Energy News Digest for July 24, 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.

The news digest is also available at the following web site:
http://www.energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Puget Energy buyers agree to trim debt, raise low-income assistance
- Seattle Times Editorial – Concessions not enough to seal PSE deal
- Whidbey pushes for its own public utility district
- TransAlta Ponders Takeover Response
- Natural gas rates may skyrocket
- MONTANA – Higher Winter Energy Bills
- Port Townsend paper mill lays off 14, cites rising cost of energy, materials
- Alaska Senate considers new pipeline
- 9th Circuit – California Department of Water Resources V. Powerex Corp
- TEXAS – Have power prices hit a peak?
- Tennessee Congressman calls for refunds for customers from electricity cooperatives
- Coal and gas could power Maryland energy complex
- Former Westar officials ask judge to dismiss remaining counts
- CHINA – Final protest as village cleared for China's Three Gorges dam
- Sockeye return to Columbia in record numbers
- Costs shake up salmon bakes
- Seattle cement plants puff out toxic mercury
- News Tribune Editorial – Hands off that rain – it’s state property
- REC Silicon secures $1 billion in contracts for the supply of monosilane gas
- California green energy proposal has thin support
- Buzz up! Plug-in hybrids generate buzz in San Jose
- Save a Buck: Simple changes save power
- Western Climate Initiative – Proposal regulates carbon emissions
- "Greenhouse" bees spread disease to wild bees
- U.S. Has No Idea How Wired For Broadband It Is
- Microsoft exec who led Yahoo buyout team to leave
- Google's Cerf: Baby Bells Act Like Tots Having Tantrums
- Simpson Door workers in McCleary vote to authorize strike
- Credit Unions Claim Stability Amid U.S. Economy Crisis
- Pair with wire raise suspicions
- Jury awards Selah woman $171,000 in eminent domain case
- Goats To Begin Clearing Work For The City of Shelton

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Sub Rosa • \SUB – ROE-zah\ • adverb – In confidence: secretly

Dante thought that he had been receiving sub rosa financial advice via the closed captioning function on his TV while watching Suze Orman on the Teevee. That is, until his neighbor pointed out that the subtitles exactly matched the words coming out of Orman’s mouth.

Etymology: New Latin, literally, under the rose; from the ancient association of the rose with secrecy

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

Puget Energy buyers agree to trim debt, raise low-income assistance (The Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008069600_puget240.html

Seattle Times Editorial – Concessions not enough to seal PSE deal
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2008069361_nopsedealed24.html

Whidbey pushes for its own public utility district – Proponents say a public utility district can provide better electricity rates and service (The Everett Herald, WA)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20080724/NEWS01/510347379

TransAlta Ponders Takeover Response – Power Company Stock Rises After Friday’s $7.8 Billion Acquisition Offer (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/rss/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1216835169&archive=

Natural gas rates may skyrocket (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/07/07232008_Natural-gas-rates-may-skyrocket.cfm?newsletter=2

MONTANA – Higher Winter Energy Bills (KECI-TV, Missoula, MT)
http://www.keci.com/montana_news.php?id=ffe259e36b894b74c507d157a6155b86

Port Townsend paper mill lays off 14, cites rising cost of energy, materials (The Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080724/NEWS/807240308

Alaska Senate considers new pipeline – House approves license to seek permit for 1,715-mile, gas-carrying structure (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/372000_pipeline24.html?source=rss

9th Circuit – California Department of Water Resources V. Powerex Corp (Links to PDF File)
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/D93429B06E2B32288825748D007A2B00/$file/0615285.pdf?openelement

TEXAS – Have power prices hit a peak? Some electric retailers in Texas reduce rates after natural gas cost takes a tumble (The Houston Chronicle, TX)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5904589.html

Tennessee Congressman Cooper calls for refunds for customers from electricity cooperatives – Urges TVA policy change (The Tennessean, Nashville, TN)http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/NEWS02/807220369/1009/NEWS

Coal and gas could power Maryland energy complex (The Associated Press, via the Williamson Daily News, WV)
http://www.williamsondailynews.com/articles/2008/07/23/news/doc48872986ba73a402117943.txt

Former Westar CEO, strategy officer ask federal judge to dismiss remaining counts against them (Canadian Business)
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D922VLV02

CHINA – Final protest as village cleared for China's Three Gorges dam (Canda.com)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=ff91aa96-b663-4dfa-8d98-de04c3c46a3e

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – ‘Progressive’ power play – Rather than retrofit Mirant plant to run on cleaner power, four supervisors want to build more fossil fuel plants (SF, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/24/EDED11TSTU.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

FISH & WILDLIFE

Sockeye return to Columbia in record numbers (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1503312~Sockeye_return_to_Columbia_in_record_numbers.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Costs shake up salmon bakes (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/420848.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Seattle cement plants puff out toxic mercury – Two Seattle cement plants puff out as much as 100 pounds of mercury each year, according to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the companies (The Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008069635_cement24m0.html

News Tribune Editorial – Hands off that rain – it’s state property – The question wouldn’t have occurred to most of us: Who owns the rain? (Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/422059.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

REC Silicon secures $1 billion in contracts for the supply of monosilane gas to major gas distributors (The Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/07/23/news/news03.txt

California green energy proposal has thin support – 63% of those who had a view on it favor a California ballot measure that would require half the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025, BUT 82% of those interviewed said they did not know of the measure. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-07-24-proposition-7-not-recognized_N.htm?csp=34

Buzz up! Plug-in hybrids generate buzz in San Jose (San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/23/BU6711TF9S.DTL&feed=rss.business

CONSERVATION

Save a Buck: Simple changes save power (The Everett Herald)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/23/BU6711TF9S.DTL&feed=rss.business

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Western Climate Initiative – Proposal regulates carbon emissions (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/07/21/daily34.html?ana=from_rss

"Greenhouse" bees spread disease to wild bees (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN2232266420080723?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

U.S. Has No Idea How Wired For Broadband It Is – Only ten of the nation's fifty states engaged in finding out (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/US-Has-No-Idea-How-Wired-For-Broadband-It-Is-96312

Microsoft exec who led Yahoo buyout team to leave (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/517274.html

Google's Cerf: Baby Bells Act Like Tots Having Tantrums – Neutrality fight leaves bad blood between industry giants (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Googles-Cerf-Baby-Bells-Act-Like-Tots-Having-Tantrums-96305

GENERAL NEWS

Simpson Door workers in McCleary vote to authorize strike (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/07/23/local_news/07news.txt

Credit Unions Claim Stability Amid U.S. Economy Crisis (KNDO-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=8723230

Pair with wire raise suspicions (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/07/23/local_news/10news.txt

Jury awards Selah woman $171,000 in eminent domain case (The Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/6079

Goats To Begin Clearing Work For The City of Shelton (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/618/reftab/1896/Default.aspx

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

NZ judge backs girl over 'embarrassing' name: Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/24/odd.names/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

Teacher Lasts 20 Hours On Carnival Ride, Wins $1K
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16965961/detail.html

Police Catch Man Who Lost Weight to Squeeze Out Of Jail
http://www.kirotv.com/health/16963636/detail.html

NY Man Earning $100K Lived In Company Paint Shed
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16966046/detail.html

Underwear chicken dare puts man in hospital
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD22974420080723?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest