity for contractors

The push to bring manufacturing back to the United States is unlike anything Didi Caldwell has seen in her career. Private companies have spent more than half a trillion dollars since 2021 to onshore facilities back to the U.S., according to the White House. As long as labor shortages don’t derail that momentum, that record amount of manufacturing […]

The Dangers of Becoming Too Dependent on a Single Customer

A business is part of a complex ecosystem of dependencies. It depends on its suppliers for good quality inputs, delivered on time at a reasonable price. It depends on its customers to purchase its products at a profitable price. These are just some of the more obvious examples among dozens that involve employees, regulatory bodies, […]

Gavin Newsom fast-tracks plan to build California’s first new reservoir in decades

Gov. Gavin Newsom put a long-debated water storage project north of Sacramento on the fast track for approval Monday, using his power under new infrastructure laws to accelerate development and reduce regulatory hurdles. The proposed $4.5 billion Sites Reservoir on ranch lands in Glenn and Colusa counties would be California’s first major reservoir in nearly […]

The Dotted Line: How to prepare for Davis-Bacon updates

There are a slew of changes that contractors need to be aware of, or risk paying back wages and penalties. The Biden administration’s recent changes to the Davis-Bacon Act are the most dramatic in a generation. They restore the Labor Department’s definition of prevailing wage that was used until 1983, thereby increasing construction workers’ pay on federally […]

SBA Tightens Enforcement of HUBZone Regulations

Government contractors maintaining or seeking HUBZone certification should make themselves aware of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) recent efforts to tighten and enforce new and existing rules surrounding the HUBZone program. On September 20, 2023, the SBA issued a press release announcing its plan to strengthen enforcement of HUBZone regulations. The press release, titled “U.S. […]

High-Speed Rail Authority Receives Nearly $202 Million from Federal Government

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In the strongest show of a continued partnership, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) announced today receiving nearly $202 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand construction of high-speed rail by completing six grade separations. The grant was made through the federal 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) […]