Thursday, May 28, 2009

Energy News Digest for May 28, 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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Lewis County Wire Theft Ring Is No More
- River of Power Education Day - Local kids dig in at Rocky Reach Dam
- Energy Northwest's Nuclear Power Plant Halfway Through Refueling Outage
- Key Senator Calls for 100 New Reactors in 20 Years
- Arizona Republic Editorial – Nuclear Plants are the Best Way to Go
- News Tribune Editorial - Science, Politics and Yucca Mountain
- North Carolina - Alcoa Hydro Relicensing Blocked
- Spring Chinook ‘Catch-Balancing’ Sure To Be Topic in 2010
- Sea Lions and Trappers Disengage
- With Sewers, Tillicum Will Take Off
- Wenatchee World Editorial - Why can’t they use biofuels?
- Columbian Editorial - Wait on the Wind
- Vermont Renewable-Energy Bill Becomes Law
- Forecasting Wind for Dollars
- Obama Says Clean-Energy, Stimulus Plans Creating Jobs
- Kansas - Net Metering Impact Not Great So Far
- Hawaiian Garbage-to-Energy Plant Recycles Derelict Fishing Nets
- United Kingdom - Rumbling over Wind Power
- Group Helps Tri-Citians Go Green
- Mason County PUD No. 3 and City Team Up For Energy Efficient Traffic Signals
- Greenland Ice Could Fuel Severe US Sea Level Rise
- Southern Co. to run National Carbon Capture Center
- Thankfully, Irony Is Not Dead – Environmentalists Saved By Oil Tanker
- FCC Issues Rural Broadband Report
- City Of Richland Continues On Fiber-Optics
- The New UTOPIA: Transforming Failure into Success
- There's A Catch To AT&T Speed Boost
- North Carolina Offers Incentives for $1 Billion Apple Data Center
- Time Warner to Spin Off AOL, Ending Ill-Fated Deal
- Yahoo Open To Microsoft Deal under Right Terms
- Bing It On: Microsoft Overhauls Search, Again
- Yahoo CEO Bartz: “We Are Not a Search Company”
- Digital TV Switchover Imminent Though Millions Remain Unprepared
- Apogee Interactive Adds New Regional Manager of Business Development
- Swine Flu Now Labeled 'Common'
- Mason County Government Facing Third Round of Cutbacks
- Man Gets 11 Years for Seattle Traffic-Circle Death
- Coastal Radar Station Sought To Improve Storm Forecasts
- Video Game Addiction A Serious Problem among Children

PHRASE OF THE DAY

Philadelphia Lawyer • noun - A lawyer knowledgeable in the most minute aspects of the law

From the opening statements, “Manny the Mole” knew that his slick Philadelphia Lawyer was going to get him sprung from his legal entanglements. His counsel argued that since the charging papers identified his client as “The Mole” instead of his real name: Emmanuel Franklin McDonald, that all charges should be dropped.

From Merriam-Webster Online: The reputation of the Philadelphia lawyer dates back to the colonial period, when our legal system was in its infancy and lawyers had to be especially astute. Many noted attorneys seem to have hailed from early Philadelphia, and probably no single lawyer is the source of the term, but several have been suggested. Although not strictly a lawyer, Benjamin Franklin is sometimes claimed to have inspired the expression through his cunning in diplomatic negotiations with the British and French. Another possible source is the Scottish-American Philadelphia attorney Andrew Hamilton, who famously got newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger acquitted of libel charges in 1735, paving the way for the principle of freedom of the press in the process.

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

Lewis County Wire Theft Ring Is No More - Jail Time: With Suspects Sentenced and Metal Prices Declining, County Disbands Task Force (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/articles/2009/05/27/news/doc4a1d83155ce9c989699851.txt

River of Power Education Day - Local kids dig in at Rocky Reach Dam (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090527/NEWS04/705279918?Local-kids-dig-in-at-Rocky-Reach-Dam

Energy Northwest's Nuclear Power Plant in Richland Halfway Through Refueling Outage (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10434920

Key Senator Calls for 100 New Reactors in 20 Years (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/27/national/a172516D09.DTL&feed=rss.business

Arizona Republic Editorial – Nuclear Plants are the Best Way to Go
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/05/28/20090528thurlets286.html

News Tribune Editorial - Science, Politics and Yucca Mountain
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/757329.html

North Carolina - Alcoa Hydro Relicensing Blocked (Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/05/25/daily28.html?ana=from_rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Spring Chinook ‘Catch-Balancing’ Sure To Be Topic in 2010 (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20090528/SPORTS02/705289945

Sea Lions and Trappers Disengage (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5077-sea-lions-and-trappers-disengage/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

With Sewers, Tillicum Will Take Off (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/757326.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wenatchee World Editorial - Why can’t they use biofuels? Maybe someday they will give up. From the beginning their goals weren't practical. Eventually that will sink in.
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090527/OP02/705279888/1025/rss1025

