Energy News Digest for September 3, 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)

- Anti-PUD group pops up on Whidbey
- Seattle Times Columnist – It's not the first time light's flickering on a public takeover of private power
- Port Townsend Leader Editorial: PUD power forums set
- Socialism: Yes or No?
- CALIFORNIA – San Francisco girds for its biggest public power fight yet
- 4 utilities study study upgrading 500-kV Montana system for wind power transmission
- Tennessee Valley Authority plans to ax private security guards at nuclear plants
- CALIFORNIA – Utility violations led to deadly October fires
- September is National Preparedness Month
- High Salmon Returns Prompt Celebration
- Larger crop of sockeye return to Redfish Lake this year
- Volunteers Keep Watch Over North Mason Salmon Runs
- Deal reached in effort to aid Kootenai sturgeon
- South Fork Snake flows highest in decades
- Herald-Republic Editorial – Examine all water storage options before choosing
- $220 Million – EPA vetoes Mississippi Delta flood control project
- Wind Power May Gain Footing off Coast of U.S.
- UNITED KINGDOM – Wind power: Economic insanity of the Government's renewable energy strategy
- Weyerhaeuser lets AltaRock explore geothermal potential of its land
- Florida Power and Light's Green Mountain fiasco
- ARIZONA – Quest for renewables pits green vs. green
- CANADA – Two-tier Hydro billing zaps the power-thirsty
- MASSACHUSETTS – Lights out, conservation on for city's tall towers
- Seattle P-I Columnist – Global warming: Western U.S. feels the heat
- Surging B.C. glacier threatens to block river
- Evergreen draws acclaim for green practices
- IOWA – Data center means local tech improvements
- FCC eyes empty TV channels for broadband
- Woman Arrested For Threatening To Hold Internet Technician Hostage
- Police: Six dead; at least two wounded in NW Washington
- Escaped Wash. prison inmate arrested in Nevada
- Felled Tree Injures Man At Eastside Construction Project
- Boeing workers to vote today on new contract

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Roman à clef • \ roe-MAWN-a-clay\ • noun – A novel in which real persons or actual events figure under disguise

Norberto’s second novel was a thinly disguised narrative of the seamy office politics in the place where he worked. So thinly disguised were the characters in the quickly-penned roman à clef that their names were all just one letter off from those of his co-workers. Don became Ron; Sarah became Barah, and so on. Regardless, Norberto was clueless as to the sudden cold shoulder he received from his colleagues at the book-signing party.

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

Anti-PUD group pops up on Whidbey (South Whidbey Record, Langley, WA)
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/news/27768509.html

Seattle Times Columnist – It's not the first time light's flickering on a public takeover of private power
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008154524_rams03.html

Port Townsend Leader Editorial: PUD power forums set
http://www.ptleader.com/Main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=35&ArticleID=21690

Socialism: Yes or No? (Seattle Weekly)
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2008/09/socialism_yes_or_no.php

CALIFORNIA – San Francisco girds for its biggest public power fight yet – Eleven times since the 1920s, San Francisco voters have had their say on public power. And 11 times, they've voted it down (San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/03/BA5P12AHE0.DTL

4 utilities study study upgrading 500-kV Montana system for wind power transmission “…NorthWestern Energy… Puget Sound Energy, PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric…” (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/ea0e0cbf5293a268e5bb7fa5c8f57dab.htm

Tennessee Valley Authority plans to ax private security guards at nuclear plants (The Tennessean, Nashville, TN)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080902/NEWS/80902033/1001/NEWS

CALIFORNIA – Utility violations led to deadly October fires (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1567953~Calif__Utility_violations_led_to_deadly_Oct__fires.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

September is National Preparedness Month (KNDO-TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=8933949

FISH & WILDLIFE

High Salmon Returns Prompt Celebration “…Idaho Governor Butch Otter will lead a sockeye celebration on Tuesday…” (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4255

Larger crop of sockeye return to Redfish Lake this year – Officials released 56 sockeye into Redfish Lake, and more could soon follow (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/491513.html

Volunteers Keep Watch Over North Mason Salmon Runs (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/sep/02/volunteers-keep-watch-over-salmon-runs/?partner=RSS

Deal reached in effort to aid Kootenai sturgeon – Huge fish hasn't spawned since the mid-1970s (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/377533_sturgeon03.html?source=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

South Fork Snake flows highest in decades (The Associated Press, the Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/570497.html

Herald-Republic Editorial – Examine all water storage options before choosing (Yakima, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/7269

$220 Million – EPA vetoes Mississippi Delta flood control project (The Associated Press, via the Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202680.html?nav=rss_nation

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wind Power May Gain Footing off Coast of U.S. – Federal Government Prepares to Lease Tracts for Turbines (The Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122040089460493157.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

UNITED KINGDOM – Wind power: Economic insanity of the Government's renewable energy strategy (The Telegraph, UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/03/eawind103.xml

Weyerhaeuser lets AltaRock explore geothermal potential of its land (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008153329_webaltarock02.html?syndication=rss

Florida Power and Light's Green Mountain fiasco (Saint Petersburg Times, FL)
http://blogs.tampabay.com/energy/2008/09/fpls-green-moun.html

ARIZONA – Quest for renewables pits green vs. green (The Arizona Star)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/biz-technology/255237

CONSERVATION

CANADA – Two-tier Hydro billing zaps the power-thirsty – You'll pay higher rate if you go over 1,350 kilowatt hours on your two-month bill (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?id=018402e1-3bbb-4387-a44a-08150cfd3f50

MASSACHUSETTS – Lights out, conservation on for city's tall towers (The Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/09/03/lights_out_conservation_on_for_citys_tall_towers/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Seattle P-I Columnist – Global warming: Western U.S. feels the heat
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/377472_Joel03.html

Surging B.C. glacier threatens to block river (The Vancouver Sun, BC)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=43fb3910-d5cf-434c-94fe-abd4790915f4

Evergreen draws acclaim for green practices – Publications extol college's efforts to push sustainability (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/569503.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

IOWA – Data center means local tech improvements (The Times-Republican, Marshalltown, IA)
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/509829.html?nav=5005

FCC eyes empty TV channels for broadband (San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/03/BU4912K381.DTL&feed=rss.business

Woman Arrested For Threatening To Hold Internet Technician Hostage (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Woman-Arrested-For-Threatening-To-Hold-Tech-Hostage-97434

GENERAL NEWS

Police: Six dead; at least two wounded in NW Washington (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008154842_apwaskagitshooting.html?syndication=rss

Escaped Wash. prison inmate arrested in Nevada (The Associated Press, via the Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP09032008news360195.cfm?newsletter=10

Felled Tree Injures Man At Eastside Construction Project (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17372790/detail.html

Boeing workers to vote today on new contract (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_bi_ge/boeing_machinists

DIVERSIONS-ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER

Fewer Firefly Sightings Indicate Drop in Population
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/July-August/Fewer-Firefly-Sightings-Indicate-Drop-in-Population.html

Don LaFontaine, Movie Trailer Voiceover King, Dies
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/entertainment/September-October-08/Don-LaFontaine--Movie-Trailer-Voiceover-King--Dies.html

Cat Hitchhikes 75 Miles In Owner's Spare Tire
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/17374556/detail.html