These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
- Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP recently announced that it would pay $8 billion to acquire Biomed Realty Trust in one of the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) privatizations planned so far this year.
- The House passed a bill 261-159 to overturn the 40-year-old ban on U.S. oil exports. However, President Obama has threatened to veto the bill, which failed to reach the 280 votes needed to overturn a presidential veto.
- The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio stayed nationwide implementation of the EPA’s Clean Water Rule until jurisdiction and other legal issues can be sorted out. Many states, industries, and associations filed lawsuits challenging the new rule in various U.S. Courts of Appeals and District Courts; the challenges filed in Appeals Courts were consolidated to the Sixth Circuit.
- A loophole in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is allowing investors to build a 900-foot condominium in one of the richest areas of New York at the lower investment rate intended for projects in targeted employment areas.
Denver, CO, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user XB9000, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- The mayor of Denver is working to implement new construction defects reform to address a shortage of condo construction. The proposed ordinance requires plaintiffs to prove that alleged defects caused harm to the occupant or the structure before any claim can move forward.
- California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring that the $291 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Sacramento (CalPERS) and the $184 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) divest from coal company investments by July 1, 2017.
- A U.S. Magistrate Judge set a May trial date for a lawsuit involving a Montana coal-fired power plant. The plant owners are accused of violating the federal Clean Air Act and state laws.
- Property owners in St. Clair County, Illinois, have sued a bank and an appraisal firm, claiming that the defendants’ faulty conduct resulted in the plaintiffs’ underwater mortgage and a lost business opportunity.
- Scientists found fracking components in groundwater near fracking sites in northeastern Pennsylvania. However, the contamination likely originated from spills from surface operations, not the actual wells.
- The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has revealed new data on possible adverse health effects associated with fracking. The results of a new study recently published in the journal Epidemiology link the proximity of expectant mothers’ homes to active fracking sites with high-risk pregnancies and premature births.
Recent Comments