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News & Trends

• What's the economic outlook for the AEC industry?
  Economists from the American Institute of Architects, the Associated General Contractors of America and Reed Construction Data say the architecture, engineering and construction industry is on an upward trend that could continue beyond next year. The widening of the Panama Canal and shale boom have contributed to increased spending in some sectors, and housing starts and commercial construction are expected to show continued improvement. The "fiscal cliff" is the biggest threat to the industry, the economists said. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Finance (11/12)     

• 23-foot-tall aluminum dome installed on Calif. college building
  A crane installed a 23-foot-tall aluminum dome onto a building on Mt. San Antonio College's campus in Walnut, Calif. The installation called for a "blind lift," where the crane reached over another building in order to hoist the 1.5-ton dome on the roof. The facility will serve as an observatory for the students, with the dome featuring a 16-inch telescope. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.) (free registration) (11/11)     

• Repairs to storm-damaged roofs cost nearly $900K in N.J. county
  Six roofs on county buildings in Morris County, N.J., were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, leaving officials with a repair tab of about $900,000. Among the buildings is the Morris County Courthouse, which lost part of its copper roof during the storm. The roof will be replaced with a steel one that has a copper patina to preserve the building's historic look. The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) (11/11)     

• Other News

• Prepare those roofs for winter
  Portland Press Herald (Maine) (11/11)     

Energy & the Environment

• Feds, military: Green building advocates aim high
  Designs to save water and energy, vegetative roofs, geothermal heating and prefabrication are just some of the sustainable building strategies employed by many government contractors. This piece looks at several military and federal buildings that have attained LEED certification and the companies that designed and built them. Building Design + Construction (free registration) (11/11)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by NRCA SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• New roofing material: Plastic soda bottles (TriplePundit.com)

• Crews secure storm-damaged crane in NYC (The Wall Street Journal)

• Demand for roof measuring technology soars in Sandy's wake (Bloomberg Businessweek)

• Colo. construction worker dies after falling from roof of home (The Denver Post)

• 1 World Trade Center: All you ever wanted to know (STRUCTURE magazine)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

In the Office

• How to ease your business-related stress
  Stress is par for the course for small-business owners, but there are ways to help yourself relax after a long day. Drink Montmorency cherry juice in place of alcoholic beverages, which can degrade the quality of your sleep. Also, consider getting an aromatherapy inhaler to soothe yourself with calming scents while on the go. Intuit Small Business Blog (11/9)     

• Is fear of growth holding back your business?
  Many entrepreneurs are afraid of growing their business because they fear getting in over their heads, a tendency that can leave them vulnerable to more aggressive competitors, experts say. But for opportunity seekers like Michelle Isbester and her husband Andrew, taking a chance on developing a specialty in assembling photovoltaic installations helped them become the market leader in Ontario. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (tiered subscription model) (11/8)     

Government & Regulatory

• Obama aims to build public support for deficit plan
  President Barack Obama is launching a public campaign to make his case to reduce the U.S. deficit through tax increases and spending cuts. The approach marks a significant departure from his unsuccessful private talks with Republicans last year. Obama will meet with corporate executives and labor leaders this week to build national support for his proposals, before beginning talks with congressional leaders. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/11), The White House Blog (11/10), The Wall Street Journal (11/12)     

• Republicans' plans on health care law are unclear
  House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he no longer considers it his mission to repeal the Affordable Care Act. "It's pretty clear that the president was re-elected," Boehner says. However, his spokesman later said Boehner and House Republicans "remain committed to repealing the law, and he said in the interview it would be on the table." Reuters (11/8), Politico (Washington, D.C.) (11/8), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/8)     

NRCA News

• NRCA offers fall-protection compliance program
  NRCA’s fall-protection compliance program, Serving Up Safety: A Recipe for Avoiding Falls on the Job, is a comprehensive tool for training new and seasoned roofing workers regarding all aspects of fall protection for roofing work. The program includes a DVD with six hours of video content explaining all fall-protection rules pertaining to each of the 50 states in the U.S., as well as printable PDFs. The member price for the program is $250, and the retail price is $295. Learn more, or purchase.     

• "Like" NRCA photo for a chance to win NRCA technical publications!
  "Like" NRCA’s technical photo on Facebook during the month of November for a chance to win all the publications pictured. The publications in the photo include NRCA Guidelines for Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems; NRCA Guidelines for Architectural Metal Flashings; NRCA Guidelines for SPF Roof Systems; and The NRCA Construction Details Manual. "Like" the photo on Facebook for your chance to win.     

SmartQuote

I observe the physician with the same diligence as the disease." --John Donne, British poet, satirist, lawyer and cleric