Source: https://whitmanwire.com/, October 19, 2023 By: Natalie Comerford and Coden Stark The Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center evacuated on Sept. 14 due to a mysterious chemical odor in their basement, and remained closed for almost a month. Since then, the City of Walla Walla, the Washington Department of Ecology and a privately contracted company, Clean Harbors Environmental […]

Source: https://www.thedailyreporter.com/, October 18, 2023 By: Don Reid Officials left a lot of questions unanswered Wednesday about the break in a 10-inch petroleum pipeline that flooded about 8,400 gallons of gasoline into a farm field eight miles north of Coldwater.  They said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference no immediate environmental threat remains. BP line […]

Source: https://krcgtv.com, October 18, 2023 By: Ryan Smith The city of Columbia is looking into possible contamination of black mold at two of the city’s fire departments on Wednesday, this coming as an anonymous tip sent pictures of areas within fire station six that looked to have mold growing on them earlier in the week. […]

Source: Berkley Construction Professional A design-build contractor placed foundation piles for a high-rise apartment building in incorrect locations due to an error by a land surveyor they hired. The surveyor was uninsured and had gone out of business. The design builder  needed to fund the settlement because there was no other insurance available. The remediation […]

Source: https://hickoryrecord.com/, October 18, 2023 By: Kevin Griffin Hickory Mayor Hank Guess said Wednesday the city can now move on after reaching a $1.325 million settlement in the collapse of the City Walk arches. “We’re satisfied with the result of the settlement and we’re wanting to move ahead with all the exciting economic development projects […]

Source: https://ksltv.com/, October 17, 2023 More safety concerns for an apartment building under construction in downtown Ogden as inspectors say the proper fire retardant-treated wood is not being used and now the city has noted several structural problems inside. It’s a big enough problem that the city has staff keeping an eye on the building […]

Source: https://mauinow.com/, October 16, 2023 Preliminary, unvalidated data from ash sampling received late Friday night shows very high levels of arsenic, and elevated levels of lead and cobalt, in wildfire ash collected in Kula, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health announced on Sunday. The ash samples were collected on Sept. 21 in Kula from eight […]

Source: https://www.standard.net, October 17, 2023 By: Tim Vandenack Ogden officials say there are more problems with the unfinished apartment building at 144 25th St. than originally detected, which raise the specter of the structure’s collapse. If not fixed, the incomplete building could face demolition. Ogden officials last March ordered a halt to work on the five-story building […]

Source Berkley Construction Professional A contractor drilled holes throughout the roof of a hotel while installing a cell phone tower. During a rain storm, a tarp failed to keep the rain out of the hotel.  Water intrusion occurred at several locations within guestrooms, hallways and the main lobby causing microbial damage. The total amount paid […]

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/. October 13, 2023 By: Tom Perkins Plumes of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” flowing from at least 245 US military bases are contaminating or threatening to pollute drinking water for nearby communities, and hundreds more are likely at risk across America, a new Department of Defense report finds. The number of communities threatened by the military’s […]

Source: https://www.propertycasualty360.com/, October 13, 2023 By: Jackie Neal As first described by Warren Buffett in the 1970s, social inflation is “a broadening definition by society and juries of what is covered by insurance policies.” Noneconomic factors — such as how society perceives big business — are leading to larger jury awards, higher claim settlements and greater litigation […]

Source: Berkley Construction Professional A design-build contractor completed an apartment complex and the owner alleged that concrete cracking throughout the building and on numerous balconies severely impacted the owner’s ability to rent the apartments. It was  determined that the foundation design caused the cracking. Repairs had to be made and the owner also needed to […]