Energy News Digest for September 26, 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)

- BPA deal will cut electric bills for most Whatcom County residents
- BPA move should lower electric bills for many in the region
- Jefferson County Democratic Party endorses PUD power
- Puget Energy's sale still opposed by consumer advocate
- PSE gas rate to rise 10.4 percent – Average monthly increase to customers will be $8.49
- City of Longview reaps $600,000 windfall from sale of energy plant to Puget Sound Energy
- Nuclear power gaining support Wisconsin Utility meeting discusses energy sources
- Pickens' natural gas nation
- Tri-City Herald Editorial – Addition of Idaho tribes benefits salmon accord
- Fall Chinook seasons set on Snake, Columbia Rivers
- Skokomish River – Fisheries' team transports salmon to spawning spots
- Seattle Times Guest Columnists – Salmon: Learning to love a Northwest icon
- OREGON – Sandy River system partnership spawns better salmon habitat
- Shooting of sea lion in Willamette River launches inquiry
- WA Ecology Plan to End Columbia River Water Standoff
- Wallula aquifer project receives state grant
- Enviros angry as Washington State allows more Columbia River water use
- E.coli found in some Kitsap County water
- Call for Sound protection focuses on land
- State conservation coalition releases rankings of Thurston, Mason grants
- State Official: Car Washing Is Not Banned
- Oregon Company Claims to Harvest Electricity from Newport area Ocean Waves
- Small Wind Energy on the Rise in US
- Local politico, businessman seeks new wind turbine
- To Save Energy, Cities Darken Street Lights
- Saving Some Green – Tips on Cutting Your Winter Heating Bill
- NY Man Takes Conservation to the Extreme
- Ten states put pollution credits up for sale
- Washington Post Editorial – A Carbon Market: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative does what Washington couldn't or wouldn't
- Wenatchee World Editorial – Cutting carbon is never simple
- Cities get help with carbon tax: Province will reimburse municipalities in return for carbon-neutrality pledge
- Interior News Columnist – British Columbia energy security trumps climate
- Global warming pollution increases three percent
- Portland General Electric looks at coal plant carbon dioxide to grow algae
- Climate-Change Program Gets New Funds and Home
- Clallam County Internet service to be disrupted for some on Saturday
- NoaNet to Repair Fiber Cable between Shelton and Olympia – No Major Outage Expected
- EarthLink cuts staff
- WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history
- JPMorgan Chase buys WaMu assets after FDIC seizure
- Smaller Banks Thrive Out of the Fray of Crisis
- Brinnon Group seeks reconsideration from state board on 'mega-resort'
- Ben Settle Ruling in the News – Federal court tosses Vancouver's casino suit
- Timberland Regional Library District will make cuts, ask voters for more in taxes
- Teacher allowed to divert union dues to charity
- On this Day: Nixon and JFK Appear in First Televised Presidential Debate
- King County Goes Too Far Trading Brains, Supreme Court Says
- Huckleberry shortage increases chances of bear encounters

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Today’s word of the day has a stand in this Friday; it’s a surprise visit from its cousin “phrase of the day”!

“STEAL MY THUNDER” – John Dennis, 1709

The Story behind It: John Dennis, English critic and playwright, invented a new way of simulating the sound of thunder on stage and used the method in one of his plays, Appius and Virginia. Dennis "made" thunder by using "troughs of wood with stops in them" instead of the large mustard bowls usually employed. The thunder was a great success, but Dennis's play was a dismal failure. The manager at Drury Lane, where the play was performed, canceled its run after only a few performances. A short time later, Dennis returned to Drury Lane to see Shakespeare's Macbeth. As he sat in the pit, he was horrified to discover that his method of making thunder was being used. Jumping to his feet, Dennis screamed at the audience, "That's my thunder, by God! The villains will not play my play but they steal my thunder." -- From Trivia-Library.com

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

BPA deal will cut electric bills for most Whatcom County residents (Bellingham Herald, WA)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/569121.html

BPA move should lower electric bills for many in the region (Bend Bulletin, OR)
http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080925/BIZ0102/809250375/1001/NEWS01&nav_category=

Jefferson County Democratic Party endorses PUD power (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080926/NEWS/809260305

Puget Energy's sale still opposed by consumer advocate (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008201631_pugetenergy25.html

PSE gas rate to rise 10.4 percent – Average monthly increase to customers will be $8.49 (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/597019.html

City of Longview reaps $600,000 windfall from sale of energy plant to Puget Sound Energy (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/09/26//area_news/doc48dc8935b6fab723182055.txt

Nuclear power gaining support Wisconsin Utility meeting discusses energy sources (Green Bay Gazette, WI)
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080926/GPG03/809260640/1247

Pickens' natural gas nation (Report on Business, Canada)
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080925.wboone0925/BNStory/Business/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080925.wboone0925

