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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Sanguineous • \san-GWIN-ee-us\ • adjective – 1: bloodred *2: of, relating to, or involving bloodshed: bloodthirsty 3: of, relating to, or containing blood
Albert was unhappy with his Halloween costume. Freda had assured him that by dressing as Caesar Augustus he would be symbolically wearing the “royal purple”. “But it has more of a sanguineous hue,” he whined to his beloved. “Be quiet,” Freda snapped. “Royal purple was more a figure of speech in those days.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Jefferson PUD leaders to look at taking over electricity service from PSE – Jefferson County Public Utility District leaders see Friday's acquisition of Puget Energy Inc., parent company of Puget Sound Energy, as a possible opportunity to provide electricity to most of East Jefferson County. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071030/NEWS/710300307
Montana utility OKs $3 million in rebates – Record-setting revenues this year prompted Flathead Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees to approve $3 million in rebates to its electricity customers. (The Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/30/news/news02.txt
Oregon – Northern Wasco County PUD explores power options; Regional alliance may offer alternatives. The PUD mostly likely will be looking for regional assistance as it explores the uncertain future of Pacific Northwest power supplies. (The Dalles Chronicle)
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2007/10/news10-29-07-01.shtml
Power Rates Could Be Going Up In Idaho – Don't forget to turn off the lights next time you leave your house because it could cost you more money. (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls)
http://www.idaho8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6407943&nav=menu554_10_1
Budget error teaches tough lesson to the Kennewick Irrigation District – KID recently discovered a bookkeeping error that leaves it with about $500,000 less than expected. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9417513p-9330191c.html
News Release – BPA's Steve Hickok elected chairman of the members of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180359/
Alaska – Plan to tap lake angers Petersburg residents – Residents of Petersburg are hammering local officials about a proposed hydroelectric power project. They’re not happy, and neither are some members of the Whatcom County Council in Washington state, which covers Bellingham. (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/9415345p-9328061c.html
TVA plans to build 2 nuclear reactors – The Tennessee Valley Authority is expected to file an application, perhaps as early as today, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two new nuclear-power reactors at a site in Alabama. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003982614_ndig30.html?syndication=rss
World's coal habit growing (The Associated Press)
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/business/ci_7321091
Iraq – Iraqi dam still a flood risk, report says. The top U.S. military commander in Iraq warned Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in May that the country's biggest dam, just up the Tigris River from the northern city of Mosul, is at risk of collapse, putting the city's 1.7 million people in danger of being inundated by a 65-foot flood wave. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7320257?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Pennsylvania – Allegheny Power files deregulation plan – Allegheny Power, a division of Allegheny Energy Inc., announced today that it has filed a proposed plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as part of its transition to electricity deregulation. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/10/29/daily5.html?ana=from_rss
Energy Dept. Audit Finds Overcharges On Contracts – The Los Alamos National Laboratory paid millions of dollars in questionable charges to a contractor affiliated with KBR, according to a recent audit by the Energy Department's inspector general. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102902038.html?nav=rss_business
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
California commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams – California Energy Commission analysts urged Oregon, California and Washington to deny any requests from PacifiCorp to increase electricity rates to help pay for upgrading Klamath dams. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003982261_webdams29.html?syndication=rss
The Columbian Opinion – In our view: Help for Salmon. Third removable fish weir arrives at Snake River dam to aid fish migration
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/10/10292007_In-our-view-Help-for-Salmon.cfm?newsletter=1
California – Central Valley salmon largely absent from fall run - but why? This year's Central Valley fall salmon run is worrying both fishermen and biologists, who say fewer of the prized Chinook are out in the ocean or making it up the rivers to spawn. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/30/MNAAT2VTR.DTL
Olympia’s utility rates might rise Jan. 1 – Households in Olympia would pay $7.58 more every other month for utilities next year under a proposal the Olympia City Council is considering. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/257053.html
Aquifer efforts 'turn corner' – Federal support has begun to rally for efforts to bring more groundwater to the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news04.txt
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
$200 Million for Electric Cars? Software industry hotshot Shai Agassi has a well-funded plan to shake up the auto industry with a new approach to the electric car (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21544170/
Google's love for solar may extend to other renewables – When it comes to bragging rights and solar power, Google's on top: it has the largest corporate installation of solar-powered electricity yet. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9807330-7.html
When Will Congress Pass Tax Credits for Renewable Energy? (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50427&src=rss
Converting Food Crops Into Fuel 'Crime Against Humanity' (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/un-calls-converting-food-crops-fuel-crime-against-humanity/
CONSERVATION
State Recognizes Navy's Efforts to Save Energy – Local bases cleaned up in the latest Navy-wide energy conservation competition and got a nice pat on the back for their efforts Monday from Gov. Chris Gregoire. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/29/state-recognizes-navys-efforts-to-save-energy/
News Release – JC Penney Stores Become First to Earn New ENERGY STAR Retail Rating – EPA Recognizes Four Washington State JCPenney Stores for Superior Energy Performance and Environmental Protection
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071030006039&newsLang=en
News Release – Con Edison Offers Energy- and Money-Saving Tips for Winter. Natural Gas Supplies Adequate for Coming Heating Season (MarketWire)
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=785984
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Study: Seattle exceeding goal to fight global warming (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_103007ENBseattle_global_warming_LJ.1bf367673.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Home phone line repairs slowed – As phone companies spend billions on souped-up broadband and wireless services, they're struggling with basic home phone line repairs. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2007-10-28-phone-repairs_N.htm
Fiber Makers to Benefit From ISP Bandwidth Woes (Seeking Alpha)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/51966-fiber-makers-to-benefit-from-isp-bandwidth-woes
GENERAL NEWS
Shelton clothier to move to Tumwater – Heated-apparel maker’s new home to be finished in June. Mason County manufacturer Gerbing’s Heated Clothing Inc. is coming to Tumwater next summer so that it can consolidate its operations under one roof, the company CEO said Monday. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/257018.html
Canadian dollar jumps to 47-year high – Flaherty announces economic update due Tuesday as loonie hits US$1.05 in Monday trading (The Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=1d4868c3-828f-4114-b43b-5609db570079&k=16508
California – Cal can boot all tree-sitters, judge says. UC officials can remove all the tree-sitters at Memorial Stadium, even if police can't identify the protesters by name, a judge ruled Monday. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/30/BAUTT2TJO.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
DIVERSIONS
Science on the Web: Don't Try This at Home – Two million YouTube viewers recently sought the answer to the question, "Can water burn?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102502258.html?nav=rss_technology
Toddler Wouldn't Leave Plane Crash Wreckage Without Teddy Bear
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14451459/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
At 79, he’s still clowning around – For decades, he delighted fans as the starring clown in “The J.P. Patches Show,” one of the longest-running local live TV shows in the country. Now Chris Wedes, 79, is battling blood cancer.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/191024.html
When a Penny Is More Than Just a Penny – When people toss quarters and dimes into tip jars or feed them into vending machines, chances are they are less interested in form than function.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/washington/30coin.html?ex=1351396800&en=1b72b3b4f0521a99&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
News Digest for October 29, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Imbricate • \IM-brih-kut \ • adjective – Lying lapped over each other in regular order
Day after day Donatello stared, unfocused yet watchful at the shadowy shapes darting past the viewing windows at the mighty dam’s fish ladder. His fingers nervously clicked the counter in his hand. It wasn’t until years later that he actually wrestled with a fish in his hands that he marveled at the intricate beauty of nature: the subtle hues and the imbricate scales that ran down the sides of the large, flopping salmon.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Experts: 'La Nina' to bring wetter NW weather (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012763~Experts___La_Nina__to_bring_wetter_NW_weather.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Temperatures on the rise over the years in South Sound – Average temperatures in South Sound have grown slightly warmer in the past century. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255520.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Need for cash spurs Puget Energy deal – With plans to spend billions on new power plants and equipment over the coming years, Puget Energy decided it needed a more stable — and more patient — source of new cash than the public stock and debt markets. (Seattle Times – Don’t miss the pie chart that shows most electricity customers in Washington State are served by public utilities!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Recovery ongoing for storm victims – Thomas Thomas, 52, shows all the signs of what could be called PTSD: Post Traumatic Storm Disorder. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255517.html
What you can do to protect yourself – Lessons learned in South Sound. Windstorms. Power outages. Flooding. Earthquakes. These are some of the emergencies that are part of life in the Northwest all year. (The Olympian – Don’t try this at home: If a line falls on your car, stay in the vehicle…To exit, open the door, but do not step out. Jump, without touching any of the metal portions of the car's exterior, to safe ground and get away.)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255523.html
Programs assist poor with winter heating bill – The Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP) is gearing up its energy assistance programs as the weather turns colder. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/10/29/area_news/news09.txt
Turning from coal means more demand for nuclear and alternative energy sources (Minnesota Public Radio)
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/25/energyalternatives/
Texas – Generators producing dispute, not electricity. Word on the river is that both generators at Morris Sheppard Dam are down and are not being fixed because of a dispute between Brazos River Authority and the electricity purchaser Brazos Electric Cooperative Inc. (Mineral Wells Index)
http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_302092202.html
South Carolina – Proposed coal-fired plant assailed: Conservation groups claim studies show state could meet energy needs through renewable energy sources and efficiency programs -- to offset the need for the plant (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgijhnvtUUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Electric plan to lock in northern Ohio's higher rates: Cost you're paying for power now could be 'floor’ for future rates – A new plan to set future electric rates in the state, keeping northern Ohio's high rates, was unveiled yesterday in the Ohio Senate. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgikgjmkSUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
