Community Corner
Granite to Pay $1.1 Million in Suit With Government
The construction company planning a granite quarry south of Temecula was ordered to pay for allegedly breaking federal refutations about hiring minority-owned contractors.
A construction company planning a mine near Temecula was ordered to pay $1.1 million in a settlement with the government.
Granite Construction, the Watsonville-based company applying for mining permits to build Liberty Quarry adjacent to Temecula's southern border, allegedly violated federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations in a project in Minnesota, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
The company will pay less than 25 percent of the total settlement even though it had 56.4 percent interest in the $330 million joint venture to build a 12-mile light rail project from Minneapolis to the Mall of America, the newspaper reported.
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Granite and its joint-venture partners denied all allegations and admitted no fault or liability as part of the agreement. The company settled to avoid costly litigation, said James Roberts, the company's president and CEO, in a written statement.
To read about the company's proposed project near Temecula,
Find out what's happening in Temeculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The quarry is the most contentious issue in Temecula politics, according to .
The hearing process for the quarry dragged into a five meetings, and a six was planned to cast the final deciding vote. To read about it,
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