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

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices: https://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

The Out-of-Towners - Seattle Foe Targets Cogeneration Plan in Port Angeles to Make Test Case Against Biomass Energy (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100926/news/309269980/seattle-foe-targets-cogeneration-plan-in-port-angeles-to-make-test

California Push for Renewables Could Blow Across West (Associated Press)

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/25/2494567/calif-push-for-renewables-could.html

Portland General Electric Fires Up New Plan to Close Boardman Coal Plant (Portland Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/09/27/story7.html

Yakima Water Talks Begin With Cost - Rough Numbers Show $2 Billion Investment Needed to Upgrade Basin’s Storage System (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/09/23/water-talks-center-on-cost

Bellingham Processor Guilty of Mislabeling Salmon (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=13216503

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         Portland General Electric Fires Up New Plan to Close Boardman Coal Plant

·         Washington State Seeks Public Input on New Energy Strategy

·         Op/Ed - Those Hidden Taxes Are Killing Us

·         Idaho Falls Power Holds Open House - Utility Shares Smart Grid Project With Public

·         Will Pacific Gas & Electric ratepayers or shareholders pay for San Bruno Pipeline Damages?

·         Self-Inflicted Wounds Make Pacific Gas & Electric’s Effort to Rebuild Trust a Tall Order

·         United Kingdom New Nuclear Plants Needed to Reach Green Goals

·         Computer Hack - Iran Says Bushehr Nuclear Plant Not Damaged by Stuxnet

·         What the World Needs Now: Coal, Sweet Coal

·         Delaware - Lazy Lake Residents in Shock about Substation Noise

·         New Mexico - Co-Op Overcharged Member-Owners Nearly $1.8 Million

·         Colorado – Aspen-Area Hydro Plant Goes Behind the Scenes

·         Colorado – Will Aspen Diversion Project Kill Castle Creek?

·         Bellingham Processor Guilty of Mislabeling Salmon

·         State Gets $27.5 Million to Aid Fish

·         NW Power/Conservation Council Recommends $21 Million to Boost Lemhi Basin Salmon

·         Washington State Inspectors Stop Boat with Invasive Mussels

·         King County Hires Horse Logger to Help Build Fish Habitat

·         Yakima Water Talks Begin With Cost - Rough Numbers Show $2 Billion Investment Needed

·         Portland Officials Warn Residents to Stay Out of Willamette River after Rain Causes Sewer Overflow

·         Editorial - How to Clean a River

·         Shelton City Commission to Talk Water Rates Tonight

·         Water Woes—and Not Just in New Mexico

·         The Out-of-Towners - Seattle Foe Targets Cogeneration Plan in Port Angeles

·         Snohomish PUD - Experimental Tidal Energy Project Moves Ahead in Admiralty Inlet

·         California Push for Renewables Could Blow Across West

·         Vemont - Biomass Project Meeting Draws a Skeptical Throng

·         For Renewable Energy Standard Passage, Time is Growing Short

·         Editorial – Renewable Energy Standard: Energy Roulette

·         Senators See Renewable Energy Bill as Christmas Tree for Pet Projects

·         Canada - The Cost of Wind: Power When We Don’t Need It

·         Iowa Wind Industry Awaits Stiffer Breezes

·         New York Power Authority Mum on Offshore Wind Farm Plans

·         GE’s Wind Turbines Cutting Diesel Generation, Energy Costs for Alaska’s Kodiak Island

·         How Wind Turbines Work

·         Asia Begins Embracing Solar Power

·         Business Pulse Survey: Many Readers Take a Shine to Solar, Wind Power

·         Renewable Power Not Supportable on Grid - Coherent US Energy Strategy Required

·         Can We Build in a Brighter Shade of Green?

·         House in Olympia Is All About Efficiency

·         Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: A Bright Idea?

·         NOAA Awards Grant to Establish Pacific Northwest Climate Decision Support Consortium

·         Down With the Natural Wine Movement

·         Wood Cookstoves - The Silent Killer in the Kitchen

·         Has Touting Green Jobs Been a Mistake?

·         Belfair-Based Boxlight Product Wins Award

·         Hackers Who Disrupted Comcast.Net Site Sentenced – Tumwater resident involved in case

·         Google at 12: A Company Navigating the Conflicts That Come With Age

·         Google Says Microsoft is Biggest Competition

·         Comcast Spends Big in Pressing for Merger

·         Gain-Sharing Benefits - Ruling on Public Employee Pensions Leaves Questions

·         Washington State Settles Campaign Finance Lawsuit With BIAW

·         Big Oil Refinery Loads on Idaho Highways Spark Big Battle

·         States Expand Efforts to Combat ‘Funny Honey’ That Isn’t Pure

WORD OF THE DAY

Haute Cuisine • \OAT kwiz-ZEEN\ • noun – Gourmet food; the preparation of gourmet food.

