Energy News Digest for July 30, 2012

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

California Electricity Trading Probed (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/30/4672960/electricity-trading-probed.html

Emerald People’s Utility District Prevails in Legal Dispute over Wind Power Fee (Eugene Register Guard, OR)

http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/28439054-41/epud-power-wind-lakeview-arbitration.html.csp

Power Bill Phone Scam Claims Victim; Douglas PUD Customer (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/27/pud-phone-scam-claims-victim/

Painter Touches Aberdeen Power Line, Airlifted to Harborview (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/painter-touches-power-line-airlifted-harborview.html

Rates for Washington State Workers’ Compensation Program Could Skyrocket (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2018805726_workerscomp30.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• California Electricity Trading Probed
• Editorial - Is a Sequel of Enron Scandal Scamming State?
• Painter Touches Aberdeen Power Line, Airlifted to Harborview
• Power Bill Phone Scam Claims Victim; Douglas PUD Customer
• Pro-Con Op/Ed - Should Thurston County Switch to a Public Power System?
• Utilities in Oregon’s Lane County Reconsidering Board Member Compensation
• Editorial - Best Route for Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway Power Line Project
• Looming Coal Boom Has Montana City Searching for Rail Solutions
• Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Planned along Seattle’s I-5 Corridor
• Natural Gas Resumes Three-Month Surge on Hot Weather
• New Commander Named to Head Army Corps’ Northwestern Division
• Grand Coulee Dam’s Light Show to be Upgraded
• A unique collaboration: Bonneville Power Administration & Woody Guthrie
• New Jersey - Exelon’s Oyster Creek Plant Back at Full Power, Several Days after Outage
• Pepco’s Power Grid: The End of Business as Usual
• 370 Million Indians Swelter in Darkness after Power Fails
• Shocking New Idea for Sea Lion Control
• Caspian Terns Make Home in Former Everett Paper Mill
• Op/Ed - Giving Fish a Ride Helps Ensure Safe Passage, Electricity
• Editorial - Restoring Two Rivers: Pacific Northwesterners Show We’re Just as Good at Taking down the Dams
• Editorial - Biological Boomerang: Elwha River Dam Removal
• Emerald People’s Utility District Prevails in Legal Dispute over Wind Power Fee
• Canada’s Ballard Power Buys Bend, Oregon Fuel Cell Maker IdaTech
• U-S Raises Tariffs on Chinese Wind-Turbine Makers
• Bats & Blades: More Research Needed on Bat, Wind Farm Fatalities
• U-S Navy Earns Three Energy Awards
• Scientists Unlock Ocean Carbon Dioxide Secrets Key to Climate: Study
• Prominent Climate-Change Denier Says He Was Wrong
• Conservative Group Hits GOP over Energy Subsidies in Farm Bill
• To Stay on Solid Financial Path, Chelan PUD Limits Fiber Connections until Next Year
• CenturyLink Gets $1.9 Million for Rural Broadband in Montana
• FCC, South Dakota Utilities Split on Broadband Fund Reforms
• Google Shows ISPs How to Build a Superfast Network
• Rates for Washington State Workers’ Compensation Program Could Skyrocket
• Two Injured in Saturday Crash on 101 near Little Creek Casino
• Canoes, Cultures, Crowds – Squaxin Tribe Welcome Visitors from Across Northwest
• Pacific Northwest Ag Industry Cashing in on Strong Grain Prices, Yields
• Mason County Fairground Feud - FAA Pressure Means Pending Shutdown Next Year

WORD OF THE DAY

Quiddity • \KWID-uh-tee\ • Noun - 1: whatever makes something the type that it is: essence 2a: a trifling point: quibble b: an unusual personal opinion or habit: eccentricity

Bertie is a fan of Ernest Hemmingway. His devotion is so strong that it has become his defining quiddity. Unfortunately he is unable to grow a thick, distinctive beard like Papa Hemmingway, so he is reduced to purchasing surplus Santa beards & trimming them to suit. He wears the false beards until the silky strands begin to fall out, making it appear as if he has a mangy, white, long haired cat hanging below his prominent nose.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

