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"When I took over as governor, I was told that
Similar investment must be made in the state of
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By mid-June the Safeco overpass, a new bridge between the baseball stadium on
The state
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President Obama proposes the establishment of a $4 billion national infrastructure bank that will fund transportation and provide additional funding for $1 billion of high-speed rail development. The bank can be used for projects that “provide a significant economic benefit to the nation or region” and “encourage collaboration among non-federal stakeholders including states, municipalities and private sectors, and also promote coordination with investments in other infrastructure sectors.” The national infrastructure bank sounds similar to the Washington State Public Works Trust Fund, an immensely successful legislative “bank” from which municipalities, counties and other public entities have been able to borrow low interest funds for public infrastructure projects. The Public Works Trust Fund has been self-sustaining, but for occasional legislative raids and a highly-touted and successful source of funding more much needed infrastructure projects. The national infrastructure bank proposed by President Obama appears to be headed in the right direction, and properly managed, it will surely enjoy similar success to the Washington State Public Works Trust Fund.
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DRILL PRESS:
A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.
WIRE WHEEL:
Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh, $%&^!"
SKILL SAW:
A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.
PLIERS:
Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.
BELT SANDER:
An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.
HACKSAW:
One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.
VISE-GRIPS:
Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
OXYACETYLENE TORCH:
Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.
TABLE SAW:
A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.
HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK:
Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.
BAND SAW:
A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.
TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST:
A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.
PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER:
Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.
STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER:
A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.
PRY BAR:
A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.
HOSE CUTTER:
A tool used to make hoses too short.
HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent to the object we are trying to hit.
UTILITY KNIFE:
Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.
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Moreland Corp. ("Moreland") contracted with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("V.A.") to design and construct a two-story medical clinic in
The Court of Federal Claims reviewed the default termination and found in favor of the contractor on its claim for the balance of the rent, plus interest. The court ruled that the default termination by the government was improper. It concluded the defects were largely cosmetic and easily could have been repaired if the V.A. had permitted Moreland to do so. It held that the building was safe to occupy during the repairs and the V.A.'s refusal to allow repairs breached the lease. Terming the government's conduct in its administration of the lease as "deplorable by any measure," the court held that even if the contractor had been in technical default, the V.A.'s bad faith compels the court to overturn the termination for default." The court invited Moreland to apply for attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The V.A. breached it covenant of good faith and fair dealing – implied into every contract, including Government contracts." The court found two instances of bad faith by the V.A., the first was when the Contracting Officer denied two claims for added labor costs during construction, even though he believed they were meritorious and was prepared to grant nearly $300,000 in changes for them. The Contracting Officer denied the claims on advice of the V.A.'s legal counsel, "so the agency would have greater leverage in negotiating other claims."
Noting that government contractors are required to submit accurate and complete claims, the court held that the government has a reciprocal obligation to act in good faith. The court held that the outright denial of meritorious claims to obtain bargaining advantage over a contractor "will not be condoned by this Court" The second act of bad faith related to the V.A's need to install an auxiliary HVAC system on the roof, not part of the contract specifications. The V.A. demanded that Moreland conduct a structural loading study at no cost to the V.A. and justified its request with a two page report in which a V.A. engineer claimed there were many structural deficiencies in the building. Moreland declined to perform the study after consulting with the project's architect and engineer.
Finally, the court found that the V.A. report was used as a pretext to shift the cost of the structural study to Moreland and gave no credence to it because of the V.A.'s ulterior motive in having it prepared. The court awarded Moreland $17,673,850, plus interest and $438,188 in attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
Moreland Corp. v.
During the housing boom from 2004 to 2009, approximately 309 million sq. ft of Chinese drywall was imported into the
Claims involving Chinese drywall typically are product defect claims. The claims allege that drywall was defectively manufactured as opposed to improperly installed. Initially, claims focused on the drywall manufacturers with homebuilders getting a pass. This trend has changed and suits against homebuilders have become common. Builders therefore must be prepared for the possibility of litigation and should take measures to reduce their exposure.
How successfully builders will be in quickly recovering repair costs, among other costs, from insurance carriers will depend in part on the law of the state in which the insurance policy is construed. Insurers in some jurisdictions are relying on their policies' pollution exclusion in refusing to extend coverage for losses incurred as a result of Chinese drywall. The pollution exclusion, contained in most commercial general liability policies, typically provides that bodily injury or property damage caused by the discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration, release or escape" of a "pollutant" is not covered. The term "pollutant" is generally defined as "any solid, liquid, gaseous or thermal irritant or contaminate, including smoke, vapor, suit, fumes, acids, alkaloids, chemicals and wastes."
The primary issue in obtaining coverage in face of such an exclusion is whether the alleged contaminate constitutes a "pollutant" as contemplated by the policy.
On
Judge Fallon, with the help of plaintiff and defense steering committees, is selecting five (5) test cases to be tried by year end. This accelerated time table undoubtedly will encourage settlement, as the outcome of these five cases will in large measure define the results of all others.