Energy News Digest for May 31, 2011

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

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022 (Associated Press)

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/30/general-eu-germany-nuclear-power_8491228.html

Bleak Outlook for Climate Change with Record CO2 output in 2010 (ZD Net News)

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sustainability/bleak-outlook-for-climate-change-with-record-co2-output-in-2010/1584

Kittitas County: Cle Elum Solar Farm Backers: ‘All Bets Are Off’ for $350 Million Project (Yakima Herald-Republic

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/05/27/kittitas-solar-farm-officials-all-bets-are-off

Judge James Redden Won’t Guard Fish Farm from Grand Coulee Flow (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122759569.html

End of an Era: Elwha River Turbines to be Stopped Wednesday after Nearly a Century (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110529/news/305299983/end-of-an-era-elwha-river-turbines-to-be-stopped-wednesday-after

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022
• Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown: A Costly Gamble
• Op/Ed - The Challenges of Managing Too Much Wind Power
• The Economic Impact of New “Clean Fuel”
• Coulee Dam - The Landscape in the Backyard Is Hydroelectric
• Tri-Cities Car Dealership Blimp Causes Fire, Knocks Out Power
• Trees Felled to Protect Clallam PUD Power Line; Sequim Property Owner Angry
• Montana - Independent Group Might Benefit City of Great Falls, Power Supplier
• Expert: Loss of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Not Economic Apocalypse
• Cheap Gas Will Overtake Renewables, Energy Chief Warns
• New York Power Company Charges Town Honoring War Hero Flag Fee
• Follow-Up “FecalShine™” Award - New York Power Company Criticized for Charging American Flag Fee Says It Will Cover Cost
• Fraud Scheme Promised to Harness Lightning
• China Hikes Electricity Rates to Counter Shortage
• End of an Era: Elwha River Turbines to be Stopped Wednesday after Nearly a Century
• Elwha River Dam Removal Project Will Be Biggest In US History
• RV Park Owner Happy About Coming Elwha River Dams Commotion
• Judge James Redden Won’t Guard Fish Farm from Grand Coulee Flow
• New Fisheries Program Could be a Benefit for Northern Coastal Wild Steelhead
• Fish often mislabeled as wild salmon or red snapper, report finds
• $400,000 Worth of Seattle-Bound Crab Disappears
• Pollution Lower, Risks Remain for Marine Life
• Puyallup Fisherman Catches 178 Pound Halibut
• Sturgeon’s Death Highlights Threat to Ancient Fish
• Columbia River Remains under Flood Warning
• Op/Ed - Dams Are the Northwest Flood Busters
• State Puts Pressure on Chehalis Flood Group
• Crystal Mountain Sets Snow Record at 600 Inches
• Snowpack twice as deep as normal
• California - Yosemite Waterfalls Roar after Big Snows
• California’s Farm Pollution Laws Survive Challenge
• Central Washington Water Project Named for Adversary
• Kittitas County: Cle Elum Solar Farm Backers: ‘All Bets Are Off’ for $350 Million Project
• Money Blows in to a Patch of Oregon Known for Its Unrelenting Winds
• Wyoming Wind Farm Project Gets Bird Radar
• Wind Farms: Britain is ‘Running Out of Wind’
• Delaware Wind Power Project Wavers after Subsidy Cuts
• China - Wind Turbines Damage a Section of the Great Wall of China
• Companies Look for Power Way, Way Up In the Sky
• Op/Ed - Viewpoints: Solar Power Plants, Public Land? It’s a Good Match
• Huzzah! GE: Solar Cheapest Energy Form in 5 Years – Compared to What?
• Cowlitz PUD Non-Residential Customers Can Get Savings through CEEP
• Bulb Warnings Are Light on Facts
• Bleak Outlook for Climate Change with Record CO2 output in 2010
• Op/Ed - A ‘Progress’ Report on Climate Change: Is the planet now on the Titanic’s course?
• Australia - Hollywood Star Blanchett under Fire over Carbon Tax
• ‘Green’ Claims Begin to Sound Like White Noise to Consumers
• Op/Ed - Biofuels Needs (sic) Mass Support
• Op/Ed - How Electrical ‘Microgrids’ Might Revolutionize Power Transmission
• Climate Change Could Give You Brain Fungus
• CenturyLink - Name Not Ring a Bell? It Will
• Carolina Lawmakers for Anti-Municipal Broadband Laws
• What a Gigabit Network Can Do? Find Out
• Comcast to Offer $10 Broadband to Low Income Homes
• Ex-Microsoft Exec Heads Yahoo’s Return to Relevance
• Roadkill Caucus Largely Gets Its Way in Olympia
• Governor Reichert? Governor Constantine?
• Poll: Inslee Well Liked, Not a Shoe-In for Governor
• Former Congressman Baird Calls Chances of 1st District Run “Very Low”
• Simpson Lumber Company to Improve Shelton Rail Crossings
• Harrison’s Belfair Campus Builds Up Customer Base, Reaches for More
• Central Washington State - Canadian Fires Send Their Smoke to Us
• A Toast: Brinnon’s Geoduck Tavern Holds Spot on National Magazine’s List of ‘Best’

WORD OF THE DAY

Enfant Terrible • \on-fahnt tuh-REEB-luh\ • Noun - 1a: a child whose inopportune remarks cause embarrassment b: a person known for shocking remarks or outrageous behavior

2: a usually young and successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde

At 88, Barney was the youngest member of the “Shady Lanes Retirement Home.” Even at the time of life when it becomes OK to blithely blurt out what you really feel about something, He was considered the facility’s “Enfant Terrible” for his truly outrageous, yet painfully accurate, observations of life in the elder care wing.