Columbian Editorial - Wait on the Wind: State agencies will conduct more research before deciding on mountain wind farms
http://columbian.com/article/20090528/OPINION02/705289975/-1/OPINION

Vermont Renewable-Energy Bill Becomes Law (Burlington Free Press, VT)
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090528/NEWS03/90528004

Forecasting for Dollars “…swings of 500 megawatts of wind can disappear from a system in an hour or less, creating scheduling havoc for system operators…” (Energy Biz Insider)
http://www.energycentral.com/utility/newsletters/sample_ebi.htm

Obama Says Clean-Energy, Stimulus Plans Creating Jobs (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052702458.html?wprss=rss_business

Kansas - Net Metering Impact Not Great So Far (Pratt Tribune, KS)
http://www.pratttribune.com/news/x2085732965/Net-metering-impact-not-great-so-far

Hawaiian Garbage-to-Energy Plant Recycles Derelict Fishing Nets for Electricity (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/mnEnergy/idUS91417768220090528

United Kingdom - Rumbling over Wind Power: Vineyard owner can't wait for turbine (Suffolk Times, UK)
http://www2.timesreview.com/ST/Stories/T052809_windmill_bh

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Group Helps Tri-Citians Go Green (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/591778.html?mi_email=Tri-City%20Herald_PM+%26+Breaking+News

Mason County PUD No. 3 and City Team Up For Energy Efficient Traffic Signals (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7378/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Greenland Ice Could Fuel Severe US Sea Level Rise (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2718485020090527

Southern Co. to run National Carbon Capture Center (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/05/25/daily32.html?ana=from_rss

Thankfully, irony is not dead - Environmentalists often like to wax poetic about the beauty of lakes and rivers, trees and mountains. But sometimes, the sweetest sight is an oil tanker (The Vancouver Sun, BC)
http://www.vancouversun.com/Technology/Thankfully+irony+dead/1637897/story.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Issues Rural Broadband Report - First step in concocting national broadband strategy (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Issues-Rural-Broadband-Report-102631

City of Richland continues on fiber-optics (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/592180.html

The New UTOPIA: Transforming Failure into Success (AppRising)
http://www.app-rising.com/2009/05/the_new_utopia_transforming_fa.html

There's A Catch To AT&T Speed Boost - Download speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second (theoretically) will be available on AT&T's 3G network after upgrades are completed this year (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2009270924_brier28.html

North Carolina Offers Incentives for $1 Billion Apple Data Center (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/05/27/n-c-votes-on-incentives-for-apples-1b-data-center/

Time Warner to Spin Off AOL, Ending Ill-Fated Deal (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052800895.html?wprss=rss_technology

Yahoo Open To Microsoft Deal under Right Terms (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2037606~Yahoo_open_to_Microsoft_deal_under_right_terms.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Bing It On: Microsoft Overhauls Search, Again (KIRO Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=172433

Yahoo CEO Bartz: “We Are Not a Search Company” (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/05/27/yahoo-ceo-bartz-we-are-not-a-search-company/

Digital TV Switchover Imminent Though Millions Remain Unprepared (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/May/Digital-TV-Switchover-Imminent--Though-Millions-Remain-Unprepared.html

Apogee Interactive Adds Andrew Schechter as Regional Manager of Business Development - Utility Demand for Energy Analysis Software Rising (BusinessWire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090528005305&newsLang=en

GENERAL NEWS

Swine Flu Now Labeled 'Common' (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052709WAB-swine-flu-common-TP.2181002d.html?rss

Mason County Government Facing Third Round of Cutbacks (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/may/27/mason-county-government-facing-third-round-of/?partner=RSS

Man Gets 11 Years for Seattle Traffic-Circle Death (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2018401~Man_gets_11_years_for_Seattle_traffic_circle_death.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Coastal Radar Station Sought To Improve Storm Forecasts (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009271163_radar28m.html?syndication=rss

Video Game Addiction A Serious Problem among Children (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052809WAB-video-game-addiction-LJ.257b5140.html?rss

DIVERSIONS

Rock-throwing pair: 'It was just a dumb little prank'
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46251362.html

News Flash! Archie Andrews to Marry Veronica Lodge!
http://www.vancouversun.com/Technology/News+flash+Archie+Andrews+marry+Veronica+Lodge/1636102/story.html

Man Calls 911 to Protest Missing Juice Box - Family Says McDonald's Left Juice Box Out Of Order
http://www.kirotv.com/money/19579261/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01000205272009&ts=H

Minnesota Man’s Mullet Experiment Exposes Fashion Prejudice
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/May/Minnesota-Man-s-Mullet-Experiment-Exposes-Fashion-Prejudice.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Hair - Hair the Musical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yd3Elm-X7c&feature=related