News in brief

Davis-Bacon Act Gets Proposed Reform

A Senate amendment called for reforming the act by increasing the coverage threshold from $2,000 to $100,000 for new construction and to $25,000 for renovations. The proposal also calls for modifying reporting requirements.

Death Tax May Get Killed Through Bill

Reps. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., and John Tanner, R-Tenn., and Sen. Ben Campbell, R-Colo., have brought forth legislation that would reduce so-called death taxes by 5 percent each calendar year until completely eliminated.

OSHA Is Target Of Legislation Reform

Rep. Cass Ballenger, R-N.C., is drafting a bill that would prohibit OSHA from using a company’s own safety audit results to issue citations and fines. Another bill would provide penalty relief for small employers.

Utility Barriers To Be Kept

The Staff Auditing Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) decided that barriers against ratepayer cross-subsidization of affiliate companies by parent companies will be maintained in a model cost allocation guideline.

PMI Committee Adopts Plumbing Code

The Universal Conformity Assessment Issue Committee of the PMI adopted a model plumbing code policy directing the Institute to encourage adoption of model plumbing codes at the state and local jurisdiction levels.

MCAA Conference Set For June

MCAA’s Mid-Year Education Conference will be June 23-26 in Toronto. Subjects for discussion will include project controls and sequencing guidelines for mechanical crews.

Safety Standards Catalog For Compressed Gas Available

The Compressed Gas Assoc-iation Inc.’s 1999 Catalog of Safety Standards and Specifications is available. It includes the P-1, “Safe Handling of Compressed Gasses in Containers” publication. For more information, call 703/412-0900, ext. 799.

Radiant Tubing Sales Increase 25%

Manufacturers of tubing for radiant heat reported 1998 total sales of 121.77 million lineal feet for 1998. This is a 25 percent increase over 1997.

Past Calif. PHCC President Tom Taylor Dies

Tom Taylor died April 18. He was the president of the California PHCC Association in 1986-87.

Construction Industry Plans For Future Needs

The National Construction Industry Education Forum plans to publish a “proceedings” manual detailing its goals. These include educating the industry about what changes will be required in education to meet future needs and promoting higher standards for construction safety.

Policy Addresses Substance Abuse Testing, Treatment

MCAA and the UA have adopted a policy to deal with workplace substance abuse testing and treatment. The policy enhances privacy protections and treatment options. For more information, call 202/628-5823.

Mestek Buys Anemostat

Mestek purchased the majority of the operating assets of Anemostat Products and Anemostat West Division of Dynamics Corp. of America on March 26. Anemostat produces air distribution products, including grilles, registers, diffusers and variable air volume units.

Miller Park Gets Cleaver-Brooks Boilers

Four Cleaver-Brooks boilers, totaling more than 1,600 horsepower, will be used at Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers’ new baseball stadium, to keep fans warm when the park’s retractable roof is closed. The park is scheduled to open for the 2000 season.

Pace Mechanical Services Gets Contract For Motor City Casino

Pace Mechanical Services will be installing the plumbing, as well as temperature controls, for the new Motor City Casino in Detroit, Mich. The 75,000-square-foot facility will be completely renovated.

Chemed Reports Growth In 1st Quarter

Chemed Corp., which is the parent company of Roto-Rooter, had core earnings of $1 million more in the first quarter of 1999 over 1998’s first quarter. The corporation’s earnings increased from $2.4 million to $3.4 million.

A.O. Smith Nets 1st Quarter Earnings

A.O. Smith had first quarter earnings of 48 cents per share — a 17 percent increase over 1998’s first quarter earnings, which were 41 cents per share.

Bonetti Is Contractor Of Year

The PHCC of California named Ray Bonetti, of Bonetti Plumbing, Contractor of the Year at its 98th annual convention. The award is given to members who exemplify the spirit of PHCC, are successful business managers and contribute to the industry’s progress.

In-Sink-Erator Wins Environmental Award

Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air awarded the In-Sink-Erator Division of Emerson Electric Co. with a 1998 Partners for Clean Air Award. In-Sink-Erator has im-proved its industrial processes to cut the amount of ozone-causing emissions it produces by 41 tons per year.

Bumper Stickers Tout Fire Sprinkler Benefits

Star Sprinkler Inc. is sponsoring a slogan contest touting the benefits of fire sprinklers. Entries must be postmarked by June 30 and can be mailed to 1100 W. Thorndale Ave., Itasca, IL 60143.