Archinect - News

A Conversation with Rusty Long, State Architect, Furloughed by the Government Shutdown

2019-01-25T15:59:00-05:00

On this week's episode of Archinect Sessions, Ken, Donna, and I share our conversation with Rusty Long, an architect based in Cary, North Carolina. Rusty’s private practice focuses on sustainability and community engagement with a style that bridges modernism and the history of the the American South.

Rusty’s day job, however, is a State Architect for the USDA Rural Development office. As a federal employee, Rusty is one of approximately 800,000 individuals currently furloughed by the Government Shutdown. On this 34th day of the historic shutdown, as he and many others remain unpaid after two pay cycles, Rusty sits down with us to share his story. We talk about how and why he entered public service, the work he typically undertakes as a state architect, and the problems that this shutdown are causing for him, his colleague and the US taxpayers in general.

Listen to episode 134 of Archinect Sessions, “A Conversation Rusty Long, State Architect, Furloughed by the Government Shutdown”...

Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown appoints Chester 'Chet' Widom as state architect

2011-12-06T23:43:44-05:00

Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed a Los Angeles architect and former president of the American Institute of Architects to be state architect, the governor's office announced this afternoon. Chester "Chet" Widom, 71, was a partner at the firm Widom Wein Cohen O'Leary Terasawa from 1964 to 2008 and advised the Los Angeles Community College District on construction projects from 2009 to 2011.

California's State Architect: Who Will Jerry Brown Choose?

2011-11-23T17:55:04-05:00

An ex-designer and supervisor of building projects at UC Berkeley, two former national presidents of an architectural organization, and the state architect for ex-Gov. Gray Davis are among the candidates being considered for chief regulator of seismic safety standards for public school construction.