California Electricity Trading Probed (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/30/4672960/electricity-trading-probed.html

Editorial - Is a Sequel of Enron Scandal Scamming State? (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/30/4672483/is-a-sequel-of-enron-scandal-scamming.html

Painter Touches Aberdeen Power Line, Airlifted to Harborview (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/painter-touches-power-line-airlifted-harborview.html

Power Bill Phone Scam Claims Victim; Douglas PUD Customer (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/27/pud-phone-scam-claims-victim/

Pro-Con Op/Ed - Should Thurston County Switch to a Public Power System? (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/26/2227823/should-thurston-county-switch.html

Utilities in Oregon’s Lane County Reconsidering Board Member Compensation (Associated Press)

http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120730/NEWS0107/207300367/1009/NEWS01&nav_category=NEWS01

Editorial - Best Route for Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway Power Line Project (Baker City Herald, OR)

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Editorials/Best-route-for-the-power-line

Looming Coal Boom Has Montana City Searching for Rail Solutions (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/looming-coal-boom-has-montana-city-searching-for-rail-solutions/article_5ebcba44-d91f-11e1-9aa7-001a4bcf887a.html

Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Planned along Seattle’s I-5 Corridor (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle)

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=714240

Natural Gas Resumes Three-Month Surge on Hot Weather (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2018807097_apoilprices.html

New Commander Named to Head Army Corps’ Northwestern Division (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/421836.aspx

Grand Coulee Dam’s Light Show to be Upgraded (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/27/grand-coulee-light-show-upgrading-laser-show/

A unique collaboration: Bonneville Power Administration & Woody Guthrie (Bonneville Power Administration)

http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/BPANews/ArticleTemplate.cfm?ArticleId=article-20120727-01

New Jersey - Exelon’s Oyster Creek Plant Back at Full Power, Several Days after Outage (Associated Press)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exelons-oyster-creek-plant-back-133216138.html

Pepco’s Power Grid: The End of Business as Usual (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2012/07/30/david-and-the-goliath-of-the-mid-atlantics-power-grid-the-end-of-business-as-usual/

370 Million Indians Swelter in Darkness after Power Fails (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-07-30/india-power-outage/56584766/1?csp=34news

FISH & WILDLIFE

Shocking New Idea for Sea Lion Control (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/shocking-new-idea-sea-lion-control.html

Caspian Terns Make Home in Former Everett Paper Mill (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Birds-make-home-in-former-Everett-paper-mill-164235926.html

Op/Ed - Giving Fish a Ride Helps Ensure Safe Passage, Electricity (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-07-30/giving_fish_a_ride_helps_ensure_safe_passage_electricity

Editorial - Restoring Two Rivers: Pacific Northwesterners Show We’re Just as Good at Taking down the Dams (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/jul/30/restoring-two-rivers/

Editorial - Biological Boomerang: Elwha River Dam Removal (NY Times)

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/biological-boomerang/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Emerald People’s Utility District Prevails in Legal Dispute over Wind Power Fee (Eugene Register Guard, OR)

http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/28439054-41/epud-power-wind-lakeview-arbitration.html.csp

Canada’s Ballard Power Buys Bend, Oregon Fuel Cell Maker IdaTech (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2012/07/29/ballard-power-buys-fuel-cell-maker-idatech/

U-S Raises Tariffs on Chinese Wind-Turbine Makers (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/business/energy-environment/us-raises-tariffs-on-chinese-wind-turbine-makers.html?_r=1

Bats & Blades: More Research Needed on Bat, Wind Farm Fatalities (Midwest Energy News)

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2012/07/30/bats-blades-more-research-needed-on-bat-wind-farm-fatalities/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

U-S Navy Earns Three Energy Awards (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jul/29/navfac-northwest-earns-3-energy-awards/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Scientists Unlock Ocean Carbon Dioxide Secrets Key to Climate: Study (Reuters)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/29/us-climate-ocean-idINBRE86S0ID20120729

Prominent Climate-Change Denier Says He Was Wrong (Bend Bulletin, OR)

http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120730/NEWS0107/207300317/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Conservative Group Hits GOP over Energy Subsidies in Farm Bill (The Hill, Washington, D-C)

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/240933-conservative-energy-group-hits-gop-lawmakers-on-farm-bill-boondoggles

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

To Stay on Solid Financial Path, Chelan PUD Limits Fiber Connections until Next Year (North Central Washington TV)

http://www.ncwtv.com/to-stay-on-solid-financial-path-chelan-pud-limits-fiber-connections-until-next-year-3764/

CenturyLink Gets $1.9 Million for Rural Broadband in Montana (Associated Press)

http://helenair.com/business/local/centurylink-gets-m-for-rural-broadband-in-montana/article_8882018c-d946-11e1-8a50-001a4bcf887a.html

FCC, South Dakota Utilities Split on Broadband Fund Reforms (Associated Press)

http://siouxcityjournal.com/ap/state/fcc-sd-utilities-split-on-broadband-fund-reforms/article_83ff2400-caef-586b-944d-4222f7ff452c.html

Google Shows ISPs How to Build a Superfast Network (C/NET News)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57481108-93/google-shows-isps-how-to-build-a-superfast-network/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Rates for Washington State Workers’ Compensation Program Could Skyrocket (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2018805726_workerscomp30.html

GENERAL NEWS

Two Injured in Saturday Crash on 101 near Little Creek Casino (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/6606

Canoes, Cultures, Crowds – Squaxin Tribe Welcome Visitors from Across Northwest (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/07/30/2191943/canoes-cultures-crowds.html

Pacific Northwest Ag Industry Cashing in on Strong Grain Prices, Yields (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/northwest-ag-industry-cashing-strong-grain-prices-yields

Mason County Fairground Feud - FAA Pressure Means Pending Shutdown Next Year (South Sound Business Examiner)

http://www.businessexaminer.com/databank/?djoPage=article_details&djoId=63610

DIVERSIONS

Tacoma Man Could Face Charges after In-Flight Tirade over Reading Light

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Tacoma-man-could-face-charges-after-in-flight-tirade-164201116.html

Disney World Tells Santa Claus Lookalike to be Less ‘Santa-Ish’

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/29/disney-world-tells-santa-claus-lookalike-to-be-less-santa-ish/

There’s a One in Ten Chance You’re Dreaming Right Now

http://gizmodo.com/5929894/theres-a-one-in-ten-chance-youre-dreaming-right-now

Better Than a Reusable Coffee Cup: An Edible Coffee Cup Made Out of a Cookie

http://grist.org/list/better-than-a-reusable-coffee-cup-an-edible-coffee-cup-made-out-of-a-cookie/

SONG OF THE DAY

Blondie – Dreaming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP1WPlXCiuY

Energy News Digest for July 27, 2012

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of (public) Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034861/gregoire-hails-expansion-of-broadband.html

Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/26/cancer-battle-forces-pud-commissioner-to-resign/

Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-weather-idUSBRE86Q01E20120727

First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://earthfix.opb.org/flora-and-fauna/article/first-sockeye-of-the-year-arrives-at-sawtooth-trap/

Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-man-sentenced-jail-time-illegal-rainwater-reservoirs

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign
• Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms
• Locked-Out New York City Power Workers Charge Utility with Safety Risks
• Power Outages Often Spur Questions around Burying Power Lines
• Businesses Want More Coal in Washington, Neighbors Not So Sure
• Natural Gas Utilities Expect Continued Low Prices
• Former Franklin PUD Manager - Ryckman Named to Port of Pasco Commission
• Op/Ed - Dam! What’s The Price of Alaska Hydro?
• First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap
• Northern Pikeminnow Columbia River Reward Program Catches Increase this Past Week
• Bird Monitoring Drones on Oregon Coast Scuttled for Lack of Permit
• New-Found Shellfish Toxin Raises Concerns
• WDFW Seeks Input on Pocket Gophers
• Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs
• Silt from Elwha River Dam Removal Doesn’t Hang Around, Say Scientists
• Great Peninsula Conservancy Adds Two New Board Members, Including a Mason County Resident
• Idaho - Energy Company Files $30 Million Tort Claim against Ada County
• Utility-Backed Study: Michigan Energy Mandate Would Cost $10 Billion
• Areva’s Renewables Cash Flow Positive as Nuclear Gets Greener
• Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Exceeds Savings Targets for 2011
• How Summer Thunderstorms Could be Punching New Holes in the Ozone Layer
• Peninsula College Offers Courses on Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
• How Secure Are Green Jobs?
• Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia
• Washington State Governor Gregoire Celebrates State Broadband Expansion
• Gov. Gregoire’s Statement on Completion of Broadband Expansion Projects
• Canadian Telecom Company Plans Data Center in Bend
• Data Center Blamed in Twitter Outage
• Google Fiber: $70 a Month for Speeds 100 Times Faster than Broadband
• Google Fiber: What Is It & Should You Get It?
• Google Fiber’s Website - A Different Kind of Internet
• Mason Area Fair & Rodeo Friday, Saturday & Sunday
• Paddle to Squaxin this Weekend
• Grapeview Water & Arts Festival this Weekend
• Replacement Drivers Called In as King/Snohomish Counties’ Garbage Strike Reaches Third Day
• Midwest Drought Diminishes Mighty Mississippi, Puts Heat on Congress
• When Disaster Strikes, Twitter Might Save Us

WORD OF THE DAY

Esoteric • \ess-uh-TARE-ick\ • Adjective - 1a: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone b: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group; broadly: difficult to understand 2a: limited to a small circle b: private, confidential 3: of special, rare, or unusual interest

Although not entirely unusual, the sopranino ukulele is among the esoteric members of the uke family. A smaller ukulele than normal; who would want one of those? (ME!)

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/26/cancer-battle-forces-pud-commissioner-to-resign/

Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-weather-idUSBRE86Q01E20120727

Locked-Out New York City Power Workers Charge Utility with Safety Risks (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/us-utilities-newyork-idUSBRE86O1LI20120725

Power Outages Often Spur Questions around Burying Power Lines (Energy Information Administration)

http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=7250

Businesses Want More Coal in Washington, Neighbors Not So Sure (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/UW-professors-research-coal-trains-as-alliance-pushes-for-terminals-163980306.html

Natural Gas Utilities Expect Continued Low Prices (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/natural_gas_utilities_expect_continued_low_prices/

Former Franklin PUD Manager - Ryckman Named to Port of Pasco Commission (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034855/ryckman-named-to-port-of-pasco.html

Op/Ed - Dam! What’s The Price of Alaska Hydro? (Anchorage Press, AK)

http://www.anchoragepress.com/news/dam-what-s-the-price-of-hydro/article_783cc3ac-d784-11e1-8a50-0019bb2963f4.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://earthfix.opb.org/flora-and-fauna/article/first-sockeye-of-the-year-arrives-at-sawtooth-trap/

Northern Pikeminnow Columbia River Reward Program Catches Increase this Past Week (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2018777901_northern_pikeminnow_columbia_r.html

Bird Monitoring Drones on Oregon Coast Scuttled for Lack of Permit (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/07/drones_on_coast_scuttled_for_l.html

New-Found Shellfish Toxin Raises Concerns (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jul/26/new-found-shellfish-toxin-raises-concerns/

WDFW Seeks Input on Pocket Gophers (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4387

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-man-sentenced-jail-time-illegal-rainwater-reservoirs

Silt from Elwha River Dam Removal Doesn’t Hang Around, Say Scientists (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/-Silt-from-Elwha-River-dam-removal-doesnt-hang-around-163948316.html

