(April 28, 2014) - Construction employment expanded in 197 metro areas, declined in 87 and was stagnant in 55 between March 2013 and March 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted, however, that construction employment stands to suffer if Congress allows federal highway funding to stop this summer.

WASHINGTON (April 23, 2014) — The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched its new online data visualization resource that highlights real-time green building data for each state in the U.S. and Washington, D.C. The enhanced state market briefs—highlighting LEED projects, LEED-credentialed professionals and USGBC membership in each state—provide green building advocates and the general public a look into LEED’s impact within any state.

(April 23, 2014) - MEGAPRO has partnered with BreastCancer.org to launch “Putting the Screws to Cancer,” a North American-wide fundraising initiative to provide donations and build awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

(April 21, 2014) - On April 19, the U.S. State Department announced it is delaying the Keystone XL pipeline’s National Interest Determination (NID) phase due to the “uncertainty” created by a Nebraska judge’s February decision to invalidate a state law permitting the governor to authorize the project’s construction in the Cornhusker state.

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) software provider Tekla has acquired SVS Innovations’ (SVSi) construction software business and its Field3D mobile technology. The acquisition further strengthens Tekla’s position in mobile BIM applications development.

Field3D is a 3D collaboration software solution for BIM that works on mobile devices, enabling stakeholders in a construction work flow to access complete 3D model information for an entire building on smartphones and tablets.

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (April 17, 2014) – The recent swarm of earthquakes in the Los Angeles area is another reminder to local and state governments and agencies responsible for emergency management to include demolition contractors on their disaster response teams, said Jeff Kroeker of Kroeker Inc. in Fresno, Calif., and president of the National Demolition Association.

WASHINGTON (April 21, 2014) – The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) has released the April 2014 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $827 billion equipment finance sector.

Washington, D.C. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) will hold the National Craft Championships (NCC) and its Workforce Development Conference April 29-May 2, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center in Birmingham, Ala.