Tornado recovery may pay the bills
Tuscaloosa News – June 14
…Recovery cleanup, government and insurance assistance, and rebuilding could pump $2.6 billion into the state’s economy this year, and perhaps as much in 2012, according to a “very preliminary” report by the University of Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic Research. CBER’s estimate of the tornadoes’ cost to individuals and state and local governments: between $3.7 billion and $5.5 billion. “Over the two years, recovery activities will generate enough revenue to cover damage-induced losses to state finances as well as the state spending for cleanup if assumptions on losses and spending hold,” according to the report released last week. The report’s authors, CBER Director Sam Addy and economist Ahmad Ijaz, were careful to note their calculations did not include the human costs. “This report focuses only on the identified economic effects, and not on other very important quality of life factors such as lives lost, displacement, mental and physical health issues, and disruption to the lives of people who were not direct victims,” the report said…The CBER study said the tornadoes ended between 5,600 and 13,200 jobs. Total lost earnings will be between $218 million and $508.3 million…“Some of the businesses are coming back and they’re hiring back,” Ijaz said. “Even if it takes awhile, it will eventually rebuild.” Rebuilding through 2012 could create between 36,900 and 73,800 mostly temporary jobs resulting in earnings of between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion, an average of $31,741 per worker. “Clearly the economic impacts of recovery activities are larger than those of the tornado damage,” the study said. “Some of the jobs created by recovery activities might go to people who became unemployed as a result of the tornadoes.”…
WAFF (Huntsville) – June 13
WLTZ (Columbus, Ga.) –June 13
Exceeding Specs on a Structural Slab-on-deck
ForContractorsPro.com – June 14
A recent project for the University of Alabama’s Department of Science and Engineering exemplifies Birdwell & Associates’ confidence, ambition and talents in concrete construction…Only the second of its kind in the United States, the 6,000 psi slab is located in the testing lab for the University of Alabama’s engineering school. Students will perform various concrete-related testing in the lab…To me it is satisfying to have done so well on a slab that very few others would attempt to try,” Bryan says. “It’s also really neat that college kids will learn about concrete on a floor that’s such high quality. You never know who is going to come out of the University of Alabama to achieve greater things than are happening today.”
Tree bank planned for homeowners
Tuscaloosa News – June 14
A tree bank is being planned at the University of Alabama Arboretum to help homeowners replace trees lost in the April 27 tornado…The trees will be native to Alabama, with deep root systems that will better withstand storms than some more common, non-native varieties… The UA Arboretum also will offer education sessions regarding site and species selection, and Neil Letson, assistant division director for the Alabama Forestry Commission, will be at the Tuscaloosa County Extension Office on June 22 at 10:30 a.m. to hear concerns and suggestions from home owners about replacing trees…