Friday, May 10, 2013

Energy News Digest for May 10, 2013


SUBSCRIBE TO THE ENERGY NEWS DIGEST

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

THE NEWS DIGEST TWITTER FEED

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for May 10, 2013

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Proposal for Boardman Coal Terminal Goes Ahead (Tri-City Herald, WA)

California’s New Energy Crisis Centers on Nuclear Energy (Forbes Magazine)

Editorial - Roll On With an Updated Columbia River Pact (Seattle Times, WA)

Thanks to NoaNet - Lake Stevens School District Goes High-Tech with the Help of Federal Grant Money (Lake Stevens Journal, WA)

Washington State Court Website Hack Puts Personal Information at Risk (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Proposal for Boardman Coal Terminal Goes Ahead
  • California’s New Energy Crisis Centers on Nuclear Energy
  • Editorial - Roll On With an Updated Columbia River Pact
  • Hydropower Bills Open Gates of Bipartisanship in Congress
  • Chelan County PUD to Pay Down $250 Million in Debt by 2017
  • Energy Adviser: Electrical Hazards Hide around Home
  • Telephone Scam Hits Franklin PUD Customers Again
  • Neighbors Dislike Power Lines but Need the Electricity
  • Superstorm Sandy Was Super Expensive for Con Edison
  • President Meets with Utility Executives to Discuss Storm Preparedness
  • Feds Raise Forecast for Natural Gas Prices
  • U-S Natural Gas Supplies Grew Last Week
  • Smart Meter Installations Headed for a Decline
  • Ten Reasons Why Houston No Longer Cares About Enron or Jeff Skilling
  • West Virginia Man Electrocuted by Live Power Line in Attempted Copper Theft
  • Oregon’s Once-Tiny Shrimp Fishery Has Grown into a Multimillion-Dollar Business
  • Editorial – U-S Senate Needs to Tweak Bill on Big Water Projects
  • Study Proposed for Olympic Peninsula Biomass Air Quality
  • Ridegfield Energy Consulting Firm Earns $150,000 Federal Grant
  • California Town of Sebastopol Will Require Solar Panels on All New Homes
  • North Carolina House Gives Tentative Approval to Anti-LEED Bill
  • Turn Any Empty Bottle into a USB-Powered LED Touch Lamp
  • Climate-Change Activism - The Number of the Miffed
  • California - Energy Rich, Decision Poor
  • Washington State Governor Likes ‘Zero Energy House’
  • Stakeholders Group Needed On Plastic Bag Use In Thurston County
  • Thanks to NoaNet - Lake Stevens School District Goes High-Tech with the Help of Federal Grant Money
  • Chelan PUD’s Lake Wenatchee Fiber Optic Work Almost Finished
  • US Smart Grid Networks Exploiting Infrastructure to Provide Wireless Broadband
  • CenturyLink Consumer Revenue Up in the First Quarter - Predicts Low Broadband Growth in Second Quarter
  • Netflix-Hungry Air Travelers Get Broadband Boost from FCC
  • Forbes’ Top Tweeter Offers Five Social Media Tips
  • Eyman Made $112,000 Last Year for Pitching Washington State Initiatives
  • Nebraska U-S Senator Concerned Tax Reform Could Raise Borrowing Costs for Municipal Utilities
  • Washington State Court Website Hack Puts Personal Information at Risk
  • Guilty Verdict in Monroe Correctional Officer Murder
  • GAO Faults U-S Department of Energy’s Management of Hanford Cleanup
  • In Hours, Thieves Took $45 Million in ATM Computer Scheme
  • Home Builders Struggling to Find Enough Construction Workers
  • Prosecutors Say Driver in I-5 Fatal Crash Distracted by Risqué Cellphone Photo
  • Research Firm: PC Sales Plunge as Windows 8 Flops
  • NBA Reportedly Pushing Kings Owners to Take Sacramento Offer Before Vote
  • Shelton’s Skyline Drive-In Theater Fights to Stay Alive

WORD OF THE DAY

Semiotic • \sem-mee-AWE-tick\ • Adjective - A general philosophical theory of signs & symbols that deals especially with their function in both artificially constructed & natural languages & comprises syntactics, semantics, & pragmatics.

The bristling electrical engineer pounded his fist on the table during the safety meeting with his insurance adjuster. “The big glowing signs be blasted,” he thundered. “A semiotic approach would be best advanced by a low voltage shock when someone tried to break into our substation. Now there’s a sign that those copper stealing vermin would notice.”

