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There's new information about an Acadiana contractor charged with taking ten of thousands of dollars from a Lafayette homeowner. Last month, TV 10 reported that Lafayette Parish sheriff's deputies arrested 39-year-old Scott Fontenot for theft. Investigators say Fontenot agreed to construct an addition to a family's home and then took off with $43,000. Wednesday, the state licensing board gave Fontenot a $1,000 fine and ordered him to cease and desist work on any other projects. Contractor issues like this are a growing concern during hurricane recovery. There continues to be an increase in new home construction in Lafayette more than a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In August of '05, there were 64 permits issued to build new homes.
I am a junior in high school and am considering a business or economics major in college. The recent inflation in the housing market of South Florida concerns me and others in my community who cannot afford a home of their own.
I fear that when I am out of college and ready to purchase a home, I will not be able to afford to live here, and will be forced to move.
In response to the Sept. 22 article, "Lennar's quarterly profit down 39%," in the Business section, I believe that this crash in the stock is the fault of homebuilders like Lennar Corp., that have allowed this inflation to occur. This profit decrease is merely inflation catching up with the people who have stimulated it over the past five years.
Today in South Florida, "affordable housing" is nonexistent.
Workers, state officials and visitors at the West Virginia Capitol now will have to leave the building if they want lunch that consists of more than vending machine fare. Thats because the Capitol cafeteria has been shut down by order of the county health department. And health inspectors who visited the cafeteria didnt find just a few minor infractions. They cited 50 violations of food health rules, including 18 that were seen as critical.
A severe infestation of roaches, dirty utensils mixed with clean ones, filth encrusted kitchen equipment and toxic levels of solvents in buckets sometimes used to sanitize utensils were cited by the health department.
That is more than just embarrassing and disgusting. Its outrageous. How could the state Capitol cafeteria have been allowed to get into such a condition?
As you might expect, recriminations are flying faster than hamburger orders at lunchtime.
The death of a landscape contractor in Bermuda struck by a large branch that fell from a tree he was helping to lop has brought renewed calls for stricter controls on the training and certification of workers involved in potentially dangerous jobs. The owners of two of the largest landscaping companies in Bermuda, along with a qualified tree care professional and trainer, say there needs to be proper regulation of the industry as happens in many other countries. The circumstances surrounding the death of the 34-year-old Portuguese man, believed to be a father-of-one with another child on the way, are still being investigated. He was killed while working on a casuarina tree in a garden. The tree was the last in a row that was being cut back by a team from Island Construction and Landscaping Services.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of a man in last year's slaying of a good Samaritan. In October of 2005, 40-year-old Christopher Aligada stumbled upon a robbery in progress outside of his work place, Builders First Source Lumber on Roosevelt Boulevard. Police said the robber was holding up another employee at gunpoint, but when Aligada approached the scene, the bandit opened fire, killing him. On Wednesday, Galante Phillips was arrested in connection with Aligada's death. .
A former civilian contract specialist with Army Medical Command and a Maryland man have been charged with conspiring to influence contracting at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday. Kevin R. Roach, 45, of Fredericksburg, Va., was with Army Medical Command from 1982 to February 2003. He was responsible for facilitating the procurement of goods and services for Walter Reed, according to a Justice Department press release. Louis Pisani Jr., 40, of Silver Spring, Md., was the sole shareholder of Platinum Contractors Inc. in Silver Spring and Hyattsville, Md., and a 50 percent shareholder and corporate officer in Home Sweet Home Moving and Storage Inc. in Hyattsville. .
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