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The agencies have observed substantial growth in many CRE asset and lending markets, increased competitive pressures, rising CRE concentrations in banks, and an easing of CRE underwriting standards. Financial institutions should maintain underwriting discipline and exercise prudent risk-management practices to identify, measure, monitor, and manage the risks arising from CRE lending

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it plans to propose expanded disability compensation eligibility for Veterans exposed to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved revisions to the Pueblo of Pojoaque’s water quality standards. The Clean Water Act revisions included revised aquatic life criteria and updates to technical references. The Pueblo, located in New Mexico, protects public health and aquatic life for the area that includes the Rio Pojoaque, Rio Tesuque, and Rio Nambe water bodies.

In an effort to help low-income residents find higher-paying jobs and become self-sufficient, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a combined nearly $100 million investment through HUD's Jobs Plus Pilot Program and Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. Together, these programs support local public housing authorities and their partners to help residents increase earned income and financial literacy, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward economic independence and self-sufficiency.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that manufacturers have surpassed the more stringent 2014 standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while model year 2014 fuel economy remains steady at the highest level ever recorded

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced an agreement with the Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company that will reduce air pollution from the company’s F.B. Culley and A.B. Brown coal-fired electric generating plants in southern Indiana, near Evansville

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today announced the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has awarded $750,000 to the city of Ennis for water, sewer, natural gas and street infrastructure improvements through the Texas Capital Fund (TCF). The award will support the creation of a plastic materials manufacturing facility operated by Sterilite Corp. and 40 new full-time jobs.

Attend Building Innovation 2016: The National Institute of Building Sciences Conference & Expo and check professional education requirements off the top of your 2016 “to-do” list. The Institute’s Annual Conference, to be held January 11-15, in Metro Washington, D.C., is a great way to earn continuing education units (CEUs) while hearing from speakers who are experts in their fields. With the theme Achieving a Resilient Future, Building Innovation 2016 offers a number of educational sessions that give attendees the opportunity to select from a total of 41.25 Learning Units (LUs) from the American Institute of Architects.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Forest Service, awarded a contract for the federal government’s first-ever joint solar power procurement in California and Nevada. Solar developer SolarCity Corporation of San Mateo, Calif. was awarded a power purchase agreement (PPA) as part of the Federal Aggregated Solar Procurement Pilot (FASPP) -- a strategic sourcing project that combines several small to mid-size photovoltaic (PV) installation opportunities within northern California and northern Nevada into a single procurement.

The Justice Department announced today that Southwind Village LLC, the owner and operator of Southwind Village Mobile Home Park in North Fort Myers, Florida, has agreed to pay $60,000 to resolve allegations that it discriminated against African Americans in violation of the Fair Housing Act.  The settlement was approved today by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 10 completed over 50 environmental compliance and enforcement actions in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington from July 1, 2015 through September 30, 2015

Four mortgage modification scammers, Brian Pacios, Chad Caldaronello, Justin Moreira and Derek Nelson will be banned from selling debt relief products and services under settlements resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceived homeowners facing foreclosure

Last week, representatives of more than 190 nations agreed to an unprecedented global climate agreement that establishes a long-term, durable framework to address one of the gravest threats facing humanity.  As the President said, the agreement in Paris creates a mechanism for us to continually tackle climate change in an effective way and begin the next phase of building a low-carbon, climate-resilient future while generating new jobs and industries.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced $21.8 million in grants for 295 humanities projects, including new grants to digitize historical materials held by individuals, give a second life to important out-of-print humanities books, and support public programs on pressing contemporary challenges.

Lord Richard Rogers, an internationally renowned architect recognized for people-oriented building design and development, has been named the 2015 recipient of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. Rogers will be awarded the prize, which is the Institute’s highest honor, at a celebratory event during the ULI Europe Conference set for February 2–3, 2016, in Paris

a 30-year agency veteran who for the past decade has overseen the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site – has been promoted to a newly created position of Chief of Major Capital Projects, where he will oversee projects including the Port Authority Bus Terminal replacement, the PATH-to-Newark Liberty International Airport extension, the Bayonne Bridge “Raise the Roadway” navigational clearance project, and the emerging Gateway Tunnel project on behalf of the agency.

Scientists from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have discovered that a metabolic pathway previously only suggested to be functional in photosynthetic organisms is actually a major pathway and can enable efficient conversion of carbon dioxide to organic compounds.

In October 2015, NCHV held The Drive to December: Veterans Access to Housing Summit, a training event gathering stakeholders from around the country to address their local challenges in housing homeless veterans. The event, presented in partnership with Citi and The Home Depot Foundation, was titled"The Drive to December," to address the urgency of our efforts to meet the goal of ending veteran homelessness in every community by creating functional zero systems.

On the radar of every commercial real estate broker, investor, and developer, Austin, Texas, is the golden U.S. city with the magic combination of low unemployment, accelerated job growth, and innovative urban living. It is the envy of other U.S. cities for breezing through the Great Recession, for attracting record population growth that includes 35 percent millennials, and for swiftly becoming a secondary commercial real estate market.

Be there to honor the winners of the 2015 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Awards. The National Institute of Building Sciences Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) will recognize the 2015 winners on Thursday, January 14, 2016, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm, at the Beyond Green™ Awards Luncheon, sponsored by the Illuminating Engineering Society, held during Building Innovation 2016: