Energy News Digest for December 7, 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.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Mason County PUD No. 3 completes restoration of electricity to customers
- Grays Harbor PUD Power Outage Update
- Avista cited for Othello boom-truck death
- PacifiCorp labels coal a no-go for new plants
- Utility examines possible site for nuclear plant in SW Idaho
- $1 billion lawsuit claims Klamath dams produce hazardous waste
- EPA objects to parts of Spokane River draft sewage permits
- Wave Power: Balance fishing and renewable power needs
- Old wood stoves pumping out pollution along with heat
- Montana – 'Brownout' reduces energy consumption by 6.6 percent
- LED street lighting: the Light at Night Falls Bright
- Climate change could mean more massive downpours
- San Francisco mayor proposes 'carbon tax
- Comcast's shares take a battering
- Funding, feuding put Lewis County flood project on hold
- Trucks rolling on freeway
- 19 in WA town taken to hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning
- WA Board of Health recommends carbon monoxide detectors

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Aficionado • \uh-FISH-ee-uh-nah-doe\ • noun – a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity

“Hand me that set of pliers,” squealed Anthony. Being the foremost historical aficionado of Dolly Parton’s series sequined dress evolution he could not resist pulling some rhinestones from the rare “Porter Waggoner/Dolly Parton appearance” at the Grand Old Opry. His friend Ambrose, standing watch in the wax museum, was sure that ‘Tony’s interest in Dolly’s costumes was NOT related to their design or architecture.

WEATHER

Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

News Release – Mason County PUD No. 3 completes restoration of electricity to customers affected by December 3 storm (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=395

Shelton – KMAS Radio’s Extreme Weather Page (for extreme weather addicts)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/badweather.htm

Flood Damage Estimates in Millions (Kitsap Sun, includes Mason County Estimates)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/06/flooding-damage-estimates-in-millions/

News Release – Grays Harbor PUD Power Outage Update (Grays Harbor County PUD)
https://www.ghpud.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=314&Itemid=150

Clallam County line crews helping in other parts of western Washington (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3290

Here’s a link to the Daily News in Aberdeen – all storm, all the time
http://www.thedailyworld.com/local_news/

Here’s a link to the Chronicle in Centralia – Even more storm and flooding information, including I-5 conditions
http://www.chronline.com/index.php

News Release – BPA partnering with utilities to get lights back on (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/185379/

Avista cited for Othello boom-truck death – The state fined Avista Utilties for an incident when an Othello man fell to his death from a boom truck on May 31. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/12/07/news/news02.txt

PacifiCorp labels coal a no-go for new plants – The utility says its long-range plans will look elsewhere for resources to generate electric power (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/119700331683500.xml&coll=7

Idaho – Utility examines possible site for nuclear plant in SW Idaho. A large utility is considering building its first nuclear power plant Payette County, northwest of Boise, a company official says. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/531/story/228682.html

Energy bill includes 4 years of timber payments to rural counties (Eugene Register Guard)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WST_TIMBER_COUNTIES_OROL-?SITE=OREUG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Artists' suit against Snohomish police moved – A civil-rights lawsuit alleging Snohomish city police illegally detained an artist for photographing power lines has been moved to U.S. District Court in Seattle. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004055885_civilrights06m.html

Maryland – PSC wants role in utilities: Senators are told that deregulation can't meet Md.'s power needs. Utility regulators yesterday presented lawmakers with a new model for electric regulation in Maryland, reinforcing the widespread view in Annapolis that competitive markets have failed to deliver benefits to consumers. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChgghhltYSjhw11rbfem%5Ev

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

$1 billion lawsuit claims Klamath dams produce hazardous waste (Eugene Register Guard)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WST_KLAMATH_DAMS_OROL-?SITE=OREUG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

EPA objects to parts of Spokane River draft sewage permits – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency objects to portions of draft sewage discharge permits that the state Department of Ecology issued for several cities and mills on the Spokane River. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12072007news244026.cfm?newsletter=10

Oregon – State will investigate windsurfers' health issues. Officials hope to find answers after two decades of complaints along the Columbia River (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/11969133179330.xml&coll=7

