News Digest for October 16, 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

Fervid • \FER-vid\ • adjective – 1: very hot: burning *2: marked by often extreme intensity of feeling

Irving Berlin was stumped. He just couldn’t work up a fervid enthusiasm for his latest composition. “We’re having a cold wave…an arctic-like cold wave,” he hummed over the keyboard. “Golly, that just doesn’t swing,” he moaned.

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

Oregon – PacifiCorp hopes to deliver a jolt. The utility wants a threatened 2.5% rate increase to nudge ratepayers into seeking changes “…the company doesn't want customers to feel gouged, but it has no choice other than to surcharge customers until legislators change the controversial utility tax law..” (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1192343206203830.xml&coll=7

Seattle – Tower worker shocked, hospitalized with burns (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/335617_shock16.html?source=rss

News Release – Fitch Rates Cowlitz, Washington PUD $63.49MM Electric Distribution System Revs, 2007 'A-' (Fitch Ratings, Via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071015/20071015006339.html?.v=1

News Release – North American Electricity Demand Continues to Outpace Resource Growth; Reliability Concerns Remain. California, Rocky Mountain states, New England, Texas, Southwest and Midwest United States; and Western Canada; are areas of concern (North American Electric Reliability Corporation)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071016/netu082.html?.v=23

A ‘Circuit of the Future’ That Keeps Blackouts Brief and Local Is Tried in California (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/business/16electric.html?ex=1350187200&en=707845c638798760&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Australia – Racing to the aid of king coal. Climate change is the Achilles heel of the Australian resources boom that both coal companies and Australian governments are fully aware of but prefer not to acknowledge or address. (The Courier-Mail, Queensland)
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22596694-27197,00.html

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Surrogate Fish Could Save Endangered Brethren – When Japanese scientists found a way to make one species of fish lay the eggs of another, some dismissed the work as a genetic parlor trick. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15287000&ft=1&f=17

UW scientists create pollution-sucking trees – Rabbit gene helps poplars neutralize chemicals quickly. …while the poplars could benefit cleanup projects, they raise a multitude of ecological and ethical concerns. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer – Not the mention the fact that they breed like, well, rabbits!)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/335572_transgenic16.html

Southeast facing "ongoing water crisis" Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003952706_drought16.html

Vancouver Island, BC – Province tells Tofino to treat sewage discharge. Sewage treatment is moving to the front of line for Tofino. (Victoria Times Columnist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9f12efe2-c6cc-42ed-9369-7f146df2b1d6&k=31365

Oregon – Group seeks tougher penalties for killing birds. Frustrated by the sentences of two Portland-area pigeon hobbyists who tried to kill protected hawks and raptors, the Audubon Society of Portland wants Congress to establish more severe penalties for killing migratory birds. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1192497933261450.xml&coll=7

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Winds of change may blow on Rattlesnake Mountain – Wind power prospectors once again are poking around Rattlesnake Mountain. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-rss/story/9381539p-9294925c.html

PacifiCorp to Build Second Marengo Wind Facility – PacifiCorp subsidiary Pacific Power last week announced a new 70.2-MW wind project near its recently completed Marengo facility in the hills near Dayton, Washington. Construction on the Marengo II project will begin this month. (Renewable Energy Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50282&src=rss

Oregon State University wave energy buoy bobs according to plan (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1192497912261450.xml&coll=7

CONSERVATION

Don't Let High Heating Costs Melt Your Budget – It's going to be expensive staying warm this winter. (The Street.com)
http://www.thestreet.com/s/dont-let-high-heating-costs-melt-your-budget/funds/saving-money/10384527.html?puc=googlefi

News Release – Prepare Now before Winter Increases Your Energy Costs (PECO)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,199663.shtml

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Scientists Wary of Iron as Proposed Climate Fix – Two companies say the best way to slow global warming is to dump iron into the oceans. Some scientists, however, have serious doubts. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15298749

Even as economy lags, corporate 'green' push may advance – Companies used to shelve environmental initiatives when times got tough, but now, with oil so expensive, spending on green projects is expected to accelerate. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1015/p01s02-usec.html

Peace likely to erode alongside glaciers, coasts – Shortages will bring wars, experts say (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/335381_climate13.html?source=rss

