Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Energy News Digest for May 7, 2013


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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for May 7, 2013

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

California May Fine Pacific Gas & Electric $2.25 Billion over San Bruno Gas Fire (Reuters)

Man Who Died Climbing Seattle Power Tower Identified (Associated Press)

Copper Theft Epidemic Has Lawmakers Looking for Answers “…nobody questioned us on where we got our high-grade copper wire. Nobody rejected my fake ID…workers coached us on how to get cash instead of a check…” (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

CenturyLink Suffering Major Broadband Outage - Customer Support Lines Have Crashed (Broadband Reports)

SoloPower Makes Last-Minute Oregon Loan Payment, Extending Hope for Thin-Film Solar (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • California May Fine Pacific Gas & Electric $2.25 Billion over San Bruno Gas Fire
  • Man Who Died Climbing Seattle Power Tower Identified
  • Two People Shocked by Power Lines after Pickup Hits Utility Pole in Arlington
  • Copper Theft Epidemic Has Lawmakers Looking for Answers
  • Sacramento Municipal Utility District Considers Back-To-Back Rate Hikes, Time of Use Pricing
  • At Least 11 Apply for Chelan County PUD’s Top Job
  • Dam Power Makes Clocks Crazy: ‘I Thought My Watch Was Broken’
  • Shot from Pellet Gun Suspected Cause of East Wenatchee-Area Outage
  • California Electric Supply Seen as Adequate for Summer
  • Does Water Power Hurt the Environment?
  • Tri-Cities School Children to Release Schools of Salmon Today & Tomorrow
  • Let the Hype Begin! The Man Behind the Copper River Salmon Frenzy as Season Fast Approaches
  • Carpenter Ants Invade the Inland Northwest
  • Full Water Supply Predicted for Yakima Basin Farmers this Summer
  • Water War Erupts on Sammamish Plateau
  • Anti-Logging Protesters: ‘We Are Not Terrorists’
  • SoloPower Makes Last-Minute Oregon Loan Payment, Extending Hope for Thin-Film Solar
  • First Solar to Lay off 150 Employees in North America
  • Moses Lake, Grant County Officials Meet to Discuss REC Agreement
  • New Washington Energy Legislation: Legislature Continues to Wrestle With Questions Raised by Renewables
  • Generations Credit Union Teams Up with Thurston Energy for Low Loans
  • Next Big Thing for LEED Planning? Sustainable Neighborhoods
  • This Power Plant Will Tap the Ocean for Endless Power
  • CenturyLink Suffering Major Broadband Outage - Customer Support Lines Have Crashed
  • Will Bad Data Make Rural Alaska Miss the Broadband Revolution?
  • U-S Congress - Fight Expected in House on Online Sales Tax
  • YouTube Set to Launch Pay Channels within Weeks
  • It’s Hard to Tell When the Onion’s Twitter Account Gets Hacked, Because It’s the Onion
  • Leonard Nimoy Smack Talks Zachary Quinto, Drops F-Bomb in Audi Ad
  • Governor Inslee Wants Negotiations on Washington State Budget Deal
  • Dangerous Mason County Man in Custody
  • Washington State DNR Makes Progress on Westside Wildfires
  • SeaTac - Thieves Looking for Metal Piping Trigger Dangerous Leak
  • Escaped Cleveland Woman Amanda Berry ‘Real Hero’ in Kidnapping Case, Police Say
  • Celebrate State Parks Centennial with ShellFest in Belfair
  • Peter Watson Hits Hole-In-One Shot At Salish Cliffs Golf Course, Wins Car

WORD OF THE DAY

Exiguous • \ig-ZIG-yuh-wuss\ • Adjective - Excessively scanty: inadequate.