The Invisible Commodity – Electricity is the invisible commodity. But it's now in the limelight. Energy infrastructure has been labeled inadequate and ill-prepared to enable American businesses to compete in a global economy. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CgikiillRUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tri-City Herald Editorial – Working weirs: Phase three of a Snake River success story should slip into action this spring. It's the third huge weir to be installed on the Snake River to help juvenile salmon pass the dams.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9415338p-9328057c.html
Salmon fishing on Oregon's famed Rogue River nosedives (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10851961.html
Restoration work on N. Idaho spawning grounds begins – Workers in northern Idaho have started vacuuming silt off the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille so that kokanee, a prized sport fish that brings in millions of dollars to the area, will have a place to spawn. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/255777.html
Oregon – After fish kill, rave reviews for chub-free Diamond Lake (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015852~Rave_reviews_for_chub_free_Diamond_Lake.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – The public supports ocean access, not closures to sport fishing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/ED8GT1LHB.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Environmental agency ponders request to head Alcoa cleanup – Federal authorities are continuing to weigh whether to take over a long-delayed cleanup of a highly contaminated stretch of Columbia River shoreline. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Environmental-agency-ponders-request-to-head-Alcoa-cleanup.cfm
Georgia – Georgia paying for lack of water planning. Lawmakers scrambling to cope with drought after years of lax zoning laws, pro-growth policies led to widespread urban sprawl (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7311429?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Georgia/Alabama’s water fight shifting to D.C. (The Dothan Eagle)
http://www.dothaneagle.com/gulfcoasteast/dea/local_news.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2007-10-29-0008.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Mammoth wind farm slated for South Dakota – Plans for the world's largest wind farm, proposed to be built in South Dakota, have become more grandiose. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10282007news222475.cfm
Wind farms generate bird worries – As more turbines churn in the gorge, wildlife biologists fear the blades will threaten raptor numbers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193622908249580.xml&coll=7
News Release – As Support for Cape Wind Erodes, Clean Power Now Rolls Out Another Flawed Poll. Less than one week after the Cape Cod Commission dealt a critical setback to the controversial Cape Wind project, the project's grassroots lobby group Clean Power Now is preparing to roll out yet another survey showing Cape Cod support for a project that has lagged in every independent survey. (PRNewswire-USNewswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2007/0004689692&EDATE
For a Devotee of Solar Energy, a Shot at Earning Respect – The sun was shining for a change, which was good news for Richard Thompson, known throughout these parts as Solar Richard. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27solar.html?ex=1351396800&en=50a1c4fc71d1d982&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
City wins green power award – Bellingham has again been recognized as a national leader in green power, receiving a Green Power Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/216623.html
Solar racers gain speed Down Under (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Photos-Solar-racers-gain-speed-Down-Under/2300-11392_3-6215648.html?part=dht
DTE signs renewable power contract: Manure is used in electricity deal (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghqqjlnTUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Creating power out of thin air – Imagine a material that can suck in heat from the environment and power a notebook. A New Jersey company is aiming to do just that. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Creating-power-out-of-thin-air/2100-11392_3-6215555.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent
Who's Fueling Whom? Why the biofuels movement could run out of gas (Smithsonian Magazine)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/presence-biofuel-200711.html
CONSERVATION
News Release – Fall Is Ideal Time to Plant Trees – Fall's cool temperatures are here, marking the best time for homeowners to plant trees that will flourish in the spring. (Oncor)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071029/lam096.html?.v=94
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Report takes aim at smog-causing speed bumps – Speed bumps -- a Band-Aid solution for bad street planning -- not only fuel drivers' tempers and create noise pollution, they add greenhouse gases to the air we breathe, says a new federal housing agency report. (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5cd232a9-e8d4-496f-8570-d319b7079bef
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC plan could be cable TV boon for renters – Exclusive contracts for apartments, condos would end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/337235_fcc29.html
Illinois – Plan for wireless Internet at rest stops halted again. IDOT cites lack of proposals from vendors as reason (State Journal Record)
http://sj-r.com/News/stories/18915.asp
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – Bye-bye Wi-Fi. I never thought I'd see the day when San Francisco's volatile Supervisor Chris Daly comes across as the voice of reason, while Mayor Gavin Newsom is stuck in a rut of two years of being completely in the wrong.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/EDD5T05O0.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Louisiana – Cities get wired. Areas with regional or citywide wireless, hot spots, municipal-use systems and those pondering one of the above have more than tripled in the past two years. (The Shreveport Times)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/NEWS01/710280323
Confusion looks likely in digital TV conversion (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189786.html
GENERAL NEWS
Step away from the clock! Don't touch your clocks today. It's not time for daylight-saving time to end ... yet. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003980048_webdaylight28m.html
(A cautionary public affairs tale) FEMA leader apologizes for staged briefing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Telltale e-mails tracked down to ex-official – The e-mails came in a steady trickle, more than 20 over almost 13 months, often from a phantom sender who claimed to be a local builder fed up with impropriety in the Clark County's building division. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Telltale-e-mails-tracked-down-to-ex-official.cfm
The Olympian Editorial – KGY deserves a long-term lease. Port of Olympia commissioners must find a way to accommodate KGY radio when its lease expires at the end of 2009.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/254888.html
Wenatchee – Pay raise for mayor: 36 percent. Councilman questions timing of pay increases for elected city officials (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/NEWS04/710270002/1001
Hops scarce; glass, fuel costs up Crisis brews for beer makers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189138.html
UFO Reporting Center operates out of former missile site – To find the new home of The National UFO Reporting Center, you must go several yards underground at a former nuclear missile site in Eastern Washington. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337233_ufo29.html?source=rss
Shelton topples Capital – Playoffs against Bellevue next (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/255031.html
DIVERSIONS
He's not undead, just unsober...Passengers on a German train mistook a Halloween reveler dressed up as a gore-covered zombie for a murder victim and called the police.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC94583820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Burglars-in-a-box busted after robberies (technically, these were burglaries NOT robberies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2638534820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Cell Phone GPS Leads To Suspect In Tree – Ex-Girlfriend Gives Police Suspect's Phone Number
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14424275/detail.html
Aliens caused Sicily fires, say officials – Aliens were responsible for a series of unexplained fires in fridges, TV’s and mobile phones in an Italian village, according to an Italian government report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/26/waliens126.xml
Speedometer can surprise when there's no gridlock – Patrol says driver was clocked at 122 mph on I-5
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/254918.html
WORD OF THE DAY
Imbricate • \IM-brih-kut \ • adjective – Lying lapped over each other in regular order
Day after day Donatello stared, unfocused yet watchful at the shadowy shapes darting past the viewing windows at the mighty dam’s fish ladder. His fingers nervously clicked the counter in his hand. It wasn’t until years later that he actually wrestled with a fish in his hands that he marveled at the intricate beauty of nature: the subtle hues and the imbricate scales that ran down the sides of the large, flopping salmon.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Experts: 'La Nina' to bring wetter NW weather (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012763~Experts___La_Nina__to_bring_wetter_NW_weather.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Temperatures on the rise over the years in South Sound – Average temperatures in South Sound have grown slightly warmer in the past century. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255520.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Need for cash spurs Puget Energy deal – With plans to spend billions on new power plants and equipment over the coming years, Puget Energy decided it needed a more stable — and more patient — source of new cash than the public stock and debt markets. (Seattle Times – Don’t miss the pie chart that shows most electricity customers in Washington State are served by public utilities!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Recovery ongoing for storm victims – Thomas Thomas, 52, shows all the signs of what could be called PTSD: Post Traumatic Storm Disorder. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255517.html
What you can do to protect yourself – Lessons learned in South Sound. Windstorms. Power outages. Flooding. Earthquakes. These are some of the emergencies that are part of life in the Northwest all year. (The Olympian – Don’t try this at home: If a line falls on your car, stay in the vehicle…To exit, open the door, but do not step out. Jump, without touching any of the metal portions of the car's exterior, to safe ground and get away.)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255523.html
Programs assist poor with winter heating bill – The Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP) is gearing up its energy assistance programs as the weather turns colder. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/10/29/area_news/news09.txt
Turning from coal means more demand for nuclear and alternative energy sources (Minnesota Public Radio)
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/25/energyalternatives/
Texas – Generators producing dispute, not electricity. Word on the river is that both generators at Morris Sheppard Dam are down and are not being fixed because of a dispute between Brazos River Authority and the electricity purchaser Brazos Electric Cooperative Inc. (Mineral Wells Index)
http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_302092202.html
South Carolina – Proposed coal-fired plant assailed: Conservation groups claim studies show state could meet energy needs through renewable energy sources and efficiency programs -- to offset the need for the plant (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgijhnvtUUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Electric plan to lock in northern Ohio's higher rates: Cost you're paying for power now could be 'floor’ for future rates – A new plan to set future electric rates in the state, keeping northern Ohio's high rates, was unveiled yesterday in the Ohio Senate. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgikgjmkSUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
The Invisible Commodity – Electricity is the invisible commodity. But it's now in the limelight. Energy infrastructure has been labeled inadequate and ill-prepared to enable American businesses to compete in a global economy. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CgikiillRUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tri-City Herald Editorial – Working weirs: Phase three of a Snake River success story should slip into action this spring. It's the third huge weir to be installed on the Snake River to help juvenile salmon pass the dams.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9415338p-9328057c.html
Salmon fishing on Oregon's famed Rogue River nosedives (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10851961.html
