Welcome to Weekly Connections! Here is your summary of key updates from the justice industry for the week of Jan. 19.

Let's get started with project updates:

1. The new $150 million Pueblo County, Colo., detention center project is on track for completion and opening in April.
2. Construction on a new temporary jail in Kansas City, Mo., is officially underway, with the now $25 million project expected to be completed by June 1.
3. Work on the new $176 million Chambers County, Texas Justice Center Complex project is halfway complete and is expected to be finished by the end of this year.
4. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held last week at the new $44 million Butte County, Calif., jail expansion, concluding a 16-year process.
5. The intake center at the Santa Barbara County, Calif., Main Jail will be renovated after officials approved $6.3 million in project funding last week.

Moving on to Legislation and Funding:

1. Officials in Ohio authorized $130 million in funding last week to build a total of four new 36-bed youth detention facilities.
2. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction received $2 million in grant funding to support education, job training and reentry services for incarcerated individuals.

Next in people news:

1. Dr. Mariel A. Marlow has joined the American Correctional Association as its Director of Correctional Health.
2. Diane Bruining has rejoined CGL Companies as Vice President of Business Development.
3. The Federal Bureau of Prisons named Patrick Mirandy as the new Director of the National Institute of Corrections.
4. Brant Smith has been named Vice President and General Manager of Tindall Building Systems -Mississippi.

Now for Construction Reports:

1. Finney County, Kan., is seeking proposals from construction management firms to build a new county jail, with bids due Jan. 30.
2. The Liberty County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff's Office in Georgia has issued an RFQ for CMAR firms to build a new public safety center, with bids due Feb. 13.
3. Hardee County, Fla., has issued an RFQ for architecture and engineering services for a new jail and multipurpose government facility, with bids due Feb. 27.

And finishing up with events:

1. The American Correctional Association's Winter Conference and the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators’ Winter Meeting will take place Feb. 5–8 in Long Beach, Calif.
2. Proposals for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care's Mental Health Care conference are due Feb. 13, and proposals for its National Conference are due March 6.