Forecast: Homebuilding to Fall by Nearly Fifty Percent – But Not in DFW

U.S. homebuilding will fall by almost 50 percent this year, a new forecast predicts. But don’t expect such a large decline in home starts in North Texas, analysts with MetroStudy say. The Houston-based housing research firm anticipates that new home production in the U.S. will decrease by an additional 47 percent in 2009. “I don’t think it’s going to be down quite as much in DFW as the rest of the nation,” David Brown, who heads MetroStudy’s Dallas office, said Monday. “We ended up last year with about 20,000 housing starts. I think we will have 16,000 to 18,000 starts this year.” More

Builder Barred from Industry

A state commission on Wednesday banned Jarrell homebuilder Pete Stucky from working in the residential construction industry for his lifetime. The Texas Residential Construction Commission said Stucky and his affiliates victimized dozens of homeowners when he failed to make repairs that were under warranty and hid the fact some properties he built and sold had liens against them. This is the first time the commission has banned anyone for life. More

Lawmakers, Others Eye Green Collar Jobs

On Wednesday, job gurus, CEOs and lawmakers will convene at the Capitol to brainstorm about creating "green collar" jobs, which include wind turbine technician and home insulation installer. The conference, "Texas Energy Future: Green Jobs and Clean Power," comes as the state grapples with how to keep Texans employed amid a shifting energy, environment and manufacturing landscape. The conference is sponsored by the University of Texas' Clean Energy Incubator, lobbying groups for utilities, the renewable industry and environmentalists. More

Oncor Offers Rebate for Solar Panel Installation

Oncor will pay cash to homeowners and businesses that install solar panels. The electricity delivery company, the arm of Energy Future Holdings that operates power lines, announced on Monday a program to offer $2.46 per watt of solar power installed. An average home's solar electricity installation costs about $26,000 and would get more than $7,000 from the incentive program. "This really hasn't been done at this scale by any utility in Texas," said Steve Wiese, a contractor working with Oncor to implement the program. More

Texas Agency Likely to Raise Water Fees

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state agency responsible for overseeing water quality throughout the state, is facing a shortfall of at least $20 million unless it receives fee increases to cover its growing costs. The expected increase in water-quality fees will likely mean an increase in 2010 water and sewer rates across the state, though it is too early to say how much it will affect water bills, officials said. More

Immigration A Hot Topic for Legislature

Rep. Jim Jackson of Dallas wants to declare English the official language of Texas and require all government employees - from high-ranking officers to park rangers - to prove citizenship or legal residency. To Jackson, a Republican, it makes perfect sense: "If you're going to have a law, then the first people that ought to obey the law is government." More

Contract Workers Say KBR Knew About Chemical

Ten contractors hired by Houston-based KBR to make repairs at an Iraqi water plant in early 2003 say the company knowingly allowed them and dozens of National Guardsmen to be exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. The allegations from the workers, six of whom live in or near Houston, are documented in a federal arbitration complaint pending in Houston and a related federal lawsuit filed in December by the guardsmen in Indiana, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday. More

Nature Preserve Fights Back on Border Fence

The Nature Conservancy is hoping a jury trial will help them prevail against the Department of Homeland Security’s plans for border fencing through its Southmost Preserve. A response filed Feb. 6 to the government’s land condemnation lawsuit argues DHS has failed to share the exact path of the fence or how the Conservancy would be able to access a home, office, and irrigation pumps that would be cut off by the fence. More

Voters Could Be Asked to Approve Taxes, Fees for Transportation

Voters in counties across the Dallas-Fort Worth region could be asked to approve new taxes and fees for roads and commuter rail as soon as spring 2011, according to supporters of a sweeping transportation bill filed Monday. Dozens of legislators, mayors and other supporters of the Texas Local Option Transportation Act gathered Monday at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. One by one, they expressed optimism that the measure will pass during the current legislative session, triggering what likely would be a multi-year process of identifying transportation needs in each county and taking the issues to voters. More