contractors News

Iowa City Hires Outside Firms to Investigate Partial Building Collapse

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two companies have been tasked with investigating the partial collapse of a six-story apartment building in Iowa that left three dead, many injured and dozens displaced, the city of Davenport announced Wednesday. The city hired …

Hurricane Ian’s Lucrative Cleanup Deals Generate New Storm

It has been a month since Hurricane Ian wiped out parts of southwest Florida. Now multimillion-dollar cleanup contracts are generating new tempests in the Category 4 storm’s wake. Contractors who remove debris and perform post-storm repairs are fighting over local …

Fla. 3rd: Policyholder Who Blocked Repairs Can’t Recover Damages from Insurer

Insureds cannot recover damages from the insurance company if they failed to comply with the policy and failed to allow the insurer to make the needed repairs, a Florida appeals court decided Wednesday. Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld …

Freeport LNG Blast Created 450-Feet-High Fireball, Report Shows

The explosion that shut the Freeport LNG natural gas export facility in Texas last month created a 450-feet-high fireball and happened on a section that had been inspected several weeks earlier, according to a report. A filing that was briefly …

Pandemic Adds Time, Cost to Rebuild After Colorado Wildfire

LOUISVILLE, Colorado (AP)–Rex and Barba Hickman’s home of 23 years near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains has been reduced to a blackened heap by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. Before the Dec. 30 blaze, which ripped through …

12 Plead Guilty in South Carolina Check Cashing Scheme

Federal prosecutors in South Carolina announced that 12 people have pleaded guilty to tax fraud and immigration charges in a check-cashing scheme that was used to avoid payroll taxes and workers’ compensation premiums. The plea agreements came after a “multi-year” …

Officials: 2 Killed in Natural Gas Line Explosion in Texas

FARMERSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Two people were killed and three injured in a natural gas pipeline explosion in Texas, officials said. The deadly blast happened around 4 p.m. Monday at an Atmos Energy facility in Collin County near Farmersville, about …

How Your Water Heater Can Be a Secret Weapon in the Climate Change Fight

Nearly every home has a water heater, but people tend not to think about it until the shock of a cold shower signals its failure. To regulators, though, the ubiquitous household appliance is increasingly top of mind for the role …

Fla. and Okla. Courts Uphold Right to Assign Benefits

Appellate courts in Florida and Oklahoma this week upheld the right of policyholders to assign their right to collect benefits from an insurance claim to contractors, reversing trial court rulings in favor of insurers. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday …

Advocates Say New Oil Safety Training Redundant

BISMARCK, N.D. — A new program designed to streamline required oilfield safety training in North Dakota has drawn thousands of people, but some say the training is redundant and time-consuming. More than 16,000 people have participated in the One Basin-One …