International Economic Slowdown Depressing Construction Markets
For much of the 1990s, the strength in the U.S. economy helped to prop up many international economies. In 2000, for example, the U.S. imported more than $1.5 trillion in goods and services, thereby pumping that level of spending into foreign markets. Full Story

Some Tips on Minimizing Your Insurance Premium
The market is hardening, the market is hardening! We see this news in the Wall Street Journal, our trade magazines, local newspapers, and especially from our insurance brokers. It is true. The insurance industry is seeing significant increases in the premium they can charge for a given risk. Full Story

PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Potomac Valley Chapter Honors Design Excellence
The Potomac Valley Chapter of the AIA honored the winners of its 2001 Design Awards competition at a banquet December 8. Full Story

Congress Approves $250 Million for Brownfield Clean-up
Congress approved on December 20 a bill that would more than double funding for the cleanup of thousands of contaminated and underutilized sites known as brownfields. President Bush is expected to sign the measure. Full Story

Top Practitioners Debate Strategies at Texas A&M's February 8 Rowlett Lecture
Building on the adage that "without failure, there is no success," the CRS Center in Texas A&M University's College of Architecture will present "Three Firms, Three Strategies: Successes and Failures" on February 8. Full Story

Recent weeks: (delivered 12/21/01), (delivered 12/14/01), (delivered 12/07/01).

AIA Trust Has a New Exec
Ann P. Casso, began as executive director of the AIA Trust January 2, replacing Ann Marie Boyden, Hon. AIA, CAE, right, who is retiring after 13 years' of guiding and building the member-benefit program. Boyden will stay on for a three-month transition and continue serving as a consultant. For AIA members, the AIA Trust provides personal and business financial and insurance programs selected by architects and independent consultants. For more information, visit the Trust Web site.

MacArthur Genius Mockbee Dies
Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee, FAIA, professor of architecture at Auburn University and 2000 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow, died December 30 at the Auburn University Medical Center. He was 57. Full Story

AIA/CES Sets Policy on Earning LUs from AR Articles
The AIA Continuing Education System (CES), working with state licensing board officials and Architectural Record management, has set a new policy on earning and recording learning units from technical articles run in the magazine of the AIA specifically for earning AIA/CES LUs. Full Story

2002 Leadership Institute: Where Do You Want to Go?
If you want to develop the skills to become an engaged leader in your community, apply to attend the 2002 AIA Leadership Institute at Georgetown University, Washington D.C., March 21–24, 2002. The deadline for application is January 18, 2002. Full Story