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tri-City Herald Editorial – Addition of Idaho tribes benefits salmon accord
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/328664.html

Fall Chinook seasons set on Snake, Columbia Rivers (The Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/380518_chinook26.html

Skokomish River – Fisheries' team transports salmon to spawning spots (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/595647.html

Seattle Times Guest Columnists – Salmon: Learning to love a Northwest icon
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008203350_opin26conserve.html?syndication=rss

OREGON – Sandy River system partnership spawns better salmon habitat (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/09/helicopter_logs_revive_salmon.html

Shooting of sea lion in Willamette River launches inquiry (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/shooting_of_sea_lion_in_willam.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

WA Ecology Plan to End Columbia River Water Standoff (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4363

Wallula aquifer project receives state grant (Tri –City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/328679.html

Enviros angry as Washington State allows more Columbia River water use (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/environment/archives/149671.asp?from=blog_last3

E.coli found in some Kitsap County water (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_092508WAB_kitsap_county_boil_order_TP.b0e6e166.html?npc

Call for Sound protection focuses on land (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/380648_sound26.html?source=rss

State conservation coalition releases rankings of Thurston, Mason grants – Nearly $4.3 Million for Mason (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/597004.html

State Official: Car Washing Is Not Banned (KIRO-TV, Seattle, WA)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17556589/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Oregon Company Claims to Harvest Electricity from Newport area Ocean Waves (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4362

Small Wind Energy on the Rise in US (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53666&src=rss

Local politico, businessman seeks new wind turbine (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.konp.com/local/4047

CONSERVATION

To Save Energy, Cities Darken Street Lights (New York Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/to-save-energy-cities-darken-street-lights/?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Saving Some Green – Tips on Cutting Your Winter Heating Bill (KVEW-TV, Tri Cities, WA)
http://www.kvewtv.com/news/?sect_rank=1&section_id=1&story_id=9044

NY Man Takes Conservation to the Extreme (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/environment/Sept-Octo/NY-Man-Takes-Conservation-to-the-Extreme.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Ten states put pollution credits up for sale (Associated Press)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_10561692?source=rss

Washington Post Editorial – A Carbon Market: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative does what Washington couldn't or wouldn't
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092402958.html?nav=rss_opinions

Wenatchee World Editorial – Cutting carbon is never simple
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/OP03/709247886/1025/rss1025

CANADA – Cities get help with carbon tax: Province will reimburse municipalities in return for carbon-neutrality pledge (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=f73274d8-1090-455c-bfaf-088144d3fc1c

Interior News Columnist – British Columbia energy security trumps climate (Smithers, BC)
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/interior-news/opinion/29757009.html

Global warming pollution increases three percent (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008202067_apwarmingemissions.html?syndication=rss

Portland General Electric looks at coal plant carbon dioxide to grow algae (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/09/pge_looks_at_coal_plant_co2_to.html

Climate-Change Program Gets New Funds and Home (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/science/earth/25climate.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Internet service to be disrupted for some on Saturday – BPA to move fiber optic lines (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080926/NEWS/809260308

NEWS RELEASE – NoaNet to Repair Fiber Cable between Shelton and Olympia – No Major Outage Expected (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=465

EarthLink cuts staff (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/09/22/daily74.html?ana=from_rss

GENERAL NEWS

WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008203237_apwashingtonmutualfuture.html?syndication=rss

JPMorgan Chase buys WaMu assets after FDIC seizure (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008204456_apwashingtonmutualfuture7thldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Smaller Banks Thrive Out of the Fray of Crisis – People Shift Money From Wall St. to Main St. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092504155.html?nav=rss_business

Brinnon Group seeks reconsideration from state board on 'mega-resort' (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/Main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=21933

Ben Settle Ruling in the News – Federal court tosses Vancouver's casino suit (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20080925/NEWS02/809249893

Timberland Regional Library District will make cuts, ask voters for more in taxes (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/597466.html

Teacher allowed to divert union dues to charity (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20080926/NEWS02/809259914/-1/news

On this Day: Nixon and JFK Appear in First Televised Presidential Debate (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/September-October-08/On-This-Day--Nixon-and-JFK-Appear-in-First-Televised-Presidential-Debate.html

King County Goes Too Far Trading Brains, Supreme Court Says – High Court Rules Unanimously Against Brain Harvesting Program (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17555983/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Huckleberry shortage increases chances of bear encounters (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080925/NEWS04/709259942/1001/rss1001

DIVERSIONS

Hot Dogs Outside Philly Ballpark Cause Bomb Scare
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17556167/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Accused Of Passing Gas, Man Charged With Battery
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17556180/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Man Hit By Car, Then Train 6 Hours Later
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17549884/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Swiss man flies over English Channel on jet wing
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/25/international/i082419D20.DTL&feed=rss.news