Yearly Archives: 2016

Just within the last month the U.S. experienced the first hurricane hitting Florida in more than a decade, historic flooding in Louisiana, and the strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma. Because Mother Nature has the power to change lives overnight, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is urging property owners to take a “Disaster Reality Check” regarding their preparedness and ability to recover from a natural disaster or other emergency.

Scientists at the Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will lead an effort to model the complex and turbulent flow of wind through large wind plants as part of DOE's Exascale Computing Project (ECP), which is gearing up U.S. computational capabilities to prepare for the next generation of supercomputers. NREL will also provide support to three projects related to combustion science, urban systems, and power grid dynamics

Center for American Progress Senior Fellow David J. Hayes released the following statement today about the U.S. Department of the Interior’s release of the final Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which will help balance renewable energy development and conservation on approximately 10 million acres of public lands in California

The family of Sylvia Pierce, represented by Baird Mandalas Brockstedt, LLC, and AARP Foundation Litigation, filed suit against Genesis Healthcare, Inc., and others for administering dangerous drugs to her while she resided at their nursing facility and for providing negligent care and treatment which injured her and lead to her death. The drugs were administered to Mrs. Pierce without legal consent from her children Robert Pierce and Sandra Ahn who held medical powers of attorney and were the only people who could have agreed to the use of the drugs because their mother lacked capacity to consent.

After eight years of work, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will effectively foreclose development of renewable energy resources on millions of acres of federally managed lands in Southern California, said a coalition of renewable energy and labor groups in response to the federal government’s release of the plan. The plan abandons the initial promise to balance renewable development with preservation of desert land.

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement today in response to the passage of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday evening

A new business procedure to electronically process surety bonds is now a reality through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). Additionally, NMLS can now be used to electronically process criminal background checks for many more individuals at financial institutions. Both enhancements went live this week.

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Today, in response to the vote on the Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 5983, by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

Regions Bank (Regions) has agreed to pay $52.4 million to the United States to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet applicable requirements, the Department of Justice announced today. Regions is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it is publishing a final rule formalizing legal standards under the Fair Housing Act for sexual and other forms of harassment in housing. In addition, HUD is issuing Fair Housing Act guidance on local ‘nuisance ordinances’ that may lead to housing discrimination against survivors of domestic violence and other persons in need of emergency services.

Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show improvement in household income and poverty over the past year. Median household income in the U.S. is more than 5% higher, while 3.5 million fewer Americans live in poverty in 2015 than in 2014. The National Low Income Housing Coalition welcomes this news, but recognizes that not all Americans are benefitting from the improving economy

The Board of Directors of the National Apartment Association (NAA) is delighted to announce the selection of Robert "Bob" Pinnegar, CAE, as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the association. Established in 1939, NAA and its federation of nearly 170 affiliates serve as the leading industry trade group for the apartment housing industry

The cost of producing electricity via wind power is expected to fall 24-30 percent by 2030 and 35-41 percent by 2050, according to a survey of the world's foremost wind power experts. Cost reductions are anticipated as a function of continued advancements in wind energy technology.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) formally launched at Solar Power International a first-of-its-kind national solar photovoltaic (PV) recycling program to cement the sustainability of the U.S. solar industry.