Western Electrical Contractors Association, Inc.

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What We're Reading

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Deal or no deal: PLAs in the construction industry The project labor agreement fight has reached the federal level as unions and private associations plead the case for and against. Story
 
California contractors plead guilty to $6M fraud, theft The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced April 24 that it has entered into a plea deal with siblings Enrique Vera and Gloria Vera to resolve the construction fraud charges levied against the contracting team in November. Story
 
Former CAGOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox criticizes Gov. Gavin Newsom in a new op-ed: "Newsom's theatrics make for great national television morning show content and social media click-bait. I think part of his motivation and political strategy is to divert valuable air away from Democratic presidential primary candidates, so that after the president wins reelection in 2020, Newsom is well-positioned for a 2024 run. Regardless of whether you agree with that theory or not, his first 100 days of showmanship has had virtually no positive impact in the lives of actual Californians." Story
 
How powerful lawmakers are killing bills in California without a peep. Gun control, school spending, curbs on greenhouse gases: With Democrats holding more power at the Capitol than they've had since the 19th century, California's legislative pipeline is full this year with big, blue-state ideas. In theory, no Democrat's bill should be left behind. But that's not what's happening, and the reason is roiling both sides of the aisle in Sacramento. The complaint? Democrats who lead legislative committees are using a powerful tool to kill bills before they even get a vote. The tool? Simply doing nothing. Story
 
San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey becomes the latest California Republican to leave the party: "Make no mistake: both parties have plenty of good and decent members. But today's political climate rewards ideologues, not problem-solvers. I ran for office to rebuild San Diego, not localize the debate over federal and state partisan malice." Some of you may recall then Republican Kersey and still Republican San Diego County Supervisor Greg Coxvoted in favor of requiring a PLA on the new terminal at San Diego's Lindberg Field.
 
"How California's high-speed rail project was 'captured' by costly consultants," by Ralph Vartabedian in the LATimes: "Development of the nation's first high-speed rail line was overseen by a minuscule government staff. Now, more than a decade later, that decision has proved to be a foundational error in the project's execution - a miscalculation that has resulted in the California High-Speed Rail Authority being overly reliant on a network of high-cost consultants who have consistently underestimated the difficulty of the task." Story