October 2010 Past Issues/Subscribe | Printer-Friendly | Advertise
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 7, 2010 - Inland Territory Christmas Party
King's Fish House, Corona, Calif.

December 8, 2010 - GLAO Territory Christmas Party
Clearman's North Woods Inn, La Mirada, Calif.

December 9, 2010 - Tri-County Territory Christmas Party
A.J. Spurs, Buellton, Calif.

December 10, 2010 - San Francisco Bay Area Christmas Party
Beck's Steakhouse, Newark, Calif.

December 15, 2010 - Vintage Christmas Party - Washoe House, Petaluma, Calif.
 
 
Join us in Quarzsite, Arizona, for desert camping. We will carpool to the Quartzsite RV Show (a FREE RV show) and have our traditional potluck and evening campfires. Camping is considered to be "dry," therefore there is NO CHARGE! A water service and a pump out service are available for a fee. Campers will need to bring generators to provide power.
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We are proud to be an official supporting organization for CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011. CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 is your source for what’s new in construction and will be the meeting place for construction industry professionals. Make Las Vegas your destination for ideas and products that positively influence everything you do—from safety, to sustainability, to your bottom line.
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VENDOR NEWS
Mission Linen Supply, a leader in textile rental and buy direct programs and one of CRA's Preferred Providers, announced on October 6 that it has been awarded an exclusive five-year contract from Santa Barbara County. Under the agreement the company will be the sole provider of uniforms, dust mops, mats and towels to more than 250 people and over 50 locations throughout Santa Barbara County.
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Bobcat Company, the leading compact equipment manufacturer in North America, partnered with GE Capital to provide financing to its extensive distribution network as well as the customers themselves. Find out more at www.gecapital.com/bobcat and view the Bobcate/GE Capital TV commercial.
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Husqvarna Group congratulates World Logging Championship (WLC) gold and silver medallists Andres Olesk from Estonia and Jean Michel Petitqueux from France. The majority of the medallists were equipped with professional chainsaws from Jonsered and Husqvarna.
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Terex Corporation announced on September 22 that it has been awarded an $18.9 million contract to build 200 Terex TX51-19MD, 5,000 lb. capacity, Light Rough Terrain Forklifts (LRTF) for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) through its Terex Government Programs unit in Stafford, VA. The initial delivery order is in the amount of $9 million for over 100 units.
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On October 1, 2010, Kubota Tractor Corporation and Vermeer Corporation announced a strategic marketing alliance for the sale of performance-matched, allied-approved, Vermeer forage equipment. The combination Kubota and Vermeer Dealers now have the opportunity to sell Vermeer forage equipment, such as balers, rakes and related forage equipment financed by Kubota Credit Corporation.
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The Ditch Witch organization has launched a new mobile website that enables users to conveniently access detailed product information and interactive features, including a downhole tool selector and drilling fluid formulator.
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Hilti logoFrom product updates to industry news and interactive polls, Hilti's Facebook page is the place to be to chat with other industry professionals and catch the latest breaking news from Hilti. And that's not all: Our YouTube channel features videos of our most innovative new products and how-to demonstrations from the experts. Check us out at www.facebook.com/HiltiNorthAmerica and www.youtube.com/HiltiNorthAmerica.

 
Genie, an industry leading brand manufactured by Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP), recently announced that it is entering the world of social media with its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube sites. Through these sites, Genie is aiming to better connect with an online community of customers, end users and team members while also building brand awareness and customer loyalty.
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As an extension to the Portable Air portfolio of compressors and generators, Atlas Copco has decided to transfer the WEDA submersible pump line from the Construction Tools Division (CTO) to the Portable Air Division (APE).
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BUSINESS NEWS
The latest Freddie Mac survey of lender offering rates reported that mortgage interest rates continue their decline, with the 30-year fixed-rate loan dropping to an average of 4.19% from 4.27% a week earlier, reported the survey on October 14. Fifteen-year fixed-rate loans fell from 3.72% to 3.62%. The rates were being offered to low-risk borrowers who paid 0.8% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees on the 30-year loan and 0.7% on the 15-year mortgage. The last time average rates on popular long-term fixed-rate mortgages were this low was April 1951. Most of the long-term mortgages back then were for 20 or 25 years, however. Applications for refinance jumped 21% last week to the strongest pace since mid-April 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn.
 