Restoration work on N. Idaho spawning grounds begins – Workers in northern Idaho have started vacuuming silt off the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille so that kokanee, a prized sport fish that brings in millions of dollars to the area, will have a place to spawn. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/255777.html
Oregon – After fish kill, rave reviews for chub-free Diamond Lake (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015852~Rave_reviews_for_chub_free_Diamond_Lake.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – The public supports ocean access, not closures to sport fishing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/ED8GT1LHB.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Environmental agency ponders request to head Alcoa cleanup – Federal authorities are continuing to weigh whether to take over a long-delayed cleanup of a highly contaminated stretch of Columbia River shoreline. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Environmental-agency-ponders-request-to-head-Alcoa-cleanup.cfm
Georgia – Georgia paying for lack of water planning. Lawmakers scrambling to cope with drought after years of lax zoning laws, pro-growth policies led to widespread urban sprawl (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7311429?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Georgia/Alabama’s water fight shifting to D.C. (The Dothan Eagle)
http://www.dothaneagle.com/gulfcoasteast/dea/local_news.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2007-10-29-0008.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Mammoth wind farm slated for South Dakota – Plans for the world's largest wind farm, proposed to be built in South Dakota, have become more grandiose. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10282007news222475.cfm
Wind farms generate bird worries – As more turbines churn in the gorge, wildlife biologists fear the blades will threaten raptor numbers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193622908249580.xml&coll=7
News Release – As Support for Cape Wind Erodes, Clean Power Now Rolls Out Another Flawed Poll. Less than one week after the Cape Cod Commission dealt a critical setback to the controversial Cape Wind project, the project's grassroots lobby group Clean Power Now is preparing to roll out yet another survey showing Cape Cod support for a project that has lagged in every independent survey. (PRNewswire-USNewswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2007/0004689692&EDATE
For a Devotee of Solar Energy, a Shot at Earning Respect – The sun was shining for a change, which was good news for Richard Thompson, known throughout these parts as Solar Richard. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27solar.html?ex=1351396800&en=50a1c4fc71d1d982&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
City wins green power award – Bellingham has again been recognized as a national leader in green power, receiving a Green Power Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/216623.html
Solar racers gain speed Down Under (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Photos-Solar-racers-gain-speed-Down-Under/2300-11392_3-6215648.html?part=dht
DTE signs renewable power contract: Manure is used in electricity deal (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghqqjlnTUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Creating power out of thin air – Imagine a material that can suck in heat from the environment and power a notebook. A New Jersey company is aiming to do just that. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Creating-power-out-of-thin-air/2100-11392_3-6215555.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent
Who's Fueling Whom? Why the biofuels movement could run out of gas (Smithsonian Magazine)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/presence-biofuel-200711.html
CONSERVATION
News Release – Fall Is Ideal Time to Plant Trees – Fall's cool temperatures are here, marking the best time for homeowners to plant trees that will flourish in the spring. (Oncor)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071029/lam096.html?.v=94
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Report takes aim at smog-causing speed bumps – Speed bumps -- a Band-Aid solution for bad street planning -- not only fuel drivers' tempers and create noise pollution, they add greenhouse gases to the air we breathe, says a new federal housing agency report. (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5cd232a9-e8d4-496f-8570-d319b7079bef
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC plan could be cable TV boon for renters – Exclusive contracts for apartments, condos would end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/337235_fcc29.html
Illinois – Plan for wireless Internet at rest stops halted again. IDOT cites lack of proposals from vendors as reason (State Journal Record)
http://sj-r.com/News/stories/18915.asp
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – Bye-bye Wi-Fi. I never thought I'd see the day when San Francisco's volatile Supervisor Chris Daly comes across as the voice of reason, while Mayor Gavin Newsom is stuck in a rut of two years of being completely in the wrong.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/EDD5T05O0.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Louisiana – Cities get wired. Areas with regional or citywide wireless, hot spots, municipal-use systems and those pondering one of the above have more than tripled in the past two years. (The Shreveport Times)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/NEWS01/710280323
Confusion looks likely in digital TV conversion (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189786.html
GENERAL NEWS
Step away from the clock! Don't touch your clocks today. It's not time for daylight-saving time to end ... yet. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003980048_webdaylight28m.html
(A cautionary public affairs tale) FEMA leader apologizes for staged briefing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Telltale e-mails tracked down to ex-official – The e-mails came in a steady trickle, more than 20 over almost 13 months, often from a phantom sender who claimed to be a local builder fed up with impropriety in the Clark County's building division. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Telltale-e-mails-tracked-down-to-ex-official.cfm
The Olympian Editorial – KGY deserves a long-term lease. Port of Olympia commissioners must find a way to accommodate KGY radio when its lease expires at the end of 2009.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/254888.html
Wenatchee – Pay raise for mayor: 36 percent. Councilman questions timing of pay increases for elected city officials (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/NEWS04/710270002/1001
Hops scarce; glass, fuel costs up Crisis brews for beer makers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189138.html
UFO Reporting Center operates out of former missile site – To find the new home of The National UFO Reporting Center, you must go several yards underground at a former nuclear missile site in Eastern Washington. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337233_ufo29.html?source=rss
Shelton topples Capital – Playoffs against Bellevue next (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/255031.html
DIVERSIONS
He's not undead, just unsober...Passengers on a German train mistook a Halloween reveler dressed up as a gore-covered zombie for a murder victim and called the police.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC94583820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Burglars-in-a-box busted after robberies (technically, these were burglaries NOT robberies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2638534820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Cell Phone GPS Leads To Suspect In Tree – Ex-Girlfriend Gives Police Suspect's Phone Number
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14424275/detail.html
Aliens caused Sicily fires, say officials – Aliens were responsible for a series of unexplained fires in fridges, TV’s and mobile phones in an Italian village, according to an Italian government report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/26/waliens126.xml
Speedometer can surprise when there's no gridlock – Patrol says driver was clocked at 122 mph on I-5
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/254918.html
Friday, October 26, 2007
News Digest for October 26, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Flabbergast • \FLAB-er-gassed\ • transitive verb – To overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder: dumbfound
(See the first story under Energy and Utility Issues)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Trick or Treat! Canadian investors to buy Puget Sound Energy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/336982_pse27.html?source=rss
Here’s the Google news search on this story:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-46,GGLJ:en&q=puget+energy&um=1&tab=wn
Natural gas prices drop 18 percent – More than 2,000 local customers will pay less for natural gas this winter. The average Cascade Natural Gas residential customer will see the monthly bill drop by almost 18 percent, or about $13. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/NEWS04/710250083/1001
Northwest Natural rates to be cut by 9 percent – Northwest Natural Gas Co. has been given the go-ahead to reduce rates, effective Nov. 1, the first reduction in five years. (The Columbian, Vancouver)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10252007_Northwest-Natural-rates-to-be-cut-by-9-percent.cfm?newsletter=1
Pace of coal-power boom slackens – Rising construction costs and potential climate legislation in Congress halt at least 18 proposed power plants in the past nine months. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1025/p03s02-wogi.html
California – City fires up power plant: Natural-gas facility will provide 40 percent of Roseville's power. Roseville's first power plant -- and largest construction project to date -- officially opened last week with a ceremonial flip of the switch. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgiiilqqSUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
New era for nuclear could open via tax breaks, fast-track regulation and climate change: Milken Institute Review (Utility Automation and Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/309853/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/New-era-for-nuclear-could-open-via-tax-breaks,-fast-track-regulation-and-climate-change:-Milken-Institute-Review/
Parties reach deal in California-Oregon Intertie dispute – The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Wednesday said a PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Independent System Operator had reached a settlement in their dispute over which would manage the entire California-Oregon Intertie, three major AC power lines that bring power direct from hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/8322711.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
Power line will fire up Alaska, not B.C. critic suggests (Canada.com)
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/princerupert/story.html?id=38d3365a-bfa1-4cf2-a0cb-a876b015d0a5
News Release – Women’s Energy Network: Calling All High School Girls – The Energy Industry Wants You! (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76618
News Release – USDA Awards More Than $1.6 Billion In Electric Loans. $38 million goes to Kodiak Electric Association (US Dept’ of Agriculture)
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/10/0310.xml
FERC – Hydropower - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project located in Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumpter Counties, South Carolina. (Project No. 199-205)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2007/10-26-07.asp
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
British Columbia – Farmed Atlantic salmon found in Clayoquot rivers. The Westerly has confirmed that shortly after a net breach at a salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound last month a small number of Atlantic salmon were found in nearby rivers. (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=184c651d-46d6-4c6e-ba8c-4eb2c104fe66&k=69921
Schools of chum salmon charge through town. The Kennedy Creek estuary at low tide is a quiet place — until small schools of chum salmon blow into town. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/254033.html
Oregon governor’s marine reserve survey has coast in turmoil (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6953
Bureau provides Odessa study results – Columbia Basin residents got to hear the latest on a study of ways to increase groundwater into irrigated land within the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/news03.txt
Montana Environmental Standard Upheld – A judge upheld Montana water-quality standards aimed at protecting rivers in the Powder River Basin from pollution caused by coal-bed methane development. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1002639~Mont__Environmental_Standard_Upheld.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Quilcene solar pair becomes Puget Sound Energy's 200th to feed power to grid (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071026/NEWS/710260302
Developer touts planned Moxee tire plant as green energy source – They are called ecoblocks, not baled tires. (Yakima Herald-Republic – Good God! As long as it’s not coal!)
