Friday, February 6, 2015

Energy News Digest for February 6, 2015

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for February 6, 2015

Flood Warning for Mason County

Landslide Danger – Special Weather Statement for Mason County

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Pineapple Express Promises Stormy Weekend (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

U-S Army Corps of Engineers Set to Release Final Cormorant Kill Plan (Oregonian, Portland)

Inslee’s Climate Plan Would Cost Jobs, Business-Backed Study Says (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Do Electric Cars Still Need Support from Taxpayers? (Northwest Public Radio)

Over 100 Tribes Exploring Marijuana Business Opportunities (Marijuana Business Daily)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  1. Employees Sue Seattle Public Utilities
  2. New U-S Senate Chairman Vows Push on Nuke Waste, Yucca
  3. California: Not All Democrats Oppose Fracking
  4. Potential to Expand Hydropower in Maine Dries Up
  5. Op/ED: Whither Power Markets? FERC’s Moment of Truth
  6. U-S Army Corps of Engineers Set to Release Final Cormorant Kill Plan
  7. Shellfish Growers Support Effort to Reduce ‘Bad Oyster’ Illness
  8. California: Drought? That Was So January – Here Comes the February Flood
  9. Views of ‘Waters of the US’ Rule Are Mixed at U-S House-Senate Hearing – Committee Leaders Call for Withdrawal
  10. Utility Business Not as Usual
  11. Your Home is Full of Devices That Never Turn Off – They’re Costing You a Lot of Money
  12. Over 100 Tribes Exploring Marijuana Business Opportunities
  13. Inslee’s Climate Plan Would Cost Jobs, Business-Backed Study Says
  14. Idaho Officials Protest Carbon Reduction Plan
  15. Do Electric Cars Still Need Support from Taxpayers?
  16. Editorial: The Right Path Forward for the Internet is Public Utility Classification
  17. Everything You Need to Know about Net Neutrality Now, In Plain English
  18. Lawmakers Leery of Otter Admin’s Answers on Idaho Education Network
  19. Verizon Selling $10 Billion Worth of Lines to Frontier
  20. Google Is Serious about Taking on Telecom. Here’s Why It’ll Win
  21. CenturyLink Works to Prevent another 911 Outage
  22. Twitter Promises Return to User Growth
  23. Report: Twitter CEO Says ‘We Suck’ at Policing Trolls
  24. Oregon Attorney General Calls Allegations against John Kitzhaber, Cylvia Hayes ‘Very Serious & Troubling’
  25. The Politically Toxic Relationship between Oregon’s Governor & His Fiancée
  26. Pineapple Express Promises Stormy Weekend
  27. Mild, Wet Weather Raises Landslide Danger in Western Washington State
  28. Video: 1980’s Computers Plague Government Agencies
  29. This Is a Great Jobs Report across the Board
  30. So Long: Radio Shack Officially Goes Bankrupt
WORD OF THE DAY

Tussle • \TUSS-ull\ • Noun - 1: a physical contest or struggle: scuffle 2: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle

“Don’t go in there!” shouted the disheveled employee stumbling from the boardroom into a growing crowd of curious, yet strangely calm cubicle-dwellers. “A tussle over the last maple bar went horribly wrong…and the CEO did not come out the winner.”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Employees Sue Seattle Public Utilities – “…disciplined, terminated or threatened…for making adjustments to family, friends or personal accounts…” (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

New U-S Senate Chairman Vows Push on Nuke Waste, Yucca (Las Vega Review-Journal, NV)

California: Not All Democrats Oppose Fracking – California governor, once environmental hero, harshly criticized for refusing to ban fracking (Associated Press)

Potential to Expand Hydropower in Maine Dries Up (Portland Press-Herald, ME)

Op/ED: Whither Power Markets? FERC’s Moment of Truth (Forbes Magazine)

FISH & WILDLIFE

U-S Army Corps of Engineers Set to Release Final Cormorant Kill Plan (Oregonian, Portland)

Shellfish Growers Support Effort to Reduce ‘Bad Oyster’ Illness (Skagit Valley Herald, Mt Vernon, WA)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

California: Drought? That Was So January – Here Comes the February Flood (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

Views of ‘Waters of the US’ Rule Are Mixed at U-S House-Senate Hearing – Committee Leaders Call for Withdrawal (American Public Power Association)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Utility Business Not as Usual (Breaking Energy – New word “prosumers”)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Your Home is Full of Devices That Never Turn Off – They’re Costing You a Lot of Money (Washington Post)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Over 100 Tribes Exploring Marijuana Business Opportunities (Marijuana Business Daily)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Inslee’s Climate Plan Would Cost Jobs, Business-Backed Study Says (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Idaho Officials Protest Carbon Reduction Plan “…hydroelectric generating capacity isn’t being treated as renewable energy, & the state is getting little credit for its large wind turbine capacity…” (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Do Electric Cars Still Need Support from Taxpayers? (Northwest Public Radio)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Editorial: The Right Path Forward for the Internet is Public Utility Classification (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Everything You Need to Know about Net Neutrality Now, In Plain English (Washington Post)

Lawmakers Leery of Otter Admin’s Answers on Idaho Education Network (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Verizon Selling $10 Billion Worth of Lines to Frontier (USA Today)

Google Is Serious about Taking on Telecom. Here’s Why It’ll Win (Washington Post)

CenturyLink Works to Prevent another 911 Outage (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter Promises Return to User Growth (USA Today)

Report: Twitter CEO Says ‘We Suck’ at Policing Trolls (SF Chronicle)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Oregon Attorney General Calls Allegations against John Kitzhaber, Cylvia Hayes ‘Very Serious & Troubling’ (Oregonian, Portland)

The Politically Toxic Relationship between Oregon’s Governor & His Fiancée (Washington Post)

GENERAL NEWS

Pineapple Express Promises Stormy Weekend (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

Mild, Wet Weather Raises Landslide Danger in Western Washington State (Associated Press)

Video: 1980’s Computers Plague Government Agencies (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

This Is a Great Jobs Report across the Board (NY Times)

So Long: Radio Shack Officially Goes Bankrupt “…like a rotting corpse being pulled apart by zombie corporations…” (Gizmodo)

DIVERSIONS

Man Loses Hat in Fourth Owl Attack at Oregon Park

Missouri Parents Say They Staged 6-Year-Old’s Kidnapping to Teach Him a Lesson

Want a Short-Sleeve Dress Shirt Covered in Poo Emojis? Of Course You Do

Target Workers Caught on Camera… Helping Teen Job Interviewee Tie His Tie

SONG OF THE DAY

Little River Band – The Night Owls

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.