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

Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022 (Associated Press)

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/30/general-eu-germany-nuclear-power_8491228.html

Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown: A Costly Gamble (Euro News)

http://www.euronews.net/2011/05/30/germany-s-nuclear-shutdown-a-costly-gamble/

Op/Ed - The Challenges of Managing Too Much Wind Power (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/05/the_challenges_of_managing_too.html

The Economic Impact of New “Clean Fuel” (Northwest Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=8884

Coulee Dam - The Landscape in the Backyard Is Hydroelectric (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/us/30outhere.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Tri-Cities Car Dealership Blimp Causes Fire, Knocks Out Power (KVEW-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2011/may/27/car-dealership-blimp-causes-fire-knocks-out-power/

Trees Felled to Protect Clallam PUD Power Line; Sequim Property Owner Angry (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110529/NEWS/305299994/trees-felled-to-protect-power-line-sequim-property-owner-angry

Montana - Independent Group Might Benefit City of Great Falls, Power Supplier (Great Falls Tribune, MT)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20110530/NEWS01/105300309/Independent-group-might-benefit-city-power-supplier

Expert: Loss of Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Not Economic Apocalypse (Brattleboro Reformer, VT)

http://www.reformer.com/ci_18168879

Cheap Gas Will Overtake Renewables, Energy Chief Warns (The Guardian, UK)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/30/renewables-overtaken-cheap-gas-energy

New York Power Company Charges Town Honoring War Hero Flag Fee (Fox News)

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/24/new-york-power-company-charges-town-honoring-war-hero/

Follow-Up “FecalShine™” Award - New York Power Company Criticized for Charging American Flag Fee Says It Will Cover Cost (Fox News)

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/25/new-york-power-company-says-pay-american-flag-fee/

Fraud Scheme Promised to Harness Lightning (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/27/fraud-scheme-promised-harness-lightning/

China Hikes Electricity Rates to Counter Shortage (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015185644_apaschinapowershortage.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

End of an Era: Elwha River Turbines to be Stopped Wednesday after Nearly a Century (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110529/news/305299983/end-of-an-era-elwha-river-turbines-to-be-stopped-wednesday-after

Elwha River Dam Removal Project Will Be Biggest In US History (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/29/elwha-dams-power-down/

A-Listers Invited to Elwha River Dam Removal (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/29/1668962/a-listers-invited-to-elwha-river.html

RV Park Owner Happy About Coming Elwha River Dams Commotion (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110531/news/305319989/rv-park-owner-happy-about-coming-elwha-river-dams-commotion

Judge James Redden Won’t Guard Fish Farm from Grand Coulee Flow (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122759569.html

New Fisheries Program Could be a Benefit for Northern Coastal Wild Steelhead (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2015187780__a_program_that_would.html

Fish often mislabeled as wild salmon or red snapper, report finds ((Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/30/1669478/fish-often-mislabeled-as-wild.html

$400,000 Worth of Seattle-Bound Crab Disappears (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/28/400000-worth-seattle-bound-crab-disappears/

Pollution Lower, Risks Remain for Marine Life (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015176223_stormwater29m.html

Puyallup Fisherman Catches 178 Pound Halibut (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=488840

Sturgeon’s Death Highlights Threat to Ancient Fish (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015185373_apeusavingthesturgeon.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Columbia River Remains under Flood Warning (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/index.ssf/2011/05/columbia_river_remains_under_flood_watch_accompanied_by_sharp_increase_in_bridge_lifts_lowland_inund.html

Op/Ed - Dams Are the Northwest Flood Busters (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)

http://kpbj.com/business_weekly/2011-05-30/dams_are_the_northwest_flood_busters

State Puts Pressure on Chehalis Flood Group - Panel won’t get needed funding if it has no plan, say lawmakers (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/31/1670142/state-puts-pressure-on-chehalis.html

Crystal Mountain Sets Snow Record at 600 Inches (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122762799.html

Snowpack twice as deep as normal - Skiers, rafters rejoice, but season stalled for hikers, campers (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/28/1667469/snowpack-twice-as-deep-as-normal.html

California - Yosemite Waterfalls Roar after Big Snows (Associated Press)

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/29/3661784/yosemite-waterfalls-roar-after.html