http://yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290135919024094
Would use construction waste – Activists Oppose Wood-Burning Power Plant “…It's absurd that a power plant could emit 7,200 pounds a year of lead and 1,400 pounds per year of arsenic and be considered a clean energy source…” (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Cghqoowy%5BUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
California – Wood-burning limits set. Air board OKs curbs on winter use of fireplaces, wood stoves in county. By an 8-3 vote, Sacramento air quality managers approved a two-stage plan to curtail wood burning in Sacramento County during winter. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration. Now wait a minute. Isn’t wood burning supposed to be carbon neutral?)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/454931.html
Pacific Northwest “Hydrogen Highway” Proposed (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3319
CONSERVATION
GE hopes to cut mercury in "green" light bulbs (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2448675120071024?sp=true
News Release – Prototype "Energy Smart" office slated for construction in Vancouver (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180006/
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Cement Industry Is at Center of Climate Change Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/business/worldbusiness/26cement.html?_r=1&ex=1351137600&en=85227b6b322dc526&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Seattle P-I Guest Columnist – Be wary of climate policy development. Imagine you are an advocacy group and want to sway a government's policy development, but really want to keep your activism a secret. You could learn a lot by observing and then avoiding the practices of the Center for Climate Strategies, a group of global warming worrywarts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/336889_climatepolicy26.html?source=rss
British Columbia government eyes carbon tax in next budget – Levy on gasoline could be a start, says finance minister (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=19c0eab5-07e6-4036-8f3a-40d43966dba2&k=89873
(The Big Stick) The second inconvenient truth – We must tax greenhouse gases or they will keep rising; wishful thinking about voluntary cuts just won't work (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=47155961-4568-4b84-a02d-5e1c881d68f4
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Microsoft quarter brings back boom – Stellar first-quarter results and a substantially improved outlook spurred Microsoft shares to levels not seen since July 2001. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2003975379_microsoft26.html
Senate OKs 7 more years of tax-free Net access, e-mail – Scarcely a week before an existing ban on Internet access taxes is set to expire, the U.S. Senate late Thursday voted to let the prohibition live on for seven more years. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9805069-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Telcos: IPTV Needs Fiber To The Home – Service providers at TelcoTV endorsed fiber to the home (FTTH) as the best access medium for IPTV, but said it's the services that will really set them apart from cable and satellite competitors. (Light Reading)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=137117&site=telcotv
After major projects fail, Wi-Fi reborn as cities refine approaches – Municipal Wi-Fi projects, all the rage last year, have fallen into a funk, if you believe the press reports about delays and problems for big deployments in cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/23/BUJOSU1FR.DTL&feed=rss.business
Trio who ripped off Microsoft get prison – Three people convicted of scamming Microsoft Corp. out of millions of dollars by reselling sharply discounted software were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221233.cfm?newsletter=10
GENERAL NEWS
Cost of gas soars again, state hit hard – Washington now has third-highest price in U.S. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336937_gas26.html
Tight supplies, speculation send oil, gas prices to new highs (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/26/BUI6T0BVH.DTL&feed=rss.business
A cautionary tale – Largest PDC fine hits hospital administrators. The state Public Disclosure Commission imposed the largest out-of-court fine in its history Thursday, accepting a settlement that would require two administrators at a Renton hospital to pay more than $120,000 for using public money on a tax levy and annexation proposal. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221218.cfm?newsletter=10
Insurance agents' letters broke rules, group says – Letters sent by some of the state's largest insurance companies warning policyholders that their rates would increase if Referendum 67 passes are illegal campaign contributions, an advocacy group for retired people said Thursday. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336948_letters26.html
Skydiver memorial Saturday in Snohomish – A memorial service for nine skydivers and the pilot killed in a plane crash near White Pass is scheduled for tomorrow in Snohomish.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1011779~Skydiver_memorial_Saturday_in_Snohomish.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Everett wood chip fire burns for months, upsets neighbors (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10806486.html
Fox’s Coverage of World Series Has Taco Filling – I’ve rarely seen a sponsor so overtly and shamelessly integrated into a game, which is great news for those who love what Taco Bell is giving away: crunchy seasoned beef tacos. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/sports/baseball/26sandomir.html?ex=1351137600&en=6c7633a26613840a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
FEMA Workers Masquerade As Reporters – One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/26/national/w073233D75.DTL&feed=rss.news
DIVERSIONS
Judge returns disputed Oregon deer to family
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10801491.html
Stupid signs for everyone! Oops! Drivers sink into wet concrete – As many as 10 vehicles drove around barriers and onto freshly poured concrete on a busy thoroughfare during rush hour.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_wet_concrete;_ylt=AnHZNANOIWphP6hMpZAHk7vtiBIF
Harry Potter a left-wing hero? Harry Potter -- left-wing hero of the intellectual aristocracy against the materialist middle classes? Well, yes, according to the French daily Liberation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_arts_harrypotter;_ylt=AlZ9oZjizDTEAUo9F2GCeeftiBIF
Teenager in go-kart leaves police standing – A teenager speeding through a German town in a go-kart with seven squad cars in hot pursuit managed to give the frustrated officers the slip, police said on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_gocart;_ylt=AvxEL9StyGOGvxVMdEqMoVntiBIF
Man arrested after saving pair from fire
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fire_rescue_arrest;_ylt=Agfotm08jPQKpZ0XQXnpRSTtiBIF
WORD OF THE DAY
Flabbergast • \FLAB-er-gassed\ • transitive verb – To overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder: dumbfound
(See the first story under Energy and Utility Issues)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Trick or Treat! Canadian investors to buy Puget Sound Energy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/336982_pse27.html?source=rss
Here’s the Google news search on this story:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-46,GGLJ:en&q=puget+energy&um=1&tab=wn
Natural gas prices drop 18 percent – More than 2,000 local customers will pay less for natural gas this winter. The average Cascade Natural Gas residential customer will see the monthly bill drop by almost 18 percent, or about $13. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/NEWS04/710250083/1001
Northwest Natural rates to be cut by 9 percent – Northwest Natural Gas Co. has been given the go-ahead to reduce rates, effective Nov. 1, the first reduction in five years. (The Columbian, Vancouver)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10252007_Northwest-Natural-rates-to-be-cut-by-9-percent.cfm?newsletter=1
Pace of coal-power boom slackens – Rising construction costs and potential climate legislation in Congress halt at least 18 proposed power plants in the past nine months. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1025/p03s02-wogi.html
California – City fires up power plant: Natural-gas facility will provide 40 percent of Roseville's power. Roseville's first power plant -- and largest construction project to date -- officially opened last week with a ceremonial flip of the switch. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgiiilqqSUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
New era for nuclear could open via tax breaks, fast-track regulation and climate change: Milken Institute Review (Utility Automation and Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/309853/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/New-era-for-nuclear-could-open-via-tax-breaks,-fast-track-regulation-and-climate-change:-Milken-Institute-Review/
Parties reach deal in California-Oregon Intertie dispute – The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Wednesday said a PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Independent System Operator had reached a settlement in their dispute over which would manage the entire California-Oregon Intertie, three major AC power lines that bring power direct from hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/8322711.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
Power line will fire up Alaska, not B.C. critic suggests (Canada.com)
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/princerupert/story.html?id=38d3365a-bfa1-4cf2-a0cb-a876b015d0a5
News Release – Women’s Energy Network: Calling All High School Girls – The Energy Industry Wants You! (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76618
News Release – USDA Awards More Than $1.6 Billion In Electric Loans. $38 million goes to Kodiak Electric Association (US Dept’ of Agriculture)
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/10/0310.xml
FERC – Hydropower - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project located in Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumpter Counties, South Carolina. (Project No. 199-205)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2007/10-26-07.asp
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
British Columbia – Farmed Atlantic salmon found in Clayoquot rivers. The Westerly has confirmed that shortly after a net breach at a salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound last month a small number of Atlantic salmon were found in nearby rivers. (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=184c651d-46d6-4c6e-ba8c-4eb2c104fe66&k=69921
Schools of chum salmon charge through town. The Kennedy Creek estuary at low tide is a quiet place — until small schools of chum salmon blow into town. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/254033.html
Oregon governor’s marine reserve survey has coast in turmoil (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6953
Bureau provides Odessa study results – Columbia Basin residents got to hear the latest on a study of ways to increase groundwater into irrigated land within the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/news03.txt
Montana Environmental Standard Upheld – A judge upheld Montana water-quality standards aimed at protecting rivers in the Powder River Basin from pollution caused by coal-bed methane development. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1002639~Mont__Environmental_Standard_Upheld.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Quilcene solar pair becomes Puget Sound Energy's 200th to feed power to grid (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071026/NEWS/710260302
Developer touts planned Moxee tire plant as green energy source – They are called ecoblocks, not baled tires. (Yakima Herald-Republic – Good God! As long as it’s not coal!)
