Construction contracting is a highly regulated business.  This is even more true when it comes to home improvement work, a staple for small contractors.  The first step for anyone in the business is to get a contractor’s license in the right classification.  Unfortunately, the requirement is widely disregarded. 
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A negative event occurs that would logically seem to depress the stock market but results in triple digit gains, or a positive happening has the exact opposite effect. So take that as a warning – just like the weather, when it comes to economic predictions there are no guarantees. 
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CEO Sean Venables and his partner Mark Petersen recently described the company’s behavior-based safety program. “It was slow getting this approach started, but what we’ve seen is a change in attitude about safety among people in the field. Their concern for each other’s well-being, where everyone is looking out for each other, has made a big, big difference. 
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Many people in our industry are feeling the waters rise around us.  New requirements for controlling and treating storm water come out nearly every day; it’s hard to know what exactly to do.  Many are familiar with the Construction General Permit, but how about the Municipal Stormwater General Permit or the Industrial General Permit?  Don’t worry, you won’t be tested on that, but it is important to know the similarities and differences between them.  As newer versions of these permits are written, they constantly reference each other and the regulations tend to grow together.  When one thing works, the others can be quick to adopt it.  So how do you make sure you are in compliance?  How do you follow all three at once?
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A native Californian, Jim’s family moved from the San Joaquin Valley to Santa Cruz when he was in sixth-grade.  He graduated from Soquel High School in 1968 and the University of the Pacific in 1972, where he played football with Pete Carroll and was on the golf team as well.  After graduation he received his teaching credential from University of the Pacific.
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100 years ago In 1914, Graniterock expanded its quarry operations with the purchase of 151 acres from Henry F. Blohm. The property, a section of the Jesse D. Carr subdivision, was once a part of the Mexican land grant Rancho Los Aromitas y Agua Caliente, which was owned by Policronio Estolastico de Guadalupe Anzar. This is where the A.R. Wilson Quarry crushing plants, offices and shops are now located. 
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 Many of us spend our lives listening to a seemingly endless stream of information from radio, television, the internet and social media outlets, from our co-workers and significant others – so much so that it becomes a challenge to focus on what is really important. I am guilty of letting my mind wander as my kids relate some mundane (in my mind anyway) event that has happened to them at school. I usually pay the price later on when the subject comes up again and I’m asked if I remember. No such luck, I can’t remember a thing, because I wasn’t paying attention.
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Tony Ruiz was born to be a builder. As a teenager, Tony recalls, “I didn’t like school and I always wanted to get into construction. When I was 15 or 16, I would go down to the laborers' hall before school, trying to get onto a job. Finally, when I was 17, I was hired one day to strip stem walls during the building of the 280 freeway. I worked 10 hours straight that day, until the foreman made me stop.” That was the beginning of Tony’s construction career, and he has never looked back.
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On the job at Graniterock, Jon is a mild-mannered geologist whose role is to help plan and adjust mining, crushing and processing techniques to produce consistent, high-quality aggregates for use in Company products such as asphalt and concrete. Away from work, he is a Superman who has trained thousands of hours to qualify for a spot at the starting line at “Kona”, the iconic triathlon more than 150,000 people aspire to join each year.
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For three months this summer, the pounding of compactors, shrill of back up alarms and reverberation of rollers and excavation equipment competed with the roar of jets taking off and landing at San Francisco International Airport. Graniterock Team Members and joint venture partner DeSilva Gates Construction were busy installing new Engineered Materials Arrestor System (EMAS) safety devices on two of the airport’s four major runways.
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