Friday, January 15, 2016

Energy News Digest for January 15, 2016

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for January 15, 2016

Coastal Flood Advisory

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Blunt Comments by Seattle City Light Nominee Trouble Council Members (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Forced Release of Water to the U-S Meant More Power Generation (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Montana: Colstrip Owners Write Bills Putting Plant’s Future in Doubt (Associated Press)

Carbon Initiative Key Issue as Lawmakers Reconvene in Olympia (KPLU Radio, Tacoma, WA)

Shelton Man Faces Charges in Woman’s Drug Death (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Blunt Comments by Seattle City Light Nominee Trouble Council Members
  • Editorial: The Continual Question of Who Should Govern Austin Energy
  • Forced Release of Water to the U-S Meant More Power Generation
  • Montana: Colstrip Owners Write Bills Putting Plant’s Future in Doubt
  • Bitcoin Blues: High-Capacity Data Centers Blindsided by Increase in Utilities Charges
  • Cowlitz PUD: December 21 Windstorm Damage Not Covered by Federal Disaster Relief
  • Mason PUD 3 Authorizes Application for Federal Funds to Help Cover Fall/Winter Storm Costs
  • Washington State Senator: Washington Small Reactor Report Promising
  • Oregon Lawmakers Meet to Restructure Troubled Energy Department
  • Fitch Affirms Pend Oreille PUD’s Revenue Bonds at ‘A-’; Outlook Revised to Negative
  • NDP Critic Says BC Hydro Inflated Claims of Smart-Meter Benefits
  • British Columbia: ‘Dumb’ Smart Meters Being Removed in Nickel Belt
  • Federal Attorneys Say Pacific Gas & Electric Tried to Dispose of Safety Records on San Bruno Explosion
  • Power Company Keeps Billing House That Was Destroyed in Tornado
  • Fish Habitat Projects across Washington State Total $44 Million
  • Who Needs the Sage Grouse More, Montana or Canada?
  • Europe’s Orca Whales Are at Risk of Extinction, Ecologists Say
  • OK, I’m Getting “Squirrel Fatigue”: Are Squirrels a Bigger Threat to the Power Grid than Hackers?
  • Authorities in California Plan to Temporarily Reduce Water Deliveries for Up to 25 Million in Central & Southern California
  • Solar Industry Growing, With Some Setbacks
  • Solar Is In, Biomass Energy Is Out – And Farmers Are Struggling to Dispose of Woody Waste
  • In Minnesota, Community Solar Shares Getting Snapped Up Fast
  • California: Altamont Wind Provider Gets Green Light for New Turbines
  • Emerald Valley: The Merging of Cannabis & Technology in California
  • Carbon Initiative Key Issue as Lawmakers Reconvene in Olympia
  • Washington State Senator Proposes $8 Fee per Ton of Carbon Emissions
  • What’s Melting Greenland’s Ice Sheet? Night Clouds, Say Scientists
  • Huntington Beach, California, Considers Offering Broadband as a Utility
  • Portland Startup Works to Silence Internet Trolls
  • Yahoo to Release Huge Amount of Data Showing How People Behave Online
  • ‘Be an Engineer,’ Exxon Mobil Tells Apathetic Young People in Equally Apathetic Ads
  • Shelton Man Faces Charges in Woman’s Drug Death
  • Oregon: Armed Occupiers Promise Plan to Leave Refuge, But Signal Longer Stay
  • How They Did It: Boeing & Union Strike Unexpected Deal
  • Graduation Matters Shelton Program
  • Nominations Open for Mason County Forest Festival Parade’s Grand Marshal
WORD OF THE DAY

Comestible • \com-MESS-ti-bul\ • noun or adjective – Edible

“Local grocery stores are filled to the brim with comestibles,” thought Francis MacDonald. “If that’s the case, where do they keep the yummy haggis?”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Blunt Comments by Seattle City Light Nominee Trouble Council Members (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Editorial: The Continual Question of Who Should Govern Austin Energy (Austin Statesman, TX)

