Energy News Digest for April 26, 2010

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

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Power Line Plan Foes Air Concerns - Crowd of about 700 packs high school auditorium (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/25/power-line-plan-foes-air-concerns/

Montana - Five Wind-Energy Transmission Projects Planned (Helena Independent-Record, MT)

http://helenair.com/article_97ef2460-502c-11df-abe0-001cc4c03286.html

US Senators Postpone Climate Bill Unveiling (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042501065.html

Columbia River Dredging Ends This Year, Benefits End Mixed (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/columbia_river_dredging_ends_t.html

Shelton Police Looking for Missing Girl (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/1949-shelton-police-looking-for-missing-girl

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         Power Line Plan Foes Air Concerns - Crowd of about 700 packs high school auditorium

·         Battle Ground Schools to Address BPA Power Line Siting

·         Idaho – Bonneville Power Administration Schedules Line Work

·         Police Say Evicted Woman Found Pilfering Neighbor’s Power

·         Tacoma Power Wants to Help With Bill

·         McMinnville will see water rate rise 6.2%, power 8.5%

·         Oregon Department of Energy Gets New Leader

·         Paris Runs for Grant PUD Commissioner

·         California - Marin Says 78% of Its Power Is Renewable: Includes Hydro as Part of Claim

·         Scathing Audit of East Kentucky Power Demands Change

·         Canada - Ottawa Tells Energy Firms to Start Powering Down Coal-Fired Plants

·         Alaska - Errant squirrel causes hour long power outage in west Fairbanks

·         Show Business - Broadway Has a New Play About Enron. Where’s the one about Madoff?

·         New Salmon Season Details Unveiled for Anglers

·         Feds vs. Fish: Crying over Spilled Water

·         Feds Award Contracts to Improve Makah Hatchery on Olympic Peninsula

·         Northern Idaho Salmon & Steelhead Hatchery Needs Expensive Repairs

·         California’s Costly Trout Recovery Effort Criticized

·         Economists Work on Financial Cost of Zebra/Quagga Mussel Invasion

·         Supreme Court Stays out of Great Lakes Asian Carp Dispute

·         Columbia River Dredging Ends This Year, Benefits End Mixed

·         Elwha River Dams Removal Draws Interest of 180 Contractors

·         Canal-Area Residents Urged to ‘Do Some Good for the Hood’

·         Ocean Acidification Hits Northwest Oyster Farms

·         Montana - Flathead Lake May Not Quite Reach Full-Pool Mark

·         Montana - Five Wind-Energy Transmission Projects Planned

·         British Columbia - Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine Threatens Birds, Bats

·         NY Times Editorial - Cape Wind & Mr. Salazar

·         Earth Day Lessons in the Wind

·         Five Myths about Green Energy

·         Wisconsin: Renewable-Energy Bill Dies on Earth Day

·         Solar Industry Leaders Push to Overcome Technical & Market Barriers

·         California - Thieves Steal Pacifica School’s Solar Panels

·         East Washington Studied for Camelina Biofuel

·         Energy Vampires Put Bite on Your Electricity Bill

·         US Senators Postpone Climate Bill Unveiling

·         Lindsay Graham Says Politics May ‘Derail’ Energy/Climate Bill

·         Spokesman Review Editorial - Electric Car Aid Unearths Misguided Reaction

·         More Corporations See the Value of Going Green

·         Silage - Smog in a Rural Valley? Mystery Is Solved

·         Qwest’s Sale Ends Era, Raises Service Questions

·         The Strategy Behind the CenturyTel-Qwest Deal

·         Is Arkansas Really the Most Competitive State for Broadband?

·         Audit Finds Kennewick Irrigation District Treasurer in Need of ‘Basic’ Training

·         Surprise Tucked into State Budget Bill: A Panel to Plan School-District Mergers

·         Shelton Police Looking for Missing Girl

·         Portland Man Drowns in Hood Canal

·         Deadly Airborne Fungus Reaches Pacific Northwest

·         Washington State Initiative Case in Supreme Court Wednesday

·         State DNR Agrees to Pay Barbecue Restaurant Owner $800,000 after Mudslide

·         WIAA Takes ‘Monumental’ Step – State BB tourney: first round single-elimination

·         US Newspaper Circulation Down 8.7% in Latest Survey

WORD OF THE DAY

Gnarled • \NARLD\ • Adjective - 1: full of knots or gnarls:  knotty 2: crabbed in disposition, aspect, or character

The old, testy gnarled apple tree swatted angrily at Dorothy’s outstretched hand, and growled “How would you like to have someone come along and pick something off of you?” “Oh dear!” exclaimed Dorothy, “I keep forgetting I’m not in Kansas!”

