Jewelry drawing to aid needy kids

With the holiday season around the corner, building trades workers are invited to take a chance on a jewelry drawing with a prize that will enhance the look of any woman's wrist.

Proceeds from the Dec. 13 drawing will go to the "Friends U Need" program operated by St. Rita's Church in Detroit. The program pays for dinner meals for underprivileged children in their parish.

For the second straight year, the drawing is sponsored by Dan LaLonde, an Operating Engineers Local 324 member, and his wife Cynthia, of Pongracz Jewelers and Point Gemological Laboratory.

The drawing is being held in conjunction with the Greater Detroit Building Trades Council. Last year's drawing of an $8,000 ladies' tennis bracelet raised $10,010 for the St. Rita's program.

This year, the three separate prizes in the drawings include two diamond tennis bracelets and a Movado lady's watch, with a combined value of $7,000.

Tickets ($10) will be available at various union meetings or at Pongracz Jewelers, 91 Kercheval in Grosse Pointe Farms, one-half block south of Cottage Hospital. (313) 884-3325.

Forecast calls for weakness, rebound

New construction activity will continue to be sluggish through December and throughout 2002, but rebound in 2003.

That's the forecast offered by a group of several economists, as reported by the Construction Labor Report. Total construction activity will drop 6.3 percent in 2002, then go up by 4.2 percent in 2003, predicted William Toal, chief economist of the Portland Cement Association.

Ray Owens, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank, predicted a sluggish economy for the "foreseeable future," followed by improvement in 2003.

Beyond 2003, the Labor Department predicts that construction employment is expected to increase by 9 percent through 2008, adding more than a half-million workers to the nation's construction industry payrolls.

The Labor Department said occupations that are expected to have the greatest growth through 2008 include bricklayers, electricians, sheet metal workers, painters, and hvac technicians.