Energy News Digest for February 24, 2009

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Puget Sound Energy Parent Company Sale Completed
- Bonneville Inherits the Wind…And the Stimulus
- Low Snowpack Could Mean Water, Power Shortages
- Future Energy Park Could Be the Leading Industry in the Tri-Cities
- Itronix Official: 300 Jobs Cut In Spokane Area
- Maryland Customers Howl As Utility Bills Skyrocket
- U.S. Supreme Court Turns Down Utilities over Mercury Emissions
- Nuclear Deal: Senate Chose Savings, Jobs, Future
- Harry Reid: Federal Action Trumps States’ Rights on Energy
- Taylor Shellfish Company sues state in shellfish lease controversy
- EPA aims to buoy fish numbers: Rules halted in 2007 would affect power plants near water
- Project Looks to Return Tributary in Rogue River Basin to Its Original Channel
- Oregon snowpack below average, at 82 percent
- Fixing Yakima County dams
- Army Corps Cracks Down On Flunking Levees
- Oregon - Future of Incinerator Debated
- Tax Break Bill Could Lure Solar Company to Clark County
- Montana - Catching the Wind
- Converting Power Plant to Biomass Will Cost Xcel $58.1 Million
- Midwest Govs Seek To Bolster Alternative Energy
- Paved with Renewable Mandates
- Europe Considers A Tariff On Biofuels
- Connecticut - Price Shock for Wallingford Power Consumers?
- Expert: Climate Change Could Mean 'Extended World War'
- Gore Pulls Slide of Disaster Trends
- Politics in the Guise of Pure Science
- We're #1 In Broadband (Sort Of)
- Broadband: Damned Lies Edition
- Overpaid Laid-Off Microsoft Workers Get To Keep Extra Money
- Major Yahoo Reorganization Looms
- Micron To Cut Another 2,000 Jobs In Idaho
- Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke may be next commerce secretary
- GOP's Rossi, Others Say Locke Would Be Good Pick
- Bailout Frenzy Triggers Backlash
- Software Problems Delay Mason County Tax Statements
- Executive Sessions Bill in Trouble
- WSU Extension and 4-H Bracing for Budget Cuts, Possible Closure
- Washington State House Approves Ban on Campaign Lies
- State sends $1 food stamp checks to 250,000

These and links to more stories in today’s energy news digest.

WORD OF THE DAY

Onerous • \AH-nuh-rus\ • adjective - *1: involving, imposing, or constituting a burden: troublesome 2: having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages

Straining at their harnesses, the muscular draft horses tried in vain to pull the onerous weight of the beer wagon up the steep, winding road. Each of the magnificent animals cursed the day that they rejected a northeast Montana farmer’s offer of employment for that of a brewer near Glacier National Park. “Ah for a nice stroll with a grain wagon across the lightly rolling cropland near Saco,” mused old Dobbin to his harness-mate.

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast And Weather Alerts
Http://Www.Wrh.Noaa.Gov/Forecast/Mapclick.Php?Textfield1=47.213805&Textfield2=-123.113412&Site=All&Smap=1&Searchresult=Shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Puget Sound Energy Parent Company Sale Completed (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401133_pse24.html?source=rss

Bonneville Inherits the Wind…And the Stimulus (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/bonneville-inherits-the-wind-and-the-stimulus/

Low Snowpack Could Mean Water, Power Shortages (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18780258/detail.html

Future Energy Park on Hanford Site Could Be the Leading Industry in the Tri-Cities (KNDU-TV Tri Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9892966

Itronix Official: 300 Jobs Cut In Spokane Area (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1867523~Itronix_official__300_jobs_cut_in_Spokane_area.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Maryland Customers Howl As Utility Bills Skyrocket - Companies blame new rates, calendar, cold weather (The Baltimore Sun, MD)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.utility24feb24,0,339311.story

U.S. Supreme Court Turns Down Utilities over Mercury Emissions (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008775321_apscotusmercurypollution.html?syndication=rss

Atlanta Journal Constitution Op/Ed - Nuclear Deal: Senate Chose Savings, Jobs, Future
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2009/02/24/mooreed_0224.html
Harry Reid: Federal Action Trumps States’ Rights on Energy (Wall Street Journal)
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/02/23/harry-reid-federal-action-trumps-states-rights-on-energy/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Taylor Shellfish Company sues state in shellfish lease controversy (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008777566_webtaylorshellfish23.html?syndication=rss