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Columbian Editorial – In our view: Wave Power? Balance fishing and renewable power needs
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/12/12042007_In-our-view-Wave-Power.cfm?newsletter=1

Old wood stoves pumping out pollution along with heat – Oregon links wood along with wind and solar energy as renewable energy because it avoids using oil, coal or natural gas, said Ann Grim of the Oregon Department of Energy. (Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1089184~Old_wood_stoves_pumping_out_pollution_along_with_heat.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Kansas – 1978 law at center of wind-power profit debate. Some of the state's top utility lawyers battled Wednesday over whether Westar Energy should get a chance to earn extra profit for adding wind power to the electric system that serves 674,000 customers. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChgiioxuVSjhw11rbfem%5Ev

CONSERVATION

Montana – 'Brownout' reduces energy consumption by 6.6 percent. The planned "Billings Brownout" Thursday evening reduced energy usage by about 6.6 percent according to NorthWestern Energy. (The Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/07/news/local/23-brownout.txt

LED street lighting: the Light at Night Falls Bright – Welland, Ontario has launched the first phase of its LED lighting scheme and has installed 47 luminaires from Relume (LEDs Magazine)
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/4/12/10

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate change could mean more massive downpours – Record-setting storms like the one Sunday and Monday that flooded the Northwest could become more of the norm as climate change skews our region's rainfall patterns and leads to more of these massive deluges as compared to the typical drizzle. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342268_stormwater05.html

San Francisco mayor proposes 'carbon tax' to curb global warming (Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1089505~San_Francisco_mayor_proposes__carbon_tax__to_curb_global_warming.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Comcast's shares take a battering – In a bad year for cable stocks, Comcast's fall has been downright ugly. (The Associated Press, via the Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1196908003154260.xml&coll=7

GENERAL NEWS

Funding, feuding put flood project on hold – When Washington lawmakers in 2003 approved an ambitious plan — the "nickel gas tax" package — to repair state highways, tucked inside was $30 million to help corral the Chehalis River. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004053251_stormnickel05m.html

Trucks rolling on freeway – If all goes as planned, the Washington state Department of Transportation will reopen Interstate 5 to passenger vehicles today. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/292841.html

19 in WA town taken to hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning – The Ocean Shores police chief says 19 people - 18 adults and one child - have been taken to a hospital for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning after becoming sick at an IGA grocery store in the Washington coast town. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12062007news243319.cfm?newsletter=10

WA Board of Health recommends carbon monoxide detectors (Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1092131~WA_Board_of_Health_recommends_carbon_monoxide_detectors.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Veteran Tri-Cities legislator hit with record ethics fine (Wow! Four-thousand bucks – The Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1089654~Veteran_Tri_Cities_legislator_hit_with_record_ethics_fine.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

(Includes Belfair Residents) Ten private investigators charged with illegal dirt-digging (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12072007news244027.cfm?newsletter=10

State-paid divorce lawyers not a right – People who are going through divorce proceedings do not have the right to a lawyer paid by the state, the state Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342490_divorce07.html

Customers line up for tiny Smart car (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/motoring/2004053270_smartcar05.html

DIVERSIONS

Oh man! Grocery Store Issues Apology after Advertising Hams as Chanukah Food (um…pork products ARE NOT kosher foods)
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14799483/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01000212072007&ts=H

Olympia Boy Wins $10k For Toy Roller Coaster Design
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14799617/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01000212072007&ts=H

"Dead" canoeist's photo genuine, says wife – The wife of a man who was presumed to have drowned five years ago in a canoeing accident has told British newspapers that a photo of them taken together in Panama last year was genuine.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071206/od_nm/canoeist1_dc;_ylt=AkU8PO1vlFtDjNlf9OL10d7tiBIF

Bush says dial 1-800-OOPS for housing help – U.S. homeowners who could face crippling mortgage payments will have a hard time getting help if they call a telephone number President George W. Bush recommended on Thursday -- he gave them the wrong number.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071206/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_usa_subprime_bush_number;_ylt=AiPHXcrkQt8mT0qzL_A9TrXtiBIF