http://yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290135919024094
Would use construction waste – Activists Oppose Wood-Burning Power Plant “…It's absurd that a power plant could emit 7,200 pounds a year of lead and 1,400 pounds per year of arsenic and be considered a clean energy source…” (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Cghqoowy%5BUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
California – Wood-burning limits set. Air board OKs curbs on winter use of fireplaces, wood stoves in county. By an 8-3 vote, Sacramento air quality managers approved a two-stage plan to curtail wood burning in Sacramento County during winter. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration. Now wait a minute. Isn’t wood burning supposed to be carbon neutral?)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/454931.html
Pacific Northwest “Hydrogen Highway” Proposed (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3319
CONSERVATION
GE hopes to cut mercury in "green" light bulbs (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2448675120071024?sp=true
News Release – Prototype "Energy Smart" office slated for construction in Vancouver (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180006/
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Cement Industry Is at Center of Climate Change Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/business/worldbusiness/26cement.html?_r=1&ex=1351137600&en=85227b6b322dc526&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Seattle P-I Guest Columnist – Be wary of climate policy development. Imagine you are an advocacy group and want to sway a government's policy development, but really want to keep your activism a secret. You could learn a lot by observing and then avoiding the practices of the Center for Climate Strategies, a group of global warming worrywarts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/336889_climatepolicy26.html?source=rss
British Columbia government eyes carbon tax in next budget – Levy on gasoline could be a start, says finance minister (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=19c0eab5-07e6-4036-8f3a-40d43966dba2&k=89873
(The Big Stick) The second inconvenient truth – We must tax greenhouse gases or they will keep rising; wishful thinking about voluntary cuts just won't work (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=47155961-4568-4b84-a02d-5e1c881d68f4
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Microsoft quarter brings back boom – Stellar first-quarter results and a substantially improved outlook spurred Microsoft shares to levels not seen since July 2001. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2003975379_microsoft26.html
Senate OKs 7 more years of tax-free Net access, e-mail – Scarcely a week before an existing ban on Internet access taxes is set to expire, the U.S. Senate late Thursday voted to let the prohibition live on for seven more years. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9805069-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Telcos: IPTV Needs Fiber To The Home – Service providers at TelcoTV endorsed fiber to the home (FTTH) as the best access medium for IPTV, but said it's the services that will really set them apart from cable and satellite competitors. (Light Reading)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=137117&site=telcotv
After major projects fail, Wi-Fi reborn as cities refine approaches – Municipal Wi-Fi projects, all the rage last year, have fallen into a funk, if you believe the press reports about delays and problems for big deployments in cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/23/BUJOSU1FR.DTL&feed=rss.business
Trio who ripped off Microsoft get prison – Three people convicted of scamming Microsoft Corp. out of millions of dollars by reselling sharply discounted software were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221233.cfm?newsletter=10
GENERAL NEWS
Cost of gas soars again, state hit hard – Washington now has third-highest price in U.S. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336937_gas26.html
Tight supplies, speculation send oil, gas prices to new highs (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/26/BUI6T0BVH.DTL&feed=rss.business
A cautionary tale – Largest PDC fine hits hospital administrators. The state Public Disclosure Commission imposed the largest out-of-court fine in its history Thursday, accepting a settlement that would require two administrators at a Renton hospital to pay more than $120,000 for using public money on a tax levy and annexation proposal. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221218.cfm?newsletter=10
Insurance agents' letters broke rules, group says – Letters sent by some of the state's largest insurance companies warning policyholders that their rates would increase if Referendum 67 passes are illegal campaign contributions, an advocacy group for retired people said Thursday. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336948_letters26.html
Skydiver memorial Saturday in Snohomish – A memorial service for nine skydivers and the pilot killed in a plane crash near White Pass is scheduled for tomorrow in Snohomish.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1011779~Skydiver_memorial_Saturday_in_Snohomish.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Everett wood chip fire burns for months, upsets neighbors (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10806486.html
Fox’s Coverage of World Series Has Taco Filling – I’ve rarely seen a sponsor so overtly and shamelessly integrated into a game, which is great news for those who love what Taco Bell is giving away: crunchy seasoned beef tacos. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/sports/baseball/26sandomir.html?ex=1351137600&en=6c7633a26613840a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
FEMA Workers Masquerade As Reporters – One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/26/national/w073233D75.DTL&feed=rss.news
DIVERSIONS
Judge returns disputed Oregon deer to family
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10801491.html
Stupid signs for everyone! Oops! Drivers sink into wet concrete – As many as 10 vehicles drove around barriers and onto freshly poured concrete on a busy thoroughfare during rush hour.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_wet_concrete;_ylt=AnHZNANOIWphP6hMpZAHk7vtiBIF
Harry Potter a left-wing hero? Harry Potter -- left-wing hero of the intellectual aristocracy against the materialist middle classes? Well, yes, according to the French daily Liberation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_arts_harrypotter;_ylt=AlZ9oZjizDTEAUo9F2GCeeftiBIF
Teenager in go-kart leaves police standing – A teenager speeding through a German town in a go-kart with seven squad cars in hot pursuit managed to give the frustrated officers the slip, police said on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_gocart;_ylt=AvxEL9StyGOGvxVMdEqMoVntiBIF
Man arrested after saving pair from fire
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fire_rescue_arrest;_ylt=Agfotm08jPQKpZ0XQXnpRSTtiBIF
Thursday, October 25, 2007
News Digest for October 25, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Vaudeville • \VAWD-vill\ • noun – 1: a light often comic theatrical piece frequently combining pantomime, dialogue, dancing, and song *2: stage entertainment consisting of various acts (as performing animals, acrobats, comedians, dancers, or singers)
“Look daddy,” piped the curious five-year old. “That man over there is putting on a show for us!” Unbeknownst to the precocious little boy, the vaudevillian appearance of Derwood’s herky-jerky dance was being caused by the invasion of yellow jackets from a nearby nest into his clothes. “That back flip was outstanding,” exclaimed the little boy’s father.
From Merriam-Webster: In the 15th century, several amusing songs became popular across France. These songs were said to have been written by a man named Olivier Basselin who lived in the valley of the river Vire in northwest France. The songs eventually became known as "chansons de vau-de-Vire," meaning "songs of the valley of Vire." Other people began writing and performing similar songs, and as this form of entertainment became more widespread, the link to vau-de-Vire was forgotten. The nickname was shortened to one word, "vaudevire." As the phenomenon spread beyond France, further changes in pronunciation and spelling shifted "vaudevire" into "vaudeville." The meaning also broadened to include humorous performances and variety shows.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Benton PUD may cut electric rates – Benton PUD announced Wednesday that it is working on a plan to reduce electric rates for the fifth time since 2003. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9405150p-9318037c.html
Alcoa to PUD: Don't delay – Alcoa could lose interest in its Wenatchee Works aluminum smelter if Chelan County PUD commissioners fuss too much with the contract on the table that would have the utility supplying power to the smelter through 2028. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071024/NEWS04/710240013/1001
Clallam County PUD adding new outage tracking program (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3202
Blackouts averted after Southwest link restored – San Diego County came within minutes yesterday afternoon of adding electricity blackouts to the list of woes caused by the wildfires. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20071025-9999-1b25power.html
New York – Lawsuit Over Nuclear Plant Defense. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed legal papers yesterday arguing that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must require the owners of nuclear plants to defend their reactors from an aerial attack. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/nyregion/25mbrfs-NUCLEAR.html?ex=1351051200&en=ce6fe2ec95ccb775&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
South Dakota – Basin Electric chooses S.D. site for plant. Basin Electric Power Cooperative has chosen an eastern South Dakota site for a new $331 million power plant with turbines fired by natural gas and steam, the company announced Wednesday. (The Jamestown Sun)
http://www.jamestownsun.com/articles/index.cfm?id=56068§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=61515306&CFTOKEN=27664631&jsessionid=8830e5539ca258244d51
Massachusetts – GreatPoint to build gasification plant in Somerset. A Cambridge coal gasification company today revealed plans to build a pilot-scale manufacturing plant and research and development center in Somerset. (Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology)
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/10/22/daily43.html?ana=from_rss
New York – Questions raised about Long Island Power Authority appointment – Two state senators from Long Island this week asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to review the recent the appointment of former KeySpan director James Larocca as chairman of LIPA, saying the move "raises serious conflict of interest issues." (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via the Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghlqpkmUUjf%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Utility’s Profit Surges – American Electric Power said Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings rose 54 percent, helped by a warmer than normal summer that increased energy usage. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/business/25power.html?_r=1&ex=1351051200&en=0da9f77dbcb9fbb8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
$125,000 in pollution fines to help Duwamish salmon (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003973410_ecologyfine25m.html
Huge weir arrives at dam – After some 280 miles of smooth sailing, a 1,000-ton aid to salmon migration reached its new home here Tuesday. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/10/24/local_news/local04.txt
Weather eases up after last week, allowing river fishing to rebound – Weather put the brakes on river fishing last week, but conditions have improved and so has fishing. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/252856.html
Hook your fill of salmon on the world-class runs of Chilliwack, B.C. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/story/192599.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Pint-size hydro power on tap (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Pint-size-hydro-power-on-tap/2100-11392-6215142.html?part=dht
Green Power Suppliers: Marketing Renewable Energy to the Masses – Department of Energy recognizes six companies for helping the U.S. 'go green' during 7th Annual Green Power Leadership Awards. (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50387&src=rss
CONSERVATION
Sealing Leaks Can Lower Heating Costs – Heating costs are rising again this year, but there are steps families can take to save money and still keep warm. (KMSP-TV, Eden Prairie, MN)
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4729994&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.6.1
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Climate Change Testimony Was Edited by White House (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/science/earth/25climate.html?ex=1350964800&en=0831e864d81160b3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Self-Appointed Traffic Cop – Is the company you pay to bring you the Internet blocking parts of it instead? That's been a fear of some Internet users for a long time. Now many Comcast customers are anxious after reading the Associated Press report last week that the cable-modem service interferes with the BitTorrent file-sharing program. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102402568.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
CITY OF SHELTON’S REMOVAL OF CONTAMINATED SOIL TO BEGIN MONDAY – Work to remove gasoline contaminated soil from two intersections in downtown Shelton will begin Monday. The intersections are Fourth and Franklin and First and Franklin. Work at Fourth and Franklin will begin Monday as the State Department of Ecology is requiring a section seven feet deep to be dug from curb to curb to eliminate contamination. Fourth Street will be closed between Railroad Avenue and Franklin Street from Monday to next Thursday (November 1). The First and Franklin site was initially thought to have much higher contamination. However, current tests have revealed that the contamination may not be as high as initially thought, but a specialized crew may still be needed to clean up the site. The clean up at First and Franklin will require the intersection to be closed for two weeks beginning November 12. The City is continuing to test and gather information on both contaminated sites. Again, the intersection at Fourth and Franklin will be closed from Monday to next Thursday, and the intersection at First and Franklin will be closed for two weeks beginning November 12 so crews can clean up gasoline contaminated soil. If you have any questions, contact Shelton City Engineer Mike Michael at 432-5125. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Hospitals backtrack on keeping mistakes secret – The Washington State Hospital Association has changed its stance on the public disclosure of hospitals' preventable mistakes, saying now that it won't try to block the release of information about errors such as leaving instruments inside patients and performing the wrong operations. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003973499_medrecords25m.html
'No evidence mascots are demeaning' – A state panel heard strongly negative reviews Tuesday from local school officials about a proposal to ban American Indian high school mascots from 15 Oregon schools. (The Daily Astorian)
http://dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=37&SubSectionID=476&ArticleID=46300
DIVERSIONS
Free Publicity – Brewer in Dispute With Real Sam Adams. The Boston brewers of Sam Adams beer objected when they learned that a mayoral campaign here included Web sites invoking the name of their product.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1009215~Brewer_in_Dispute_With_Real_Sam_Adams.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Only in Mossyrock – Man Accused Of Killing Trees May Have Poisoned Neighbor
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14415304/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Mom helps cheerleaders grab boys' beer – A woman let her teenage daughter lean out of a moving van to take beer from a vehicle that was driving alongside on a southeastern Nebraska highway, authorities said Wednesday
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_beer_stunt;_ylt=AoCDkjYm4Wnuw0RVyZIuKLbtiBIF
Undressed sleepwalkers set off alarm for hotel chain – A surge in naked sleepwalking among guests has led one of the country's largest budget hotel groups to re-train staff to handle late-night problems.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071025/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_sleepwalking;_ylt=Aq4i.NxZ1WMq5OQIS0HJCbHtiBIF
WORD OF THE DAY
Vaudeville • \VAWD-vill\ • noun – 1: a light often comic theatrical piece frequently combining pantomime, dialogue, dancing, and song *2: stage entertainment consisting of various acts (as performing animals, acrobats, comedians, dancers, or singers)
“Look daddy,” piped the curious five-year old. “That man over there is putting on a show for us!” Unbeknownst to the precocious little boy, the vaudevillian appearance of Derwood’s herky-jerky dance was being caused by the invasion of yellow jackets from a nearby nest into his clothes. “That back flip was outstanding,” exclaimed the little boy’s father.
From Merriam-Webster: In the 15th century, several amusing songs became popular across France. These songs were said to have been written by a man named Olivier Basselin who lived in the valley of the river Vire in northwest France. The songs eventually became known as "chansons de vau-de-Vire," meaning "songs of the valley of Vire." Other people began writing and performing similar songs, and as this form of entertainment became more widespread, the link to vau-de-Vire was forgotten. The nickname was shortened to one word, "vaudevire." As the phenomenon spread beyond France, further changes in pronunciation and spelling shifted "vaudevire" into "vaudeville." The meaning also broadened to include humorous performances and variety shows.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Benton PUD may cut electric rates – Benton PUD announced Wednesday that it is working on a plan to reduce electric rates for the fifth time since 2003. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9405150p-9318037c.html
Alcoa to PUD: Don't delay – Alcoa could lose interest in its Wenatchee Works aluminum smelter if Chelan County PUD commissioners fuss too much with the contract on the table that would have the utility supplying power to the smelter through 2028. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071024/NEWS04/710240013/1001
Clallam County PUD adding new outage tracking program (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3202
Blackouts averted after Southwest link restored – San Diego County came within minutes yesterday afternoon of adding electricity blackouts to the list of woes caused by the wildfires. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20071025-9999-1b25power.html
New York – Lawsuit Over Nuclear Plant Defense. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed legal papers yesterday arguing that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must require the owners of nuclear plants to defend their reactors from an aerial attack. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/nyregion/25mbrfs-NUCLEAR.html?ex=1351051200&en=ce6fe2ec95ccb775&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
South Dakota – Basin Electric chooses S.D. site for plant. Basin Electric Power Cooperative has chosen an eastern South Dakota site for a new $331 million power plant with turbines fired by natural gas and steam, the company announced Wednesday. (The Jamestown Sun)
http://www.jamestownsun.com/articles/index.cfm?id=56068§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=61515306&CFTOKEN=27664631&jsessionid=8830e5539ca258244d51
Massachusetts – GreatPoint to build gasification plant in Somerset. A Cambridge coal gasification company today revealed plans to build a pilot-scale manufacturing plant and research and development center in Somerset. (Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology)
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/10/22/daily43.html?ana=from_rss
New York – Questions raised about Long Island Power Authority appointment – Two state senators from Long Island this week asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to review the recent the appointment of former KeySpan director James Larocca as chairman of LIPA, saying the move "raises serious conflict of interest issues." (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via the Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghlqpkmUUjf%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Utility’s Profit Surges – American Electric Power said Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings rose 54 percent, helped by a warmer than normal summer that increased energy usage. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/business/25power.html?_r=1&ex=1351051200&en=0da9f77dbcb9fbb8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
$125,000 in pollution fines to help Duwamish salmon (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003973410_ecologyfine25m.html
Huge weir arrives at dam – After some 280 miles of smooth sailing, a 1,000-ton aid to salmon migration reached its new home here Tuesday. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/10/24/local_news/local04.txt
Weather eases up after last week, allowing river fishing to rebound – Weather put the brakes on river fishing last week, but conditions have improved and so has fishing. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/252856.html
Hook your fill of salmon on the world-class runs of Chilliwack, B.C. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/story/192599.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Pint-size hydro power on tap (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Pint-size-hydro-power-on-tap/2100-11392-6215142.html?part=dht
Green Power Suppliers: Marketing Renewable Energy to the Masses – Department of Energy recognizes six companies for helping the U.S. 'go green' during 7th Annual Green Power Leadership Awards. (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50387&src=rss
CONSERVATION
Sealing Leaks Can Lower Heating Costs – Heating costs are rising again this year, but there are steps families can take to save money and still keep warm. (KMSP-TV, Eden Prairie, MN)
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=4729994&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.6.1
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Climate Change Testimony Was Edited by White House (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/science/earth/25climate.html?ex=1350964800&en=0831e864d81160b3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Self-Appointed Traffic Cop – Is the company you pay to bring you the Internet blocking parts of it instead? That's been a fear of some Internet users for a long time. Now many Comcast customers are anxious after reading the Associated Press report last week that the cable-modem service interferes with the BitTorrent file-sharing program. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102402568.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
CITY OF SHELTON’S REMOVAL OF CONTAMINATED SOIL TO BEGIN MONDAY – Work to remove gasoline contaminated soil from two intersections in downtown Shelton will begin Monday. The intersections are Fourth and Franklin and First and Franklin. Work at Fourth and Franklin will begin Monday as the State Department of Ecology is requiring a section seven feet deep to be dug from curb to curb to eliminate contamination. Fourth Street will be closed between Railroad Avenue and Franklin Street from Monday to next Thursday (November 1). The First and Franklin site was initially thought to have much higher contamination. However, current tests have revealed that the contamination may not be as high as initially thought, but a specialized crew may still be needed to clean up the site. The clean up at First and Franklin will require the intersection to be closed for two weeks beginning November 12. The City is continuing to test and gather information on both contaminated sites. Again, the intersection at Fourth and Franklin will be closed from Monday to next Thursday, and the intersection at First and Franklin will be closed for two weeks beginning November 12 so crews can clean up gasoline contaminated soil. If you have any questions, contact Shelton City Engineer Mike Michael at 432-5125. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Hospitals backtrack on keeping mistakes secret – The Washington State Hospital Association has changed its stance on the public disclosure of hospitals' preventable mistakes, saying now that it won't try to block the release of information about errors such as leaving instruments inside patients and performing the wrong operations. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003973499_medrecords25m.html
'No evidence mascots are demeaning' – A state panel heard strongly negative reviews Tuesday from local school officials about a proposal to ban American Indian high school mascots from 15 Oregon schools. (The Daily Astorian)
http://dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=37&SubSectionID=476&ArticleID=46300
DIVERSIONS
Free Publicity – Brewer in Dispute With Real Sam Adams. The Boston brewers of Sam Adams beer objected when they learned that a mayoral campaign here included Web sites invoking the name of their product.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1009215~Brewer_in_Dispute_With_Real_Sam_Adams.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Only in Mossyrock – Man Accused Of Killing Trees May Have Poisoned Neighbor
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14415304/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Mom helps cheerleaders grab boys' beer – A woman let her teenage daughter lean out of a moving van to take beer from a vehicle that was driving alongside on a southeastern Nebraska highway, authorities said Wednesday
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_beer_stunt;_ylt=AoCDkjYm4Wnuw0RVyZIuKLbtiBIF
Undressed sleepwalkers set off alarm for hotel chain – A surge in naked sleepwalking among guests has led one of the country's largest budget hotel groups to re-train staff to handle late-night problems.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071025/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_sleepwalking;_ylt=Aq4i.NxZ1WMq5OQIS0HJCbHtiBIF
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
News Digest for October 24, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Hat trick • \HAT-TRICK\ • noun – 1: the retiring of three batsmen with three consecutive balls by a bowler in cricket 2: the scoring of three goals in one game (as of hockey or soccer) by a single player *3: a series of three victories, successes, or related accomplishments
From Merriam-Webster: It may surprise some people to learn that the term "hat trick" as it relates to sports actually originated in British cricket. A bowler who retired three batsmen with three consecutive balls was entitled to a new hat at the expense of the club to commemorate this feat. Eventually, the phrase was applied to a single player scoring three goals in any goal sport and later to three victories or successes in sports as different as horse racing and golf. The phrase finally broadened to include a string of three important successes or achievements in any field.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
N. Idaho utility worker electrocuted – A 23-year-old north Idaho utility worker has died after being electrocuted while working near Coeur d'Alene. (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10242007news220094.cfm?newsletter=10
Fires threaten remaining power link to San Diego (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2454614620071024
Snohomish County PUD hopes off-season work will prevent outages – The Snohomish County PUD made early preparations for foul weather this year after last year's double-whammy. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2003970010_pud24n.html?syndication=rss
Seattle Prepared For Winter Storms, Mayor Says – The city of Seattle has worked hard since the end of last winter to prepare for this storm season, trimming trees, clearing storm drains and hiring more power line workers, Mayor Greg Nickels said. "We're going to respond better, faster, smarter" (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14405394/detail.html
Chelan County PUD weighs its future with Alcoa – Two Chelan County PUD commissioners say they are uncomfortable with the length — 17 years — of a proposed new deal to power Alcoa's Wenatchee Works aluminum smelter through 2028. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/NEWS04/710230050/1001
A New Lecture on Electric Deregulation Failure – “At the mercy of forces that show no mercy” - Former governor Gray Davis of California (about deregulation) (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1591
An advertising power play: Natural gas company behind anti-coal media blitz – An extensive anti-coal campaign in Kansas makes no mention on its statewide ads or Web site of who is behind the media blitz.