EPA aims to buoy fish numbers: Rules halted in 2007 would affect power plants near water (The Blade, Toledo, OH)
http://dev.scoop.com/remote/article/include/75134037/53616c7465645f5fa0d48b5e5d5f3df9e5388c1e6bf1b7a09d8a90b43c7009df

Project Looks to Return Tributary in Rogue River Basin to Its Original Channel (Mail Tribune, Medford, OR)
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090223/NEWS/902230305/-1/rss01

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Oregon snowpack below average, at 82 percent (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1866441~Oregon_snowpack_below_average__at_82_percent.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Fixing Yakima County Dams - Fruit companies working to make 'high-hazard unpermitted dams' safer before reservoirs fill (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/2009/02/21/fixing-the-dams

Army Corps Cracks Down On Flunking Levees (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-02-23-levees_N.htm?csp=34

Oregon - Future of Incinerator Debated: Forums will address county's contract expiration in 2014 (The Statesman Journal, Salem, OR)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090223/GREEN/902230334/1001

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Tax Break Bill Could Lure Solar Company to Clark County (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090223/NEWS02/702239971/

Montana - Catching the Wind: Lincoln Turbine Tool Company Leads Way in Cutting-Edge Industry (The Missoulian, MT)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009/02/23/news/local/znews01.txt

Converting Power Plant to Biomass Will Cost Xcel $58.1 Million (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI)
http://dev.scoop.com/remote/article/include/75240223/53616c7465645f5f8ec6d7b817e15a19e4c98ac266b25af0803b4d5f20b94a27

Midwest Govs Seek To Bolster Alternative Energy (Associated Press)
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/02/23/midwest_govs_seek_to_bolster_alternative_energy/
Paved with Renewable Mandates “…Senate majority leader Harry Reid will be pushing for the Senate to adopt a national renewable energy portfolio within the next two weeks…” (American Spectator)
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/02/24/paved-with-renewable-mandates

Europe Considers A Tariff On Biofuels (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/business/global/24biofuel.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Connecticut - Price Shock for Wallingford Power Consumers? "…we never said conservation programs would lower (customers') rates…We said it would lower their consumption." (Record-Journal, Meriden, CT)
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20267903&BRD=2755&PAG=461&dept_id=592709&rfi=6

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Expert: Climate Change Could Mean 'Extended World War' (Fox News)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,498133,00.html

Gore Pulls Slide of Disaster Trends (NY Times)
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/gore-pulls-slide-of-disaster-trends/?ref=science

Politics in the Guise of Pure Science (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/science/24tier.html?_r=1&8dpc

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

We're #1 In Broadband (Sort Of) - Assuming you look at completely irrelevant data like SMS use (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Were-1-In-Broadband-Sort-Of-101021

Broadband: Damned Lies Edition (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/02/23/broadband-damned-lies-edition/

Overpaid Laid-Off Microsoft Workers Get To Keep Extra Money (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2008778512_microsoftpay24.html?syndication=rss

Major Yahoo Reorganization Looms (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11772433?nclick_check=1

Micron To Cut Another 2,000 Jobs In Idaho (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008777766_apidmicronlayoffs1stldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke may be next commerce secretary (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401137_locke24.html?source=rss

GOP's Rossi, Others Say Locke Would Be Good Pick (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401204_lockewash24.html?source=rss

Bailout Frenzy Triggers Backlash (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008778075_housefair24.html?syndication=rss

Software Problems Delay Mason County Tax Statements (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/feb/23/software-problems-delay-mason-county-tax/?partner=RSS

Executive Sessions Bill in Trouble (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/02/23/local_news/04news.txt

WSU Extension and 4-H Bracing for Budget Cuts, Possible Closure (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008778252_budgetfears24m.html?syndication=rss

Washington State House Approves Ban on Campaign Lies (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1867417~Wash__House_approves_ban_on_campaign_lies.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

State sends $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/02/23/breaking_news/doc49a2d6eb85f94538408144.txt
DIVERSIONS

Beauty and the Brain, Women Use More Than Men
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008776581_apscibeautyandthebrain.html?syndication=rss

Skydiver OK after Crashing Into Power Lines
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18770069/detail.html

Magpies Build Urban Nest Using Scrap Metal Twigs
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18776826/detail.html

Bill Extends Restraining Order Protection to Pets
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/40206817.html

SONG OF THE DAY

The Archies - Sugar Sugar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANtMdzOFIVQ