News Digest for September 11, 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

Aplomb • \uh-PLAHM\ • noun – complete and confident composure or self-assurance: poise

Albert was amazed at the aplomb with which his professor withstood scathing questions from the skeptical students about his contention that the earth was flat, and balanced on the back of a large turtle named “Fred”. It wasn’t until halfway through the class that the reason for the professor’s imperturbability was known: he had fallen fast asleep, with both eyes wide open.

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

MASON PUD 3 PIONEER SUBSTATION DE-ENERGIZED, POWER QUICKLY RESTORED – Mason County PUD No. 3 acted quickly to restore electricity to customers served by the Pioneer substation after a circuit switcher at the facility opened this morning. Approximately 5,800 customers were affected by the outage which occurred at about 10:00 a.m. Power was restored within 40 minutes. PUD 3 personnel are investigating the cause.

CHELAN COUNTY PUD RATES GOING UP – Chelan County PUD commissioners Monday approved a five percent increase for electric rates, a nine percent increase in water and sewer rates and increased the wholesale fiber-optic rates charged to service providers by two percent. The increases take effect January first of next year, and will be considered annually as part of the PUD budget. For the average residential PUD power customer, the increase means their electric bill will go up by three dollars a month. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)

Cowlitz County PUD embarks on $10 million meter project (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/09/11/area_news/news12.txt

Idaho Statesman Q&A – Newsmaker: Interest in nuclear power returns
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/155371.html

Alaska – Rushing into coal: Borough right to scrutinize power plant plans. Matanuska Electric Association is eager to build a coal-fired power plant outside Palmer. (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/9292013p-9206498c.html

Iowa – 500 turn out for anti-power plant rally (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via PowerMarketers.com – Even the “Punkinator” was there! “…a pressurized pumpkin-shooting cannon for the kids)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CfhospnuZTeb%27%40%3E%20bfem%5Ev

Los Angeles – Audit called for city's aging power system: Two Los Angeles city council members plan to ask their colleagues today to authorize an audit of the city's aging power system, which buckled because of prolonged air conditioning use during the recent heat wave. (Daily News Wire Services)
http://www.dailynews.com/ci_6861230?source=most_emailed

Canada – Thieves scale crane to steal copper wiring. Thieves have gone to great heights to steal copper wiring in Cape Breton. (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2007/09/11/copper-theft.html

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Makah on 'damage control' mission – Team heads to D.C. to talk about illegal gray whale hunt (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/331122_makah11.html

Skokomish River Delta – Dike Removal Project Frees Tides. Watching the salt water lap his shoes, Keith Dublanica, senior land planner for the Skokomish Tribe, decided it was time to move from the Skokomish River tidelands to higher ground Monday afternoon. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/sep/10/moving-to-higher-ground/

Vote gives geoduck rules new life – A proposal to regulate geoduck farming along Pierce County shorelines was revived and reinforced Monday with the unanimous backing of a County Council committee. (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/153162.html

New Aquifer Planned For Kennewick (KNDO-TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7054645

Port Townsend City Council wants no part of county's proposed clean water district –Saying Jefferson County's clean water district fee proposal is financially flawed, the City Council on Monday night approved telling county commissioners that the city wants to opt out. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070911/NEWS/709110304

Unknown Water Leak Leads To Big Bill – Chuck Willis, who lives on a lake near Duvall, says he and his wife are careful with water. They have water-saving toilets and appliances and have planted natural landscaping requiring little irrigation. So he thinks his latest water bill for $4,000 is all wet. (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/money/14085481/detail.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Gregoire's decision on wind farm coming soon – Gov. Chris Gregoire said this morning she plans to announce her decision about whether to permit the controversial Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project as soon as this week. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9292377p-9206882c.html

Utility Will Use Batteries to Store Wind Power – American Electric Power, a coal-burning utility company that is looking for ways to connect more wind power to its grid, plans to announce on Tuesday that it will install huge banks of high-technology batteries. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/business/11battery.html?ex=1347163200&en=ee88fae7cab8ea85&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Energy Pulse Commentary – Dispatchable Wind: Enabling Wind to Play a Mainstream Role in Power Production. The conventional wind industry has done a terrific job at reducing the cost of extracting energy out of the wind, but has not yet been able to shape wind power production to meet grid demands and secure a good price for its power.
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1556

Farmers tout alfalfa as fuel – Alfalfa producers throughout the country are bucking the notion that hay is for horses and hoping the ethanol industry will see that hay can provide horsepower as well. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-rss/story/9293795p-9208281c.html

Oregon – Lake County envisions renewal in renewable energy. Geothermal, biomass and solar could turn the ranching and timber area into a power exporter (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1189392919193610.xml&coll=7

Mass Marketing Solar to Colorado Residents – Metropolitan Denver and Boulder Home Depot's to offer complete, installed solar electric home power systems. (RenewableEnergyAccess.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49897&src=rss

CONSERVATION

Florida – Seminole schools power down on electricity for big savings. Seminole County schools usually like to be first in everything, but their leaders are unhappy with being ranked as the most power-hungry district in Central Florida. (Orlando Sentinel)
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-cutcosts1107sep11,0,1628382.story

Energy efficient appliances should be made compulsory, says UN expert (International Herald-Tribune)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/11/asia/AS-GEN-Malaysia-Climate-Change.php

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate-change paradox: Greenhouse gas is Big Oil boon – With enough CO2 injected into declining oil fields, the US could see its petroleum reserves quadruple. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0911/p03s03-wogi.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Broadcasters fight high-speed Internet transmission – Television broadcasters on Monday launched a Washington, D.C.-area advertising campaign to fight a technology-industry proposal to transmit high-speed Internet service over unused airwaves. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003878603_nettvfight11.html

GENERAL NEWS

State GOP Holds High Hopes for the 35th District (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/sep/10/state-gop-holds-high-hopes-for-the-35th-district/

Congressional Report Service – Older Workers: Employment and Retirement Trends
http://opencrs.com/document/RL30629

DIVERSIONS

Would-be Burglar Runs Off With No Loot, No Clothes
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14082977/detail.html

Teen's yearbook photo banned for flower (“props aren’t allowed”)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070911/ap_on_fe_st/odd_yearbook_photo;_ylt=AuQYUlp4N0OZD0yc7BN.8vztiBIF

Man charged after drive-through dispute
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070910/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fast_food_attack;_ylt=AnfLOQ2yyFdRoeeLRzNnLoPtiBIF

German town ditches traffic lights to cut accidents – A town council in Germany has decided the best way of improving road safety is to remove all traffic lights and stop signs downtown.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070910/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_traffic;_ylt=AvHESv.DNmR1b0C.TauczkjtiBIF