Compared to the “Scotch-Buy” store brand of macaroni and cheese, Kraft brand mac ‘n cheese is as close to haute cuisine you can get in this prepared food category.

SHELTON FORECAST & 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

Portland General Electric Fires Up New Plan to Close Boardman Coal Plant (Portland Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/09/27/story7.html

Washington State Seeks Public Input on New Energy Strategy (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/27/state-seeks-public-input-new-energy-strategy/

Op/Ed - Those Hidden Taxes Are Killing Us “…Even though current law under Initiative 937 mandates utilities to buy & sell more renewable power, lawmakers in Olympia have refused to amend it. So we feel it in our pocketbooks…” (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_weekly/2010-09-27/those_hidden_taxes_are_killing_us

Idaho Falls Power Holds Open House - Utility Shares Smart Grid Project With Public (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls, ID)

http://www.localnews8.com/news/25161619/detail.html

Will Pacific Gas & Electric ratepayers or shareholders pay for San Bruno Pipeline Damages? (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_16167547

Self-Inflicted Wounds Make Pacific Gas & Electric’s Effort to Rebuild Trust a Tall Order (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_16164635

United Kingdom New Nuclear Plants Needed to Reach Green Goals (Associated Press)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/09/27/world/AP-US-Britain-Nuclear-Power.html

Computer Hack - Iran Says Bushehr Nuclear Plant Not Damaged by Stuxnet (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/09/26/world/international-uk-iran-cyber-bushehr.html

What the World Needs Now: Coal, Sweet Coal (CTV News, Canada)

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article1725575.html

Delaware - Lazy Lake Residents in Shock about Substation Noise (Cape Gazette, Lewes, DE)

http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/201009-16-30/24003-lazy-lake.html

New Mexico - Co-op overcharged member-owners nearly $1.8 million over the past five years (El Defensor Chieftain, Socorro, NM)

http://www.dchieftain.com/dc/index.php/news/2155-co-op-overcharged-member-owners.html

Colorado – Aspen-Area Hydro Plant Goes Behind the Scenes (Aspen Daily News, CO)

http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/142677

Colorado – Will Aspen Diversion Project Kill Castle Creek? Project pits renewable power against healthy stream (Aspen Times, CO)

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100822/ASPENWEEKLY/100829972

Castle Creek Project Website (City of Aspen & Pitkin County, CO)

http://www.aspenpitkin.com/Living-in-the-Valley/Green-Initiatives/Renewable-Energy/Hydroelectric/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Bellingham Processor Guilty of Mislabeling Salmon (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=13216503

State Gets $27.5 Million to Aid Fish - Part of federal salmon funds will be used to check lower Columbia (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/25/state-gets-27-million-to-aid-fish/

NW Power/Conservation Council Recommends $21 Million to Boost Lemhi Basin Salmon Habitat (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/399125.aspx

Washington State Inspectors Stop Boat with Invasive Mussels (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012997971_apwainvasivemussels1stldwritethru.html

King County Hires Horse Logger to Help Build Fish Habitat (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/sep/24/king-county-hires-horse-logger-to-help-build-fish/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Yakima Water Talks Begin With Cost - Rough Numbers Show $2 Billion Investment Needed to Upgrade Basin’s Storage System (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/09/23/water-talks-center-on-cost

Portland Officials Warn Residents to Stay Out of Willamette River after Rain Causes Sewer Overflow (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/09/portland_officials_warn_reside.html

Editorial - How to Clean a River: EPA working group provides a blueprint for reducing pollution in Columbia River (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/27/how-to-clean-a-river/

Shelton City Commission to Talk Water Rates Tonight (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/3358-shelton-city-commission-to-talk-water-rates-tonight

Water Woes—and Not Just in New Mexico (Newsweek Magazine)

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/26/waterworks-get-failing-grade-from-civil-engineers.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

The Out-of-Towners - Seattle Foe Targets Cogeneration Plan in Port Angeles to Make Test Case Against Biomass Energy (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100926/news/309269980/seattle-foe-targets-cogeneration-plan-in-port-angeles-to-make-test

