Energy News Digest for November 18, 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)

- Grays Harbor - Smelter subsidies more of the same?
- Avista to raise rates
- Puget Sound Energy Says It's Ready For Winter
- Winter Electric Reliability Outlook Generally Good
- Nuclear Recycling Could Be Emerging Technology
- FERC Gives Bradwood Landing Opponents More Time
- House Democrats battle over energy panel
- Anschutz looks for oil on Montana reservations
- Salmon, orca experts to discuss whale decline
- Columbian Editorial - Victory for Fish
- Lawsuit may force another look at impacts of fish harvests
- Spawning salmon return to SeaTac’s Miller Creek
- Klamath Lake dike breaching aids endangered sucker restoration
- Pacific Seafood buys Nespelem fish farm
- Idaho fish farm has nitrate spike, baffling officials
- United Kingdom - Game beware: it's the return of the poacher
- Numbers Tell Vastness, Impact of Puget Sound
- Bark Beetles Kill Millions of Acres of Trees in West
- Oregon - School biomass project hits snag
- U.S. Green Building Council upgrades LEED
- Arizona lawsuit over renewable energy rejected by court
- Xcel using bus-sized batteries to store wind energy
- Power for Fort Worth Christmas tree lights to be offset by wind energy
- NY Times Editorial - Honesty about Ethanol
- Is climate change to blame for string of Southland fires?
- Cap carbon to spur economy
- No Pole Price Hike, Says Cable
- Comcast promises to double download speeds
- Microsoft to host software for businesses of all sizes
- Yahoo CEO ends rocky ride
- Oregon data center administrator resigns
- Comcast Buys San Fran Muni-Network
- New operator takes over Wi-Fi service on Washington State Ferries
- City Of Shelton Explains Budget Woes
- Clallam County fears proposed tax-rollback initiative
- Sen. Ed Murray moves up to No. 2 in Senate Demo Caucus
- "MyLuvCrush" Internet scam crushed by state

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Blithesome • \BLYTHE-sum\ • adjective - Happy, carefree, merry

It was Monday morning after a four day weekend. The drudge like employees plodded into the workplace, slack-jawed and slump-shouldered. Leave it to the little, blithesome sprite from accounting to flit here and there in the sluggish throng trying to “cheer everyone up.”

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Grays Harbor - Smelter subsidies more of the same? (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/11/17/local_news/03news.txt

Avista to raise rates (Lewiston Tribune, ID)
http://www.lmtribune.com/preview/697/

Puget Sound Energy Says It's Ready For Winter (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18007381/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Winter Electric Reliability Outlook Generally Good (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=101012

Nuclear Recycling Could Be Emerging Technology in America (KNDO-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9367504

FERC Gives Bradwood Landing Opponents More Time (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/3567-ferc-gives-bradwood-landing-opponents-more-time/

House Democrats battle over energy panel (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-11-17-congress_N.htm?csp=34

Anschutz looks for oil on Montana reservation lands (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1695382~Anschutz_looks_for_oil_on_Mont__reservation_lands.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

FISH & WILDLIFE

Salmon, orca experts to discuss whale decline (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008404116_apwaorcas.html

Columbian Editorial - Victory for Fish: Last week’s Klamath River agreement proves that opponents can compromise
http://columbian.com/article/20081117/OPINION02/711179984/-1/OPINION

Tri-City Herald Op/Ed - Lawsuit may force another look at impacts of fish harvests on salmon
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/387444.html

Spawning salmon return to SeaTac’s Miller Creek after decades (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/34625224.html

Klamath Lake dike breaching aids endangered sucker restoration (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1697089~Dike_breaching_aids_endangered_sucker_restoration.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Pacific Seafood buys Nespelem fish farm (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/11/17/daily10.html?ana=from_rss

Idaho fish farm has nitrate spike, baffling officials (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/665964.html

United Kingdom - Game beware: it's the return of the poacher. As times get harder in Britain's cities, armed gangs are heading for the countryside – and stealing deer, salmon and rabbits to feed a burgeoning black market in food (The Independent, UK)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/game-beware-its-the-return-of-the-poacher-1021722.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Numbers Tell Vastness, Impact Of Puget Sound (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18000500/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_7am&tmi=sea_7am_-1_09000111182008&ts=H

Bark Beetles Kill Millions of Acres of Trees in West (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/science/18trees.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY & CONSERVATION

Oregon - School biomass project hits snag: McKinstry still working out bugs in feed system (Wallowa County Chieftain, Enterprise, OR)
http://www.wallowacountychieftain.info/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=61&ArticleID=17384&TM=49807.36

U.S. Green Building Council upgrades LEED (The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area)
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2008/11/17/daily20.html?ana=from_rss

Goldwater lawsuit over renewable energy charges rejected by Court of Appeals (Phoenix Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/11/17/daily24.html?ana=from_rss

Xcel using bus-sized batteries to store wind energy (Minnesota Public Radio)
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/17/xcel_batteries_wind_energy/

Power for Fort Worth Christmas tree lights to be offset by wind energy - Electricity for downtown tree to be offset by wind power (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TX)
http://www.star-telegram.com/855/story/1044837.html

NY Times Editorial - Honesty about Ethanol
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/opinion/18tue2.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Is climate change to blame for string of Southland fires? (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-climatefire18-2008nov18,0,4968202.story

Cap carbon to spur economy - US business leaders (FXStreet)
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=271a57bb-2a75-428b-9a89-cd10b66b9ef0

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

No Pole Price Hike, Says Cable - Operators say uniform price to attach to utility poles would be a disincentive to broadband deployment (Broadcasting & Cable)
http://mobile.broadcastingcable.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6614777&rssid=193

Comcast promises to double download speeds (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20081117/BIZ01/811179976/-1/BIZ

Microsoft to host software for businesses of all sizes - Monthly fee per user delivers programs over Internet (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388228_msftsoftware18.html

Yahoo CEO ends rocky ride - Yang to resign, stay with company (Seattle Times)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388236_yahooyang18.html?source=rss

Oregon data center administrator resigns (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1697175~Oregon_data_center_administrator_resigns.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Comcast Buys San Fran Muni-Network - Alameda Power and Telecom (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Buys-San-Fran-MuniNetwork-99149

New operator takes over Wi-Fi service on Washington State Ferry system (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/11/17/daily1.html?ana=from_rss

GENERAL NEWS

City Of Shelton Explains Budget Woes; Holds Final Hearing (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5602/reftab/1896/Default.aspx?title=CITY_EXPLAINS_BUDGET_WOES;_HOLDS_FINAL_HEARING

Clallam County fears proposed tax-rollback initiative (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.konp.com/local/4185

Sen. Ed Murray moves up to No. 2 in Senate Demo Caucus (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/politicsblog/story/664384.html

"MyLuvCrush" Internet scam crushed by state (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008404042_luvcrush18m.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Times Square Getting Its First 'Green' Billboard
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/17999140/detail.html

The New Coop de Ville - The craze for urban poultry farming
http://www.newsweek.com/id/168740?from=rss

Man Earns Record for World's Tallest Mohawk - Omaha Musician Donates Hair, Proceeds to Charity Groups
http://www.kirotv.com/entertainment/18006522/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible