Ricia Sturgeon-Hendrick
Elevator World Editor and Publisher
Optimism and Apprehension
The end of 2024 can be characterized by a mix of optimism and apprehension. On the side of optimism, we have the many successful industry events that have occurred throughout...
Elections?
Every year, your editor must write an editorial in early November for the December issue. Only in election years is this significant, as you will know the voting results by...
Construction Is Cool
While the markets waited for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to drop interest rates in September, the construction industry was not waiting around. Construction starts jumped 4% in the first...
Breadth and Depth
As I write this, members of the Elevator World, Inc. team have just returned from Dubai, U.A.E., where they, along with AFAG Messen und Ausstellungen, organiser of the world's leading...
Future Ready
At the time of this writing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for its September meeting, where, likely, an interest rate cut will occur. In anticipation of this probability, total commercial...
Vacancies
The vacancy rate for office buildings continues to plague our industry. Nationwide, it is 20.1%, with San Francisco the highest at 34.5%. Predictions are that vacancy rates will be 25%...
AI, VT and the Future
Many of us are just a little afraid of AI. I think it is the lack of humanness. We are accustomed to getting information from computers, but believe they have...
Flexibility on AI
Many of us are just a little afraid of AI. I think it is the lack of humanness. We are accustomed to getting information from computers, but believe they have...
Recycling Buildings
A building conversion is the ultimate in “recycling.” We are constantly being told to reuse, repurpose and recycle. Instead of tearing down buildings that are not being used, architects are...
A Skills Gap
Some days when I look at the news, it feels like we are back in the 1960s. College kids are protesting a war 5,000 miles away. (Yes, I went to...
