By Therese Dunphy, Editor-in-Chief

To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates.

California

Granite Construction Co. noted that its proposed Liberty Quarry would help refill depleted state and local coffers. California is facing a $20 billion budget shortfall in the next fiscal year, leaving state leaders scrambling to bolster the state’s plummeting revenue streams. The proposed Liberty Quarry, nearing completion of its Final Environmental Impact Report, is expected to generate $6 million in annual state sales tax and more than $2 million for Riverside County, as well as create about 300 jobs. Additionally, the project will generate $100 million over the 75-year lifetime of the project for the California State Teachers Retirement System. “I can’t think of a better time than now for this quarry,” said Karie Reuther, director of community relations for Liberty Quarry. “This will provide jobs and tax revenue for Southern California at a time when both are in such short supply that nothing is safe anymore.”

Delaware

The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) has published a new geologic map of the Georgetown area that shows and describes the geologic units found at the land surface and in the shallow subsurface in the map area. The purpose of the map, according to DGS, is to provide geologic information that can be used for determining such things as the geology of watersheds, recognition of the relationship between geology and regional environmental or land-use issues to support land-use and regulatory decision making, and in the identification of potential locations of sand and gravel resources. The map may be viewed online or downloaded at www.dgs.udel.edu/publications/pubs/GeoMaps/geomap15.pdf.

Illinois

Moline-based RiverStone Group worked out an agreement with Moline High School that allows students on its official high school sport fishing team to practice at an inactive mine in the Quad Cities area. According to the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers, the agreement addresses insurance and liability concerns. Now, team members fish several days a week at the site — under the supervision of their coaches and after notifying the company they will be out on the water. Two team members had a second place finish in a two-day state bass fishing championship. One of the team’s coaches credited the team’s success to its ability to try out new fishing equipment on a lake that hasn’t been over-fished as so many of the public lakes have been.

Indiana