Top Story

• S.D. court decision advances $10B oil-refinery project
  The South Dakota Supreme Court decision upholding state approval of an air-quality permit for Hyperion Energy Center's planned $10 billion oil refinery in Elk Point, S.D., will allow construction to get started. Hyperion expects to break ground in March on what will be "the first new U.S. site for an oil refinery since 1976," according to this article. Omaha World-Herald (Neb.)/The Associated Press (1/25)     

Infrastructure & Project Focus

• Cost of nuclear project in S.C. could reach $7B
  Building costs for a mixed-oxide nuclear fuel facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina have already risen by $2 billion, according to records, and could reach almost $7 billion once new estimates are released by the Energy Department, according to critics. The facility would turn plutonium no longer needed to make nuclear bombs into material that nuclear plants can use to generate electric power. The project is the first of its kind in the U.S. The State (Columbia, S.C.) (1/27)     

• American Dream mall may not be ready by 2014 Super Bowl
  When Triple 5 took over what is now called the American Dream Meadowlands project in New Jersey, the idea was to have the entertainment and retail complex near the MetLife Stadium complete by the 2014 Superbowl, which will be held at MetLife. However, delays caused by concerns over traffic control could jeopardize that plan. A settlement may be in the offing in the coming weeks. WNYC-AM/FM (New York Public Radio) (1/26), The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) (1/27)     

• "Mega-events center" proposed for Las Vegas campus
  The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Majestic Realty, a private developer, are proposing construction of a "mega-events center" on campus that would be a key component of a redevelopment project called UNLVNow. The project, worth an estimated $800 million to $900 million, would include building 2,000-3,000 dorm units and retail space, along with a domed stadium that will have a seating capacity of 60,000. Las Vegas Review-Journal (1/27)     

• $600M residential, commercial project planned for NYC
  Globes (Israel) (1/27)     

Hot Topics

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

• Mapping the economy as Obama begins his second term (SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Finance)

• 3D printed building could become reality in 2014 (TechCrunch)

• Comptroller approves $3.14B contract for new Tappan Zee bridge (The Journal News (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, N.Y.))

• Builders to submit bids for $975M Minnesota Vikings stadium (Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.))

• Video: How Manhattan West deck is being constructed (The Atlantic Cities)

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

Economic Update

• Businesses may get an added incentive for hiring vets
  A Senate bill would expand a tax credit for hiring veterans and streamline the certification process. Employers could claim a $2,400 tax credit for hiring veterans who were discharged in the previous five years. "Our veterans are intelligent, qualified and proven leaders, and this is our chance to fight for them on the home front," said Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Montana Democrats, who authored the bill. Accounting Today (1/25), The Hill/On the Money blog (1/25)     

Innovation & Green Building

• Italcementi's concrete research lab in Italy earns LEED Platinum
  Italcementi's i.Lab in Bergamo, Italy, is one of the first buildings in the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Among its features are a "curtain wall of concrete louvers" and a facade made from the company's own product, white TX Active concrete, which breaks down pollutants when it reacts to ultraviolet rays and stays white because it has "self-cleaning properties." Inhabitat (1/23)     

• Calif. 49ers stadium to be net-zero energy facility
  Several types of solar technology will be installed at the $1.2 billion new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif. Enough will be installed to make the stadium "the first professional sports venue in California to achieve net zero energy performance," according to the team. Plumbing will focus on water efficiency, and recycled materials are being used to build the stadium. American City Business Journals/San Jose, Calif. (1/23)     

Policy Watch

• Bipartisan Senate group tackles immigration reform
  A bipartisan group of senators has proposed a legislative framework on immigration that would provide a "tough but fair" pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers in the country. In addition, it's expected that "border enforcement, employer enforcement, [and] handling the future flow of legal immigration (including temporary agriculture workers and high-skilled engineers)" will be addressed. A bill could be drafted in March and voted on in the Senate before the August recess. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (1/25), The Wall Street Journal (1/28)     

• NLRB appointments breached U.S. Constitution, court says
  Recess appointments made by President Barack Obama to the National Labor Relations Board violated the Constitution because the Senate was not in recess, according to a federal appeals court. The ruling could invalidate the NLRB appointees' decisions on hundreds of labor cases made over the past year, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. The ruling also brings into question the appointment of the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration could take the issue to the Supreme Court. The Hill/HillTube blog (1/27), The National Law Journal (subscription required) (1/25), Bloomberg (1/27)     

Association News

• AGC of America and Computer Guidance release 2013 Construction Hiring & Business Outlook
  Significantly more construction firms are planning to add new staff than plan to cut staff while demand for many types of private sector construction projects should increase this year, according to survey results released by the Associated General Contractors of America and Computer Guidance Corp. The survey, conducted as part of Tentative Signs of a Recovery: The 2013 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook, provides a generally optimistic outlook for the year even as firms worry about rising costs and declining public sector demand for construction. "While the outlook for the construction industry appears to be heading in the right direction for 2013, many firms are still grappling with significant economic headwinds," said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. "With luck and a lot of work, the hard-hit construction industry should be larger, healthier, more technologically savvy and more profitable by the end of 2013 than it is today." Read more.     

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If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow." --William McFee, British-American writer