 
An October 4 latimes.com article reported that small-business owners in Southern California are finally getting long-awaited loans to hire new workers and expand their operations. Money for loans backed by the Small Business Administration, but held up for weeks in Congress, is on its way. Just days after President Obama signed a $30-billion-plus package of incentives for small businesses, bankers, bureaucrats and borrowers are making every effort to get the money flowing. Christopher Lorenzana of the SBA said the agency began making money for the loans available October 1 and lenders were hoping to get loans to their customers within the next few days.
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Jobs and the state of the economy are of high concern to the public at large and most likely your employees. As they weigh their choices in the upcoming election, your employees may find it helpful to learn about the business perspective on the ballot measures. Sharing this information is not the same as telling employees how to vote and the sample text shown when you click on "Learn More" attempts to make that clear. You can include a link in your e-mail for employees who would like more information or simply go to the link yourself and print out the pdf file to distribute to your employees.
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Proposition 19, the marijuana initiative on the November ballot, will have a detrimental impact on California employers, the California Chamber of Commerce testified in September at a joint hearing of the Assembly and Senate Public Safety committees. In August, CalChamber released a legal analysis highlighting that the passage of Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, not only would legalize pot use in California, but also would create a legal quagmire for employers by compromising workplace safety and establishing a new class of protected workers in the state.
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The marijuana initiative on the November ballot (Proposition 19) is more about making it illegal for employers to have a marijuana-free workplace than it is about removing criminal penalties for possession. What is in the language of Proposition 19 that should cause concern for all employers? Proposition 19 creates a new protected class of workers and prohibits discrimination against marijuana users, just like age, gender and ethnicity. Thus, even though pre-employment drug testing is not per se prohibited, an employer cannot use the results of a positive marijuana test as the reason not to hire an applicant. Moreover, unless a local ordinance is subsequently passed in a community, it will be legal to smoke marijuana in the workplace. Employers will be prohibited from disciplining or terminating an employee who is "high" at work unless the employer can show that the use "actually impaired" the employee's job performance.
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The Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) is activating a grassroots advocacy effort to raise awareness of the need for quick enactment of a robust surface transportation bill. Congress has been unable to enact legislation to reauthorize surface transportation programs since the law (SAFETEA-LU) expired on September 30, 2009. Without a multi-year program, states cannot fund and fix pressing transportation needs at a time when our global competitors are investing trillions modernizing their infrastructure.
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CARB
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported that their association and the staff of the California Air Resources Board have reached an agreement on proposed changes to the state’s off-road diesel rule. The changes, which will need approval from the CARB board in December, are designed to give the local construction industry time to recover from the recession while protecting air quality. Mike Kennedy, AGC’s general counsel, explained that the proposed changes are based on new and far lower estimates of the emissions from off-road diesel equipment in the construction industry. The association developed the new estimates earlier this year, and over the summer CARB staff largely confirmed them.
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CARB staff is proposing significant amendments to the in-use off-road diesel vehicle regulation for several reasons: (1) The recession has negatively affected employment and revenue in the construction and other industries affected by the regulation. Many fleets are in need of relief. (2) Since the beginning of 2010, ARB staff has been reviewing and updating the methodology and data inputs to staff’s estimates of off-road diesel vehicle emissions. Staff now believes that past and future emissions from offroad vehicles are significantly lower than previously estimated, due to new data and also due to a reduction in activity because of the recession. (3) Updating the regulation provides an opportunity to simplify and streamline the regulation and find ways to offer fleets more flexibility in how they choose to reduce their emissions.
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Level 3 verification is for those technologies achieving at least an 85 percent or greater reduction in particulate matter or less than 0.01 g/bhp-hr emission level. For a list of the current verified technologies, click on "Learn More." Verification letter(s) provide additional information on the applicability of the device for your particular engine. Click on the associated attachment for each system to see a list of engine families for which devices have been approved (engine series names are provided for reference in most cases). For more detailed information or to purchase the device, please contact the device manufacturer directly. New information will be posted as additional systems are verified. Please check periodically for updates.
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CARB's Off-Road Mobile Sources website pertains to off-road large spark-ignition (LSI) equipment greater than 25 horsepower, including farm, construction and industrial equipment, powered by gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other alternate fuels. To see the LSI page, click "Learn More."
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The ARB's Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program and Periodic Smoke Inspection Program were adopted into law in 1988 (Senate Bill 1997) and 1990 (Senate Bill 2330) to control excessive smoke emissions and tampering from heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses. The regulations – CCR Title 13, Sections 2180-2189 for HDVIP; and CCR Title 13, Sections 2190-2194 for PSIP – governing these programs were last amended in 2007.
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Driving Toward a Cleaner California (DTCC) is a coalition of owners-operators, farmers, construction contractors and other business and community leaders committed to working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to craft a sensible truck and bus replacement rule that both cleans the air and keeps California's economy moving forward.
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HG Makelim Co
HG Makelim Co
Hitachi Power Tools
Naylor, LLC
calrental.org

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