Forced Release of Water to the U-S Meant More Power Generation (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Montana: Colstrip Owners Write Bills Putting Plant’s Future in Doubt (Associated Press)

Bitcoin Blues: High-Capacity Data Centers Blindsided by Increase in Utilities Charges (Digital Communities)

Cowlitz PUD: December 21 Windstorm Damage Not Covered by Federal Disaster Relief (Longview Daily News, WA)

Mason PUD 3 Authorizes Application for Federal Funds to Help Cover Fall/Winter Storm Costs (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Washington State Senator: Washington Small Reactor Report Promising (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Oregon Lawmakers Meet to Restructure Troubled Energy Department (Oregonian, Portland)

Fitch Affirms Pend Oreille PUD’s Revenue Bonds at ‘A-’; Outlook Revised to Negative (BusinessWire)

NDP Critic Says BC Hydro Inflated Claims of Smart-Meter Benefits (Globe & Mail, Canada)

British Columbia: ‘Dumb’ Smart Meters Being Removed in Nickel Belt (Sudbury Star, BC)

Federal Attorneys Say Pacific Gas & Electric Tried to Dispose of Safety Records on San Bruno Explosion (Utility Dive)

Power Company Keeps Billing House That Was Destroyed in Tornado (Consumerist)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fish Habitat Projects across Washington State Total $44 Million (Longview Daily News, WA)

Who Needs the Sage Grouse More, Montana or Canada? (Associated Press)

Europe’s Orca Whales Are at Risk of Extinction, Ecologists Say (Christian Science Monitor)

OK, I’m Getting “Squirrel Fatigue”: Are Squirrels a Bigger Threat to the Power Grid than Hackers? (Washington Post)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Authorities in California Plan to Temporarily Reduce Water Deliveries for Up to 25 Million in Central & Southern California (Associated Press)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar Industry Growing, With Some Setbacks (USA Today)

Solar Is In, Biomass Energy Is Out – And Farmers Are Struggling to Dispose of Woody Waste (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

In Minnesota, Community Solar Shares Getting Snapped Up Fast (Midwest Energy News)

California: Altamont Wind Provider Gets Green Light for New Turbines (Contra Cost Times, Walnut Creek, CA)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Emerald Valley: The Merging of Cannabis & Technology in California (Canna Law Blog)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Carbon Initiative Key Issue as Lawmakers Reconvene in Olympia (KPLU Radio, Tacoma, WA)

Washington State Senator Proposes $8 Fee per Ton of Carbon Emissions (Associated Press)

What’s Melting Greenland’s Ice Sheet? Night Clouds, Say Scientists (Christian Science Monitor)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Huntington Beach, California, Considers Offering Broadband as a Utility (Digital Communities)

MARKETING & MEDIA

Portland Startup Works to Silence Internet Trolls – The Startup Is Catering to News Organizations, Blogs & Other Websites (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

Yahoo to Release Huge Amount of Data Showing How People Behave Online (Orlando Business Journal, FL)
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2016/01/yahoo-to-release-huge-amount-of-data-showing-how.html

‘Be an Engineer,’ Exxon Mobil Tells Apathetic Young People in Equally Apathetic Ads (AdWeek)

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Man Faces Charges in Woman’s Drug Death (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Oregon: Armed Occupiers Promise Plan to Leave Refuge, But Signal Longer Stay (Oregonian, Portland)

How They Did It: Boeing & Union Strike Unexpected Deal (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Graduation Matters Shelton Program (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Nominations Open for Mason County Forest Festival Parade’s Grand Marshal (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

“Fast Crafted,” “Fine Casual” & Other Nonsense Terms Restaurants Use To Avoid Saying “Fast Food”

Rare Dime Sells for Nearly $2 Million

Ohio Man Who Sent Selfie to Police Arrested in Florida

Middle-Aged Man Dresses as Old Woman for Official’s Photo Op

SONG OF THE DAY

Donna Summer - McArthur Park Live

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LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their websites 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.