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Proposal for Boardman Coal Terminal Goes Ahead (Tri-City Herald, WA)

California’s New Energy Crisis Centers on Nuclear Energy (Forbes Magazine)

Editorial - Roll On With an Updated Columbia River Pact (Seattle Times, WA)

Hydropower Bills Open Gates of Bipartisanship in Congress (Northwest Public Radio)

Chelan County PUD to Pay Down $250 Million in Debt by 2017 (Wenatchee World, WA)

Energy Adviser: Electrical Hazards Hide around Home (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Telephone Scam Hits Franklin PUD Customers Again (KVEW-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

Neighbors Dislike Power Lines but Need the Electricity (EnergyBiz)

Superstorm Sandy Was Super Expensive for Con Edison (Forbes Magazine)

President Meets with Utility Executives to Discuss Storm Preparedness (American Public Power Association)

Feds Raise Forecast for Natural Gas Prices (American Public Power Association)

U-S Natural Gas Supplies Grew Last Week (Associated Press)

Smart Meter Installations Headed for a Decline (The Energy Collective)

Ten Reasons Why Houston No Longer Cares About Enron or Jeff Skilling (Forbes Magazine)

West Virginia Man Electrocuted by Live Power Line in Attempted Copper Theft (Associated Press)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregon’s Once-Tiny Shrimp Fishery Has Grown into a Multimillion-Dollar Business (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Editorial – U-S Senate Needs to Tweak Bill on Big Water Projects (Sacramento Bee, CA)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Study Proposed for Olympic Peninsula Biomass Air Quality (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Ridegfield Energy Consulting Firm Earns $150,000 Federal Grant (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

California Town of Sebastopol Will Require Solar Panels on All New Homes (Grist Online)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

North Carolina House Gives Tentative Approval to Anti-LEED Bill (Charlotte Business Journal, NC)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/going_green/2013/05/nc-housetentative-approval-anti-leed.html

Turn Any Empty Bottle into a USB-Powered LED Touch Lamp (Gizmodo)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate-Change Activism - The Number of the Miffed (The Economist Magazine)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

California - Energy Rich, Decision Poor (The Energy Collective)

Washington State Governor Likes ‘Zero Energy House’ (South Sound Business Examiner)

Stakeholders Group Needed On Plastic Bag Use In Thurston County (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Thanks to NoaNet - Lake Stevens School District Goes High-Tech with the Help of Federal Grant Money (Lake Stevens Journal, WA)

Chelan PUD’s Lake Wenatchee Fiber Optic Work Almost Finished (Wenatchee World, WA)

US Smart Grid Networks Exploiting Infrastructure to Provide Wireless Broadband (CircleID)

CenturyLink Consumer Revenue Up in the First Quarter - Predicts Low Broadband Growth in Second Quarter (Fierce Telecom)

Netflix-Hungry Air Travelers Get Broadband Boost from FCC (Bloomberg News)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Forbes’ Top Tweeter Offers Five Social Media Tips (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Eyman Made $112,000 Last Year for Pitching Washington State Initiatives (Seattle Times, WA)

Nebraska’s U-S Senator Concerned Tax Reform Could Raise Borrowing Costs for Municipal Utilities (American Public Power Association)

GENERAL NEWS

Washington State Court Website Hack Puts Personal Information at Risk (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

Guilty Verdict in Monroe Correctional Officer Murder (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

GAO Faults U-S Department of Energy’s Management of Hanford Cleanup (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

In Hours, Thieves Took $45 Million in ATM Computer Scheme (NY Times)

Home Builders Struggling to Find Enough Construction Workers (Los Angeles Times, CA)
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/08/business/la-fi-housing-construction-20130508

Prosecutors Say Driver in I-5 Fatal Crash Distracted by Risqué Cellphone Photo (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Research Firm: PC Sales Plunge as Windows 8 Flops (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

NBA Reportedly Pushing Kings Owners to Take Sacramento Offer Before Vote (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Shelton’s Skyline Drive-In Theater Fights to Stay Alive (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Years Underground, Hatching an Invasion

Local Man Charged with Smuggling Endangered Turtles

Guns Collected at Seattle Buyback Were Destroyed, Cannot Be Made into ‘Peace Bricks’

“Too Pretty” Label Mars South Korean Boxing Starlet’s Win

SONG OF THE DAY

The Turtles – Elenore

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.