If Bradley’s intent was to inflict a “wardrobe malfunction” on the unsuspecting attendees at the state basketball finals, he was eminently successful. The exiguous waist-band cord failed at the most inappropriate moment…Brad’s last-second, game winning, emphatic slam dunk with two seconds remaining. Let us just say it was not just the nets that came down that night.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

California May Fine Pacific Gas & Electric $2.25 Billion over San Bruno Gas Fire (Reuters)

Man Who Died Climbing Seattle Power Tower Identified (Associated Press)

Two People Shocked by Power Lines after Pickup Hits Utility Pole in Arlington (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

Copper Theft Epidemic Has Lawmakers Looking for Answers “…nobody questioned us on where we got our high-grade copper wire. Nobody rejected my fake ID…workers coached us on how to get cash instead of a check…” (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

Sacramento Municipal Utility District Considers Back-To-Back Rate Hikes, Time of Use Pricing (Sacramento Bee, CA)

At Least 11 Apply for Chelan County PUD’s Top Job (Wenatchee World, WA)

Dam Power Makes Clocks Crazy: ‘I Thought My Watch Was Broken’ (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

Shot from Pellet Gun Suspected Cause of East Wenatchee-Area Outage (Wenatchee World, WA)

California Electric Supply Seen as Adequate for Summer (Sacramento Bee, CA)

Does Water Power Hurt the Environment? (Deutsch Welle)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tri-Cities School Children to Release Schools of Salmon Today & Tomorrow (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

Let the Hype Begin! The Man Behind the Copper River Salmon Frenzy as Season Fast Approaches (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

Carpenter Ants Invade the Inland Northwest (Associated Press)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Full Water Supply Predicted for Yakima Basin Farmers this Summer (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

Water War Erupts on Sammamish Plateau (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

Anti-Logging Protesters: ‘We Are Not Terrorists’ (Northwest Public Radio)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

SoloPower Makes Last-Minute Oregon Loan Payment, Extending Hope for Thin-Film Solar (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

First Solar to Lay off 150 Employees in North America (Renewable Energy World)

Moses Lake, Grant County Officials Meet to Discuss REC Agreement (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

New Washington Energy Legislation: Legislature Continues to Wrestle With Questions Raised by Renewables (GTH Energy & Natural Resources Law Blog)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Generations Credit Union Teams Up with Thurston Energy for Low Loans (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Next Big Thing for LEED Planning? Sustainable Neighborhoods (Midwest Energy News)

This Power Plant Will Tap the Ocean for Endless Power (Gizmodo)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

CenturyLink Suffering Major Broadband Outage - Customer Support Lines Have Crashed (Broadband Reports)

Will Bad Data Make Rural Alaska Miss the Broadband Revolution? (Alaska Dispatch)

U-S Congress - Fight Expected in House on Online Sales Tax (Reuters)

YouTube Set to Launch Pay Channels within Weeks (Yahoo! News)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

It’s Hard to Tell When the Onion’s Twitter Account Gets Hacked, Because It’s the Onion (Consumerist)

Leonard Nimoy Smack Talks Zachary Quinto, Drops F-Bomb in Audi Ad (Jalopnik)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Governor Inslee Wants Negotiations on Washington State Budget Deal (Everett Herald, WA)

GENERAL NEWS

Dangerous Mason County Man in Custody (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Washington State DNR Makes Progress on Westside Wildfires (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

SeaTac - Thieves Looking for Metal Piping Trigger Dangerous Leak (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)

Escaped Cleveland Woman Amanda Berry ‘Real Hero’ in Kidnapping Case, Police Say (Associated Press)

Celebrate State Parks Centennial with ShellFest in Belfair (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

Peter Watson Hits Hole-In-One Shot At Salish Cliffs Golf Course, Wins Car (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Medina Man Gets $1,103 Speeding Ticket in Oregon

In The Global Competition for Rain, Seattle a Winner!

Stormtrooper, Ghostbuster Assaulted During Free Comic Book Day; 300-Pound Man Arrested

QWERTY’s Origin Story Is a Big Fat Lie

SONG OF THE DAY

Typewriter Symphony Orchestra

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.

Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.