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghkkimvZUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
BRIEF: It's more expensive to buy energy on open market – Modesto Irrigation District officials say buying power on the open market can be an expensive proposition. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghkkklkRUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
News Release – Virginia's Commitment: Independent Review Finds Dominion Power's Transmission Line Designed Mostly for needs outside Virginia. (MarketWire, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghhnxsnUUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Arizona – Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative to consider rate hike; would be its first in 13 years – Although SSVEC has avoided increasing its rates for the past 13 years, but an increase will be considered in the next few years, said the company’s CEO. (Sierra Vista Herald/Review)
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/doc471f01568bc91169716087.txt
City of Port Angeles – City approves sale of old light building for new clinic (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3197
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Several N. Idaho counties seek to delay water rights talks – Kootenai County commissioners have rejected a plan to join ranks with four other north Idaho counties (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10242007news220129.cfm?newsletter=10
Oregon – Raises at Rockwood PUD draw criticism. The board chief's husband got one of the increases, which two officials say felt rushed. Salary increases as high as 37 percent approved for Rockwood Water People's Utility District employees last month were handed out too quickly (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/suburban/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_east_news/119319270346750.xml&coll=7
MASON COUNTY HOLDING MEETING ON BELFAIR SEWERS NEXT TUESDAY – The Belfair Wastewater and Water Reclamation Facilities will be the focus of the Mason County Commission's upcoming "Fifth Tuesday" meeting in Belfair. Information materials on the facilities will be available for residents to view at 5pm on October 30th. Project staff will be available to address questions starting at 5pm, followed by an overview presentation as part of the regular meeting agenda at 6pm. The Mason County Commissioners' Fifth Tuesday meeting in Belfair will be held in the Theler Community Center. Again, information on sewers for Belfair will be available at 5pm next Tuesday with the regular meeting set for 6pm. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Preliminary Work to Begin on Belfair Sewer System – Observant drivers may see indications next week that the long-awaited Belfair sewer system will become a reality. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/21/preliminary-work-to-begin-on-belfair-sewer/
Their water's clear as mud – Clean water becoming harder to find in rural areas (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071024/NEWS01/710240036
Satellites eye Olympic Peninsula to help manage its water – NASA's eyes in the sky are focused on the North Olympic Peninsula to help it manage its water. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071024/NEWS/710240307
Kitsap County PUD Commissioner Appointed to National Board – A Hansville man has been appointed to a board to advise a national association that deals with drinking water. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/23/kpud-commissioner-appointed-to-national-board/
Feds find Klamath irrigation still hard on fish – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that operating the federal irrigation project in the upper Klamath Basin is likely to continue causing problems for fish protected by the Endangered Species Act. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1006032~Feds_find_Klamath_irrigation_still_hard_on_fish.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Kokanee salmon fail to garner protection – The Kokanee of Issaquah Creek, ruby-red fish so rare that none have been seen in seven years, weren't important enough to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government announced Tuesday. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003970959_kokanee24m.html
See salmon and more at McLane Creek Nature Trail (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/251846.html
Clam season opens Thursday on coastal beaches (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003969346_webclams23m.html?syndication=rss
Angler Catches Record Size Salmon (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14408105/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Burgerville Announces Recycling And Composting Plans – Burgerville announced Tuesday that it plans to compost or recycle 85 percent of its waste. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/burgerville-announces-recycling-and-composting-plans/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
California – Berkeley could pay upfront for solar. Berkeley is hoping to become a model for cities nationwide with a plan to bankroll homeowners who want to install solar energy systems. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7266437?source=rss&nclick_check=1
CONSERVATION
Massachusetts – Conservation group pushes for rate reform. The Conservation Law Foundation said it plans to advocate for reforms that encourage energy efficiencies at state hearings that will explore new ways to set electricity rates in Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/10/conservation_gr.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
British Columbia reaches climate-change deals with Oregon, Manitoba – Greenhouse gas reduction, cleaner ports on agenda (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b0e75087-30b2-433d-80c4-f4fa5ce0d5d3
States Set to Sue the U.S. Over Greenhouse Gases – New York is one of more than a dozen states, led by California, preparing to sue the Bush administration for holding up efforts to regulate emissions from cars and trucks, several people involved in the lawsuit said on Tuesday. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/nyregion/24emissions.html?ex=1350878400&en=4365c786d3b5747a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Eugene Register Guard Op/Ed – Malibu aside, accelerating climate change will hit the poor hardest
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6781
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Comcast admits online "delaying" – Comcast on Tuesday acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet traffic, but said any roadblocks it puts up are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003970806_comcast24.html
Cities themselves may be muni Wi-Fi's savior – Cities that commit to using new Wi-Fi networks for their own use could help rescue the ailing citywide Wi-Fi movement. (CNET News.com)
http://www.news.com/Cities-themselves-may-be-muni-Wi-Fis-savior/2100-7351-6214969.html?part=dht
Broadband-over-power-lines battle goes to court – A dispute that could affect the roll-out of broadband over power lines, which some hope will one day compete with cable and DSL services, went before a federal appeals court on Tuesday, but no immediate resolution occurred. (CNET News.com)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9802730-7.html?tag=head
Could Electricity Grid Become A Type Of Internet? (Science Daily)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024102656.htm
GENERAL NEWS
REACTION TO BELFAIR BYPASS CONNECTIONS MIXED – Reactions to the selected connections for the Belfair Bypass were mixed Tuesday during an open house in the North Mason High School gymnasium. The State Department of Transportation held the open house to update residents on the project, giving them a better idea of the connections. The northern connection, known as alternative “N3”, will realign Lake Flora Road, improving safety at the intersection with Highway 3. (There is also room at this location to construct a full clover leaf interchange.) The south connection, known as alternative “S4”, will realign the intersection of Highway 3 and Highway 302, improving the safety at that intersection. Traffic will be placed primarily on the Bypass and traffic lights will be placed at both intersections. By selecting the connections, the State now has a better idea of the construction cost: $77 Million. This total is in 2011 dollars and includes the $15 Million already allocated to the project. The next step in the project is environmental assessment which will include a SEPA hearing. That will be followed by design and right of way acquisition. D-O-T officials told those in attendance that construction could begin in four years IF the legislature decides to fund the project. A dozen people spoke during the open house asking questions and making comments. Some called the connections logical. Others suggested doing away with the traffic lights. While most just voiced they want the State to get moving on the project. There were some concerns voiced over traffic congestion in Allyn and how the County's proposed Rasor Road extension would also impact the community to the south. And the North Mason Chamber of Commerce wondered about a midway connection which is currently not in the Bypass plans. The goal of the Belfair Bypass is to relieve the congestion in Belfair through 2030. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Olympia man demands postage-free ballot – Seen as a “poll tax”
http://www.examiner.com/a-1007201~Olympia_man_demands_postage_free_ballot.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
DIVERSIONS
Violators Of Saggy Pants Ban Facing Fines
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14403739/detail.html
Woman Wants Service Horse As Roommate – Miniature Horse A Service Animal (Will the neigh-bors “bridle” at having a horsy room-mate?)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14401572/detail.html
"Purple Rain" greatest film soundtrack: Vanity Fair (Huh?)
