SunSentinel Mention

May 8, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: I remember as a kid tracking Hurricane Andrew on my Publix Hurricane Map. You’d get the coordinates and graph the location of the storm. You’d hear on tv the storm might come or might not, but I didn’t interrupt my plans to attend Lollapalooza the day before I went to work the day of Andrew (yes, it was a Sunday). This past year, I was frozen with spaghetti model updates every three hours, answering to managers, employees and my family as our preparations for Hurricane Dorian advanced. The COVID-19 updates feel like spaghetti models coming out all the time.

Looking ahead: I’m a fan of Bayern Munich who plays in the Bundesliga (German Soccer League). Next week, they will join Korean Baseball as some of the few sports available to watch as a distraction from the COVID-19 updates and murder hornet stories. We have a lot of lessons to learn from Asia and Europe as they are ahead of us in the recovery from the onset of the virus. After 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and other tragedies, we looked to sports as both a distraction and sense of normalcy. Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, Panthers and beloved Gators, please save our sanity soon.

SunSentinel Mention

April 24, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past week I’ve heard from friends who received funds for their business from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and I’ve heard from friends that were shut out and they are hoping for a second round of funding. A few things have jumped out at me, though. There are accusations of large banks prioritizing larger clients and making billions off of loans. I know the processes varied from bank to bank, requiring different levels of documentation and yielding different results. Loaning small business money saves more jobs than corporate donations or individual stimulus checks. I hope they get this right.

Looking ahead: The next great debate is when to “reopen”. Whether it be a beach or a business is where the suggestions vary. Let’s be clear, the potential for exposure to COVID-19 exists regardless of when these various places reopen. There will be more infections. We need to continue to be cautious and prepared. Our business is considered essential, but we sent most of our employees to work remotely before the mandatory closures and we’ll keep them working remotely after things reopen. If things reopen, will you consider staying in an extra day, week or month? It just might benefit you.

SunSentinel Mention

April 20, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: What is “allowed” to be talked about in media these days? Clearly, 99% of the coverage is about COVID-19 and various government responses (and commentary positive and negative on those responses), but are we even allowed to talk about anything else? I have several friends that own a nationally recognized engineering firm that published in a trade journal a merger this past week that made their firm even better. Are we allowed to talk about the future when the present is so overwhelming? Personally, I’m happy to hear about anything that imagines a happy future.

Looking ahead: Look at the dolphins in the canals in Venice and now we can see the Himalayas from India – very popular images on social media. Honestly, I really like to think there is a silver lining to this viral cloud, but when it starts getting applied to Florida and the clarity of our canals, there is another cause. We need to thank (or blame) a lack of rain in March for the improved water quality in our canal system because a number of pollutants are pushed by rainfall. March was one of the driest on record, we’ll need some rainfall soon.