United States District Judge Brian J. Davis sentenced Oscar Molina-Avila to four years and four months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States for the purpose of impeding the lawful functions of the Internal Revenue Service, according to the U.S. DOJ.

Construction employment increased in 268, or 75 percent, of 358 metro areas between October 2021 and October 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials noted, however, that job vacancies outpaced hiring, as construction firms struggle to find enough qualified workers to hire.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration seeks nominations for membership on the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health. The ACCSH advises the Secretary of Labor and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA on the formulation of standards affecting the construction industry and on policy matters arising in the administration of the safety and health provisions of the Construction Safety Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Dave King has joined The Farnsworth Group’s team to serve as VP of Insights and as the Executive Director of the Home Improvement Research Institute. Every stakeholder in HIRI wants to reap the benefits of access to high volume, high quality, high impact research, and HIRI is committed to adding value to the organization in any way it can.

SWACCA’s public policy team is pleased that another multi-year advocacy campaign has ended in success. Since the summer of 2020, SWACCA has been at the forefront of an effort with its allies in the Construction Employers of America and its union partners to reverse regulations that negatively altered the analysis trustees of ERISA plans must use when assessing plan investments.

QuietRock ES is the first sound reducing drywall that easily scores and snaps using breakthrough EZ-SNAP technology. QuietRock ES has no paper and no metal on the inside of the panel yet delivers acoustical ratings on single stud construction.

On Nov. 22, the experts at Zonda released the New Home Market Update report for October 2022.

JB Warranties has named Tommy Cue as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Brian Bohannan as Vice President of Sales.

The Dare to Dream Ranch in Foster, Rhode Island, provides alternative therapy programs for U.S. military veterans and their families struggling with emotional challenges, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, Depression, Military Sexual Trauma and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. As a veteran-owned business, RGB Architects is thrilled to support the work being done at the Dare to Dream Ranch with pro bono design work for two upcoming projects.

As California works to finalize a permanent COVID-19 worker protection rule, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health declined to include a provision in the rule requiring employers to pay workers who take virus-related time off.