Snohomish PUD - Experimental Tidal Energy Project Moves Ahead in Admiralty Inlet (Whidbey News-Times, WA)

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/wnt/news/103752099.html

California Push for Renewables Could Blow Across West (Associated Press)

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/25/2494567/calif-push-for-renewables-could.html

Vemont - Biomass Project Meeting Draws a Skeptical Throng (Bennington Banner, VT)

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/ci_16181885

For Renewable Energy Standard Passage, Time is Growing Short (North America Wind Power Ass’n)

http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content_lt.php?content.6599

Editorial – Renewable Energy Standard: Energy Roulette (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/26/AR2010092603020.html

Senators See Renewable Energy Bill as Christmas Tree for Pet Projects (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/09/24/24greenwire-senators-see-renewable-energy-bill-as-christmas-2170.html

Canada - The Cost of Wind: Power When We Don’t Need It (Toronto Star, Ontario)

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/866129--the-cost-of-wind-power-when-we-don-t-need-it

Iowa Wind Industry Awaits Stiffer Breezes (Des Moines Register, IA)

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100926/BUSINESS01/9260342/1029/

New York Power Authority Mum on Offshore Wind Farm Plans (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, NY)

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100927/NEWS01/9270318/1002/NEWS

GE’s Wind Turbines Cutting Diesel Generation, Energy Costs for Alaska’s Kodiak Island (Trading Markets)

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/ge_ge-s-wind-turbines-cutting-diesel-generation-energy-costs-for-alaska-s-kodiak-island-1187311.html

How Wind Turbines Work (Helium)

http://www.helium.com/items/1963723-how-wind-turbines-work

Asia Begins Embracing Solar Power (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/energy-environment/27green.html

Business Pulse Survey: Many Readers Take a Shine to Solar, Wind Power (Denver Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/09/20/daily70.html

Renewable Power Not Supportable on Grid - Coherent US Energy Strategy Required (Canada.Com)

http://www.canada.com/life/green-guide/Renewable+power+supportable+grid/3571572/story.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Can We Build in a Brighter Shade of Green? (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/business/energy-environment/26smart.html

House in Olympia Is All About Efficiency (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100926/BIZ/709269993/-1/rss03

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs: A Bright Idea? A look at whether compact fluorescent bulbs are really energy efficient (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/sep/27/cfls-a-bright-idea/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

NOAA Awards Grant to Establish Pacific Northwest Climate Decision Support Consortium (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/399122.aspx

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Down With the Natural Wine Movement (Slate Magazine)

http://www.slate.com/id/2268456/

Wood Cookstoves - The Silent Killer in the Kitchen (Huffington Post)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-bushkin-calvin/the-silent-killer-in-the-_b_738451.html

Has Touting Green Jobs Been a Mistake? (TreeHugger)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/has-touting-green-jobs-been-mistake.php

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Belfair-Based Boxlight Product Wins Award (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/24/boxlight-product-wins-award/

Hackers Who Disrupted Comcast.Net Site Sentenced – Tumwater resident involved in case (Philadelphia Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2010/09/20/daily44.html

Google at 12: A Company Navigating the Conflicts That Come With Age (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_16155958

Google Says Microsoft is Biggest Competition (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=370516

Comcast Spends Big in Pressing for Merger (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/business/media/27comcast.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Gain-Sharing Benefits - Ruling on Public Employee Pensions Leaves Questions (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/26/1356815/pension-ruling-leaves-questions.html

Washington State Settles Campaign Finance Lawsuit With BIAW (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/09/24/1380883/wash-settles-campaign-finance.html

GENERAL NEWS

Big Oil Refinery Loads on Idaho Highways Spark Big Battle (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013002221_apusmegaloads.html

States Expand Efforts to Combat ‘Funny Honey’ That Isn’t Pure (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-09-25-honey-producers_N.htm

DIVERSIONS

Hula Wish Will Come True for Iraq Veteran’s Ill 4-Year-Old Daughter (This girl is AGGRESSIVELY cute!)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/27/1357797/hula-wish-will-come-true-for-riley.html

Segway Company Owner Dies after Falling Off River Cliff…While Riding a Segway

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013006885_apeubritainsegwaydeath.html

Pass the Pie: Canned Pumpkin Shortage is Over

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013006582_apuspumpkinsreturn.html

Wyoming Man Douses Himself in Paint to Avoid Taser

http://www.kirotv.com/news/25159554/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Ukester Brown - Ukulele Lady

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzwWi4DsXy8