Energy News Digest for June 6, 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)

- Mason County Candidate Filings
- Grant County PUD archaeologist's autopsy completed – Death caused by heart attack
- Thieves claim power lines near Castle Rock
- Copper Theft – Bonneville Power Administration offers Reward to Catch Substation Thieves
- Lewis County Underground Wire Targeted
- Former Greenpeace head touts nuclear power
- Cyber Incident Blamed for Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown
- North Carolina – Duke Energy wins approval for gas plants
- Pennsylvania – Shutoffs of utilities up dramatically from 2007
- Squirrel Puts Port Orchard without Power for Nearly Three Hours
- Tulalip Tribes prepare for salmon chief – Tulalips honor the first king salmon of the year with a traditional ceremony
- British Columbia’s Native Leaders Given Options On Salmon
- Liquefied Natural Gas report rekindles salmon dispute
- Salmon fishing opens Saturday on the Entiat River
- Urban beekeeping is the latest buzz
- Bid Opening Thursday – City Of Shelton To Pay More For New Sewage Treatment Plant
- Local sewer districts question King County's use of fees to build Brightwater sewage-treatment plant
- Kitsap County – Dyes Inlet Closed After Second Sewage Spill
- Olympia’s Budd Inlet dioxin woes continue
- Where DOES Water Come From
- Germany accelerates cuts to solar-energy subsidies
- Cowlitz County School Promotes Solar Energy
- Michigan – Garbage to generate electricity at South Kent Landfill
- Detroit Faces Decision on Trash Incinerator
- Electric cars will need juice – Utilities work with N.C. State to deliver it
- News Release – Stambler Earns the AWEA Commercial Achievement Award
- Edison, Make Way for the L.E.D.’s
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Western Utilities Embrace CFL Recycling
- Idaho – Mutual self-interest turns Idaho Power, customers into allies
- New Hampshire – Town eyes street-light conservation
- Climate Bill, Caught Up in Bickering, Dies in Senate
- British Columbia gas sector has carbon emissions to burn
- $45 trillion needed to combat global warming
- More Climate Confusion: Trading Permitaxes
- Grant County PUD details Internet rate increases
- Los Angeles to sue Time Warner Cable over poor service
- Comcast says 100 Mbps speeds coming by 2010
- Verizon DSL doubles speed for downloads
- FCC chief's free broadband plan delayed
- Carriers Looking to Block Free Wireless Broadband?
- Nurses at Mason General Hospital in Shelton to picket Monday for contracts
- Yakama museum curator sentenced for artifact thefts
- 'Top two' primary -- a state of confusion?
- On this Day: Allied Forces Invade France on D-Day
- $6M prize unclaimed in Oregon Lottery

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Gelid • \JELL-id\ • adjective – Extremely cold: icy

“Eeee! This creeps me out!” Howled Norberto as he bit into the old, rubbery Jello that he fished from the back of the refrigerator. The gelid, gelatinous mass was the last “edible” scrap of food in the confirmed bachelor’s icebox, and he was determined not to let it go to waste, regardless of what his gag reflex told him.

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

Mason County Candidate Filings (Includes Mason County PUD No. 1 and PUD No. 3 filings)
http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/MASON/ELECTIONS/Pages/CandidateFilings.aspx

Grant County PUD archaeologist's autopsy completed – Death caused by heart attack (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/06/05/news/news05.txt

Thieves claim power lines near Castle Rock – Cowlitz PUD officials believe metal thieves tore down and stole 2,500 feet of overhead power line north of Castle Rock early Thursday morning (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/06/06//area_news/doc4848a16c8afa4057756470.txt

Copper Theft – Bonneville Power Administration offers Reward to Catch Substation Thieves (The Bellingham Herald, WA)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/432401.html

LEWIS COUNTY UNDERGROUND WIRE TARGETED – Copper wire thieves literally go to new lows in Lewis County. Authorities have busted two Kelso residents for allegedly stealing 800 feet of underground copper power cable from Glenoma County Park. It supplied electrical power to the kitchen, baseball field, and concession stand. 41-year old Kevin G. Walters and 39-year old Tracey L. Walters were arrested following a traffic stop. Authorities report finding wire inside a vehicle. Both were booked for possible charges of burglary, theft, and malicious mischief. (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

Former Greenpeace head touts nuclear power in presentation sponsored by Chelan, Douglas and Grant PUDs (The Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS04/641779115/1025/rss1025

Cyber Incident Blamed for Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown – A nuclear power plant in Georgia was recently forced into an emergency shutdown for 48 hours after a software update was installed on a single computer (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/05/AR2008060501958.html?nav=rss_technology

North Carolina – Duke Energy wins approval for gas plants (Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/06/02/daily41.html?ana=from_rss

Pennsylvania – Shutoffs of utilities up dramatically from 2007 (Philadelphia Inquirer, PA)
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20080604_Shutoffs_of_utilities_up_dramatically_from_2007.html

Squirrel Puts Port Orchard without Power for Nearly Three Hours (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/05/po-without-power-for-nearly-three-hours/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tulalip Tribes prepare for salmon chief – Tulalips honor the first king salmon of the year with a traditional ceremony (The Herald, Everett, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080606/NEWS01/487000801/-1/RSS02

