Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Energy News Digest for July 8, 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)

• Timing of Seattle City Light Official's $40K Bonus Questioned
• State’s PUD Privilege Tax Error Costs Chelan County $300,000
• Eugene Water & Electric Board Sees Rate Increases In Future
• Natural Gas Bills Forecast To Drop Sharply
• California - Massive Renewable Power Project Is In Doubt
• Lawsuit Filed Over Federal Energy Corridors
• NRG Energy Rejects Latest Bid from Exelon
• Georgia - Appellate Court Ruling Leaves Power Plant Project On Hold
• Stocks Modestly Higher Ahead Of Alcoa Report
• What Does Alcoa's Expected Loss Mean For The Economy?
• Are You Ready For $20 Per Gallon Gas?
• Sections of the Columbia River Open For Sockeye or Chinook
• Stillaguamish Salmon Run's Future Rests on 45 Fish
• Fishing the Town Run for Summer Steelhead
• Salmon Begin Long Journey Back To Yakima Basin
• Yakama Tribe Celebrates Return of Sockeye Salmon
• Washington DNR Calls for Halt to Maury Island Gravel Mine
• Port of Tacoma Says Its Air Pollution Is Not So Bad
• Stricter Labeling Urged For Bottled Water
• Lack of Transmission - Pickens Drops Plan for Largest Wind Farm
• Company Pulls the Plug on Conn. Garbage-To-Energy Power Plant
• Maryhill Museum of Art Finds Extra Money in Leasing Land to Wind Farm
• The Many Uses Of Manure
• Leading by Example: Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative
• New York - Plug Receives $1.4M to Operate Residential Power Units
• British Columbia - Vancouver Condos in Electric Car Charging Flap
• USDA Small Wind Turbine Grants Cover 25% of All Costs
• Combative Start to Senate Climate Hearings
• Coal Industry Sees Life or Death in Senate Climate Debate
• Studies Foresee Dilemma Over Forest Carbon Storage
• Green Jobs - Oregon Is 1 Of 5 States Chosen For Education Program
• Massive Cyberattacks Hit U.S. and South Korean Web Sites
• Seattle Data Center Fire Gets Redundant
• Google Plans a PC Operating System
• One Last Warning before America Screws up Broadband Mapping
• Broadband Stimulus to Boost Jobs, Not Just Access
• Editorial - Life without Fiber Optics: Disruption a Good Reminder
• Missouri to Create Statewide Broadband Network by 2014
• AT&T: Keep Your Landline or You’ll Die Alone of Peanut Allergy
• King of Pop Proves to be King of Traffic
• YouTube Wins Key Ruling In Class Action Case
• Online Radio Stations Reach Royalty Accord
• Facebook Gets Gray Hair and Wrinkles
• Including Mason – Five County Burn Ban Begins Wednesda
• Two Survive Helicopter Crash off Ocean Shores
• Boeing to Pay $580 Million for 787 Parts Plant in South Carolina
• Seattle - Controversial Manager's Promotion an Error
• In California, Even the IOU’s are Owed

WORD OF THE DAY

Cryptomnesia • \CRIP-tohm-neez-ee-yah\ • noun – "hidden memory" The ability of a person to remember things they have seen, heard, read, or experienced without consciously realizing it.

Future plagiarists rejoice. You aren’t copying someone’s copyrighted works intentionally; it’s all the fault of your cryptomnesia! Time to get that diagnosis from your psychiatrist, just in case.

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

Timing Of Seattle City Light Official's $40K Bonus Questioned (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_070709WAB-city-light-bonus-questioned-TP.1ad2c424.html

State’s PUD Privilege Tax Error Costs Chelan County $300,000 (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090707/NEWS04/707079963/-1/SPORTS?State%E2%80%99-s-errorcosts-county$300-000

Eugene Water & Electric Board sees rate increases in future - The utility expects some major expenses in coming years, in addition to facing an unpredictable market (The Register-Guard, Eugene, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/16748237-55/story.csp

Natural Gas Bills Forecast To Drop Sharply (Oregon Public Radio)
http://news.opb.org/article/5370-natural-gas-bills-forecast-drop-sharply/

California - Massive Renewable Power Project Is In Doubt (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12772184

Lawsuit Filed Over Federal Energy Corridors (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10659341

NRG Energy Rejects Latest Bid from Exelon (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/business/09exelon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Georgia - Appellate Court Ruling Leaves Power Plant Project On Hold (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/07/06/daily30.html?ana=from_rss

Stocks Modestly Higher Ahead Of Alcoa Report - analysts expect a quarterly loss of 38 cents per share (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12775939?nclick_check=1

What Does Alcoa's Expected Loss Mean For The Economy? (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE5671RA20090708?feedType=nl&feedName=usbeforethebell

Are You Ready For $20 Per Gallon Gas? Pump prices are off from last year's highs, but don't expect that to last (Newsweek Magazine)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/205629?from=rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Sections of the Columbia River and Tributaries Open For Sockeye or Chinook Fishing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2009428193_sections_of_the_columbia_river.html

Stillaguamish Salmon Run's Future Rests on 45 Fish (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090708/NEWS01/707089761/-1/RSS02

Fishing the Town Run for Summer Steelhead (KVAL-TV, Eugene, OR)
http://www.kval.com/sports/local/50165947.html

