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FEMA shows heart in altering trailer deadline
Considering how its performance in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina bordered on pathetically cruel, it's refreshing to see the Federal Emergency Management Agency has a heart and a dose of common sense. At least it seems that way. .
Contractor gets another good deal
It looks as though Derry, N.H., contractor John Burke is finally going to start to pay for his part in a scheme to defraud the federal government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in home-repair contracts. But he's still getting a good deal. Burke, who first pleaded guilty to bribery charges in March 2005, has managed to delay his sentencing until the end of this month. Burke paid about $100,000 in bribes over five year to former Veterans Administration loan specialist Robert Mayer of Salem, N.H., in exchange for home-renovation contracts worth $3.1 million. Mayer, a former Salem Planning Board member, faked invoices to make it appear several contractors had been awarded the jobs repairing homes the VA was renovating or selling. In fact, those contracts went only to those who paid him bribes.
IBM ‘Store of the Future’ steals San Antonio self-service show
But the 171 was just one component of IBMs "Store of the Future," a special exhibit that was the lynchpin of The Self-Service & Kiosk Show, held Sept. 28-29 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. It shared a room with two other special pavilions, the Photo Kiosk Gallery and the C-Store Zone. (Read more about the c-store zone, and the foray of Casio into the kiosk industry.) Digital signage figures prominently in IBMs future store; the exhibit was surrounded by bright displays delivering marketing messages and touting the benefits of an integrated self-service approach to retail. Nearby, traffic was brisk at the Cyphermint display, where the payment-processing company demonstrated its PayCash Mobile a system that allows customers to make payments at a kiosk or other device using their cell phones.
County to clean up Home Place lot
Cascade County will soon clean up the defunct Home Place property at 4300 2ndAve. N., a county official said Wednesday. Deputy County Attorney Greg Bonilla said that the owners of the property have agreed to allow the county to clean it up without spending time serving them with legal documents. .
Builder laying foundation for modular home market
Lifting a 20-ton modular home off a truck bed and setting it precisely on a concrete block foundation without breaking so much as a window pane is not a job for the faint of heart.Nor is it one for amateurs.That's where Turn Key Modular Construction Services comes in.Fueled by a rising demand for affordable storm-resistant housing, the modular home-building business is entering boom times.Also booming: the need for professionals to handle the delicate job of situating modular home sections on their prepared foundations.Based in Pensacola, Turn Key was formed to help its parent company, Affordable Housing Solutions Inc., make the truck-to-foundation job quick, cost-effective and error-free.Turn Key's Bob Chism says the new company is qualified to perform site preparation, surveys, laying foundations, crane work, landscaping, air-conditioning installation, electrical and plumbing work, and landscaping, among others.By coupling Affordable Housing Solutions with Turn Key, Chism and his partners, Vince Whibbs Jr.
Bay St. Louis' staff building chief gets big bucks to be Hancock's
BAY ST. LOUIS - The Bay's top building official has earned enough money from his "part-time" work to make his city paycheck look paltry by comparison. Hancock County paid Bay building official Bill Carrigee $389,474 for work his company has been doing for the county since October 2005. At his 40-hour-a-week job as the head of the city's building and permit department, Carrigee makes just $57,980 annually, and that's after receiving an $11,800 pay raise last month. For the city, Carrigee is responsible for overseeing the daily operation of the building and permit department. He oversees inspection and plan reviews, interprets building codes adopted by the city and is head of planning and zoning. Mayor Eddie Favre is aware of Carrigee's second job and as long as the work doesn't interfere with city tasks, the administration has little problem with employees working part-time jobs.
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