Energy News Digest for May 5, 2008

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)

- Retired justice from WPPSS case dies
- Carbon tests could derail Wallula Gap power plant
- Puget Energy's path to going private
- Seattle Times Opinion – 'Bye to Safeco, PSE, here in name only
- Behind the fight for an Oregon Liquefied Natural Gas site
- $25 million settlement reached in Colstrip lawsuit
- Report: Look for rise in natural gas prices
- Seattle P-I Columnist Joel Connelly – It's time to change a crazy energy policy
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – San Francisco needs to act now to shut down a polluting power plant
- News Release – PJM Regional Power Grid Ready for Hot Weather Power Demand
- Sea lions shot dead on Columbia River as salmon battle rages
- Putting the 'Cute' Back in Execute
- News Release – Tribes and feds end decades of legal battles to begin new era
- Tribes, U.S. sign deal on NW dams
- Chum Salmon haven threatened?
- Yakamas will tear down dam on Satus Creek
- Seattle fish-egg auctions lure hundreds of millions in bids
- How Does Your Home Shellfish Garden Grow?
- Jefferson County – Water district proposal dries up
- Likely Olympia-area dioxin source for Budd Inlet named
- Air Pollution Impedes Bees' Ability to Find Flowers
- Grays Harbor County PUD finds many shades of “green”
- Michigan – Wind power blows hot and cold, manufacturer cautions
- Baltimore Sun Editorial – Energy leadership: Invest in a greener future
- Senators call for EPA to consider ethanol mandate waiver
- Energy conservation: Power gets smart
- Energy pilot program to test if efficiency is enough
- Getting More for Less: The Growing Role of Negawatts
- LED lights shine at saving energy in tech gear
- Seattle Times Columnist – Feeling blue over trying to be green
- Yahoo Stock Plunges After Microsoft Backs Off
- How the Microsoft-Yahoo deal came apart
- Grant County PUD halts new dark fiber sales
- It may be ‘do or die' time for UTOPIA
- Arizona – Wildfire Broadband Disconnects from Scottsdale
- Broadband Over Power Line Gets a KO Punch (GigaOM)
- Cloud Computing' Puts Computer Resources on Tap
- Amazon Sues NY Over Internet Sales Tax Collection
- Comcast Mocks AT&T For Lawn Cabinets While Deploying Their Own
- Survey finds gas prices up about 15 cents over past 2 weeks
- $5 gas near, 78% of Americans say
- Olympia's patience wears thin with protests
- Olympia’s sanctuary city proposal to council could be casualty of Thursday's attacks
- Wife dies but new hospital bills keep coming
- Neo-Pawn Shops – People selling online to pay bills
- Critics See Symbols of Islam in Flight 93 Memorial Design

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Posthaste • \POHST-HAYST\ • adverb – With all possible speed

“I want those orders for Barry Manilow CDs placed posthaste,” shouted the floor manager, glowering at his under-twenty crowd of warehouse employees. “Golly,” squeaked one, “I thought that was a euphemism for a marshmallow and berry flavored treat, nor music!”

WEATHER

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

(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Retired justice from WPPSS case dies – Robert Brachtenbach, who served 22 years as a justice on the state Supreme Court, died Friday at his home in Cottage Grove, Ore (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/361779_brachtenbach05.html?source=rss

Carbon tests could derail Wallula Gap power plant (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/175455.html

Puget Energy's path to going private (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004390843_puget04.html

Seattle Times Opinion – 'Bye to Safeco, PSE, here in name only – The cumulative decline in local ownership of this region's companies is troubling
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004388985_bossed04.html

Behind the fight for an Oregon Liquefied Natural Gas site – Two Texas businessmen put money and muscle (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1209781547135250.xml&coll=7

$25 million settlement reached in Colstrip lawsuit – An attorney in a water contamination lawsuit against eastern Montana's Colstrip power plant says the plant's five corporate owners have agreed to settle the case. (Associated Press, via the Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MT_COLSTRIP_LAWSUIT_SETTLEMENT_WAOL-?SITE=WAYAK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Report: Look for rise in natural gas prices (Orlando Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/05/05/daily2.html?ana=from_rss

Seattle P-I Columnist Joel Connelly – It's time to change a crazy energy policy
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/361773_joel05.html?source=rss

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – San Francisco needs to act now to shut down a polluting power plant
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/05/EDS110FFM6.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

News Release – PJM Regional Power Grid Ready for Hot Weather Power Demand – Electricity Demand Continues to Grow; Load Management Doubles (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=89156

FISH & WILDLIFE

Sea lions shot dead on Columbia River as salmon battle rages (The Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcSH4Kef7EHVeRa_HnuHHgR2vRMgD90FH8MG0

Putting the 'Cute' Back in Execute – Captured sea lions on Columbia River assassinated (Grist Online)
http://www.grist.org/news/2008/05/05/sealions/

News Release – Tribes and feds end decades of legal battles to begin new era – Special tribal ceremony at sacred Columbia River Basin site today underscores collaborative approach that puts fish first (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/200964/

Tribes, U.S. sign deal on NW dams – A Native coalition agrees to accept the Columbia River system for 10 years and $900 million for habitat and hatchery upgrades (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1209786906289840.xml&coll=7

Chum Salmon haven threatened? (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05052008_Chum-haven-threatened.cfm

Yakamas will tear down dam on Satus Creek – The small, abandoned dam impedes migration of steelhead in Satus Creek, the basin's biggest producer of the threatened fish species (Yakima Herald-Republic )
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/3678

Seattle fish-egg auctions lure hundreds of millions in bids (The associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1375110~Seattle_fish_egg_auctions_lure_hundreds_of_millions_in_bids.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

How Does Your Home Shellfish Garden Grow? A small-but-enthusiastic group of home shellfish gardeners will soon plant seeds that will grow into oysters, clams, mussels and geoduck (Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/may/04/soon-theyll-be-sprouting-8212-make-that-spouting/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Jefferson County – Water district proposal dries up – A countywide per-parcel fee proposed to fund Jefferson County's Clean Water District has dried up for lack of support. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080504/NEWS/805040305

Likely Olympia-area dioxin source for Budd Inlet named – Report says it appears to be Cascade Pole site (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/439335.html

Air Pollution Impedes Bees' Ability to Find Flowers (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/04/AR2008050401737.html?nav=rss_email/components

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Grays Harbor County PUD finds many shades of “green” (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/04/local_news/02news.txt

Michigan – Wind power blows hot and cold, manufacturer cautions (Tri-Cities Business Review)
http://blog.mlive.com/tricities/2008/05/former_wind_turbine_co_market.html

Baltimore Sun Editorial – Energy leadership: Invest in a greener future
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.energy05may05,0,1498508.story

Senators call for EPA to consider ethanol mandate waiver – Senate Republicans on Monday asked environmental regulators to use their power to halt the country's ethanol output expansion plans amid rising food prices. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004393162_apethanolwaiver.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION

Energy conservation: Power gets smart – Grids may determine how, when we consume electricity (The Salt Lake Tribune)
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_9154633?source=rss

Energy pilot program to test if efficiency is enough (Boston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/05/05/story10.html?ana=from_rss

Getting More for Less: The Growing Role of Negawatts (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reinsider/story?id=52329

LED lights shine at saving energy in tech gear (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/BUE210DQEM.DTL

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Seattle Times Columnist – Feeling blue over trying to be green
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004391337_danny04.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo Stock Plunges After Microsoft Backs Off – After Microsoft withdrew its $33-a-share offer for Yahoo on Saturday, the question was how far Yahoo’s stock would drop. On Monday morning, the markets gave an initial answer: plenty (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05subyahoo-web.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1210003663-j68QBD8KkMpyWRwW5gcn4g

How the Microsoft-Yahoo deal came apart (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/361724_msftdeal05.html?source=rss

Grant County PUD halts new dark fiber sales – Utility currently leases fiber to three companies (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/news04.txt

It may be ‘do or die' time for UTOPIA (KSL-TV, Salt Lake City)
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=3201003

Arizona – Wildfire Broadband Disconnects from Scottsdale – Wi-Fi network goes down without a word (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Wildfire-Broadband-Disconnects-from-Scottsdale-94134

Broadband Over Power Line Gets a KO Punch (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/02/broadband-over-power-line-gets-a-ko-punch/
'
Cloud Computing' Puts Computer Resources on Tap (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90180142&ft=1&f=3

Amazon Sues NY Over Internet Sales Tax Collection (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/money/16149543/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Comcast Mocks AT&T For Lawn Cabinets While Deploying Their Own – California residents find Comcast upgrade comes with new lawn ornaments (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Mocks-ATT-For-Lawn-Cabinets-While-Deploying-Their-Own-94147

GENERAL NEWS

Survey finds gas prices up about 15 cents over past 2 weeks (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004393009_apgasprices.html?syndication=rss

$5 gas near, 78% of Americans say – A vast majority of consumers expect to shell out $4 and even $5 a gallon this year, according to a recent poll (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/05/news/economy/gas_poll/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

Olympia's patience wears thin with protests – The public's patience for protests and demonstrations reached its end after the May Day unrest in Olympia, dozens of readers said Friday (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/437813.html

Olympia’s sanctuary city proposal to council could be casualty of Thursday's attacks – Ironically, …”the main goal of Thursday's May Day rally was "to try to convince the City Council to pass a resolution making our city a sanctuary city for war resisters and undocumented workers…" (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/437815.html

Wife dies but new hospital bills keep coming – Husband got 4 invoices for donor search done after her death (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/361794_scca05.html?source=rss

Neo-Pawn Shops – People selling online to pay bills (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/438721.html

Critics See Symbols of Islam in Flight 93 Memorial Design (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/us/05memorial.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

DIVERSIONS

Ashland, Ore., mayor says he can't afford to live in Ashland
http://www.examiner.com/a-1374517~Ashland__Ore___mayor_says_he_can_t_afford_to_live_in_Ashland.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Handmade pixies pop up in Eugene park each spring
http://www.examiner.com/a-1374496~Handmade_pixies_pop_up_in_Eugene_park_each_spring.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Deputy Suspended For Yelling At Little League Umpire
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16151036/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

A very unhappy birthday to spam, age 30
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/BUE210E232.DTL&feed=rss.business