Electrical Work

WPCS International Inc. said it won $7.4 million in communications infrastructure contracts for projects in the United States and abroad. They include electrical work for Camden County and construction of a wireless communications network for Toms River police cars. The Exton company also will install surveillance cameras in the cars. WPCS is an engineering company specializing in wireless communications, specialty construction and electrical power.    - Jingwen Hu

The U.S. Justice Department has decided not to pursue a criminal investigation into the bidding practices of the Burlington County Bridge Commission, the commission announced yesterday. The inquiry centered on the fact that since 1991, the bridge commission has contracted with a Delanco firm owned by the wife of former Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Foy for more than $1 million in electrical work. Foy resigned in January in the wake of criticism over the commission's failure to seek competitive bids before awarding the work to the company, Electrical Construction & Installation Consultants (ECIC)

The planned expansion and renovation of the municipal building could cost about $378,000 more than anticipated if the lowest bids received by the Borough Council Thursday night are accepted. "I'm a little upset," said council member Chester C. Tyson Jr., who is chairman of the property committee. "I just felt the bids came in much higher than expected. " Six bids were accepted for general contracting, and four were accepted for mechanical work, but only two bids were received for electrical work, and one bid was taken for plumbing.

Love for his hometown lingers In reference to the May 6 column by Lola H. Moore ("Before you slam a place, think about those who care"), for 28 years I lived in Camden, and I loved it. I was born and raised in the Cramer Hill section at 28th and Cleveland. I was born in my house. My childhood was the best a kid could ever want: Wiffle Ball, wire ball and handball on a corner of 28th Street; baseball and football at Von Neida Park; basketball on our dirt court on Arthur Avenue; hopping trains to get a ride to Tippins Pond; fishing off the Pett's Island Bridge; going to the Rio or Arlo movies on Saturdays; riding our bikes to the Cherry Hill Mall.

The start of school in the Swedesboro-Woolwich district once again has been delayed, but the possibility of beginning the year with split sessions apparently has been avoided. Superintendent Richard Fisher yesterday said that classes now were scheduled to begin next Thursday instead of Monday in the Gloucester County district's two elementary schools. Fisher said that while some electrical work remained at the Walter H. Hill School, he was confident it could be done by the weekend.

The Chester County Commissioners on Tuesday awarded the last of the major contracts for its new government services building in West Goshen, saving more than $12 million from the project's original estimates. "I'm really tickled pink about these numbers," said Commissioners Chairman Joseph K. Kenna in an interview Tuesday. "We couldn't have picked a better time to do it. " Kenna said the savings would allow the county to reconsider borrowing money next year to finish financing the project.

Bucks County commissioners last week approved spending more than $1 million to renovate a county-run Falls Township swimming pool. The Oxford Valley Pool, on Hood Boulevard, has been falling apart for years, said Charles Steinbach, county director of general services. It was built in the 1950s. Repairs are expected to begin soon and be finished by summer. More than $431,000 will be spent on general construction, $107,790 on electrical work, $408,908 on pool reconstruction, $67,632 on plumbing work and $10,562 on mechanical work.

Chester County yesterday cleared a legal hurdle in its plans to build a $48 million county services center in West Goshen Township when a judge refused to stop the county Board of Commissioners from awarding the first contract for the project. John L. Philips, an electrical contractor, had asked Chester County Court to stop the county from making an award Tuesday for landscaping and other "site work. " Philips contended the county had violated state law by improperly lumping together, into the same bid package, the landscaping, paving, and electrical work needed to be completed before the erection of the building begins.

The reopening of Martin Luther King High School moved a little closer to reality this week after the Board of Education awarded repair contracts totaling $9.2 million for the 14-year-old school. William G. Krupinsky, the district's director of design and engineering services, said yesterday that district officials hoped to be able to reopen the school in time for the start of the 1987-88 school year. "We are under the gun right now," Krupinsky said. "It's scheduled to be completed in time for September of 1987.

West Chester Borough Council President Ann E. Aerie requested that longtime neighborhood activist Norman Bond be given an electrician's license, even though he has twice failed to pass a required written exam. Two years ago, the borough adopted a code requiring all licensed electricians to pass a test given by an electrical underwriting inspection agency. Although Bond has been doing electrical work in the borough for 30 years, his failure to pass the test means he cannot be licensed.

Two competing contractors would both be paid to do electrical work on a new, $140 million Family Court building under a tentative deal that would allow construction to go forward - but now with union labor. John J. Dougherty, business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Friday that he had come to terms with the owners of the Farfield Co., a nonunion Lancaster County firm that won the state bid for electrical work on the courthouse at 15th and Arch Streets.

WPCS International Inc. said it won $7.4 million in communications infrastructure contracts for projects in the United States and abroad. They include electrical work for Camden County and construction of a wireless communications network for Toms River police cars. The Exton company also will install surveillance cameras in the cars. WPCS is an engineering company specializing in wireless communications, specialty construction and electrical power.    - Jingwen Hu

A PHILLYCLOUT favorite, former City Councilman Rick Mariano could be doing electrical work at a job site near you any day now. Mariano, who was sentenced to six years for corruption, is set to leave the minimum-security federal prison in Lewisburg, Pa., Monday and move to a halfway house in Juniata Park, according to an e-mail he sent to friends and family on Sunday titled "8 Days to Go. " In the note, Mariano said he hoped to...

SUPPORT FOR the troops? More like contempt. Contempt is the only word to describe the tolerance for incompetence and dishonesty that allowed the deaths of at least 16 U.S. soldiers in Iraq from electrocution - as well as 283 electrical fires, some fatal, attributed to shoddy electrical work. Injuries from electricity are the No. 1 noncombat hazard in Iraq - and, unlike bombs and insurgent ambuses, most are preventable. Except they weren't prevented and, even when reported, they weren't repaired.

A Philadelphia electrical contractor who faces trial in May on 100 counts of theft and tax offenses is expected to plead guilty to 98 of them - but not to the two counts that he made illegal payments to union leader and State Senate candidate John J. Dougherty. The electrician's intentions, presented by his lawyer to a federal judge Thursday, signal that he is not likely to assist the government in its related investigation of his childhood friend, who is running in next month's Democratic primary for the First Senate District seat to be vacated by Vincent J. Fumo.

City Councilman Juan Ramos has introduced a bill that would require many Philadelphia electrical and telecommunications workers to get a license through a program that requires several years of work and study. Supporters say such legislation is long overdue for public safety, but opponents say it amounts to a power grab by an already powerful union and could hurt small contractors and increase costs. Licensing of electricians and telecom workers is not unusual. In fact, many states require it, though regulations vary greatly.

The start of school in the Swedesboro-Woolwich district once again has been delayed, but the possibility of beginning the year with split sessions apparently has been avoided. Superintendent Richard Fisher yesterday said that classes now were scheduled to begin next Thursday instead of Monday in the Gloucester County district's two elementary schools. Fisher said that while some electrical work remained at the Walter H. Hill School, he was confident it could be done by the weekend.

Thirty-some miles of copper wire will snake through the National Constitution Center when it is finished, powering everything from fire alarms and restroom lights to a multimedia extravaganza that will unfold twice an hour in a star-shaped theater. And if everything flashes on as it's supposed to at the center's scheduled July 4 opening, members of the Lynch family will be beaming. There's Kevin Lynch, 41, general foreman for electricians at the Arch Street construction site.

Love for his hometown lingers In reference to the May 6 column by Lola H. Moore ("Before you slam a place, think about those who care"), for 28 years I lived in Camden, and I loved it. I was born and raised in the Cramer Hill section at 28th and Cleveland. I was born in my house. My childhood was the best a kid could ever want: Wiffle Ball, wire ball and handball on a corner of 28th Street; baseball and football at Von Neida Park; basketball on our dirt court on Arthur Avenue; hopping trains to get a ride to Tippins Pond; fishing off the Pett's Island Bridge; going to the Rio or Arlo movies on Saturdays; riding our bikes to the Cherry Hill Mall.

Here is what some trade unions seem to think it means to work in a pro-union city: They get to exploit Philadelphia residents and taxpayers whenever possible. Remember the report last summer that several trade unions were charging a 30 percent to 50 percent premium to build housing units in the city compared to the suburbs? It was unclear whether the local electricians union was one of those unions with different scales. But, as Inquirer staff writer Nathan Gorenstein reported Sunday, state regulators this year determined that Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers tried to charge the Philadelphia School District $45 per hour for installing telecommunications equipment in school classrooms, while it charges only $22 to $33 per hour for such work in the private sector.