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.
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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Heavy Rain Causing Western Washington Flooding Concerns (KING-TV, Seattle)
Lewis County PUD’s Cowlitz Falls Dam Repairs Near Completion (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
Chelan, Douglas, Grant PUDs - Feds Award Local Agencies for Salmon Conservation (Wenatchee World, WA)
Japan: PNNL Employees Helping with Nuclear Crisis (Tri-City Herald, Wa)
Google High-Speed Internet Coming to Kansas City. Missouri? No, Kansas! (Christian Science Monitor)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
· Lewis County PUD’s Cowlitz Falls Dam Repairs Near Completion (
· Bonneville Power Administration Chief Outlines Rate Hike That Would Boost Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative Bills
· Mason County PUD 3 Authorizes Senior Option to Purchase
· State of Oregon Tells Coos County Reconsider Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline
· Natural Gas Prices Rise on Obama, Colder Weather
· Owner: No Buyer for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant
· Kansas - Judge Throws Hitch at Sunflower Coal-Fired Power Plant, Groups Say
· Overall Compensation of Pacific Gas & Electric Execs Declines Following a Lousy Year
· Japan: PNNL Employees Helping with Nuclear Crisis
· State Health Department Assures Milk is Safe after Radiation Detected
· Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Three US Nuclear Plants Need Closer Review
· As Nuclear Waste Sits Idle, Federal Payouts to Exelon Mount
· Chelan, Douglas, Grant PUDs - Feds Award Local Agencies for Salmon Conservation
· Over Proposed Alaska Mine - Chefs Fight for Salmon in Washington DC
· Hooking Up to New Belfair Sewer Will Cost at Least $10,000
· Oregon’s Snowpack Makes Impressive Six-Week Gain, Boosting Water Supply Outlook
· Tidal Power: Another Blessing from Puget Sound?
· Geothermal Power Growing Despite Economic Chill
· Arteries of Power: How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West
· Smaller, Cheaper, Faster: Does Moore’s Law Apply to Solar Cells?
· See the Snohomish PUD Solar Express
· Google’s $5 Billion Wind-Power Bid Draws Opposition on Return Guarantee
· Flicker of Hope for the Wind Turbine Victims - The misery of shadow flicker
· Nebraska Public Power District Evaluating Biomass
· Vermont Governor Touts Incentives to Get Residents to Switch from Oil to Wood Pellet Heat
· Efficiency Gets Lift from Political Efforts in Oregon
· Puget Sound Energy Providing Free Home Energy Evaluations
· Clark Public Utilities Energy Adviser: Pros, Cons of ‘Tankless’ Gas Water Heaters
· Tapping the Earth for Energy Savings Year-Round
· Diet May Reduce Farm Flatulence
· Clean Energy Investment Hit Record $243 Million in 2010
· Got Green Makes Stimulus Work
· Paul Allen Goes Public with Hard Feelings towards Bill Gates
· Microsoft to File Antitrust Complaint against Google
· Cell Tower Opponent Declares End to Palo Alto’s Free Internet Connection
· Google High-Speed Internet Coming to Kansas City. Missouri? No, Kansas!
· Sorry Spokane, Google Chooses Kansas City
· Google Passes over Portland (And 1,100 Others), Picks Kansas City, Kansas, for Its Fiber-to-the-Home Project
· Parsing the Announcement - What Google’s Fiber Optic Decision Means for Topeka
· Now THIS is PR Spin - Utah Cities Welcome Kansas City to Benefits of Fiber Optic Broadband
· Heavy Rain Causing Western Washington Flooding Concerns
· Japan’s Tsunami Debris Headed for West Coast
· Drivers Start to Change Habits with $4 per Gallon Gas
· Lawsuit Filed over Olympia Brewery
· Seattle Third Most Miserable City in US
· Portland is America’s #2 Miserable City, So Says a Recent Ranking
WORD OF THE DAY
Osculate • \OSS-kyuh-late\ • Verb – Kiss
Here’s a tip, folks: never ask if someone will osculate on the first date.
