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San Bernardino & Riverside Counties Branch
Established in 1953-Los Angeles Section, Region 9
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Branch Press Room
Welcome to the ASCE San Bernardino & Riverside County Branch News Articles. This is a page is designed to keep members, associates and the community advised of developments in and round the American Society of Civil Engineers - San Bernardino & Riverside County Branch.
Please visit often for updates. |
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Top Articles as of:
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Proposed $42.6B high-speed rail in California causes stir (1/21) |
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A proposed 800-mile-long, high-speed rail line from Anaheim, Calif., to San Francisco
will cost an estimated $42.6 billion, funded through private and public sources, including
bonds. Economic officials predict the rail could create 165,000 construction jobs and
about 6,000 permanent jobs. Anaheim residents are concerned about the staggering
price and the demolition of homes because of the project, which could be operational by 2020.
The Orange County Register (Calif.) |
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California adopts nation's most eco-friendly building code (1/13) |
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California has adopted the most ecologically friendly -- and strict -- building code standards
in the country. The new code, nicknamed Calgreen, takes effect in January 2011.
Builders will be required to install plumbing that lowers water use, recycle 50% of construction
waste and use low-pollutant paints, carpets and flooring. "This ...integrat[es]
green construction practices into the very fabric of the construction code," said Tom
Sheehy, chairman of the California Building Standards Commission.
San Francisco Chronicle |
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Graduate students re-imagine eastern half of S.F. Bay Bridge (1/12) |
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The crumbling eastern half of the San Francisco Bay Bridge served as creative fodder for
a graduate course at University of California Berkeley's College of Environmental Design.
Student designs for the bridge ranged from suspended gardens to a hotel that resembles
the bow of a ship. "There's no reason it can't be transformed into something
wondrous, a fusion of nature and the machine," said Frederic Schwartz, a New York
architect.
San Francisco Chronicle |
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California to tear down San Clemente Dam (1/11) |
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California plans to tear down the 106-foot San Clemente Dam, which would be the largest
dam removal project in the state. The 1921 dam was declared unsafe in 1991 and the
reservoir behind it is 90% silted up. The dam's owner, California American Water Co.
decided to tear it down after conservation groups lobbied for the dam's removal. Cal
Am will provide $50 million toward the cost of dam removal, with federal and state
agencies working to cover the remaining $34 million.
San Jose Mercury News (Calif.) |
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San Francisco developers return to Treasure Island (1/9) |
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Officials are close to green-lighting a $6 billion redevelopment of Treasure Island, the
mothballed naval base in San Francisco Bay. The plan would see four skyscrapers and
up to 8,000 homes built on the 400-acre manmade island, which would also gain a direct
ferry connection to San Francisco.
The Wall Street Journal |
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Report: New sports complex in Sacramento would bring 4,000-plus jobs (1/7) |
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A new report suggests that building a new sports and entertainment center in Sacramento
would bring upwards of 4,000 jobs to the region, including 375 permanent positions.
"A new entertainment and sports facility will be a huge job generator for our region,"
said Matt Mahood, president of the city's chamber of commerce. "I say let's get it
started!"
American City Business Journals/Sacramento, Calif. |
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California launches fleet of trash-powered trucks (1/5/2010) |
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Hundreds of garbage trucks in California are now powered by natural gas made from
rotting household waste. Methane from decomposing trash is captured at the Altamont
landfill in Livermore, which produces 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas per day.
ABC News/The Associated Press |
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Commission OKs California solar power line (11/29/09) |
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The California Public Utilities Commission last week approved a transmission line that
will carry renewable energy from the state's desert areas to coastal urban centers. Observers say the approval may speed up solar projects now in the planning stage. The
$537 million, 500-kilovolt line will span 170 miles across the state. CleanTechnica
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Conference takes engineers "From Builders to Integrators" (11/08/09) |
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The Society's 139th Annual Conference in Kansas City, Mo., ended with laughs, plus a
desire to help others. Comedian, pundit and actor Ben Stein provided the laughs at the closing general session breakfast, while also stressing that investment in infrastructure,
and more of it, is what has and will keep our nation great. Sunday, members volunteered their time and labor at Heartland Therapeutic Riding in nearby Stillwell, Kan., in
the annual post-conference community service event. Heartland provides therapy to
children and adults with disabilities through interaction with horses. Next year's 140th
Conference is set for Las Vegas -- mark your 2010 calendar for Oct. 21-23. View a photo
gallery of Conference highlights; more photos are being added. Review the Conference
program. Learn more about ways to give your time and promote the profession
through ASCE-sponsored volunteer activities. |
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Student enrollment in engineering, computer programs jumps 8% (11/08/09) |
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Engineering, according to the Computing Research Association. During the 2007-08
school year, new enrollment in such programs climbed 8%. "The economic downturn
has made us turn away from some of the other fields that have been on the rise in the
past; now people are going back to what really is the bottom line: production," said
Amir Mirmiran, dean of the college of engineering at Florida International University.
The Miami Herald |
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Safety Assessment Program News; By: Nilchian, Neil |
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>>Disaster Preparedness<<
On November 6, 2009 Neil Nilchian, PE, MASCE, Certified Trainer (San Bernardino / Riverside Counties Branch) and Ziad Mazboudi, PE, MASCE, Certified Trainer (Orange County Branch and Chairman of the Disaster Preparedness Committee, ASCE-Region 9) held a Safety Assessment Evaluators training for the LA Section members at the office of Kimley Horn in the City of Orange. The training included 18 enthusiastic volunteers from different Branches including Kathereen Shinkai, PE, MASCE President of Orange County Branch who completed the day long training and will receive a Cal EMA's authorization card as volunteers. Accordingly, they will be able to assist local governments in cases of a disaster to assess if buildings and others are safe for public use. Also, Jack Olson, PE, MASCE, Chairman of the Committee for the LA-Section Disaster Preparedness was present, as an observer and moral supporter of our referenced event. The committee has plans for another training event for the LA-Section in Spring/Summer 2010. Please feel free to contact Neil, Ziad or Jack for additional information by visiting the LA-Section's web site (www.ascelasection.org). |
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Los Alamos toxic waste could contaminate groundwater (11/01/09) |
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Nuclear waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been seeping into streams
near the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Around 18 million cubic feet of waste is stored at
Los Alamos, and it could contaminate drinking water supplies for 250,000 residents.
While Los Alamos has begun an extensive cleanup of surface sites, the cleanup does not
extend to groundwater deep below the surface. Los Angeles Times |
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L.A. highway interchange regarded as work of art (11/01/09) |
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A highway interchange in Los Angeles called the Stack serves as a visual symbol of the
automobile-centric city. The Stack is the first four-level connector interchange in the
country and marks the intersection of the Pasadena, Harbor, Hollywood and Santa Ana
freeways. The interchange has commanded new respect as a work of art, and artist Yutaka
Sone even carves replicas of intersections such as the Stack in white marble. The
New York Times (free registration) |
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Last updated: 02/06/2010 |
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