Construction

Apr 20 2011

Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the award of a $165.1 million contract for the design and construction of a planned 120-bed hospital for the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center.

"After today, the shovel goes in the ground and the building commences for a cutting-edge healthcare facility,'' said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

Apr 8 2011

Federal bribery charges

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Two Los Angeles building inspectors were arrested this morning on federal bribery charges for allegedly taking thousands of dollars to approve work at residential construction sites in South Los Angeles without inspecting the sites.

Hugo Joel Gonzalez, 49, of Eagle Rock, who allegedly accepted $9,000 in bribes from an informant and an undercover agent; and Raoul Joseph Germain, 59, of Altadena, who allegedly accepted $6,000 in bribes from the undercover agent, were arrested by special agents with the FBI, prosecutors said.

Oct 20 2010

New MLK Hospital

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Board of Supervisors have agreed to back mandatory hiring of local workers to help build the new Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center.

The deal approved by the board requires at least 30 percent of the project's construction labor hours be worked by local residents.

First preference will be given to qualified workers who live within five miles of the Willowbrook-area hospital. Next in line will be county residents who live in any Zip code with unemployment more than 1.5 times the county rate.

Oct 14 2010

Engineered to produce clean, green energy

PALMDALE, Calif.—Construction is under way in Palmdale on what’s billed as the installation to date in California.

The $52 million, 9.6 megawatt, photovoltaic design-build project for the Antelope Valley Union High School District is being constructed without any capital expenditure by the district, according to the AVUHSD and Los Angeles-based contractor PsomasFMG.

It is projected to save $40 million over 20 years, once it begins generating electricity early next year, according to PsomasFMG, which is arranging for private investor financing.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”