INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
JUNE 2010
I nfrastructure M o n t h l y
PAGE 1
INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS
ON HOLD
You want jobs back in our industry?
Start with Congress approving
funding for the Highway Trust Fund.
PAGE 2
NEWSLETTER
INFORMATION
The Right Hire is proud to publish
Infrastructure Monthly, dedicated to
the Construction and Civil
Engineering industries
PAGE 2
SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT
GETS A SHOT IN THE ARM
Affordable loans could be available to
help small businesses across the
country
PAGE 3
THE RIGHT HIRE SURVEY/
INDUSTRY TRENDS
Introducing a new section on trends
as reported by companies across the
infrastructure industry
PAGE 3
ENGINEERS IMPROVING
POWER STRUCTURES
A new type of power line is making a
major impact
PAGE 4
ADDITIONAL $63 MILLION
APPROVED BY CALTRANS
Funds designed to improve public
transit while cleaning the air
Published by: The Right Hire
Matt Plotkin, President
310-844-7481
Mattp@therighthireinc.com
www.therighthireinc.com
Congress Needs To Act Today And well. But without a jobs bill with additional
infrastructure spending, as well as
Pass Legislation To Improve Our extending the re-authorization of the multi-
Infrastructure year highway bill, which is potentially going
By Matt Plotkin
President, The Right Hire
America has always found ways to be
innovative through infrastructure. Between
our roads and bridges as well as our rail and
highway systems, this country has always
been moved forward by infrastructure. But
today, in 2010, we have found ourselves at
a standstill when it comes to building our
future. Our broken Congress has found a
way to continually push back legislation that
would continue to maintain and improve our
infrastructure.
It is estimated that $1 billion of infrastructure
spending can help create 18,000 jobs. With
approximately 2 million unemployed
construction workers and many more
hanging on by a thread, we need a bill that
will quickly put them back to work by
creating jobs. These jobs would be building
things we need, better highways, sturdier
bridges, and so on and so on. The current
bill stalled in Congress, $500 billion over 5
years should do the trick, as long as it's
expansive enough to really make an impact.
The problem is, it seems next to impossible
that Congress will cut out the extra pork
barrel spending for their districts, so we may
get a bridge or two to nowhere. That's just
the reality of a broken Congress, so we
have to swallow that part of it. However, if
we think of the billions of dollars that could
be well spent on things America needs, so
the good will outshine the bad. But our
deficit is scaring a lot of politicians into
slowing down the legislative process.
I understand the concern we have about
America's deficit. I have my concerns as
to be pushed off to 2011 with small
extensions here and there, it will be more
than our federal government who will be in
debt. Many small businesses and the
workers they have employed will be having
financial difficulties of their own. And when
consumers struggle, so does the national
deficit.
One controversial, but feasible idea of
raising revenues for our roads is increasing
the gas tax, which has not been done since
1993. Currently, the tax is at 18.4 cents per
gallon. Without bringing politics into it, there
are many who reluctantly and quietly
support a gas tax increase, as the price of
gas has more than doubled while the tax for
it stays the same. That's like paying a 30
year old rate of 1.5% tax on a gallon of milk.
The maintenance of our highways and
bridges need to be paid for, and since we all
use and essentially damage our roads every
day, we need to put in a little more to fix
them. And with the Highway Trust Fund
essentially out of money while the system
that pays for it is broken, this would pump
much needed revenue into the Fund, while
not raising the deficit any higher than it
already is.
It's one thing to wait and hope the economy
turns around and starts producing tons of
jobs right away. It's another thing to make it
happen, this is my call to action, to call your
local Congressman, call your Senators, both
state and national. I will personally be
sending this article to all the appropriate
people in an effort to help get our industry
the funding it deserves and requires, and
let's get back to work building and in some
cases rebuilding our country.
 INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
THE RIGHT HIRE PRESENTS:
INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
By: Matt Plotkin
Welcome to the latest issue of
Infrastructure Monthly, provided and
created by The Right Hire. Each month,
you can expect a mix of Civil Engineering
and Construction articles, along with
business tips and ideas, industry trends,
and the latest alternative energy news. In
every issue, this newsletter will aim to
inform and educate its readers on the
latest infrastructure news.
The Right Hire is a recruiting firm focused
in the infrastructure fields of Construction
and Civil Engineering. We have worked
with companies of all sizes to find the top
talent on the market today. Contact us
today to find out how we can help
streamline your recruiting process.
Small businesses get credit boost from
new fund
(ARA) - Despite signs of economic
recovery, many small business owners
continue to struggle to borrow money to
sustain or grow their companies. This can
have a big impact on local communities,
which rely on small businesses to create
much-needed jobs and provide critical
services. With many traditional credit
sources continuing to keep a tight rein on
lending, many small business owners simply
do not have access to conventional means of
credit. The good news is that small business
owners are increasingly able to access
alternative and innovative sources of
financing, including Community
Development Financial Institutions
(CDFIs).
CDFIs, which were created more than 30
years ago, provide affordable loans and
banking services in communities that are
underserved by traditional banks. These
institutions have developed valuable
community and business expertise, designed
specialized loan products and they have a
remarkable track record of success. CDFIs
loaned and invested more than $2.2 billion
in fiscal year 2008. Since their inception,
CDFIs have provided more than $22 billion
in financing, supported more than 51,000
small businesses
and helped create
thousands of new jobs. CDFI loans to small
JUNE 2010
business typically range from $15,000 to
$300,000.
In addition, CDFIs often offer non-financial
services, such as entrepreneurial education,
savings programs and financial literacy
training, which can help small business
owners develop and grow their operations
and prepare the next generation of
entrepreneurs for success.
"CDFIs are a critical economic lifeline to
small business owners, especially during
periods of prolonged economic weakness,"
says Bob Annibale, global director of Citi
Microfinance and Community
Development. "In many cases, they can
make the difference between whether or not
a small business struggles to survive or
expands and creates new jobs, supporting
local economic growth and the community."
While small business owners who work
with CDFIs hail from a wide range of
industries and geographies, they all share
one thing in common: a need for quick
financing that is not fully being met by
traditional banks. For example,
entrepreneurs in the heart of Big Sky
country in Montana received two CDFI
loans totaling more than $100,000 that
enabled them to get their new lumber
operation up and running, while the owner
of a preschool in New Orleans borrowed
money from a local CDFI to fund vital
repairs to her building in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina.
In coastal Maine, the owner of a specialty
seafood company was able to access
significant venture capital to expand the
company's distribution nationwide, while
continuing to create jobs. In Austin, Texas,
the owner of a small construction company
received a $40,000 loan to pay for materials
and other up-front costs associated with the
industry. In all these instances, the need for
affordable loans was met with speed and
flexibility and was often accompanied by
invaluable entrepreneurial education and
low-cost training as well as technical
assistance in branding and marketing.
Citi recently launched the Communities at
Work Fund, a new $200 million fund that
will provide financing to CDFIs in urban
and rural areas in all 50 states. The fund was
created in partnership with the Calvert
Foundation and the Opportunity Finance
Network (OFN), two organizations expert in
CDFIs. To learn more about the
Communities at Work fund or to find out if
your small business can benefit from the
program and how to apply, visit
www.communitiesatworkfund.com.
 INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
JUNE 2010

