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Are electronic signatures valid for lien waivers?

Nate Budde Construction & Building Materials

For being such a document-intensive industry, the construction industry is notoriously slow to adopt new technology. Even when technology could significantly streamline and improve tedious business processes, it is oftentimes viewed with suspicion and distrust.

Discovering Wisconsin’s Frank Lloyd Wright Trail

Dave G. Houser Recreation & Leisure

Timed to celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday this year, a new trail has been established to take travelers on a self-guided architectural adventure through southern Wisconsin. Wright is widely regarded as America's greatest architect. Born in the Badger State's rugged Driftless Region, he spent his boyhood summers working on his uncle's farm in Spring Green and eventually built his now famous home and studio — Taliesin — just a mile away.

Boundary disputes: A tale of two townships

Wendy Lathrop Construction & Building Materials

While looking for a recent example of boundary line commissions in action for a workshop I was to present, I came across a 2015 case that not only illustrated the application of a particular statutory procedure but also presented some fine support of basic boundary principles.

Housing shortage benefits sellers, affluent buyers

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Shrinking inventories and concern over a possible increase in mortgage rates drove up sales of new and existing homes in May. Along with sales, they also drove up prices, placing homeownership further out of reach for lower-income, younger and first-time buyers.

Sensory urbanism: Designing cities for our neglected senses

Lucy Wallwork Civil & Government

Urbanist circles are awash with new buzzwords — "everyday urbanism," "post-urbanism," "tactical urbanism," "urbanism without effort," and so on. Here, I introduce an intriguing one that is only slowly gathering popularity. This is "sensory urbanism." But what exactly does it mean? Sensory urbanism is a reaction against ways of thinking about and designing cities that are overdependent on our sense of sight.

The bathroom is the new kitchen

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Lifestyle changes and new technologies have transformed the kitchen into the central hub of today’s home. That has driven a surge in kitchen remodels in recent years as home prices have risen, releasing pent-up demand among long-term owners and new buyers to upgrade and update their homes. As those kitchen projects get completed, homeowners planning to remain in their homes for the long haul are turning next to the bathroom as the space they most want to redesign.

The deadline for converting to Tier 4 engines is around the corner

Clayton Costello Construction & Building Materials

The end of 2017 is fast approaching, bringing with it the deadline for converting to Tier 4 engines for diesel engine users. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Tier 4 regulations in late 2004, the goal was to cut down on pollutants harmful to the environment. The EPA particularly targeted byproducts known to create smog.

Raising the minimum wage: Where do small business owners stand?

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Think all small business owners oppose raising the federal minimum wage of $7.25 in place since 2009? Well, think again. According to a recent poll of more than 700 respondents conducted by BuyBizSell, 47 percent of small business owners favor raising the minimum wage, while 58 percent of prospective small business buyers support a hike.

Life-stage transitions continue to shape housing market

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Predictions that aging baby boomers would flock to retirement havens or that millennials would split from the lifestyle patterns of their parents and grandparents and shun a suburban existence appear to have been premature. As recent market studies show — for both buyers and sellers — life-stage transitions, not cohort behavior, are having the greatest impact on the housing market. In fact, life-stage events often trigger the decision to sell or purchase a home, even more than economic conditions.

Hostile architecture and America’s homeless

Lucy Wallwork Civil & Government

A spate of mayors across the globe have spent the night sleeping rough in solidarity with their rising number of homeless constituents. Simultaneously, the built environment we occupy has been transforming to become more and more hostile to these very people.

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