Salmon Begin Long Journey Back To Yakima Basin (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/07/07/salmon-begin-long-journey-back-to-yakima-basin

Yakama Tribe Celebrates Return of Sockeye Salmon (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/50174482.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Washington DNR Calls for Halt to Maury Island Gravel Mine (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=186742

Port of Tacoma Says Its Air Pollution Is Not So Bad (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/803962.html

Stricter Labeling Urged For Bottled Water (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/08/financial/f070733D31.DTL&feed=rss.business

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Lack of Transmission - Pickens Drops Plan for Largest Wind Farm (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/pickens-drops-plan-for-largest-wind-farm/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Company Pulls the Plug on Conn. Garbage-To-Energy Power Plant (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/08/financial/f042614D39.DTL&feed=rss.business

Maryhill Museum of Art Finds Extra Money in Leasing Land to Wind Farm (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/maryhill_useum_of_art_finds_ex.html

The many uses of manure - Dairy farms are putting in digesters, creating methane to power electrical generators…hydropower in the Northwest is so cheap that farmers can't make money selling their kilowatts (Crosscut, Seattle)
http://crosscut.com/2009/07/08/animals-wildlife/19100/

Leading by Example: Hawaii's Clean Energy Initiative (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/07/leading-by-example-hawaiis-clean-energy-initiative?cmpid=rss

New York - Plug Receives $1.4M to Operate Residential Power Units (The Business Review)
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/07/06/daily14.html?ana=from_rss

British Columbia - Vancouver Condos in Electric Car Charging Flap (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/07/06/bc-electric-car-condo-parking-spaces-vancouver.html?ref=rss

USDA Small Wind Turbine Grants Cover 25% of All Costs (PR NewsWire)
http://sev.prnewswire.com/agriculture/20090707/DE4178707072009-1.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Combative Start to Senate Climate Hearings (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/combative-start-to-senate-climate-hearings/

Coal Industry Sees Life or Death in Senate Climate Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/06/06greenwire-coal-industry-sees-life-or-death-in-senate-cli-49519.html

Studies Foresee Dilemma Over Forest Carbon Storage (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009429685_aporforestscarbon1stldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

“GREEN” CATCH-ALL BIN

Green Jobs Get Boost - Oregon Is 1 Of 5 States Chosen For Education Program (Statesman Journal, Salem, OR)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090707/NEWS/907070324/1001

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Massive Cyberattacks Hit U.S. and South Korean Web Sites (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/technology/09cyber.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Seattle Data Center Fire Gets Redundant - AllRecipes.com was just six weeks away from redundant systems (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Seattle-Data-Center-Fire-Again-Highlights-Redundancy-103321

Google Plans a PC Operating System (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/technology/companies/08operate.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

One Last Warning before America Screws up Broadband Mapping - Connected Nation poised to nab $350 million in taxpayer dollars (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/One-Last-Warning-Before-America-Screws-Up-Broadband-Mapping-103305

Broadband Stimulus to Boost Jobs, Not Just Access (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/07/broadband-stimulus-to-boost-jobs-not-just-access/

Ventura County Star Editorial - Life without Fiber Optics: Disruption a Good Reminder (California)
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jul/08/life-without-fiber-optics/

Missouri to Create Statewide Broadband Network by 2014 (The Columbia Missourian, MO)
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/07/08/program-create-statewide-broadband-network-2014/

AT&T: Keep Your Landline or You’ll Die Alone of Peanut Allergy - AT&T's latest effort to keep the landline relevant (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Keep-Your-Landline-Or-Youll-Die-Alone-Of-Peanut-Allergy-103319

King of Pop Proves to be King of Traffic - MJ’s Online Memorial Pushes Internet’s Limits (GogaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/07/michael-jacksons-memorial-online-traffic-pushes-internets-limits/

YouTube Wins Key Ruling In Class Action Case (Bloomberg News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12771544

Online Radio Stations Reach Royalty Accord (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009430435_webradio08.html

Facebook Gets Gray Hair and Wrinkles (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/07/06/daily24.html?ana=from_rss

GENERAL NEWS

Including Mason – Five County Burn Ban Begins Wednesday (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=186597

Two Survive Helicopter Crash off Ocean Shores (Associated Press)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_070809WAB-AP-helicopter-crash-LJ.1dfbf59a.html?rss?npc

Boeing to Pay $580 Million for 787 Parts Plant in South Carolina (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090707/BIZ/707079858/0/NEWS01

Seattle - Controversial Manager's Promotion an Error, Transportation Chief Says (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009430454_cityaudit08m.html?syndication=rss

In California, Even the IOU’s are Owed (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/us/08california.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

DIVERSIONS

Fisherman Reels In Alligator at Las Vegas Lake
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12769294?nclick_check=1

Dimwitted Thieves Steal Fake Cell Phones in Mexico
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/07/international/i151651D02.DTL&feed=rss.business

Connecticut Cops: Man Went Naked To Dental Appointment
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12776477

Drunken tractor driver leads police on slow chase
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE5665EH20090707?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

SONG OF THE DAY, THE CRYPTOMNESIA EDITION

Rosemary Clooney & Benny Goodman - Memories of you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EVJzc0m8g