Great Peninsula Conservancy Adds Two New Board Members, Including a Mason County Resident (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-07-27/great_peninsula_conservancy_adds_two_new_board_members?utm_campaign=email_subscriptions_2012-07-27

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Idaho - Energy Company Files $30 Million Tort Claim against Ada County (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/07/25/2201804/energy-company-files-30-million.html

Utility-Backed Study: Michigan Energy Mandate Would Cost $10 Billion (The Detroit News, MI)

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120727/METRO/207270363/1409/metro/Utility-backed-study-Michigan-energy-mandate-would-cost-10B

Areva’s Renewables Cash Flow Positive as Nuclear Gets Greener (Platts)

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8568115

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Exceeds Savings Targets for 2011 - Annual report highlights regional efforts to fill energy efficiency pipeline (MarketWatch)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/neea-exceeds-savings-targets-for-2011-2012-07-26

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

How Summer Thunderstorms Could be Punching New Holes in the Ozone Layer (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2012/0726/How-summer-thunderstorms-could-be-punching-new-holes-in-the-ozone-layer-video

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Peninsula College Offers Courses on Hybrid-Electric Vehicles (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120727/NEWS/307279991/college-offers-courses-on-hybrid-electric-vehicles

How Secure Are Green Jobs? (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/geoffrey-styles/97451/how-secure-are-green-jobs

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034861/gregoire-hails-expansion-of-broadband.html

Washington State Governor Gregoire Celebrates State Broadband Expansion (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kndo.com/story/19126419/governor-gregoire-comes-to-kennewick-to-celebrate-state-broadband-expansion

Gov. Gregoire’s statement on completion of broadband expansion projects (Washington State Governor’s Office)

http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1949&newsType=1

Canadian Telecom Company Plans Data Center in Bend (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/canadian-telecom-company-plans-data-center-bend/

Data Center Blamed in Twitter Outage (Reuters)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/net-us-twitter-outage-idINBRE86P15G20120726

Google Fiber: $70 a Month for Speeds 100 Times Faster than Broadband (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2012/0726/Google-Fiber-70-a-month-for-speeds-100-times-faster-than-broadband

Google Fiber: What Is It & Should You Get It? (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0727/Google-Fiber-What-is-it-and-should-you-get-it

Google Fiber’s Website - A Different Kind of Internet (Google)

https://fiber.google.com/about/

GENERAL NEWS

Mason Area Fair & Rodeo Friday, Saturday & Sunday (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/6565#more-6565

Paddle to Squaxin this Weekend (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/local-news/35576-paddle-to-squaxin

Grapeview Water & Arts Festival this Weekend (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/local-news/35572-grapeview-water-a-arts-festival

Replacement Drivers Called In as King/Snohomish Counties’ Garbage Strike Reaches Third Day (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Waste-management-driver-strike-day-3-163996696.html

Midwest Drought Diminishes Mighty Mississippi, Puts Heat on Congress (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/us-usa-drought-idUSBRE86N1M120120726

When Disaster Strikes, Twitter Might Save Us (Grist Online)

http://grist.org/cities/when-disaster-strikes-twitter-might-save-us/

DIVERSIONS

New Jersey Troopers Face Charges in 100-Mph Caravan Escort

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/07/27/2188135/troopers-to-face-charges-after.html

Exploding Termites: Aging Termites Become Suicide Bombers

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0726/Exploding-termites-Aging-termites-become-suicide-bombers-finds-study-video

Woman Accidentally Bakes Family’s Entire Life Savings after Husband Hides it in the Oven

http://gawker.com/5929403/woman-accidentally-bakes-familys-entire-life-savings-after-husband-hides-it-in-oven

Happy (hic) National Scotch Day

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-national-scotch-day-20120727,0,3503244.story

SONG OF THE DAY

Paul Simon - Take Me to the Mardi Gras

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmS2RkT9UBc