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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Forecasters Expecting Arctic Chill to Swoop In (Longview Daily News, WA)
Mason County Biomass Power Plant to Get Impact Study - Effects on environment to be tested after public uproar; union labor deal announced (Olympian, WA)
Debate Flares over Portland General Electric’s Coal-Fired Power - Environmentalists at odds over when is best time to close pollution-causing plant in Boardman, Oregon (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
Seattle City Light Rate Hikes OK’d by City Council - Rates would go up 4.3 percent next year & 3.2 percent in 2012 (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Counties Object to Columbia River Hatchery Plan (Associated Press)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
· Seattle City Light Rate Hikes OK’d by City Council
· Oregon - Eugene Water & Electric Board Looking at Rate Increases
· Okanogan PUD Commissioners Adjust Some Electricity Rates
· Central Lincoln PUD Electricity Rates Rise
· Idaho – Bonneville Power Administration Officials Discuss Rate Hikes in Heyburn
· Columnist - Wright’s Calming Influence at Bonneville Power Administration Refreshing
· Debate Flares over Portland General Electric’s Coal-Fired Power
· Washington State Power Lines That Figured in Deadly Copter Crash Won’t be Replaced
· Op/Ed – Washington State’s Myopic Energy Strategy Misses the Mark
· Milton-Freewater’s Smart Grid - Powering the Past, Present & Future
· Regulators Fault Westinghouse on Reactor Plans
· Tennessee - Modular Reactor Plan Worth Pursuing
· Britain’s Power Chiefs Reveal Nuclear Blueprint
· Wisconsin - Rising Electricity Cost Has Jolted State
· FERC Moves Ahead With Campaign to Promote Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
· Counties Object to Columbia River Hatchery Plan
· Recommendation: Kill More Bonneville Dam Sea Lions
· Condit Dam Removal Clears Hurdle
· News Release - Unprecedented Partnership to Build & Operate $43 Million Hatchery
· Oregon - Fish Traps on the Coos River Monitor Local Hatchery Success
· Chum-Salmon Survivors Welcomed at North Seattle’s Piper’s Creek
· Flood Panel Considers One Dam in Chehalis River Basin
· Kitsap County Thinking of Water in a New Way
· Kitsap County Planning Big, but Costly, Improvements to Sewer Systems
· Mason County Biomass Power Plant to Get Impact Study
· One Appeal of Two Filed Against Port Angeles Nippon Biomass Project Withdrawn
· ‘Before This, I Would Literally Put a Torch to It’
· Iberdrola Renewables Starts Biomass Energy Construction in Lakeview, Oregon
· Vermont - Biomass Plan Draws Protest
· Lewis County - Powering Ahead: New Documents Reveal Details of Proposed Wind Farm North of Doty
· Portland Water Bureau Adds Hydro Generator
· New Hampshire - Will Big Hydro Plans Crowd Local Projects
· Inspector General Report Critical of EPA’s Efforts on Energy Star Program
· Canada - Consumers See Utility Bills Hike Despite Investments in Power Conservation
· Should I Say ‘No Tanks’ to Water Heaters?
· United Kingdom - Christmas Lighting Equal to Nearly 23 Days of Electricity
· Oregon Utilities Outline a Do-able Plan to Reduce CO2 10% Below 1990 Levels
· Can Social Scientists Help Ease the Nation’s Rift over Climate Change?
· GE to Buy 25,000 Electric Vehicles by 2015
· How We Can Stop Being Eco-Hypocrites
· Qwest’s Washington & Oregon State Execs out in Merger Plan
· Google’s Growth Online Reflected by Expansion in Mountain View
· Facebook May Become the Biggest E-Mail Service
· AOL Creates a Hub for E-Mail
· Internet TV Battles Come to Head at FCC
· Vote Over, Now Race Begins in Washington State Legislature
· Tacoma City Manager Asks Others for Pay Freeze, Gets Raise
· Municipal Bond Market Shudders
· Mason County - Hoodsport Landlord Arrested: Tenant with Gunshot Injuries
· Forecasters Expecting Arctic Chill to Swoop In
· Buoy Data, Bar Pilots Point to Increasing Wave Height along Pacific Northwest
· Job Listings: Plenty to Come from Projects in Washington State
· In Certain States - Companies Quit Printing White-Pages Phone Books
WORD OF THE DAY
Paladin • \PALL-uh-dinn\ • noun - 1: a trusted military leader (as for a medieval prince) 2: a leading champion of a cause
Ballad of Paladin - TV Series: “Have Gun, Will Travel”
Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home
Have gun, will travel reads the card of a man
A knight without armour in a savage land
His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind
A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin
Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Seattle City Light Rate Hikes OK’d by City Council - Rates would go up 4.3 percent next year & 3.2 percent in 2012 (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Oregon - Eugene Water & Electric Board Looking at Rate Increases - Rising costs & declining demand have the utility facing the need to increase revenue & cut expenses (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
Okanogan PUD Commissioners Adjust Some Electricity Rates (Omak Chronicle, WA)
Central Lincoln PUD Electricity Rates Rise (Umpqua Post, Coos Bay, OR)
Idaho – Bonneville Power Administration Officials Discuss Rate Hikes in Heyburn (Magic Valley Times-News, Twin Falls, ID)
Columnist - Wright’s Calming Influence at Bonneville Power Administration Refreshing (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
Debate Flares over Portland General Electric’s Coal-Fired Power - Environmentalists at odds over when is best time to close pollution-causing plant in Boardman, Oregon (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
