Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Energy News Digest for April 1, 2015

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for April 1, 2015

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Tacoma Public Utilities Looks to Lease Click! to Wave Broadband (South Sound Business Examiner)

Wanapum Dam Pool Back to Normal Level (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

Mason PUD 3 Looking into Remote Meter Reading (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Pacific Power: Oregon Jumping the Gun on Coal (Portland Business Journal, OR)

March Was the Warmest on SeaTac Record (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  1. Wanapum Dam Pool Back to Normal Level
  2. Mason PUD 3 Looking into Remote Meter Reading
  3. Pacific Power: Oregon Jumping the Gun on Coal
  4. Montana: Interior Department Announces Plans to Partner with Crow Tribe on Yellowtail Afterbay Hydropower
  5. Lawyer Who Helped Reorganize Bonneville Power, & Craft State Pot Rules, Named BPA General Counsel
  6. Beginning April 6 – Oak Park Underground Power Line Replacement Project
  7. Haven Energy Rejection Raises Questions about Possible Land Crunch at Port of Longview
  8. State Senator Tim Sheldon to Receive Northwest Public Power Association Public Service Award
  9. News Release: Smith Bill Would Investigate Unknown Costs to Washington Ratepayers from Montana Coal Plant Closure
  10. GE Makes Once-a-Decade Bet on Big Turbines as Energy Use Surges
  11. Texas Debates Bill to Eliminate Utility Fees for Low Demand Customers
  12. The Doctor is In at Virginia Co-op
  13. Fish Hatcheries: A 19th Century Fix That Won’t Die
  14. Hatcheries Flow On Despite Evidence They Harm Salmon Recovery
  15. Judge Tells Fisheries Service to Open Up over Central California Coast Steelhead
  16. Op/Ed: Shining the Light on Solar Subsidies
  17. A Biomass Mountain Rises
  18. These States Are Early Leaders in U-S Energy Storage Market
  19. Snohomish County PUD Offers Advice, Assistance
  20. Oregon: Head of High-Profile Energy Efficiency Program, Clean Energy Works, Steps Down
  21. Lawsuits against Legal Marijuana Point to Grand Failure of National Leadership
  22. Colorado Marijuana Welfare Measure Heads to Governor’s Desk
  23. March Was the Warmest on SeaTac Record
  24. Are We Tired of Talking about Climate Change?
  25. Could the Earth be Getting Greener? Satellite Data Say Yes
  26. Forget “Bans” on Talking about Climate. These Florida Republicans Are Too Busy Protecting Their Coasts
  27. New Tesla Offering Expected to be Home Battery Storage
  28. Tacoma Public Utilities Looks to Lease Click! to Wave Broadband
  29. Proposal to Lease Click! Merits Serious Consideration
  30. Manweller, Washington State Representative, Pushes Tax Break for Quincy Server Farms
  31. Poll Results: Yes, Oregonians Want Google Fiber
  32. Alibaba 'Likely' To Choose Seattle for U-S Headquarters
  33. Meerkat & Periscope Can Really Chew through Your Precious Data
  34. Dueling State Budgets on the Table Now in Olympia
  35. Five Mason County Schools Struggling – State Pledges Help
  36. Kitsap County Starts Text-To-911 Service
  37. Electrical Fault Corrected, 'Big Bang' Collider to Restart Soon
  38. Road Hazard: Plastic Wrap Prank Hits Post Falls
WORD OF THE DAY

Angst • \ANG-st\ • Noun - A feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.

There once was a feeling called angst
Over a gun that shot only blanks
The chamber was showing
The tension was growing
Over one of the new workers pranks

Whoo! There’s a stinker of a limerick.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Wanapum Dam Pool Back to Normal Level (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

Mason PUD 3 Looking into Remote Meter Reading (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Pacific Power: Oregon Jumping the Gun on Coal (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Montana: Interior Department Announces Plans to Partner with Crow Tribe on Yellowtail Afterbay Hydropower (PR Web)

Lawyer Who Helped Reorganize Bonneville Power, & Craft State Pot Rules, Named BPA General Counsel (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Beginning April 6 – Oak Park Underground Power Line Replacement Project (Mason PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

Haven Energy Rejection Raises Questions about Possible Land Crunch at Port of Longview (Longview Daily News, WA)

State Senator Tim Sheldon to Receive Northwest Public Power Association Public Service Award (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

News Release: Smith Bill Would Investigate Unknown Costs to Washington Ratepayers from Montana Coal Plant Closure (Washington State House Republicans)

GE Makes Once-a-Decade Bet on Big Turbines as Energy Use Surges (Bloomberg News)

Texas Debates Bill to Eliminate Utility Fees for Low Demand Customers (Utility Dive)

The Doctor is In at Virginia Co-op (Electric Co-op Today)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fish Hatcheries: A 19th Century Fix That Won’t Die (Crosscut Seattle)

Hatcheries Flow On Despite Evidence They Harm Salmon Recovery (Crosscut Seattle)

Judge Tells Fisheries Service to Open Up over Central California Coast Steelhead (Courthouse News Service)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Op/Ed: Shining the Light on Solar Subsidies (The Hill, Washington, DC)

A Biomass Mountain Rises (Huffington Post)

These States Are Early Leaders in U-S Energy Storage Market (The Energy Collective)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Snohomish County PUD Offers Advice, Assistance (North County Outlook, Marysville, WA)

Oregon: Head of High-Profile Energy Efficiency Program, Clean Energy Works, Steps Down (Oregonian, Portland)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Lawsuits against Legal Marijuana Point to Grand Failure of National Leadership (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

Colorado Marijuana Welfare Measure Heads to Governor’s Desk (Associated Press)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

March Was the Warmest on SeaTac Record (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Are We Tired of Talking about Climate Change? (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Could the Earth be Getting Greener? Satellite Data Say Yes (Christian Science Monitor)

Forget “Bans” on Talking about Climate. These Florida Republicans Are Too Busy Protecting Their Coasts (Washington Post)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

New Tesla Offering Expected to be Home Battery Storage (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Tacoma Public Utilities Looks to Lease Click! to Wave Broadband (South Sound Business Examiner)

Proposal to Lease Click! Merits Serious Consideration (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Manweller, Washington State Representative, Pushes Tax Break for Quincy Server Farms (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

Poll Results: Yes, Oregonians Want Google Fiber (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Alibaba 'Likely' To Choose Seattle for U-S Headquarters (Portland Business Journal, OR)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Meerkat & Periscope Can Really Chew through Your Precious Data (Gizmodo)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Dueling State Budgets on the Table Now in Olympia (Associated Press)

GENERAL NEWS

Five Mason County Schools Struggling – State Pledges Help (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Kitsap County Starts Text-To-911 Service (Associated Press)

Electrical Fault Corrected, 'Big Bang' Collider to Restart Soon (Reuters)

Road Hazard: Plastic Wrap Prank Hits Post Falls (KXLY-TV, Spokane, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Pet Rock Creator Dies at 78 in Southern Oregon

Moses Lake Dog Rose from the Grave to Live Again

Exploding Head Syndrome is Common in College Students

Joni Mitchell in Intensive Care after Being Found Unconscious at Home

SONG OF THE DAY

Joni Mitchell – Free Man in Paris

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.