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2335552920071024?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest
The Right To Remain Spiffy: Wash. State Patrol Named Best-Dressed
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14408428/detail.html
Meteor shower lighting up the sky – Unusually clear skies gave a handful of Puget Sound residents a glimpse of an annual occurrence -- the Orionids meteor shower.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336503_meteor24.html?source=rss
Painting Found in Trash Could Fetch $1M – A painting stolen 20 years ago was found lying in trash along a street, and now it could fetch up to $1 million at auction.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/23/national/a062936D47.DTL&feed=rss.news
WORD OF THE DAY
Hat trick • \HAT-TRICK\ • noun – 1: the retiring of three batsmen with three consecutive balls by a bowler in cricket 2: the scoring of three goals in one game (as of hockey or soccer) by a single player *3: a series of three victories, successes, or related accomplishments
From Merriam-Webster: It may surprise some people to learn that the term "hat trick" as it relates to sports actually originated in British cricket. A bowler who retired three batsmen with three consecutive balls was entitled to a new hat at the expense of the club to commemorate this feat. Eventually, the phrase was applied to a single player scoring three goals in any goal sport and later to three victories or successes in sports as different as horse racing and golf. The phrase finally broadened to include a string of three important successes or achievements in any field.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
N. Idaho utility worker electrocuted – A 23-year-old north Idaho utility worker has died after being electrocuted while working near Coeur d'Alene. (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10242007news220094.cfm?newsletter=10
Fires threaten remaining power link to San Diego (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2454614620071024
Snohomish County PUD hopes off-season work will prevent outages – The Snohomish County PUD made early preparations for foul weather this year after last year's double-whammy. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2003970010_pud24n.html?syndication=rss
Seattle Prepared For Winter Storms, Mayor Says – The city of Seattle has worked hard since the end of last winter to prepare for this storm season, trimming trees, clearing storm drains and hiring more power line workers, Mayor Greg Nickels said. "We're going to respond better, faster, smarter" (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14405394/detail.html
Chelan County PUD weighs its future with Alcoa – Two Chelan County PUD commissioners say they are uncomfortable with the length — 17 years — of a proposed new deal to power Alcoa's Wenatchee Works aluminum smelter through 2028. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/NEWS04/710230050/1001
A New Lecture on Electric Deregulation Failure – “At the mercy of forces that show no mercy” - Former governor Gray Davis of California (about deregulation) (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1591
An advertising power play: Natural gas company behind anti-coal media blitz – An extensive anti-coal campaign in Kansas makes no mention on its statewide ads or Web site of who is behind the media blitz.
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghkkimvZUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
BRIEF: It's more expensive to buy energy on open market – Modesto Irrigation District officials say buying power on the open market can be an expensive proposition. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghkkklkRUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
News Release – Virginia's Commitment: Independent Review Finds Dominion Power's Transmission Line Designed Mostly for needs outside Virginia. (MarketWire, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghhnxsnUUie%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Arizona – Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative to consider rate hike; would be its first in 13 years – Although SSVEC has avoided increasing its rates for the past 13 years, but an increase will be considered in the next few years, said the company’s CEO. (Sierra Vista Herald/Review)
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/doc471f01568bc91169716087.txt
City of Port Angeles – City approves sale of old light building for new clinic (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3197
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Several N. Idaho counties seek to delay water rights talks – Kootenai County commissioners have rejected a plan to join ranks with four other north Idaho counties (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10242007news220129.cfm?newsletter=10
Oregon – Raises at Rockwood PUD draw criticism. The board chief's husband got one of the increases, which two officials say felt rushed. Salary increases as high as 37 percent approved for Rockwood Water People's Utility District employees last month were handed out too quickly (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/suburban/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_east_news/119319270346750.xml&coll=7
MASON COUNTY HOLDING MEETING ON BELFAIR SEWERS NEXT TUESDAY – The Belfair Wastewater and Water Reclamation Facilities will be the focus of the Mason County Commission's upcoming "Fifth Tuesday" meeting in Belfair. Information materials on the facilities will be available for residents to view at 5pm on October 30th. Project staff will be available to address questions starting at 5pm, followed by an overview presentation as part of the regular meeting agenda at 6pm. The Mason County Commissioners' Fifth Tuesday meeting in Belfair will be held in the Theler Community Center. Again, information on sewers for Belfair will be available at 5pm next Tuesday with the regular meeting set for 6pm. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Preliminary Work to Begin on Belfair Sewer System – Observant drivers may see indications next week that the long-awaited Belfair sewer system will become a reality. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/21/preliminary-work-to-begin-on-belfair-sewer/
Their water's clear as mud – Clean water becoming harder to find in rural areas (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071024/NEWS01/710240036
Satellites eye Olympic Peninsula to help manage its water – NASA's eyes in the sky are focused on the North Olympic Peninsula to help it manage its water. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071024/NEWS/710240307
Kitsap County PUD Commissioner Appointed to National Board – A Hansville man has been appointed to a board to advise a national association that deals with drinking water. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/23/kpud-commissioner-appointed-to-national-board/
Feds find Klamath irrigation still hard on fish – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that operating the federal irrigation project in the upper Klamath Basin is likely to continue causing problems for fish protected by the Endangered Species Act. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1006032~Feds_find_Klamath_irrigation_still_hard_on_fish.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Kokanee salmon fail to garner protection – The Kokanee of Issaquah Creek, ruby-red fish so rare that none have been seen in seven years, weren't important enough to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government announced Tuesday. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003970959_kokanee24m.html
See salmon and more at McLane Creek Nature Trail (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/251846.html
Clam season opens Thursday on coastal beaches (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003969346_webclams23m.html?syndication=rss
Angler Catches Record Size Salmon (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14408105/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Burgerville Announces Recycling And Composting Plans – Burgerville announced Tuesday that it plans to compost or recycle 85 percent of its waste. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/burgerville-announces-recycling-and-composting-plans/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
California – Berkeley could pay upfront for solar. Berkeley is hoping to become a model for cities nationwide with a plan to bankroll homeowners who want to install solar energy systems. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7266437?source=rss&nclick_check=1
CONSERVATION
Massachusetts – Conservation group pushes for rate reform. The Conservation Law Foundation said it plans to advocate for reforms that encourage energy efficiencies at state hearings that will explore new ways to set electricity rates in Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2007/10/conservation_gr.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
British Columbia reaches climate-change deals with Oregon, Manitoba – Greenhouse gas reduction, cleaner ports on agenda (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=b0e75087-30b2-433d-80c4-f4fa5ce0d5d3
States Set to Sue the U.S. Over Greenhouse Gases – New York is one of more than a dozen states, led by California, preparing to sue the Bush administration for holding up efforts to regulate emissions from cars and trucks, several people involved in the lawsuit said on Tuesday. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/nyregion/24emissions.html?ex=1350878400&en=4365c786d3b5747a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Eugene Register Guard Op/Ed – Malibu aside, accelerating climate change will hit the poor hardest
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6781
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Comcast admits online "delaying" – Comcast on Tuesday acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet traffic, but said any roadblocks it puts up are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003970806_comcast24.html
Cities themselves may be muni Wi-Fi's savior – Cities that commit to using new Wi-Fi networks for their own use could help rescue the ailing citywide Wi-Fi movement. (CNET News.com)
http://www.news.com/Cities-themselves-may-be-muni-Wi-Fis-savior/2100-7351-6214969.html?part=dht
Broadband-over-power-lines battle goes to court – A dispute that could affect the roll-out of broadband over power lines, which some hope will one day compete with cable and DSL services, went before a federal appeals court on Tuesday, but no immediate resolution occurred. (CNET News.com)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9802730-7.html?tag=head
Could Electricity Grid Become A Type Of Internet? (Science Daily)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024102656.htm
GENERAL NEWS
REACTION TO BELFAIR BYPASS CONNECTIONS MIXED – Reactions to the selected connections for the Belfair Bypass were mixed Tuesday during an open house in the North Mason High School gymnasium. The State Department of Transportation held the open house to update residents on the project, giving them a better idea of the connections. The northern connection, known as alternative “N3”, will realign Lake Flora Road, improving safety at the intersection with Highway 3. (There is also room at this location to construct a full clover leaf interchange.) The south connection, known as alternative “S4”, will realign the intersection of Highway 3 and Highway 302, improving the safety at that intersection. Traffic will be placed primarily on the Bypass and traffic lights will be placed at both intersections. By selecting the connections, the State now has a better idea of the construction cost: $77 Million. This total is in 2011 dollars and includes the $15 Million already allocated to the project. The next step in the project is environmental assessment which will include a SEPA hearing. That will be followed by design and right of way acquisition. D-O-T officials told those in attendance that construction could begin in four years IF the legislature decides to fund the project. A dozen people spoke during the open house asking questions and making comments. Some called the connections logical. Others suggested doing away with the traffic lights. While most just voiced they want the State to get moving on the project. There were some concerns voiced over traffic congestion in Allyn and how the County's proposed Rasor Road extension would also impact the community to the south. And the North Mason Chamber of Commerce wondered about a midway connection which is currently not in the Bypass plans. The goal of the Belfair Bypass is to relieve the congestion in Belfair through 2030. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Olympia man demands postage-free ballot – Seen as a “poll tax”
http://www.examiner.com/a-1007201~Olympia_man_demands_postage_free_ballot.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
DIVERSIONS
Violators Of Saggy Pants Ban Facing Fines
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14403739/detail.html
Woman Wants Service Horse As Roommate – Miniature Horse A Service Animal (Will the neigh-bors “bridle” at having a horsy room-mate?)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14401572/detail.html
"Purple Rain" greatest film soundtrack: Vanity Fair (Huh?)
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2335552920071024?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest
The Right To Remain Spiffy: Wash. State Patrol Named Best-Dressed
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14408428/detail.html
Meteor shower lighting up the sky – Unusually clear skies gave a handful of Puget Sound residents a glimpse of an annual occurrence -- the Orionids meteor shower.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336503_meteor24.html?source=rss
Painting Found in Trash Could Fetch $1M – A painting stolen 20 years ago was found lying in trash along a street, and now it could fetch up to $1 million at auction.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/23/national/a062936D47.DTL&feed=rss.news
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