Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Energy News Digest for April 1, 2014

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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for April 1, 2014

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Portland General Electric Takes Breather on New Power Plants Until It Figures Out How to Replace Boardman (Oregonian, Portland)

FCC to Free Airwaves for Wi-Fi & Wireless Broadband (NY Times)

Williams Northwest Pipeline Explosion Investigation Underway (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

U-S Senate Confirms Los Angeles Attorney to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Courthouse News Service)

Oso Landslide: Inslee Asks Obama for Federal Aid; New Search Teams Arrive (Everett Herald, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Portland General Electric Takes Breather on New Power Plants Until It Figures Out How to Replace Boardman (Oregonian, Portland)
  • Williams Northwest Pipeline Explosion Investigation Underway (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)
  • Explosion at Washington State Natural Gas Facility Raises Questions about Terminal near Warrenton (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)
  • Editorial: Energy Northwest - Protecting Public’s Right to Know & Its Money Tough Balancing Act
  • Clark Public Utilities: Power Restored after Car Crashes into Transformer (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
  • Utility Associations Praise Investigation into Release of US FERC Grid Analysis (Platts)
  • Nevada: NV Energy Gives Electric Safety Tips for Home (Elko Daily Free Press, NV)
  • It’s Electric! Rural Electrification in Iowa (Iowa Public Radio)
  • Contemporary Fish Management Challenged (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
  • Wyoming Wind Helps California (Re News)
  • LEDs Almost Ready for High School Gyms (Electric Co-op Today)
  • California: Promotion of Cap-And-Trade Money for Residents Downplays Looming Higher Electricity Rates (E&E News)
  • Editorial: Climate Signals, Growing Louder (NY Times)
  • Why Burning Wood To Stay Warm Is Back In Vogue (National Public Radio - Beware. To quote a local wag, “death from a single exposure (to wood smoke)”)
  • Solar-Powered Umbrella Automatically Inflates When the Sun Shines (Gizmodo)
  • FCC to Free Airwaves for Wi-Fi & Wireless Broadband (NY Times)
  • Cable Systems Click & Rainier Connect May Have Blackouts Tuesday (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA - Paywall Advisory)
  • California: Karuk & Yurok Tribe Leaders Lauded for Broadband Project; Technology Will Be Brought to Rural Humboldt Communities (Humboldt Beacon, Fortuna, CA)
  • Are Landline Phones Becoming an Endangered Species? (Mashable)
  • Delaware: Data Center Power Plant Prompts Protests (Data Center Knowledge)
  • Prepping the Cloud for the Internet of Things (GigaOM)
  • Snapchat Grows Up: How College Officials Are Using the App (TIME Magazine)
  • The Future of Email: The Internet’s Least Exciting Application (Mashable)
  • Who Is the Average Gmail User? (Mashable)
  • U-S Senate Confirms Los Angeles Attorney to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Courthouse News Service)
  • A Tale of Two States: Politico Praises Washington’s Exchange, Slams Oregon’s Mess (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)
  • Idaho among Most Dependent on Federal Money among Western States – Washington State Ranked 16th (Associated Press)
  • Check Out Your State’s Ranking – It’s Easy & Fun! (WalletHub)
  • Oso Landslide: Inslee Asks Obama for Federal Aid; New Search Teams Arrive (Everett Herald, WA)
  • Mason County Health Rankings Improve (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
  • Op/Ed: Skilled Trade Jobs Go Unfilled in Our Slow Economy (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)
  • The Amazing Shrinking Newspaper: Oregonian Switches to Tabloid Size Wednesday (Oregonian, Portland)

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Portland General Electric Takes Breather on New Power Plants Until It Figures Out How to Replace Boardman (Oregonian, Portland)

Williams Northwest Pipeline Explosion Investigation Underway (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

Explosion at Washington State Natural Gas Facility Raises Questions about Terminal near Warrenton (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

Editorial: Energy Northwest - Protecting Public’s Right to Know & Its Money Tough Balancing Act

Clark Public Utilities: Power Restored after Car Crashes into Transformer (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Utility Associations Praise Investigation into Release of US FERC Grid Analysis (Platts)

Nevada: NV Energy Gives Electric Safety Tips for Home (Elko Daily Free Press, NV)

It’s Electric! Rural Electrification in Iowa (Iowa Public Radio)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Contemporary Fish Management Challenged (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wyoming Wind Helps California (Re News)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

LEDs Almost Ready for High School Gyms (Electric Co-op Today)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

California: Promotion of Cap-And-Trade Money for Residents Downplays Looming Higher Electricity Rates (E&E News)

Editorial: Climate Signals, Growing Louder (NY Times)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Why Burning Wood To Stay Warm Is Back In Vogue (National Public Radio - Beware. To quote a local wag, “death from a single exposure (to wood smoke)”)

Solar-Powered Umbrella Automatically Inflates When the Sun Shines (Gizmodo)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC to Free Airwaves for Wi-Fi & Wireless Broadband (NY Times)

Cable Systems Click & Rainier Connect May Have Blackouts Tuesday (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA - Paywall Advisory)

California: Karuk & Yurok Tribe Leaders Lauded for Broadband Project; Technology Will Be Brought to Rural Humboldt Communities (Humboldt Beacon, Fortuna, CA)

Are Landline Phones Becoming an Endangered Species? (Mashable)

Delaware: Data Center Power Plant Prompts Protests (Data Center Knowledge)

Prepping the Cloud for the Internet of Things (GigaOM)

SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING

Snapchat Grows Up: How College Officials Are Using the App (TIME Magazine)

The Future of Email: The Internet’s Least Exciting Application (Mashable)

Who Is the Average Gmail User? (Mashable)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

U-S Senate Confirms Los Angeles Attorney to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Courthouse News Service)

A Tale of Two States: Politico Praises Washington’s Exchange, Slams Oregon’s Mess (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

Idaho among Most Dependent on Federal Money among Western States – Washington State Ranked 16th (Associated Press)

Check Out Your State’s Ranking – It’s Easy & Fun! (WalletHub)

GENERAL NEWS

Oso Landslide: Inslee Asks Obama for Federal Aid; New Search Teams Arrive (Everett Herald, WA)

Mason County Health Rankings Improve (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Op/Ed: Skilled Trade Jobs Go Unfilled in Our Slow Economy (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

The Amazing Shrinking Newspaper: Oregonian Switches to Tabloid Size Wednesday (Oregonian, Portland)

DIVERSIONS

Dive-Bombing Hawks Force Florida Library-Goers to Cower Under Umbrellas

Pennsylvania Teen Says Typeface Change Could Save Millions

Drink Much? Woman’s Dumb Facebook Post Gets Her in Trouble

Man Makes Lucky Find after His Wedding Ring Ends Up in a City Dump

SONG OF THE DAY

Willie Nelson - Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground

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.