In Brief

Steven Shaw, the former owner of Tougher Industries Inc., Albany, N.Y., will be sentenced to prison in October, after pleading guilty to tax evasion, embezzlement and fraud, The Business Review newspaper of Albany reported. Shaw and three partners had purchased the mechanical contractor from PSEG Energy Technologies in 2003. Shaw pleaded guilty in June to lying in order to obtain a bank loan and to using company funds to buy a boat and personal real estate. Tougher at one time was a $50 million contractor owned by Donald A. McKay, the 1989 president of Mechanical Contractors Association of America.

Homebuilder Lennar Homes has successfully challenged the residential sprinkler ordinance passed in Zephyrhills, Fla. Lennar is building a 250-unit townhouse gated community. Zephyrhills, which passed the sprinkler ordinance in September 2007, maintained that any of the units that have not been permitted should be sprinklered, but those permitted or under construction would be exempt. Lennar's lawyers argued that the ordinance does not meet the statutory requirements for a local amendment to the state's fire prevention codes and that the appeal system is lacking in due process. Zephyrhills backed down in the face of Lennar's legal firepower. “They [Lennar] are holding all the cards,” City Manager Steve Spina told the Tampa Tribune newspaper.

The importance of codes and standards to plumbing-product design and the growing impact of the green movement on the plumbing industry were the dual themes of the recent “Codes, Standards and Green Workshop,” hosted by the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute at its suburban Chicago headquarters on May 28-29. More than 40 industry personnel - from both member and non-member firms - attended the two-day event. Among the topics covered by PMI Technical Director Shawn Martin were how to read and use plumbing product standards such as ASME A112, NSF 61, ASSE 1002, CSA B125, and IAPMO Z124, among many others.

J.F. Ahern Co. has established an Energy Solutions Department that will work with existing facility owners to analyze the energy and utility consumption of their buildings and to propose solutions for reducing such consumption. Ahern will be performing audits of these facilities and working with customers to perform necessary upgrades, repairs, and/or maintenance on the mechanical systems to improve efficiency. Spearheading the initiative is J.F. Ahern department manager Steve Rohde.

This year, MasterClass Conference 2008: Industry Perspectives will be held October 1- 2 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The conference is an educational symposium hosted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association. Each day will feature speakers, and on the first day there will be roundtable discussions as well as an evening reception on October 1. Topics will include sustainability and universal design, among others. For more information call 800/THE-NKBA (843-6522).