James Sommerville, Inc.

Posted by Tom Treanor on Mar 18, 2015

Continuous improvement and respect for people articulate the vision and goals of James Sommerville, Inc. (JSI). JSI performs grading, paving and underground construction projects throughout the Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Southern Santa Clara County areas, with a focus on quality and safety. Company founder Jimmy Sommerville has developed these core values over a lifetime in the construction business.
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Xeriscaping for California's Drought

Posted by Robin Steudler on Mar 18, 2015

With historic drought conditions and looming water shortages, many areas within California will be faced with water restrictions.  Homeowners would be wise to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
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Making Up Watsonville's Bedrock - Graniterock a Mainstay for 114 Years

Posted by Reposted from another publication on Mar 18, 2015

The siren warning that a blast was imminent at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry Tuesday came two minutes before 25,000 pounds of explosive would hammer loose a landslide of rocks and boulders. When the time came, electronic timers ignited 74 explosive charges, sending a massive cloud of stone and dirt into the air. This was followed by the roar and rumble as the rock tumbled into the quarry. 
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Paul Lessard, PhD - Graniterock Scientist

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

Few who know Graniterock’s Dr. Paul Lessard would imagine that he faced learning challenges in childhood. “I had to repeat third grade because I was unable to read,” recalls Paul, and “I never really felt ‘smart’ during grammar or high school.” It wasn’t until after he graduated from Palma High School in Salinas and entered UC Davis that Paul realized, “Getting good grades was mostly a matter of working very hard.” He suddenly found himself getting A’s in all his classes. “I did an internship in physical chemistry and got to play with lasers and a lot of complicated electronics to measure chemical reactions. I was hooked. I graduated with an Environmental Toxicology major, and ended up completing my PhD in Physical Chemistry.”
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A Good RAP: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement

Posted by Mike Cook on Mar 18, 2015

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) can be used as an aggregate and partial oil replacement in the hot recycling of asphalt paving mixtures. The most common method (conventional recycled hot mix) involves a process in which RAP is combined with virgin aggregate and new asphalt cement in a central mixing plant to produce new hot mix paving mixtures. 
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Big Sur rock shed a dramatic covering for Highway 1

Posted by Reposted from another publication on Mar 18, 2015

Tunnel-like structure, bridge open on Highway 1
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Are You a Good Risk for a Bond?

Posted by Steve Snodgrass on Mar 18, 2015

Graniterock CFO Steve Snodgrass contributes another  article excerpted from the 1956 Engineering News-Record which shows how “the more things change the more they remain the same.”
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Friends of the Family: Wilkinson Construction

Posted by Steve Bosco on Mar 18, 2015

Greg Scopazzi and Phil Wilkinson
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Hike in California "Car Tax" Would Raise Up to $4 Billion

Posted by Reposted from another publication on Mar 18, 2015

Hike in California 'car tax' would raise up to $4 billion Sacramento Bee -- A proposed ballot measure to more than double California's vehicle license fee would raise $3 billion to $4 billion annually for state and local transportation programs, according to estimates by the Legislative Analyst's Office.           
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Terri Brazil and the "Family Business"

Posted by Rose Ann Woolpert on Mar 18, 2015

People like Terri Brazil are what makes Graniterock truly a “family business.”  Terri brings the feeling of family to the Construction Division’s Custom Work department, based in Watsonville, where she works as Contract Administrator, and since joining Graniterock in 1999, she has brought three nephews on board with the Company. Greg Brazil and John Taylor both work with the Construction Division, and Jake Brazil ran Graniterock Builders before starting his own business, Brazil Construction, with the goal of becoming the number one customer at Graniterock’s Design Center in Cupertino.
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