In spite of the fact that Vice President Biden is opposed to building a wall along the southern border of the United States, he is currently employing over half a million dollars’ worth of taxpayer money to build a wall around his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. In addition, as part of its redevelopment plans, Skanska USA will convert a piece of a marine terminal located in Virginia into an offshore wind staging port. In addition to this, in Mooresville, you can go in any direction and find evidence that the town is growing and making plans for the future; this is the case regardless of which path you take. In addition, the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University had an opening ceremony as well as a dedication event.
DHS is building a $500,000 taxpayer-funded wall at Biden’s beach house
Original Source: DHS building $500,000 taxpayer-funded wall at Biden’s Delaware beach house
According to USAspending.gov, DHS awarded a Sussex County, Delaware, construction business $455,000 in September 2021 to build a fence around the president’s “Summer White House.”
Construction began in September and should be finished by 2021. Unknown delays extended the completion date to June 6, 2023, and increased costs to $490,324.
Critics criticized Biden’s beach house wall.
“So Joe Biden’s beach house barriers work but not at the border?” Ohio Republican Jim Jordan asked on Twitter.
DHS is the contract’s main awarding and funding agency, and the Secret Service is its subagency. No fencing details are public.
The Secret Service declined to comment, stating it can’t share its “means, techniques, or resources.” Homeland Security did not comment.
Mr. Biden’s two-week vacation included trips to Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, Delaware.
This was Mr. Biden’s fifth summer visit to Rehoboth Beach.
Biden halted construction of Trump’s border wall upon taking office. A looser border policy has led to a spike in migrants into the U.S., according to Customs and Border Patrol.
Since October, Border Patrol agents have made 1.82 million arrests at the southern border. That beats last year’s record of 1.66 million in September 2021.
The number of border arrests, an indicator of border jumpers who elude apprehension, could top 2 million for the first time in U.S. history.
The Biden administration approved a plan to complete four border wall gaps near Yuma, Arizona, last month.
Skanska hired for the biggest US offshore wind project
Original Source: Skanska tapped to work on largest US offshore wind project
Skanska will build a $223 million offshore wind farm near Portsmouth, Virginia.
The Swedish builder’s U.S. branch will transform 72 acres of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal near Norfolk, Virginia, into an offshore wind staging port. The airport measures 287 acres.
Skanska’s project will improve 1,500 feet of a 3,540-foot wharf.
The reconstruction is part of the largest offshore wind project in the U.S. The CVOW’s pilot project included two 6-MW wind turbines 27 miles off Virginia Beach. It’s the first federal offshore wind farm.
The commercial project phase will consist of 176 wind turbines that will generate 2.6 gigawatts by 2026.
Skanska will work on:
- Building a delivery berth, a loud-out berth, and a monopile berth.
- Dig a mooring channel and an access area.
- Strengthening upland soils and surfaces to support cranes, transporters, and transition pieces.
- High-mast lighting, stormwater collection, and perimeter fencing.
Skanska has completed two projects for the Virginia Port Authority: part 2 of NIT North’s enlargement and phase 1 of NIT South’s renovation.
Mooresville police HQ, other projects near completion
Original Source: Mooresville police HQ, other construction projects nearing completion
Mooresville is building seven new facilities in 2022.
These initiatives will provide residents and visitors with new facilities, boosting quality of life and making Mooresville a destination. Mooresville Fire-Rescue Fire Training Center and Station 6 opened this year.
Five projects are still under construction: Mooresville Police Department headquarters, Liberty Park Phase 2, skate park, westside library branch, and Mazeppa Park (turf conversion). Most are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Headquarters
The Mooresville Police Department will move to a new headquarters this fall at Brawley School Road and U.S. 21. This new 50,000-square-foot facility will add communications, evidence, holding cells, and K-9 space. The new headquarters will have a larger community room for events and interaction without compromising security. The new headquarters will provide room for future growth. With outside work completed, interior tasks and occupancy preparations are underway. Interior finish work, perimeter fencing, and dispatch console installs continue. The project will cost $19,048,500 and be ready in September 2022.
West-branch library
Expanding Mooresville Public Library’s offerings and reach was a 2022 strategic goal. The town is reconstructing 614 Brawley School Road to create the west branch. It will have a drive-thru for book pickups, small group study spaces, and meeting rooms. Additional LSTA grant funding has offered early/late-hour quiet-time access and check-in/out kiosks. Mooresville Public Library will be the first in North Carolina to offer quiet-time access. Interior work is involved. Interior work is done and external work has commenced. This $897,700 project is due late summer. Fall opening for the west branch.
Second Liberty Park
The town’s investment in Liberty Park has established a downtown magnet for local, regional, and national visitors. Phase 1 added a band shell and a veterans’ promenade. The $7,930,221 Phase 2 project includes a three-tier playground, an interactive fountain, a picnic shelter, a greenway connection to Center Avenue, new bathrooms and concession stand, and a covered basketball court for seasonal farmers markets. Phase 2 is due in early summer 2023. Steel decking is complete; rough plumbing and electrical are proceeding.
