Welcome to Weekly Connections! Here is your summary of key updates from the justice industry for the week of Sept. 28.

Let's get started with project updates:

• Officials in Fort Myers, Fla., broke ground last week on a new $147.2 million police headquarters, with completion expected in summer 2028.
• Mecklenburg County, N.C., celebrated the reopening of its Detention Center North (Jail North) to help alleviate overcrowding at the central facility.
• Davis County, Utah is considering a $171.2 million, five-story justice center in Farmington to consolidate county attorney offices and court operations.
• Supervisors in Shawano County, Wis., approved borrowing $29 million for the first phase of a planned $121 million government center project.
• Bastrop County, Texas is advancing plans for a $45 million jail expansion that would add 304 general population beds, along with separation and mental health cells.
• The Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center in San Bernardino County, Calif., partially reopened this month after a two-year closure for a $10 million renovation project.

Moving on to legislation and funding:

• The Federal Bureau of Prisons has established a dedicated First Step Act Office to oversee implementation of the 2018 law across the federal prison system.
• A federal judge has ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to install air conditioning in all state prisons by Dec. 31, 2029.
• Wyoming's Department of Workforce Services received a $2 million federal grant to launch "RESTART," a workforce reentry program for justice-involved adults.

Next, in people news:

• CoreCivic has appointed Lucibeth N. Mayberry President, CEO and a member of its Board of Directors, following Patrick D. Swindle's resignation for health reasons.

Now for this week's construction reports:

• Santa Rosa County, Fla., is seeking a CMAR for the new three-story, 64,730-square-foot Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Administrative Complex project, with proposals due Oct. 6.
• Barrow County, Ga., has issued an RFQ to architecture and engineering firms to provide design services for four projects, including a courthouse and detention facility expansion, with submittals due Oct. 15.

And finishing up with events:

• The Correctional Leaders Association hosts its Deputy Directors and Probation and Parole Conference this week in Palm Springs, Calif., from Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.
• The American Institute of Architects’ Academy of Architecture for Justice Fall Conference will take place next month in Minneapolis from Oct. 7–9.

For more details or to access the links mentioned, check out our podcast show notes at correctionalnews.com/podcast.