Ice dams are back in season (La Crosse Tribune)
December’s heavy snowfall coupled with its freezing and warming weather patterns have created an outbreak of residential roof ice dams, local roofing companies report.

The Added Benefits of Environmentally-friendly Construction (Lexington Clipper-Herald)
(ARA) - Homeowners are willing to pay more for a green home -- as long as incentives or rebates are available to help defray the extra costs, according to a 2007 survey by Public Opinion Strategies for the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). The survey also indicated that among those who said they would pay more for a home with green features, 74 percent said they would be willing to ...

CertainTeed Insulation Completes Acquisition of Canadian Insulation Manufacturer - To Expand North American Presence (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
CertainTeed Insulation today announced the completion of its acquisition of the OFI Income Fund on January 2, 2009.

CertainTeed Insulation Completes Acquisition of Canadian Insulation Manufacturer - To Expand North American Presence (CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance)
CertainTeed Insulation today announced the completion of its acquisition of the OFI Income Fund on January 2, 2009. Under the agreement, CertainTeed Insulation acquires all of the assets of the OFI Income Fund and the OFI Operating Trust, including Ottawa Fibre, for approximately $42 million CDN, and the assumption of its adjusted debt.

New Georgetown airport terminal to be unveiled (The Myrtle Beach Sun News)
Pilots and visitors to the Georgetown County Airport will now be greeted by a $2 million welcome mat.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Real Estate Bubbles (Multi-Housing News)
When reporting on multifamily finance in the 2000s, I came across a common refrain from desperate mortgage bankers again and again: "There is a surplus of money chasing a limited amount of product."

Drive Your Buildings to Peak Operating Efficiency and Save Money (Multi-Housing News)
Let’s rethink the way we measure building efficiency. As an industry, we have already developed effective programs to certify buildings as green and reward major development and infrastructure initiatives. These are important and they should be continued.

Amarillo market slows: Home construction down (Amarillo Globe-News)
[Builders launched almost 120 fewer single-family homes in Amarillo in 2008 through November than they did in the same period of 2007.

House Republicans draft tax reform proposal (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Amid the financial worries and talk of state shortfalls, some House Republicans are suggesting that now is the time to eliminate the state's corporate and individual income taxes. Not only that, but they're also calling for dropping the sales tax from 6 cents to a nickel on every dollar of goods purchased. So how will taking away all that revenue stabilize the shaky status of the state's ...

Roof collapses keeping fire companies busy (KXLY-TV Spokane)
Spokane Fire Companies have been hustling all across the city since early Friday morning as they responded to nearly a dozen snow-related roof collapses.