Proposal would measure projects' impact on climate change – Builders in Seattle would be required to identify the impact of large projects on climate change if legislation by City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck wins approval. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003952779_greenhouse16m.html?syndication=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Tektronix Bought Out By East Coast Conglomerate – Oregon's tech sector today is watching one of its founding members move away. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/tektronix-bought-out-east-coast-conglomerate/

Comcast to raise cable rates by 4.2 percent (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/10/15/daily8.html?ana=from_rss

AOL to cut 2,000 jobs – The 20 percent staff cut adds to the 5,000 layoffs last fall as the Internet company transitions from access provider to online advertising company. (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/15/news/companies/AOL.ap/index.htm?eref=ib_topstories

Washington Post Editorial – The Web grows up; Internet services shouldn't be a tax-free zone.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501373.html?nav=rss_opinions

Broadcasters unveil digital TV campaign (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_101507BUB_future_tv_KC.174359fb8.html

Connecticut – State Says AT&T Needs Cable License; Orders Company to Stop Signing Up Customers for TV Service (The Hartford Courant)
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-att-1015,0,7352347.story?coll=hc_tab01_layout

Verizon Letter on Privacy Stirs Debate – Verizon Wireless, one of the nation’s largest cell phone carriers, has stirred up controversy with a letter it sent to customers recently telling them that it would begin sharing information from their calling records with its “affiliates, agents and parent companies.” (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/business/16phone.html?ex=1350187200&en=528c62515ff42013&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Memorial for sky divers planned – Friends and family of the pilot and nine sky divers killed in the Oct. 7 White Pass plane crash have planned a public memorial for the dead, as federal investigators continue their efforts to determine what caused the plane to go down in the Cascades. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/335623_skydivers16.html?source=rss

State applies for I-5 permits – Relief for drivers on the crowded eight-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Grand Mound and Maytown is a step closer after a Thurston County permit hearing Monday on a $70 million to $90 million freeway widening project. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/244685.html

Oregon – Superior Lumber Arsonists: Burned by their own fire. Cases wrap up for eco-arsonists who attacked Superior Lumber (The News Review, Roseburg, OR)
http://www.newsreview.info/article/20071014/NEWS/71013005/-1/NEWS

That's Senator McDermott to you – As expected, state Rep. Joe McDermott, D-West Seattle, was appointed to the Senate this afternoon to replace Erik Poulsen, who is stepping down to work for the Washington PUD Association. (Chris Mulick, Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9381874p-9295263c.html

Silly String Is Shipped Off to Iraq – About 80,000 cans of Silly String will be shipped to Iraq, where troops use it to detect trip wires on bombs. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/nyregion/16string.html?ex=1350187200&en=f7282984996d0ba3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Trouble brewing for small beer makers over hops shortage (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10162007news215815.cfm?newsletter=10

DIVERSIONS

Hardee's Unveils 920-Calorie Burrito – The people who brought you the Monster Thickburger and the 1,100-calorie salad are at it again — this time for breakfast.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/15/financial/f113609D38.DTL&feed=rss.news

Paging Charlie Chaplin! Veteran Puts Hitler's Globe Up for Sale – Days after the end of World War II, an American soldier entering the wreckage of Adolf Hitler's mountain stronghold found that fierce Allied bombing had left the "Eagle's Nest" in ruins.
http://www.examiner.com/a-990883~Veteran_Puts_Hitler_s_Globe_Up_for_Sale.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Great news! They're stealing our books! The Frankfurt Book Fair has an indicator to help publishers gauge public interest in the new offerings presented at the annual exhibition -- the unofficial "most stolen book" index.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL142392220071016?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

Craigslist advertiser pleads guilty – A 28-year-old woman accused of placing a Craigslist ad that led to her aunt’s house being gutted earlier this year pleaded guilty Monday.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/180133.html

Bridezilla! A Bride Sues Her Florist Over Pastel Hydrangeas. The wedding bouquet has barely faded and already an Upper East Side bride has regrets — not because she married, but because of the flowers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/nyregion/16flowers.html?_r=1&ex=1350273600&en=44ae21eb600c7395&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin