Cracked engine block

Here is a picture of the lifter valley. As you can see there is a repair. Sorry the picture is not so great. The wld bead is around 3 inches long. I ground down the brass weld to illustrate where it is. I have not cut the weld down to the block but plan to do so before bring the block to the shop for inspection and eventual repair and rebuild. I am not sure of the type of issue this wld is trying to cover up but I suspect it is a crack. Looks like the interals go a little hot at some point (lifter bases scorched). I live in the Montreal area. Are there any places that can be trusted to do a quality job of this?

Thanks