Americans are correct to question laws that are packaged in ways that seem too good to be true. For instance: "No Child Left Behind Act" or the "Affordable Care Act." My personal suggestion is: "Strengthening America through higher pay for Editorial Writers Act."

Who could be against those?

The market for LED lighting is expected to double, from 16 million units in 2012 to a forecasted 33 million in 2013, and will nearly triple by 2016, according to the NPD DisplaySearch “LED Lighting Market and Forecast Report.”

Outside of changing a light bulb or mowing the lawn, painting a room has long been considered the home improvement project with the lowest degree of difficulty and the biggest bang for the buck.

But a company that sells the concept of one-day painting services is armed with research that shows a consumer mind-set is not sold on the idea of painting as an easy exercise.

The company, Wow 1 Day! Painting, employed Wakefield Research to survey consumers. They came up with some views that challenge conventional wisdom:

As home building begins to rebound after a five-year slide, the National Hardware Show is celebrating with an expanded Building Products category that calls out exhibitors with special signage to make them easy to pick out on the show floor. Among those scheduled to represent this enhanced category are GRK Fasteners, Louisville Ladder, CoverGrip Corporation and Dumond Chemicals, and pro dealers planning to attend include Gahahl Lumber and BMC.

"Why can't I find qualified help?"

"With all of the unemployed people out there, why can't I find the skills I'm looking for?"

These are questions we hear every day from industry employers. And with unemployment rates ranging upward from 7.5% since early 2009, they're not illogical. So what's the reality?

Simply stated, there have been a number of changes in the employment market since we entered the Great Recession, and hiring managers today need to be aware of them in order to compete.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lumberyard owners and suppliers focused on three wide-ranging front-burner regulatory and legislative issues during the 2013 Legislative Conference here in the nation's capitol.

Reform of the Environmental Protection Agency's lead paint rule was among the three high-priority items, along with preservation of the mortgage interest deduction and creation of online sales tax parity.

Late winter snowstorms in the Midwest and Northeast and the prolonged coolness that is forecast to stretch into April will impact several home improvement product categories this spring — some favorably, some not so — according to Planalytics, which provides "business weather intelligence" to companies worldwide.