British Columbia’s Native Leaders Given Options On Salmon – Native leaders who have been asked to work out a strategy among themselves to ration a meager salmon run on the Fraser River this year have been given four options to consider (The Globe and Mail, Canada)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080605.BCSALMON05/TPStory/TPNational/BritishColumbia/

Liquefied Natural Gas report rekindles salmon dispute – NorthernStar submits Biological Assessment to feds; opponents criticize document for minimizing impact (The Daily Astorian, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=51877&TM=13826.21

Salmon fishing opens Saturday on the Entiat River – reflects estimates that show enough returning fish to support a season (The Chronicle, Omak, WA)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080605c.shtml

Urban beekeeping is the latest buzz (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004461129_apfarmsceneurbanbeekeeping.html?syndication=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Bid Opening Thursday – City Of Shelton To Pay More For New Sewage Treatment Plant (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/152/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

Local sewer districts question King County's use of fees to build Brightwater sewage-treatment plant (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004460910_brightwater06m.html?syndication=rss

Kitsap County – Dyes Inlet Closed After Second Sewage Spill (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/05/dyes-inlet-closed-after-second-sewage-spill/

Olympia’s Budd Inlet dioxin woes continue (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/470497.html

Where DOES Water Come From (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3949

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Germany accelerates cuts to solar-energy subsidies – Europe's largest power market is altering its renewable- energy law to spur the industry to control expenses and improve efficiency (Bloomberg News)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=atc5nAYE_uNA&refer=germany

Cowlitz County School Promotes Solar Energy – As president of the Toutle Lake High School Ecology Club, senior Evan Bean is all about the environment, including promoting renewable energy “…The panels are provided through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation’s Solar 4R Schools program and a partnership with the Cowlitz PUD…” (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/06/05/top_story/doc48474672f0022004369954.txt

Michigan – Garbage to generate electricity at South Kent Landfill (Grand Rapids Press, MI)
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/06/press_photopaul_l_newby_iia.html

Detroit Faces Decision on Trash Incinerator – Detroit doesn't just throw out and bury its trash — it is one of only a few large U.S. cities that still burn refuse. But the city must now must decide whether to keep open or close its controversial incinerator (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91208902&ft=1&f=2

Electric cars will need juice – Utilities work with N.C. State to deliver it without more power plants (The News Observer, NC)
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1098291.html

News Release – Stambler Earns the AWEA Commercial Achievement Award – “…repeat customers include…the federal Bonneville Power Administration…” (North American Wind Power)
http://www.nawindpower.com/naw/e107_plugins/content/content_lt.php?content.2365

CONSERVATION

Edison, Make Way for the L.E.D.’s (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/edison-make-way-for-the-leds/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Energy Pulse Commentary – Western Utilities Embrace CFL Recycling
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1757

Idaho – Mutual self-interest turns Idaho Power, customers into allies (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Ckiilqvx%5BSig%7DGL%7Dbfen%5Fv

New Hampshire – Town eyes street-light conservation – recommending that the town turn off more than a quarter of its streetlights (The Sun Journal, Lewiston, ME)
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/268781-3/NewEnglandNews/Town_eyes_streetlight_conservation/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate Bill, Caught Up in Bickering, Dies in Senate (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91232577&ft=1&f=3

British Columbia gas sector has carbon emissions to burn (Straight.com, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.straight.com/article-148407/gas-sector-has-carbon-emissions-burn?#

$45 trillion needed to combat global warming – Includes some 1,400 nuclear power plants and vast expansion of wind power (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004461160_apjapanieaclimatechange.html?syndication=rss

More Climate Confusion: Trading Permitaxes (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/06/05/more-climate-confusion-trading-permitaxes.aspx

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Grant County PUD details Internet rate increases (The Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/06/05/news/news02.txt

Los Angeles to sue Time Warner Cable over poor service – The city alleges that the company caused 'major havoc and distress' when it became the No. 1 pay TV provider two years ago (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cable5-2008jun05,0,1794603.story

Comcast says 100 Mbps speeds coming by 2010 (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9499304?source=rss

Verizon DSL doubles speed for downloads (The Herald, Everett, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080606/BIZ/762643067/-1/RSS03

FCC chief's free broadband plan delayed (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004460412_apfreebroadband.html?syndication=rss

Carriers Looking to Block Free Wireless Broadband? (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/06/05/carriers-looking-to-block-free-wireless-broadband/

GENERAL NEWS

Nurses at Mason General Hospital in Shelton to picket Monday for contracts (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/469940.html

Yakama museum curator sentenced for artifact thefts (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004461286_apwaartifactthefts.html?syndication=rss

'Top two' primary -- a state of confusion? (Joel Connelly, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/366041_joel06.html?source=rss

On this Day: Allied Forces Invade France on D-Day (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/May-June-08/On-this-Day--Allied-Forces-Invade-France-on-D-Day.html

$6M prize unclaimed in Oregon Lottery (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365896_megabucks06.html?source=rss

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Lost cameras "phone home" to catch thieves
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0534545220080605?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

Adventures in Press Releases: The Anti-Energy Drink
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2008/06/adventures_in_p.php

Woman says Comcast published check for her "right arm"
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/ritearm060608

Can you spell 'education?' This school can't
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/06/diploma.misspell.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories