Haven't reported back on this since there wasn't much to report. Long story short; the original concrete and block laying contractor kept pushing his timeline back and made a lot of promises, but he never delivered. Business is just too good these days and a lot of these guys are making money head over heels and they make a lot of promises that they just can't keep. So my builder dropped this guy (btw -- it's a company that he's been dealing with for several years and had a good relationship with), and contracted with a new company that delivered the goods.
Footers and walls are in .. pad work begins later on this week, and the framing starts next week. I'm happy -- this may be done by end of August.