NEWS BR[EFS

A WalI Street Journal article says that "mortgage money shows some signs o{ easing," though not all surveyed agree; rates drop in some areas, increase in others . Business Weeh says flatly o'the slump in home building is bottoming out," adding that 'ohousing economists and home builders are turning more optimisic" Merrill Lynch, Picrce, Fenncr & Srnith believes o'housing activity will recover in the next six months, and that the industry will grow signifrcantly in the next few years" . . F. W. Dod,ge says, "total U'S. construction contracting in '70 will exceed '69 by 2/o;' lames M. King, president of Building Supply Discount Centers, Portland, has purchased. Dauies Lurnber and, Hard,ware, Gla.d,stone, {or an undisclosed price Palmer G. Lewis Co., the Seattle-based distributor has opened a Salem,, Ore., warehouse Union Lumber's famous ooSkunk RR" is packing 'em in and out of Ft. Bragg, Calif., in droves again this year

Lumber Associatinn ol Southern California, hns moaed, to new offices: 235I W. 3rd St., L.A. 90057; they're in the same building as the Building Material Dealers Credit Assn. .a $17.3 million track tnainte' n&nce program during '70 is underway by the Unbn Pacific RR HQ. of the American Institute ol Timber Construc' tion has moved from Washington, D.C., to Denver, Colo.

Penberthy Lumber Co., Los Angeles, now has two new d'ry kilns in operation at their Carson St. yard . . . U.S. Natural Resources, Menlo Park, Calif., has pur' chased world rights to make and sell thc Ackerfeldt System, claimed to greatly re' duce mill operating costsl sole was in caslt a,nd, notes t'or $920,000 . .

Formica's parent co., American Cyanamid, is spending $500,000 to buy mort' gage backed securities to help provide funds for the horne m,ortgage market ABS plnstic pipe and' fittings have again won unatr.irnous OK from the Building Offi' cials Conference of America.. Nat'\. Assn. ol Home Build,ers has launched a broad' based campaign to tell'the public of hous' ing industry objectives and accomplishments

The Forest Service predicts "sizeable increases in prices" for softwood and plywoods in the early '70's due to supply I ilemand imbalances . . FHA says it will now approue treateil wood foun'dations in its programs Rtp. Dellenback (R-Ore.i introduced a bill to ind,efinitely restrict log exports from western federal lands

Conseraati,onist's objections caused can' cellation of Fibreboard's plan for a $7.7 million houseboat complex in San Francisco Bay . Mobile home shipments lell 6.8/a during the lst 4 months of '70, tight credit, lack of park space are blamed Southwest Forest Industries plans a S1 milli.on plant in Phoenix to build modular homes

Hanilyman had a big grand opening, the 16th, for their new d-i-y center in Dublin, Calif.; the operation employs 50, carries 25"000 items

Pope & Talbot, Portland, are building two neu) miJk at Midway and Grand Forks, B.C. ; expenditure: $5 million the Fo"rnsw,orth Broth'ers Moulding Co. in Eldorado, Calif., is operating with a new Moore Dry Kiln . . Sierra Pacific Ind'us' tries' new So. Calif. mill at Inyokern is operating at ilesigned capadty, according to company sources

Boise Cascad.e's latest plans call for their new particleboard mill in California's Mendocino county to be in Ukiah at the Hollow Tree site . Ken Coleman oI Eckstrorn Plywood. is the possessor of an interesting piece of memorabilia, a service roll of Calif, renil lurnber deql,ers serving in the military that was compiled and printed about1944...

The land taken fuom Arcata Redwood Co. for the redwood national park has an estimated, aahre oJ $11,6.2 millip,?, says the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. The estimate excludes items such as severance damages and interest; Arcata says t-he estimate is inndequate and, they nlay sue the gouernrnent . . . Jerome M. White & Assoc. has forrned a rnod,ulnr housing d,iu. to produce at its Van Nuys, Calif., plant.

House passage of the Emergency Mortgage Credit Bill, 322.2, was very encouraging, . if eventually passed into law, it could add f50,000 housing units over ,[e next year United Building Centers, Inc., Glascow, Mont., had a S35,000 store and, ofrice fire recently; yard and inventory were saved, temporary office is across the street

G-P settled a week-long strike at their Samoa, Cali{., plant and 3 other plants; new contract with the pulp and paper workers is lor 2 years