Thursday, April 2, 2015

Energy News Digest for April 2, 2015

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for April 2, 2015

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Portland Nuclear Firm Hits another Small Module Milestone (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Governor Issues Mandatory Water Cuts as California Snowpack Hits Record Low (Sacramento Bee, CA)

Embattled Washington State Auditor Responds to Questions from Governor (Northwest Public Radio)

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

Including “Incremental Hydro”: House Committee Advances Three Senator Brown Bills (Tri-City Herald, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  1. Portland Nuclear Firm Hits another Small Module Milestone
  2. Columbia River Coal Terminal Gets Oregon’s Water-Quality OK
  3. Op/Ed: Dirty Fuel Exports Darken Pacific Northwest’s Earth Day
  4. Mason PUD 3 Commission Report – March 31, 2015 Business Meeting
  5. New U-S Senate Push for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
  6. New York: Landlord’s Lawyer Blames Con Ed in East Village Explosion
  7. U-S House Panel Inquiring into Former Energy Official’s, Dan Poneman, $1.7 Million Job
  8. Columbia Tanglenets Fall Short of Expected Salmon Catch
  9. Idaho Senate OKs Making Sage Grouse Protection Info Private
  10. Are Orcas Making a Comeback in the Pacific Northwest?
  11. The Price of Progress – Why the Spokane Tribe Says It's Still Owed for Grand Coulee Dam
  12. Governor Issues Mandatory Water Cuts as California Snowpack Hits Record Low
  13. Expected Yakima Basin Drought Worsens after March Brings Little Snow, Officials Say
  14. Woodland Wastewater Utility Whistleblower Claims Retaliation by City
  15. Including “Incremental Hydro”: House Committee Advances Three Senator Brown Bills
  16. Northwest U-S Wind Power Output Falls in 2015
  17. Renewable Portfolio Standards under Attack across America
  18. Hawaii’s Utility is Approving a Backlog of More Than 3,000 Solar Installations
  19. Why the Graphene Light Bulb Could Switch on a New Era of Innovation
  20. Fix the Missing “And” – Maine Lawmakers Debating Solution for Mistaken Efficiency Funding Cut
  21. April 15 Marks Hot Water Heater Regulations Affecting Homeowners
  22. Ten Best Marijuana Strains of March
  23. California Drought Is Worsened by Global Warming, Scientists Say
  24. Composting Toilets Help Make This Seattle Building 'One of the Most Important in the World'
  25. Editorial: Proposal to Lease Click Merits Serious Consideration
  26. AT&T Shows Cupertino Precisely What Broadband Competition (Or the Lack Thereof) Looks Like
  27. Comcast to Start Offering 2Gbps Internet Service in Atlanta Next Month
  28. For 7% of Americans, Smartphone is Only Link to Internet
  29. Good Bye Bellevue: Expedia to Move HQ to Seattle
  30. Nine Things Brands Should Consider Before Launching a Blog
  31. How to Optimize Social Media Images
  32. The Internet’s First Gatekeepers Are Getting Older – The Web Is Leaving Them Behind
  33. 29 People Who Can't Stand Your Stupid Branded April Fools' Joke
  34. Embattled Washington State Auditor Responds to Questions from Governor
  35. Embattled Washington State Auditor Skips Olympia Committee Hearing
  36. Indiana Unveils Changes to Religion Bill; Arkansas in Flux
  37. Mason Transit Authority’s Transit-Community Center Starts Off in High Gear
  38. 125 Years, 100 Million Trees for Green Diamond
  39. Two Separate Mason County Collisions Involving School Buses Wednesday
  40. Mason PUD 1 Places Second in South Sound for AWWA Water Taste Test Competition
WORD OF THE DAY

Today’s word of the day has a stand-in: it’s a surprise visit from its cousin “phrase of the day”!

 “STEAL MY THUNDER” – John Dennis, 1709

The Story behind It: John Dennis, English critic and playwright, invented a new way of simulating the sound of thunder on stage and used the method in one of his plays, Appius and Virginia. Dennis "made" thunder by using "troughs of wood with stops in them" instead of the large mustard bowls usually employed. The thunder was a great success, but Dennis's play was a dismal failure. The manager at Drury Lane, where the play was performed, canceled its run after only a few performances. A short time later, Dennis returned to Drury Lane to see Shakespeare's Macbeth. As he sat in the pit, he was horrified to discover that his method of making thunder was being used. Jumping to his feet, Dennis screamed at the audience, "That's my thunder, by God! The villains will not play my play but they steal my thunder." -- From Trivia-Library.com

