Most Renewable Energy Bills Failed in Austin
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
It wasn't just disappointing, but also doggone frustrating. That's how consumer advocates who waged war against big electric power generators summed up the just-completed session of the Texas Legislature. Similar sentiments were expressed by environmental organizations and alternative energy advocates, who witnessed the death of a slew of bills designed to expand the development of solar power and other renewable energy, as well as encourage greater energy efficiency and conservation. More

Report: Dallas Homes Among Most Undervalued in U.S.
from The Dallas Morning News
Home prices in the Dallas area are almost 32 percent "undervalued" according to the latest measure by IHS Global Insight. The same study shows that priced here have remained virtually unchanged over the year ending with first quarter 2009. More

Voters to Decide on Tier 1 Funding in November
from Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Voters statewide will have a say in whether Texas develops more top research universities on the level of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University in College Station. More

Texas Department of Transportation May Last, But How is Unclear
from The Dallas Morning News
Local officials are no more sure than anyone else in Texas on what to make of Monday night's meltdown in Austin, in which lawmakers managed to schedule the state Transportation Department for termination by 2010. "You ask me where we stand in terms of transportation in the state of Texas? I can't tell you. I don't know," said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. More

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Perry Wants Guard Patrols to Scour Remote Border Sites
from The Houston Chronicle
A new border security proposal drafted by Gov. Rick Perry would put 600 soldiers in "reconnaissance platoons" to scour 20 remote areas for drug and immigrant smugglers, part of a call-up of 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to full-time duty. In his latest of a series of anti-crime border initiatives, Perry wrote in an April 2 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that the patrols would "provide an immediate increase in the 'boots on the ground.'" More

Austin Leads Nation Again on Job Growth
from The Austin American-Statesman
The Austin area was the nation’s strongest big-city job market last month, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the 38 metro areas with a workforce of at least 750,000, Austin was the only one that gained jobs from April 2008 to April 2009, the bureau said. It was the third month in a row that Austin had earned that distinction. More

Survey: Executives More Upbeat on Economy
from The Houston Business Journal
Most board members and executives with Houston companies expect the economy to "bottom out" by the end of the year, according to an annual survey. The survey was conducted by KPMG LLP at an Audit Committee Institute roundtable discussion in Houston. While 44 percent of respondents expect the recession to hit bottom by year-end, 18 percent are even more optimistic, suggesting the worst is over. More

Austin Construction Jobs Drop 5.8 Percent
from The Austin Business Journal
Construction employment fell in the vast majority of the nation's major cities over the last year, according to an analysis of data from the Associated General Contractors of America. In Austin, construction jobs declined 5.8 percent to 45,500 between April 2008 and April 2009. Among the communities seeing the largest declines in construction employment were Tucson, Ariz. with a 29.2 percent decline and Redding, Calif. with a 31.6 percent decline. By comparison, construction employment grew in only 19 of nearly 300 metro areas, led by an 8 percent gain in Odessa and a 7.3 percent increase in Baton Rouge, La. More

Sunbelt Builders Show Opens Registration for October Show
from The Texas Association of Builders
The Texas Association of Builders has announced that registration is now open for the Sunbelt Builders Show and Education Conference. This year, the Show is proud to present iBuild at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX October 29 – 31, 2009. Registration is now available online. More

Get the latest Texas Association of Builders news as well as information affecting the building industry by visiting www.TexasBuilders.org. For information about Education, Exhibits and Special Events happening at the 2009 Sunbelt Builders Show™, visit www.SunbeltBuildersShow.com.