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

Power Line Plan Foes Air Concerns - Crowd of about 700 packs high school auditorium (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/25/power-line-plan-foes-air-concerns/

Battle Ground Schools to Address BPA Power Line Siting (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/24/battle-ground-schools-address-bpa-power-line-sitin/

Idaho – Bonneville Power Administration Schedules Line Work: $8 million project to rebuild 25 miles of transmission line between here & the Albeni Falls Dam (Bonner County Daily Bee, Sandpoint, ID)

http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2010/04/24/news/doc4bd29b54de5da617209239.txt

Police Say Evicted Woman Found Pilfering Neighbor’s Power (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?Police-Say-Evicted-Woman-Found-Pilfering=1&blockID=223416&feedID=410

Tacoma Power Wants to Help With Bill (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/23/1159891/tacoma-power-wants-to-help-with.html

McMinnville will see water rate rise 6.2%, power 8.5% (Yamhill County News Register, McMinnville, OR)

http://www.newsregister.com/article/43994-water+rate+rise+6.2+power+8.5

Oregon Department of Energy Gets New Leader (Portland Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/04/19/daily52.html

Paris Runs for Grant PUD Commissioner (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2010/04/23/news/doc4bd20abb38f26011256417.txt

California - Marin Says 78% of Its Power Is Renewable: Includes Hydro as Part of Claim (San Francisco Business Times)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/04/19/daily58.html

Scathing Audit of East Kentucky Power Demands Change (Lexington Herald-Leader, KY)

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/04/23/1235456/scathing-audit-of-utility-demands.html

Canada - Ottawa Tells Energy Firms to Start Powering Down Coal-Fired Plants (Globe & Mail)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ottawa-tells-energy-firms-to-start-powering-down-coal-fired-plants/article1546314/?cmpid=rss1

Alaska - Errant squirrel causes hour long power outage in west Fairbanks (Fairbanks News Miner, AK)

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/7168509/article-Errant-squirrel-causes-hourlong-power-outage-in-west-Fairbanks?instance=home_news_window_left_top_4

Show Business - Broadway Has a New Play About Enron. Where’s the one about Madoff? (Slate Magazine)

http://www.slate.com/id/2251659/?from=rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

New Salmon Season Details Unveiled for Anglers – Skokomish to be open Aug. 1-Sept. 30; Puyallup schedule changes (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/25/1218082/new-salmon-season-details-unveiled.html

Feds vs. Fish: Crying over Spilled Water (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/2010/04/26/environment/19763/

Feds Award Contracts to Improve Makah Hatchery on Olympic Peninsula (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12360817

Northern Idaho Salmon & Steelhead Hatchery Needs Expensive Repairs (Associated Press)

http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=12372310

California’s Costly Trout Recovery Effort Criticized (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011699564_apusfreewaysforfish.html?syndication=rss

Economists Work on Financial Cost of Zebra/Quagga Mussel Invasion in Columbia River Basin (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/383961.aspx

Supreme Court Stays out of Great Lakes Asian Carp Dispute (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011706029_apussupremecourtasiancarp.html?syndication=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Columbia River Dredging Ends This Year, Benefits End Mixed (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/columbia_river_dredging_ends_t.html

Elwha River Dams Removal Draws Interest of 180 Contractors (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100423/news/304239982

Canal-Area Residents Urged to ‘Do Some Good for the Hood’ (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/apr/24/canal-area-residents-urged-do-some-good-hood/?partner=RSS

Ocean Acidification Hits Northwest Oyster Farms - Scientists Say Carbon Dioxide in Oceans Could Mean Curtains for Shellfish (ABC News)

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Eco/ocean-acidification-hits-northwest-oyster-farms/story?id=10425738

Montana - Flathead Lake May Not Quite Reach Full-Pool Mark (Daily InterLake, Kalispell, MT)

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_50c50a1c-50d3-11df-ad21-001cc4c002e0.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Montana - Five Wind-Energy Transmission Projects Planned (Helena Independent-Record, MT)

http://helenair.com/article_97ef2460-502c-11df-abe0-001cc4c03286.html

British Columbia - Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine Threatens Birds, Bats: Dozens of species at risk, according to report commissioned by resort (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Grouse+Mountain+wind+turbine+threatens+birds+bats/2950622/story.html

NY Times Editorial - Cape Wind & Mr. Salazar

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/opinion/26mon3.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Earth Day Lessons in the Wind - Sager Middle School adds a residential-scale wind turbine, which will be used for education & power (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA)

http://union-bulletin.com/stories/2010/04/22/earth-day-lessons-in-the-wind

Five Myths about Green Energy (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042302220.html

Wisconsin: Renewable-Energy Bill Dies on Earth Day (Associated Press)

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=280501

Solar Industry Leaders Push to Overcome Technical & Market Barriers (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14938110

California - Thieves Steal Pacifica School’s Solar Panels (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/22/BA9Q1D2RID.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

East Washington Studied for Camelina Biofuel (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011706183_apwacamelinabiofuel.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Energy Vampires Put Bite on Your Electricity Bill (Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, FL)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/chi-100425-phantom-energy-users-pictures,0,1279980.photogallery

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

US Senators Postpone Climate Bill Unveiling (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042501065.html

Lindsay Graham Says Politics May ‘Derail’ Energy/Climate Bill (Politico)

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36302.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Spokesman Review Editorial - Electric Car Aid Unearths Misguided Reaction

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/apr/24/electric-car-aid-unearths-misguided-reaction/

More Corporations See the Value of Going Green (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100424/BIZ/704249955/-1/rss03

Silage - Smog in a Rural Valley? Mystery Is Solved (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/smog-in-a-rural-valley-a-mystery-is-solved/?partner=rss&emc=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Qwest’s Sale Ends Era, Raises Service Questions (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/qwests_sale_ends_era_raises_se.html

The Strategy Behind the CenturyTel-Qwest Deal (NY Times)

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/the-strategy-behind-the-centurytel-qwest-deal/?src=busln

Is Arkansas Really the Most Competitive State for Broadband? (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/04/22/is-arkansas-really-the-most-competitive-state-for-broadband/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Audit Finds Kennewick Irrigation District Treasurer in Need of ‘Basic’ Training (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/04/24/989225/audit-finds-kid-treasurer-in-need.html

Surprise Tucked into State Budget Bill: A Panel to Plan School-District Mergers (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2011695858_schooldistricts25.html?syndication=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Police Looking for Missing Girl (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/1949-shelton-police-looking-for-missing-girl

Portland Man Drowns in Hood Canal (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/26/1219167/portland-man-drowns-in-hood-canal.html

Deadly Airborne Fungus Reaches Pacific Northwest (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Deadly-airborne-fungus-reaches-Pacific-Northwest-91915994.html

Washington State Initiative Case in Supreme Court Wednesday (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011704244_apwasupremecourtdomesticpartnership.html?syndication=rss

State DNR Agrees to Pay Barbecue Restaurant Owner $800,000 after Mudslide (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/23/1159855/state-dnr-agrees-to-pay-barbecue.html

WIAA Takes ‘Monumental’ Step - State tourney: first round single-elimination, sites double up, cut to one weekend (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/24/1217287/wiaa-takes-monumental-step.html

US Newspaper Circulation Down 8.7% in Latest Survey (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2010-04-26-newspaper-circulation_N.htm?csp=34

DIVERSIONS

Aliens May Exist but Contact Would Hurt Humans: Hawking

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100425/sc_afp/scienceastronomyextraterrestrialhawking

Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland Abandons Nonstop Around-The-World Quest

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/17192/teen+sailor+abby+sunderland+abandons+nonstop+around-the-world+quest/

10 Profile Pics You Should Never Upload When Dating Online

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/10-profile-pics-you-should-never-upload-when-dating-online-1281166/

Wis. Woman Braves Traffic; Saves 14 Ducklings

http://www.kirotv.com/news/23256973/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Sarah Vaughan - September Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPzP4YYFpE