The Right Hire Introduces Market Trends as Reported by Companies Around the
Industry
By Matt Plotkin
President, The Right Hire

I sincerely hope you've been enjoying Infrastructure Monthly. Every month we do our best to provide an
informative collection of articles to educate our audience. As a recruiter and business owner, I try to
keep my finger on the pulse of what's coming in the months ahead.

Lately, I've noticed an uptick in jobs within the Construction and Civil Engineering fields. It seems after
months of job losses, there arguably are better times ahead. In addition to writing pulitzer prize
winning articles, in the next couple of months I'm going to start a new section about industry trends.

As much as I talk to people in the industry everyday, both to companies and interviewing top talent,
one man alone cannot gage the entire industry as a whole. I'm asking for your assistance in this task,
and have put together a survey that will help us to better understand what's next for this industry. After
all, knowledge is power and that’s what we strive to give to you.

In addition to Infrastructure Monthly, you'll be receiving a survey every few months to help better
understand the trends within these markets. The survey will be short, the questions will be simple, and
it won’t take much time to fill out and email back. The more responses we get, the more accurately I
can report on these trends.

On behalf of the Infrastructure market, we thank you in advance for your participation.
Engineers Design Power Structures That Help Keep the "We're designing a structure based primarily on its deformation
Lights on ability rather than its strength," Rouse said.

ScienceDaily (May 13, 2010) — The metal poles that carry
power lines across the country are built to take whatever blows at
them. So they're big and round and sturdy -- as much as 12 feet in
diameter and 100 feet high.
But transmission poles can still fail under the stress of extreme
ice and wind. They could also be vulnerable to an infrastructure
attack. And when one of them falls, others are pulled down until
heavy dead-end structures stop the cascading collapse.
"There are long stretches of these transmission lines across the
countryside," said Jon "Matt" Rouse, an Iowa State University
assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental
engineering. "If you take down one of the poles, you take 10
miles of poles out with it. It's very important to protect these
structures."
The result is a nominally rectangular pole with a built-in hinge
near the base. There are metal plates on either side of the hinge
that act as replaceable structural fuses -- they stretch and buckle
when the pole sustains an extreme load, allowing it to deflect
while shielding the rest of the pole from damage. There are also
tendon cables running up and down the inside of the pole that
resist stretching and work to keep the pole upright. And so when
there's a failure, the fuses bend, the hinge pivots, the interior
cables tighten and nearby poles are allowed to pick up some of
the load.
"If a structure can deform sufficiently, it can allow the rest of the
system to use reserve strength from other structures," Rouse said.
"It allows the next pole down the line to share the load of ice,
wind, a broken line or an attack, rather than forcing one pole to
withstand the load on its own."