Rink
The town invests in its public facilities and ensures they suit user needs. In February, work began on the town’s skate park at 748 W. Iredell Ave. (next to the police headquarters). This project includes park extensions and modifications like bowl and street features, a racing-themed design (selected by skaters), and athletic field lighting. Work on skate features, shotcrete, and building footers continues. The new 40,000-square-foot park will be one of the region’s largest skate parks. The $2,841,492 project is due late fall.
Mazeppa Park returf
Since the community created it, Mazeppa Park has been a regional destination for youth sports. In conjunction with the CVB, two of the six sports fields were turfed. The town is partnering with Charlotte Independence Soccer Club to renovate two more Mazeppa Park pitches. This project will provide an all-weather playing surface for local, regional, and traveling sports leagues. Phase 1 ($777,750) resurfaced existing grass fields. Phase 2 (cost: $1,626,131) comprises synthetic turf conversions. Phase 2 includes fence posts, curb, and foundation. September is the deadline.
Drake University dedicates Tom and Ruth Harkin Center amid pandemic delays.
Original Source: Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University holds dedication ceremony after pandemic delays
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement hosted a dedication ceremony on Saturday at Drake University.
Des Moines’ dedication was delayed during the COVID-19 epidemic despite the building’s 2020 completion. Private donations supported the new 26,000-square-foot structure at 28th Street and University Avenue.
Marsha Ternus remarked, “This structure, the Harkin Center, is another step to further the Harkin Institute and Senator and Mrs. Harkin’s legacy.” “The new building gives institute staff and fellows more space to work on research and policy projects and more rooms for meetings and collaboration with local and national partners.”
The Harkin Institute at Drake University was founded in 2013 to research and analyze subjects significant to retired U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, including labor and employment, disability aid, retirement security, and nutrition. It educates students and the public about these challenges.
Harkin said at the ceremony, “I now feel that this institute was formed at the appropriate time, and in the right place here at Drake University, not simply as a repository of history, but as an active player in saving and progressively advancing our representative democracy.”
Over the past nine years, the Harkin Institute has outgrown its original university-owned premises at 2429 University Ave.
Ternus: “The Harkins, especially Ruth, made it plain that meaningful work was their goal and a facility could follow later.” “This dedication and desire have motivated us.” And I’m proud of Harkin Institute’s success during the previous nine years. “
Built-in accessibility
Lifelong disability rights supporter Tom Harkin was the principal proponent of the 1990 ADA, and the new Tom and Ruth Harkin Center was created with accessibility in mind.
Harkin said the building’s design sends a message of nondiscrimination, openness, and accessibility.
People congregate in the lobby of the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University.
The building has ADA-compliant ramps that serve as the major pathways between spaces. Walls, signs, and furniture with contrasting colors help people with spatial awareness.
The conference rooms are wheelchair- and mobility-friendly. Round tables and chairs increase communication by allowing people to see each other’s faces.
“We took the (construction) committee’s goal to develop an inclusive facility seriously,” said Tom and Ruth Harkin Center architect Kevin Nordmeyer.
The Braille art is one way the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center addressed accessibility and inclusion.
Nordmeyer and his crew intended to chronicle the accessible space. They prepared a flipbook outlining the building’s design and construction, which will be available soon in print and online.
“We’re proud of this building and believe it will be a model,” said Nordmeyer. So we did. “Sen. Harkin said at our first meeting in D.C., “Just take the ADA as the baseline, and attempt to do better long-term.” So we did.”
The building was supposed to be an “international exemplar of universal and inclusive architecture,” according to Ternus. Other groups can utilize the flipbook to design future buildings with accessibility in mind.
The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center’s dedication was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Long-term, anyone can learn from this building, and we want to use it as a springboard, “added Nordmeyer. “This building symbolizes thought and inclusion.” “But we aim to engage with the Harkin Institute, Drake, and others to promote gracious, inclusive design.”
Summary of today’s construction news
In September, work began on constructing a fence surrounding the president’s “Summer White House,” and it is anticipated that the fence will be completed in 2021. Due to unknown delays, the completion date has been pushed out to June 6, 2023, and the cost has climbed to $490,324. The wall at Biden’s seaside property came in for some criticism.
Meanwhile, an offshore wind staging port will be developed on a total area of 72 acres at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal located close to Norfolk, Virginia, by the United States division of the Swedish construction company. The airport encompasses a total area of 287 acres. The project being undertaken by Skanska will result in improvements to 1,500 feet of a 3,540-foot wharf.
Additionally, the year 2022 will see the construction of seven new buildings in Mooresville. Mooresville will become more of a tourist attraction as a result of these activities, which will also result in an improvement in the quality of life for both inhabitants and visitors. This year saw the opening of both the Mooresville Fire-Rescue Fire Training Center and Station 6.
On top of that, in 2013, Drake University established the Harkin Institute to study issues that were important to former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, such as employment and labor, disability assistance, retirement security, and nutrition. Doing so informs the public and helps prepare the next generation for these difficulties.
