June 18, 2008 On "America's Business with Mike Hambrick" radio program and video podcast, Newt Gingrich, Chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future nonpartisan group highlights group's petition drive calling for more domestic oil exploration. Gingrich, former Republican Georgia congressman and former Speaker of the House says America has huge, untapped reserves of oil as well as coal. More than 800,000 people have signed online "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." petition at americansolutions.com.

June 18, 2008 NAM President, John Engler, made statement thanking Taiwan for joining U.S. and Japan in consultation request against European Union at World Trade Organization for circumventing commitments under Information Technology Agreement. ITA was established to spur worldwide innovation, growth, and advancement in technology. EU has unilaterally imposed duties and is threatening to impose additional duties on variety of high tech products that, under ITA, should be duty-free.

June 18, 2008 AFCOM has appointed Maureen Versen, head of commercial real estate and data center initiatives, Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. and Tim Hazzard, president and general manager, Connectivity Technologies, to board of Data Center Institute. Formed in 2001, institute consists of forward-thinking data center managers, solution providers, and industry leaders whose charter is to identify and examine issues and trends affecting data center and provide thought leadership.

June 18, 2008 Council for U.S. and Italy announced initiation of program which will support research and public discussion of Italian and transatlantic economic issues in U.S. Under agreement, The Peterson Institute will appoint visiting fellows to provide Italian voice and European expertise for Institute's research agenda and public programming. Agreement will lead to additional events and publications on Italian economy and Italian perspective on common economic challenges to U.S. and Italy.

June 17, 2008 Mike Leonard, water operations manager for City of Roswell, GA, has devoted his career to safe water and has been honored with multiple awards, including AWWA George Warren Fuller Award and Diamond Pin. Leonard's top priorities for the year include promoting value of water professionals and their work, recruiting new water professionals to replace retirements, increasing member participation in AWWA, and strengthening Section-Association cooperation.

June 17, 2008 National Transportation Safety Board recommends that members of Tour Operators Program of Safety set requirements for establishing and maintaining system for continuously analyzing effectiveness of inspection and maintenance programs. Safety audit program should be expanded to ensure that operators implement effective maintenance quality assurance program, and requirements should be established for providing formal, model-specific helicopter maintenance training for mechanics.

June 17, 2008 According to David Huether, Chief Economist of NAM, negative risks to near-term outlook from housing downturn have become amplified by declining employment, surging energy prices and accompanying real wage declines, slowdown in business investment, and excess inventory build up. Current forecast calls GDP to decline at annual rate of 1% in second quarter, the first quarterly decline in nearly 7 years. Recovery will begin in second half of year followed by 2.2% growth in 2009.

June 17, 2008 Assessment report to U.S. Congress and new Congressional caucus, both addressing high-performing buildings, will be unveiled at briefing with ASHRAE as lead sponsor. Overseen by National Institute for Building Sciences, report contains 7 recommendations to assist in encouraging creation and operation of high-performance buildings. Caucus will work to heighten awareness and inform policymakers about major impact buildings have on health, safety, and welfare.

June 17, 2008 Allowing user input of Machine Stress Rated and Machine Evaluated Lumber, AWC's online span calculator expands lumber specification options for architects and engineers designing joists and rafters. With manufacturers taking renewed interest in machine grading technology and attempting to derive greater value from products they manufacture, having MSR and MEL in span calculator permits them to point users to this tool for lumber joist sizing needs.

June 16, 2008 According to NTSB, FAA should require that all air tour operators establish and maintain system for continuously analyzing performance and effectiveness of inspection and maintenance program. Air tour operators should also be required to provide formal, model-specific helicopter maintenance training for mechanics. NTSB also recommends that FAA develop mechanism to provide direct surveillance of air tour maintenance at all locations where maintenance is conducted.

June 13, 2008 Joined by key industries, labor and consumer groups, ATA launched coalition effort urging Congress to immediately find bipartisan solutions to worldwide surge in oil prices and decline in U.S. economy. Three priority steps included: fully close all loopholes, ensure all energy traders are subject to limits imposed on U.S. exchanges, and increase margin requirements and impose appropriate disclosure/financial requirements on institutional investors.

June 13, 2008 Scheduled for June 17-20 at San Diego Convention Center, 2008 BIO International Convention will feature 36 country and regional pavilions with Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia having highest attendance. Internationally focused educational sessions and events will include International Think and Drink Discussion Forum, International Biotechnology Marketplace, and Super Session - The Dynamics of Globalized World and Future of Biotechnology Industry.

June 13, 2008 Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives, Green Jobs Improvement Act would expand provision in Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to allow merit shop training programs to receive federal funding to help create renewable energy skilled workforce. Provision, as it is currently written, limits training grant funding to entities that "partner with labor organizations." Legislation will open door to 86% of U.S. construction workforce who chose to be merit shop employees.

June 13, 2008 In recognition of FMpedia online facility management glossary, IFMA Foundation has received 2008 FMA of Australia and Rider Levett Bucknall FM Industry Achievement Award. FMpedia unites facility professionals worldwide and empowers them to define and discuss terminology. As Australia's premier award for facility management innovation, strategy, and practice, FM Industry Achievement Award recognizes programs or ideas that positively contribute to organizational success.

June 13, 2008 Four national standards body members of ISO and IEC - Brazil, India, South Africa, and Venezuela - have submitted appeals against approval of ISO/IEC DIS 29500, Information technology - Office Open XML formats, as an ISO/IEC International Standard. Appeals are being considered by ISO Secretary-General and IEC General Secretary who, within 30 days, are required to submit appeals, with their comments, to ISO Technical Management Board and IEC Standardization Management Board.

June 13, 2008 Scheduled for July 9, 2008, Import Safety Summit will be comprised of 5 moderated, panel-based discussions involving public and private sector leaders. Participants will learn about solutions being developed and examine challenges that still need to be addressed in nation's public-private partnership on import safety. Standards and Certification panel will address importance of accredited 3rd-body certification in enhancing product safety and building consumer confidence.

June 13, 2008 Doncasters Trucast Inc., manufacturer of turbocharger wheels for automotive and power generation industries, is first to be certified to American National Standard for occupational health and safety management systems. Standard helps organizations of all sizes and types design and implement approaches to continuously improve occupational health and safety performance. It is compatible with environmental and quality management standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

June 13, 2008 Scheduled for June 24-25, Open Forum for Standards Developers will foster open exchange between standards developing organizations, consortia, stakeholders in standards industry, consumers, and policy makers. Agenda will focus on pros and cons of collaboration with other standard-setting organizations, emerging technologies, and emerging industry sector trends, as well as intersection of standards and public policy, and updates on IP Rights.

June 13, 2008 Held May 5-8, Pan American Standards Commission Assembly 2008 was hosted by Instituto Argentino de Normalizacion y Certificacion, Argentina's national standards body, and included representatives from North, Central, and South America. Meetings provided forum to advance standardization activities in Americas, and offered opportunities for U.S. interests to share information and network with standards and conformance bodies of region.

June 13, 2008 Making formal commitment to cooperation in standardization activities, ANSI and Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality signed Memorandum of Understanding. Agreement recognizes important role that standards and conformity assessment activities play in safeguarding consumer health and safety, protecting environment, and ensuring fair trade, economic growth, and innovation. Dialogue between countries will be encouraged, and informational materials will be shared.