NEWS BRilEFS

Mark-up sessions were in progress in Congress, as we went to press, on legislation pointed towards resolving the Monohgahela crisis; next step is floor debate in the senate. .in contacting Congressmen to express your opinion, remember the bills that correct the Monongahela decision afe: S 3091 and HR 12503, bills to oppose are: S 2926 and HR I 1894. .

While bills favorable to the forest products industry are not what industry would hope for, most observers believe they probably are the best that can be expected under present circumstances. . .final voting is still to come ; contact your Congressmen, voice your ctpinion regarding this serious threat to U.S. timber supply. .

Housing start figures are making a sawtooth pattern as theY zig-zag back up the recovery path, faking out the experts who were earlier forecasting a smooth upward glide. . .March starts (the most recent statistics) slipped 7.6% off the pace in Feb. but still were 46.5% ahead of the same month last year. .

Bldg. permits (an indicator of future activity) were up for the 4th mo. in a row, their highest level since May'74.. .the decline in the housing start figures to 1,444,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis was reportedly due entirely to a drop in single-family houses.

Favorable spurs to housing are pent-up demand from the past 2 years, a decline in mortgage rates, availability and increasing consumer confidence. .the dark side of the equation is price: median sales price of single family homes in Feb. was $43,000 nationally, in Calif. it was $45,000.

Redwood Empire Inc. has moved into a new 10 acre site in Morgan Hill, Ca., the sales staff is moving into present offices which are slated for an early expansion as is existing warehouse space. .

K&S Distributing Co. moves into a new 23,000 sq. ft. bldg. in Milwaukee (Portland) Ore., next mo., corner of River Rd. & Milport. Fir & Pine Lumber, Burbank, Ca., plans to build a new facility in Santa Fe Springs this year. . .Caffall Bros. Forest Prorlucts, Portland, recently bought, for an undisclosed amount, Brand-S Corp.'s Portland mill operation and Toledo Shake & Shingle Co., Toledo, Or.

Thrifty Builders Supply, a new Wenatchee, Wa., retailer is adding a new bldg. .more than $200,000 damage was caused by a spectacular early morning fire recently at Dolan Lumber Co., Pittsburg, Ca. . . -Pope & Talbot plansa $l million modernization at its Grand Forks, B.C., sawmill. .

Simon, Crabtree & Ryan, Inc. is a new Lake Grove, Or., wholesaler which describes itself as oowood merchants," Don Simon, formerly with American International, is pres., other officers are Tom Crabtree, Pat Ryan, both ex-North Pacific Lumber Co. . . Raintree Lumber, Seattle, is now handling sales (under Rick Kellso) for Medford Corp.'s lumber div.

Rocklin Forest Products, Roseville, Ca., which also has begun selling the production of Reno Millwork, Reno, Nv. ?hoenix lilestern, Inc., operating out of the old Western States Plywood Cooperative plant, Port Orford, Or., plans to go to full production this mo., selling its "Superface'o veneer product nationwide.

Orange Coast Lumber, Tustin, Ca., now bldg. a roof truss mfg. plant in Corona, Ca., will follow it up with a distribution yard and in early '77, I retail store. 84 Lumber Co. has finally decided not to put one of its units into Livermore, Ca., because "there's definitely a no-growth pattern here, and what little growth they do allow they want (us) to pay through the nose," says John Rickey, No. Calif. area mgr.

Heru Lumber Inc., Seattle, has purchased stores in Cosmopolis. Montesano and Elma, Wa., from Bayview Lumber, which plans to retain its other three stores in Hoquiam, Westport and Ocean Shores; no price was revealed in the sale. Herr plans to add the yards to its present five units.

Campbell Building Supply, Des Moines, Wa., plans to open its second outlet in August.

Capital Lumber, Phoenix hopes to open its new Albuquerque yard next mo. . .Westmark & Associates has moved its Newport Beach, Ca., office to 4500 Campus Dr., Suite 344.

Sales of box shook, in production since Mar. at Rocklin Box Co., Corning, Ca., is being handled by the parent company,

The 2 millionth door has moved thru Simpson Timber's Columbia Door Div., Vancouver, Wa.; current plant production record for one 8-hr. shift is 6,280, despite a rated capacity of 5,000. .a recent Roper Organization Poll found only 9% of those surveyed mentioning cleaning up the environment as an "important issue," improving gov. efficiency was no. l.