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Portland Nuclear Firm Hits another Small Module Milestone (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Columbia River Coal Terminal Gets Oregon’s Water-Quality OK (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Op/Ed: Dirty Fuel Exports Darken Pacific Northwest’s Earth Day (Crosscut Seattle)

Mason PUD 3 Commission Report – March 31, 2015 Business Meeting (Mason PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

New U-S Senate Push for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (Electric Co-op Today)

New York: Landlord’s Lawyer Blames Con Ed in East Village Explosion (NY Times)

U-S House Panel Inquiring into Former Energy Official’s, Dan Poneman, $1.7 Million Job (Politico)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Columbia Tanglenets Fall Short of Expected Salmon Catch (Oregonian, Portland)

Idaho Senate OKs Making Sage Grouse Protection Info Private (Associated Press)

Are Orcas Making a Comeback in the Pacific Northwest? (Christian Science Monitor)

The Price of Progress – Why the Spokane Tribe Says It's Still Owed for Grand Coulee Dam (The Inlander, Spokane, WA)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Governor Issues Mandatory Water Cuts as California Snowpack Hits Record Low (Sacramento Bee, CA)

Expected Yakima Basin Drought Worsens after March Brings Little Snow, Officials Say (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Woodland Wastewater Utility Whistleblower Claims Retaliation by City (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Including “Incremental Hydro”: House Committee Advances Three Senator Brown Bills (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Northwest U-S Wind Power Output Falls in 2015 (Argus Media)

Renewable Portfolio Standards under Attack across America (Renewable Energy World)

Hawaii’s Utility is Approving a Backlog of More Than 3,000 Solar Installations (Green Tech Media)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Why the Graphene Light Bulb Could Switch on a New Era of Innovation (Washington Post)

Fix the Missing “And” – Maine Lawmakers Debating Solution for Mistaken Efficiency Funding Cut (Utility Dive)

April 15 Marks Hot Water Heater Regulations Affecting Homeowners (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Ten Best Marijuana Strains of March (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

California Drought Is Worsened by Global Warming, Scientists Say (NY Times)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Composting Toilets Help Make This Seattle Building 'One of the Most Important in the World' (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

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

AT&T Shows Cupertino Precisely What Broadband Competition (Or the Lack Thereof) Looks Like (TechDirt)

Comcast to Start Offering 2Gbps Internet Service in Atlanta Next Month (Mashable)

For 7% of Americans, Smartphone is Only Link to Internet (USA Today)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Good Bye Bellevue: Expedia to Move HQ to Seattle (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

Nine Things Brands Should Consider Before Launching a Blog (Mashable)

How to Optimize Social Media Images (Social Media Examiner)

The Internet’s First Gatekeepers Are Getting Older – The Web Is Leaving Them Behind (Washington Post)

29 People Who Can't Stand Your Stupid Branded April Fools' Joke – The Backlash is Real (AdWeek – Ed. Note: Why would ANYONE who has spent so much sweat and effort to make their brand a reliable, trusted source of information/service risk it all on a stupid April Fool’s joke. Remember this adage: one D-S erases ten “attaboys.”)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Embattled Washington State Auditor Responds to Questions from Governor (Northwest Public Radio)

Embattled Washington State Auditor Skips Olympia Committee Hearing (Associated Press)

Indiana Unveils Changes to Religion Bill; Arkansas in Flux (Associated Press)

Bonus word of the day:

Embattled • \em-BATT-tulled\ • Adjective – Engaged in battle or conflict: surrounded by enemies; constantly criticized or attacked - 1a: ready to fight: prepared to give battle b: engaged in battle, conflict, or controversy 2a: being a site of battle, conflict, or controversy b: characterized by conflict or controversy

GENERAL NEWS

Mason Transit Authority’s Transit-Community Center Starts Off in High Gear (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

125 Years, 100 Million Trees for Green Diamond (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Two Separate Mason County Collisions Involving School Buses Wednesday (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Mason PUD 1 Places Second in South Sound for AWWA Water Taste Test Competition (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Why the April 4 Lunar Eclipse Will be Different

The Only Thing Better than a Chocolate Bunny is This Life-Size Chocolate Benedict Cumberbatch

“Let Them Eat Cake” – Ice-Cold Camembert' Blamed for Lawmaker’s Expenses Claims

Woman Who Chased Down Google Street View Car And Flashed It Could Now be Facing Charges

SONG OF THE DAY

Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga - The Lady is a Tramp

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.