LA hobbyists seek $1.5 million prize in NASA Mars robot challengePasadena Star-NewsThe robot builders will gather June 5 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, and are unlikely to get past the first of two stages. That's if the robots meet some strict guidelines, such as an 80-kilogram maximum weight. Last year, only ...

US homebuilder confidence risesWorcester TelegramThe National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence rose to 44 from a revised 41 in April, the Washington-based group reported today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for an increase to 43. Readings below ...

US housing starts fall, but permits surgedWorcester TelegramThe Commerce Department said Thursday that builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, a 16.5 percent drop from the March pace of 1.02 million. Applications for building permits rose 14.3 percent to a rate of 1.02 ...and more »

Jobless claims adding to signsWorcester TelegramWhile builders pulled back last month after housing starts reached an almost five-year high in March, a surge in permits signals residential construction will soon rebound. Starts slumped 16.5 percent, the most since February 2011, to an 853,000 ...and more »

Government cutbacks depress US construction spendingWorcester TelegramConstruction spending fell 1.7 percent in March, compared with February, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It marked the second decline in the past three months. January activity plunged a record 4 percent, which represented a downward ...and more »

News in BriefWorcester TelegramAwe said the builders could not possibly have mistaken the pyramid mound, which is about 100 feet tall, for a natural hill because the ruins were well-known and the landscape there is naturally flat. “These guys knew that this was an ancient structure ...

Ludlow AdvertiserNo sixth form planned says new man at Tenbury High SchoolLudlow AdvertiserBut the man who had no expectations of becoming a head when he came to Tenbury High School last September says he does recognise the challenges of young people having to travel to Ludlow, Hereford, Worcester or Kidderminster to take Alevels. He came to ...

NASA (press release)NASA 360 Wins Telly Awards Web BlurbNASA (press release)... named "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" during the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, held June 15, 2012, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Curry and other builders competed for the $1.5 million NASA prize, ...and more »

Declining MCS figures hint at industry's green apathy - Builders Merchants JournalBuilders Merchants JournalNeil Schofield, head of external and governmental affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group, said: "The latest MCS registration figures released by DECC are extremely disappointing, yet will come as little surprise to those who have watched the Government's ...and more »

William Lyon Homes falls in 1st day on NYSEWorcester TelegramThe Commerce Department said U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes, but most of the decline was in apartment construction. Applications for new construction reached a five-year peak, evidence the housing revival will continue. William Lyon shares ...