Rouse has worked with Casey Faber, a graduate student in civil
engineering, to design a new kind of pole that not only resists
cascading failures, but is cheaper and easier to use.
Rouse and Faber have designed hinged poles that don't need a
crane for installation, so they'd be easier to raise. If they're
exposed to an extreme load, they could be repaired rather than
replaced. They would resist cascading failures so utilities could
do away with the expensive dead-end structures. And, they would
allow power companies to provide better and more reliable
service.
Rouse and Faber said the key was to take a new approach to
structural design.
Rouse and Faber have used support from Iowa State's Electric
Power Research Center to successfully test a prototype pole and
are working to secure a patent. They also say the utility and
power structure industries have expressed interest in their
technology.
The time is right for better power structures, Rouse said.
"The country is in the midst of a major shift toward wind power,"
he said. "We'll be building a lot of transmission lines over the
next 20 years. We really need to address these reliability and
security issues."
INFRASTRUCTURE MONTHLY
111 PUBLIC TRANSIT AND AIR QUALITY PROJECTS
RECEIVE $63.3 MILLION IN FUNDING
Sacramento – Caltrans today announced it has awarded
$63.3 million to fund 111 public transit and air quality
projects across California to upgrade transit service and
purchase eco-friendly buses. All of the funding comes from
Proposition 1B, the 2006 transportation bond, which
includes $3.6 billion to improve public transit in
California.  the construction of the South Line Phase 2 Light Rail
“When the voters passed Proposition 1B, they wanted action
and action is what they’re getting. Proposition 1B is paying
for vital transportation projects all over California,” said
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Investing in our
infrastructure is strengthening our economy and creating jobs
when we need them most.”
Some of the more notable projects that were awarded
Proposition 1B funding include:
Bay Area
• $3.9 million to the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers
Authority for the Caltrain Positive Train Control
System, which will help prevent train-to-train
collisions, derailments, and reduce the possibility of a
train moving on the wrong track.
• $1.3 million to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid
Transit District to provide partial funding for the
Warm Springs Extension Project that will add more
than five miles of new rail line and a new station south
of the existing Fremont Station.  •
• $10.3 million to Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority to replace and repair various segments of
the light rail system and help purchase 70 hybrid
diesel/electric buses.
• $4.8 million to the San Francisco Municipal
Transportation Agency toward the repair of eight light
rail vehicles, construction of the Central Subway light
rail line and for high-speed connectivity and
communications upgrades.
San Diego
• $1.59 million to the San Diego Association of
Governments toward the purchase of 57 light rail
vehicles
for the Blue Line Light Rail Corridor Project,
JUNE 2010
which will increase light rail capacity and improve
service.
Sacramento
• $5.5 million to Sacramento Area Council of
Governments for Universal Fare Card
Implementation, a fully integrated regional transit
electronic fare collection system.
• $4.0 million to Sacramento Regional Transit toward
Extension, which will add four miles of light rail track
from Meadowview Station to Cosumnes River
College.
Central Valley
• $2.1 million to the city of Fresno/Fresno Area Express
to build a facility to house paratransit equipment and
services. The project will consolidate multiple rented
facilities into one facility with money saved going to
daily operations. 
• $875,248 to the San Joaquin Regional Transit District
(seven regional transit operators in the southern
Central Valley) to purchase eight buses and two transit
utility vehicles, build bus shelters, add trash bins, and
make bus stops compliant with Americans With
Disabilities Act standards.
• $353,674 to the Tulare County Association of
Governments for the expansion of a Compressed
Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station in Visailia to
support the conversion to an all-CNG fleet.
Inland Empire
$3.3 million to San Bernardino Associated
Governments for the Metrolink Positive Train Control
Project. 
• $870,637 to Riverside County Transportation
Commission to add 500 parking spaces at the La
Sierra Metrolink station in Riverside and create a
transfer location for the Orange County Transportation
Authority/Riverside Transit Agency commuter route
to Orange County.
“These projects will reduce traffic congestion and
transportation-related pollution, improving our air quality and
bringing us another step closer to reaching our emissions-
reduction goals," said Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Cindy
McKim.