Energy News Digest for October 16, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• 9:55 AM - Electricity Restored to Harstine Island Customers
• Fiery Accident Knocks Out Power to Everett Businesses
• Puget Sound Energy's New Substation Angers Some Kirkland Residents
• Activists at Power-Planning Hearings Push for Cleaner Energy
• Oregonian Op/Ed - Making a Transition to Our Energy Future
• Pacific Gas and Electric to Give Customers One-Time Refund
• The Fantasy of a US Super-Grid
• Will the Smart Grid Really Be Made of Dumb Pipes?
• Wisconsin - Landowners' Trees Fall amid New Approach on Power
• A Ray of Hope for Electric Choice in Illinois?
• Kentucky - State Rejects Electric Cooperative's Request for New Headquarters
• Oregonian Op/Ed - Columbia Basin: Salmon, Science and the Law
• Spotted Seals off Alaska Coast Denied Federal Protection
• New Orca Calf Born to L Pod
• Toxic "Red Tide" Closes Northern Puget Sound to Shellfish Harvesting
• Partnership Ponders How to Measure Progress in Restoring Puget Sound
• Murray Wins Funding for Columbia Basin Water Study, Lower Monumental Dam
• Elwha Dam Removal - ‘It’s going to Be Just like Tse-Whit-Zen’
• Water Uncertainty Frustrates Busy California Farmers
• Sacramento Bee Editorial: Time for Truce on Renewables
• Texas - Austin Energy’s Solar Program Going Dim
• Texas - Texas Might See Wind Power Slowdown
• West Virginia Approves $100 Million in Bonds for Wood-Fired Power Plant
• United Kingdom - Golden Eagles Scupper Wind Farm
• Now Is the Perfect Time to 'Winterize' Your Home
• A Forest and a 'Carbon Sink' Grow On Vashon
• Oregon Governor Betting Big On E-Cars in His State
• Florida May Ban Paper, Plastic Bags
• US Broadband Study Says "Open Access" Fosters Competition
• FCC Study: Open Access Lowers Prices, Improves Competition
• Microsoft Says It Can Restore Sidekick Data
• Google: Profit Up 27%, 'Recession behind Us'
• Leaked: Google Chrome Operating System Build
• Ohio - FBI Still Probing County's Fiber Optics System
• State Warned Naches Gravel Pit of Slope Instability 4 Years before Landslide
• 9th Circuit Lifts Ban on Release of R-71 (Domestic Partnership) Petitions
• Winter Forecast: Warmer West, North; Cooler South
• State Legislature - 16th District Candidates Have Similar Platforms

WORD OF THE DAY

Scupper • \SKUP-urr\ • noun/verb

Noun - 1: an opening cut through the bulwarks of a ship so that water falling on deck may flow overboard 2: an opening in the wall of a building through which water can drain from a floor or flat roof.

Verb - To defeat or put an end to: do in

The surging, blue green water cascaded in torrents across the deck of the frail, storm-tossed schooner, its white flecked streams gushing through the scuppers with each shuddering collision with the house-sized waves looming over the spars. The grizzled captain shouted his frustration at the howling storm, realizing that nature had scuppered his much-deserved carousing in Kingston by at least a week.

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

9:55 AM - Electricity Restored to Harstine Island Customers (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=606

Fiery Accident Knocks Out Power to Everett Businesses (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_101609WAB_accident-power-out-everett-JM.220bf3381.html?rss?npc

Puget Sound Energy's New Substation Angers Some Kirkland Residents (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/64459337.html

Activists at Power-Planning Hearings Push for Cleaner Energy (Daily Journal Of Commerce, OR)
http://djcoregon.com/news/2009/10/16/activists-at-power-planning-hearings-push-for-cleaner-energy/

Oregonian Op/Ed - Making a Transition to Our Energy Future
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/making_a_transition_to_our_ene.html

Pacific Gas and Electric to Give Customers One-Time Refund (San Francisco Business Times)
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/10/12/daily66.html?ana=from_rss

The Fantasy of a US Super-Grid (Reuters)
http://blogs.reuters.com/columns/2009/10/15/the-fantasy-of-a-us-super-grid/

Will the Smart Grid Really Be Made of Dumb Pipes? (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/10/15/will-the-smart-grid-really-be-made-of-dumb-pipes/

Wisconsin - Landowners' trees fall amid new approach on power lines (Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, WI)
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/article_567109d8-b9e4-11de-a488-001cc4c03286.html

A Ray of Hope for Electric Choice in Illinois? (St. Louis Dispatch, MO)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/6D1D1A542F64C494862576510006FF14?OpenDocument