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Lewis County PUD’s Cowlitz Falls Dam Repairs Near Completion (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
Bonneville Power Administration Chief Outlines Rate Hike That Would Boost Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative Bills (Baker City Herald, OR)
Mason County PUD 3 Authorizes Senior Option to Purchase (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
State of Oregon Tells Coos County Reconsider Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline (Associated Press)
Natural Gas Prices Rise on Obama, Colder Weather (Associated Press)
Owner: No Buyer for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant (Associated Press)
Kansas - Judge Throws Hitch at Sunflower Coal-Fired Power Plant, Groups Say (Kansas City Star, MO)
Overall Compensation of Pacific Gas & Electric Execs Declines Following a Lousy Year (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
NUCLEAR SCIENCE READING ROOM
Japan: PNNL Employees Helping with Nuclear Crisis (Tri-City Herald, Wa)
State Health Department Assures Milk is Safe after Radiation Detected (KING-TV, Seattle)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Three US Nuclear Plants Need Closer Review (Associated Press)
As Nuclear Waste Sits Idle, Federal Payouts to Exelon Mount - Government has paid out tens of millions of dollars after not living up to promise to store spent fuel (Chicago Tribune, IL)
FISH & WILDLIFE
Chelan, Douglas, Grant PUDs - Feds Award Local Agencies for Salmon Conservation (Wenatchee World, WA)
Over Proposed Alaska Mine - Chefs Fight for Salmon in Washington DC (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Hooking Up to New Belfair Sewer Will Cost at Least $10,000 (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
Oregon’s Snowpack Makes Impressive Six-Week Gain, Boosting Water Supply Outlook (Oregonian, Portland)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Tidal Power: Another Blessing from Puget Sound? (Crosscut Seattle)
Geothermal Power Growing Despite Economic Chill (Oregon Public Radio)
Arteries of Power: How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West “…Trade-offs will have to be made…” (The Atlantic)
Smaller, Cheaper, Faster: Does Moore’s Law Apply to Solar Cells? (Scientific American)
See the Snohomish PUD Solar Express (Edmonds Beacon, WA)
Google’s $5 Billion Wind-Power Bid Draws Opposition on Return Guarantee (Bloomberg News)
Flicker of Hope for the Wind Turbine Victims - The misery of shadow flicker, which blights the lives of people living near some wind turbines, could soon be over. (The Telegraph, UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8385809/Flicker-of-hope-for-the-wind-turbine-victims.html
Nebraska Public Power District Evaluating Biomass (Biomass Magazine)
Vermont Governor Touts Incentives to Get Residents to Switch from Oil to Wood Pellet Heat (Associated Press)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
Efficiency Gets Lift from Political Efforts in Oregon (Sustainable Business Oregon)
Puget Sound Energy Providing Free Home Energy Evaluations (Renew Grid)
Clark Public Utilities Energy Adviser: Pros, Cons of ‘Tankless’ Gas Water Heaters (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
Tapping the Earth for Energy Savings Year-Round (National Public Radio)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Diet May Reduce Farm Flatulence (Newmarket Journal, UK)
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI
Clean Energy Investment Hit Record $243 Million in 2010 (Denver Business Journal)
Got Green Makes Stimulus Work (Real Change News)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Paul Allen Goes Public with Hard Feelings towards Bill Gates (Seattle Times)
Microsoft to File Antitrust Complaint against Google (CNET News)
Cell Tower Opponent Declares End to Palo Alto’s Free Internet Connection (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
GAGGLE O’ GOOGLE STORIES
Google High-Speed Internet Coming to Kansas City. Missouri? No, Kansas! (Christian Science Monitor)
Sorry Spokane, Google Chooses Kansas City (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
Google Passes over Portland (And 1,100 Others), Picks Kansas City, Kansas, for Its Fiber-to-the-Home Project (Associated Press)
Parsing the Announcement - What Google’s Fiber Optic Decision Means Ffr Topeka (KTKA-TV, Topeka, KS)
Now THIS is PR Spin - Utah Cities Welcome Kansas City to Benefits of Fiber Optic Broadband: UTOPIA Statement on Google Investment in Kansas City Fiber Network (Sys-Con Media)
GENERAL NEWS
Heavy Rain Causing Western Washington Flooding Concerns (KING-TV, Seattle)
Japan’s Tsunami Debris Headed for West Coast (Associated Press)
Drivers Start to Change Habits with $4 per Gallon Gas (KING-TV, Seattle)
Lawsuit Filed over Olympia Brewery - Brewhouse Owner Wants Out of Additional Purchase (Olympian, WA)
Seattle Third Most Miserable City in US (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
Portland is America’s #2 Miserable City, So Says a Recent Ranking (Oregonian, Portland)
DIVERSIONS
Fossil Crowns Massive Rabbit ‘King’
Could lead codices prove ‘the major discovery of Christian history’?
Fanboys Rejoice - ‘Wonder Woman’ Costume Gets an Upgrade
Artist Sculpts Skull Out of McDonald’s French Fries
SONG OF THE DAY
Dry Bones from the Singing Detective