Washington State Power Lines That Figured in Deadly Copter Crash Won’t be Replaced (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
Op/Ed – Washington State’s Myopic Energy Strategy Misses the Mark (Seattle Times)
Milton-Freewater’s Smart Grid - Powering the Past, Present & Future (East Oregonian, Pendleton, OR)
Regulators Fault Westinghouse on Reactor Plans - Federal regulators have faulted Westinghouse Electric Co. for parts of its analysis of what would happen if a large airliner slammed into a proposed nuclear reactor (Seattle Times)
Tennessee - Modular Reactor Plan Worth Pursuing (Knoxville News-Sentinel, TN)
Britain’s Power Chiefs Reveal Nuclear Blueprint - Electricity Market Reform Is the UK’s “Last Chance” to Make Nuclear Energy Happen (The Telegraph, UK)
Wisconsin - Rising Electricity Cost Has Jolted State: Rate increases since 2000 outpaced most of US, study says (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WI)
FERC Moves Ahead With Campaign to Promote Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (NY Times)
FISH & WILDLIFE
Counties Object to Columbia River Hatchery Plan (Associated Press)
Recommendation: Kill More Bonneville Dam Sea Lions (Associated Press)
Condit Dam Removal Clears Hurdle - It may be dismantled next fall after PacifiCorp reaches tentative deal (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
News Release - Unprecedented Partnership to Build & Operate $43 Million Hatchery
Recovery of Chinook Salmon is the Shared Goal (Bonneville Power Administration)
Oregon - Fish Traps on the Coos River Monitor Local Hatchery Success (The World, Coos Bay, OR)
Chum-Salmon Survivors Welcomed at North Seattle’s Piper’s Creek (Seattle Times)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Flood Panel Considers One Dam in Chehalis River Basin - A new analysis on the possibility of building two earthen dams shows it might be possible to construct only one (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
Kitsap County Thinking of Water in a New Way (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
Kitsap County Planning Big, but Costly, Improvements to Sewer Systems (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Mason County Biomass Power Plant to Get Impact Study - Effects on environment to be tested after public uproar; union labor deal announced (Olympian, WA)
One Appeal of Two Filed Against Port Angeles Nippon Biomass Project Withdrawn -- Until Later (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
‘Before This, I Would Literally Put a Torch to It’ - North Olympic Peninsula Tour Highlights Biomass Availability (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
Iberdrola Renewables Starts Biomass Energy Construction in Lakeview, Oregon (Bradenton Herald, FL)
Vermont - Biomass Plan Draws Protest (Bennington Banner, VT)
Lewis County - Powering Ahead: New Documents Reveal Details of Proposed Wind Farm North of Doty (iStock Analyst)
Portland Water Bureau Adds Hydro Generator (Sustainable Business Oregon)
New Hampshire - Will Big Hydro Plans Crowd Local Projects? State Law Currently Backs Small Efforts (Concord Monitor, NH)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
Inspector General Report Critical of EPA’s Efforts on Energy Star Program (Lexolology)
Canada - Consumers See Utility Bills Hike Despite Investments in Power Conservation (Vancouver Sun, BC)
Should I Say ‘No Tanks’ to Water Heaters? (Seattle Times)
United Kingdom - Christmas Lighting Equal to Nearly 23 Days of Electricity (Independent, UK)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Oregon Utilities Outline a Do-able Plan to Reduce CO2 10% Below 1990 Levels (Clean Technica)
Can Social Scientists Help Ease the Nation’s Rift over Climate Change? (NY Times)
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI
GE to Buy 25,000 Electric Vehicles by 2015 (NY Times)
How We Can Stop Being Eco-Hypocrites - Steps That Even the Most Ecofriendly Should Take to Avoid Hurting the Planet (Newsweek Magazine)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Qwest’s Washington & Oregon State Execs out in Merger Plan (Portland Business Journal)
Google’s Growth Online Reflected by Expansion in Mountain View (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
Facebook May Become the Biggest E-Mail Service (Everett Herald, WA)
AOL Creates a Hub for E-Mail (NY Times)
Internet TV Battles Come to Head at FCC (Washington Post)
POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
Vote Over, Now Race Begins in Washington State Legislature (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
Tacoma City Manager Asks Others for Pay Freeze, Gets Raise (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
Municipal Bond Market Shudders (NY Times)
GENERAL NEWS
Mason County - Hoodsport Landlord Arrested: Tenant with Gunshot Injuries Flown to Harborview (Olympian, WA)
Forecasters Expecting Arctic Chill to Swoop In (Longview Daily News, WA)
Buoy Data, Bar Pilots Point to Increasing Wave Height along Pacific Northwest (Bellingham Herald, WA)
Job Listings: Plenty to Come from Projects in Washington State - Job listings will abound as contractors gear up for $2 billion in federal projects over the next two years (Christian Science Monitor)
In Certain States - Companies Quit Printing White-Pages Phone Books (USA Today)
DIVERSIONS
Chinese Vase Is Sold in London for $70 Million
50 States, 50 Television Stereotypes
New York - New Castle Councilman Calls Cops on Boys’ Cupcake Sale
Lovesick Worker Emails Government Seeking Girl: Report
SONG OF THE DAY
The Isley Brothers-Who’s that Lady?