Kentucky - State Rejects Electric Cooperative's Request for New Headquarters (Lexington Herald-Leader, KY)
http://www.kentucky.com/latest_news/story/979006.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregonian Op/Ed - Columbia Basin: Salmon, Science and the Law
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/columbia_basin_salmon_science.html

Spotted Seals off Alaska Coast Denied Federal Protection (Associated Press)
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/oct/15/spotted-seals-alaska-coast-denied-federal-protecti/

New Orca Calf Born to L Pod (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/15/new-orca-calf-born-to-l-pod/?partner=RSS

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Toxic "Red Tide" Closes Northern Puget Sound to Shellfish Harvesting (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010073367_webredtide16.html?syndication=rss

Partnership Ponders How to Measure Progress in Restoring Puget Sound (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/14/partnership-ponders-how-to-measure-progress-in/

Murray Wins Funding for Columbia Basin Water Study, Lower Monumental Dam (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/755023.html?mi_email=Tri-City%20Herald_PM+%26+Breaking+News

Elwha Dam Removal - ‘It’s going to Be Just like Tse-Whit-Zen’ (Indian Country Today)
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/63860642.html

Water Uncertainty Frustrates Busy California Farmers (Associated Press)
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/1310ap_us_farm_scene_california_drought.html?source=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Sacramento Bee Editorial: Time for Truce on Renewables
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2254311.html?mi_rss=Opinion

Texas - Austin Energy’s Solar Program Going Dim - Solar panel rebates popular, but cuts now foreshadow what’s to come later (Austin Business Journal)
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2009/10/19/story1.html

Texas - Texas Might See Wind Power Slowdown (San Antonio Express News, TX)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/64464782.html

Company Says West Virginia Has Approved $100 Million in Bonds for Wood-Fired Power Plant “…will burn more than 400,000 tons of wood waste annually…” (Associated Press)
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/economy/ap/64387357.html

United Kingdom - Golden Eagles Scupper Wind Farm (The Scotsman, UK)
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Golden-eagles-scupper-wind-farm.5739432.jp

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Now Is the Perfect Time to 'Winterize' Your Home (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS159699+15-Oct-2009+PRN20091015

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

A Forest and a 'Carbon Sink' Grow On Vashon (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/411059_carbon15.html?source=rss

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Oregon Governor Betting Big On E-Cars in His State (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)
http://www.katu.com/news/tech/64209437.html

Florida May Ban Paper, Plastic Bags (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/money/21313682/detail.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

US Broadband Study Says "Open Access" Fosters Competition (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE59E16J20091015?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

FCC Study: Open Access Lowers Prices, Improves Competition - Agency discovers real science, U.S. broadband mediocrity (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Study-Open-Access-Lowers-Prices-Improves-Competition-105014

Microsoft Says It Can Restore Sidekick Data (Associated Press)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=225405

Google: Profit Up 27%, 'Recession behind Us' (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/10/12/daily48.html?ana=from_rss

Leaked: Google Chrome Operating System Build (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/182169.asp?source=pimail

Ohio - FBI Still Probing County's Fiber Optics System (Middletown Journal, OH)
http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/fbi-still-probing-countys-fiber-optics-system-349897.html

GENERAL NEWS

State Warned Naches Gravel Pit of Slope Instability 4 Years before Landslide (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010074658_landslide16m.html

9th Circuit Lifts Ban on Release of R-71 (Domestic Partnership) Petitions (Associated Press)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21307484/detail.html

Winter Forecast: Warmer West, North; Cooler South (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/weather/21305149/detail.html

State Legislature - 16th District Candidates Have Similar Platforms: energy interest contributions pointed out (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/918280.html

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Police Probe Boy's 'For the Show' Comment - 'Balloon Boy' Gets Sick During TV Interviews
http://www.kirotv.com/family/21307080/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_7am&tmi=sea_7am_1_09000210162009&ts=H

22-Inch Nepal Man Aims For Shortest Title
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21316743/detail.html

Sheboygan Inmates Scuffle over 'The Office' - Inmate Wanted To Watch Something Else
http://www.kirotv.com/entertainment/21309104/detail.html

Cops: Man Caught With Weed Stuck To Forehead
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21306963/detail.html

Church Plans to Burn Bibles, Christian Books - Pastor Says Burning Meant To Light a Fire Under True Believers
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21296553/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Gary "US" Bonds - This Little Girl Is Mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4T_Scnt3WQ

Bruce Springsteen - This Little Girl Is Mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMKmF7cxSg