California’s Farm Pollution Laws Survive Challenge (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/05/27/36923.htm

Central Washington Water Project Named for Adversary (Northwest Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=8886

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Kittitas County: Cle Elum Solar Farm Backers: ‘All Bets Are Off’ for $350 Million Project (Yakima Herald-Republic

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/05/27/kittitas-solar-farm-officials-all-bets-are-off

Money Blows in to a Patch of Oregon Known for Its Unrelenting Winds (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/us/31wind.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Wyoming Wind Farm Project Gets Bird Radar (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_b311736f-6c38-5940-88e3-165cccd9b696.html

Wind Farms: Britain is ‘Running Out of Wind’ - Despite the freak gales that battered parts of the country last week, climate experts are warning that many of Britain’s wind farms may soon run out of puff (The Daily Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/8545306/Wind-farms-Britain-is-running-out-of-wind.html

Delaware Wind Power Project Wavers after Subsidy Cuts (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0527/Wind-power-project-wavers-after-subsidy-cuts

China - Wind Turbines Damage a Section of the Great Wall of China (Shanghai Daily, China)

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/National/2011/05/31/Wind%2Bturbines%2Bdamage%2Ba%2Bsection%2Bof%2BGreat%2BWall/

Companies Look for Power Way, Way Up In the Sky (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18166897

Op/Ed - Viewpoints: Solar Power Plants, Public Land? It’s a Good Match (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/29/3660040/viewpoints-solar-power-plants.html

Huzzah! GE: Solar Cheapest Energy Form in 5 Years – Compared to What? (Phoenix Business Journal, AZ)

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/business/2011/05/solar-as-the-cheapest-form-of-energy.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Cowlitz PUD Non-Residential Customers Can Get Savings through CEEP (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/opinion/article_98d17554-8983-11e0-9335-001cc4c03286.html

Bulb Warnings Are Light on Facts (St Petersburg Times, FL)

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/bulb-warnings-are-light-on-facts/1172556

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Bleak Outlook for Climate Change with Record CO2 output in 2010 (ZD Net News)

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sustainability/bleak-outlook-for-climate-change-with-record-co2-output-in-2010/1584

Op/Ed - A ‘Progress’ Report on Climate Change: Is the planet now on the Titanic’s course? (The Daily Interlake, Kalispell, MT)

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/article_90a97bfa-8993-11e0-9097-001cc4c002e0.html

Australia - Hollywood Star Blanchett under Fire over Carbon Tax (Sydney Morning Herald, AUS)

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/hollywood-star-blanchett-under-fire-over-carbon-tax-20110529-1faow.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

‘Green’ Claims Begin to Sound Like White Noise to Consumers (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/may/28/green-claims-begin-to-sound-like-white-noise-to/

Op/Ed - Biofuels Needs (sic) Mass Support (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/28/biofuels-needs-mass-support/

Op/Ed - How Electrical ‘Microgrids’ Might Revolutionize Power Transmission (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/29/3660062/the-conversation-how-electrical.html

Climate Change Could Give You Brain Fungus (Grist Online)

http://www.grist.org/climate-change/2011-05-27-global-warming-could-give-you-brain-fungus-video

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

CenturyLink - Name Not Ring a Bell? It Will (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015160628_centurylink29.html

CenturyLink Urges Employees to Thank North Carolina Lawmakers for Anti-Municipal Broadband Laws (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/CenturyLink-Urges-Employees-to-Thank-North-Carolina-Lawmakers-114428

What a Gigabit Network Can Do? Find Out (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/broadband/chattanooga-shows-what-a-gigabit-network-can-do/

Comcast to Offer $10 Broadband to Low Income Homes (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-to-Offer-10-Broadband-to-Low-Income-Homes-114455

Ex-Microsoft Exec Heads Yahoo’s Return to Relevance (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015176564_btyahooshift30.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Roadkill Caucus Largely Gets Its Way in Olympia (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110529/news01/705299942/-1/rss02

Governor Reichert? Governor Constantine? (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/20336/Updated:-Gov.-Reichert--Gov.-Constantine-/

Poll: Inslee Well Liked, Not a Shoe-In for Governor (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2011/05/28/poll-inslee-well-liked-not-a-shoe-in-for-governor/

Former Congressman Baird Calls Chances of 1st District Run “Very Low” (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2015164704_baird_calls_chances_of_1st_dis.html

GENERAL NEWS

Simpson Lumber Company to Improve Shelton Rail Crossings (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/7665-simpson-to-improve-rail-crossings

Harrison’s Belfair Campus Builds Up Customer Base, Reaches for More (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/27/ptwo-years-after-opening-belfair-clinic-parties-sa/

Central Washington State - Canadian Fires Send Their Smoke to Us (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/may/30/canadian-fires-send-their-smoke-to-us/

A Toast: Brinnon’s Geoduck Tavern Holds Spot on National Magazine’s List of ‘Best’

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110530/news/305309995/a-toast-brinnon-8217-s-geoduck-tavern-holds-spot-on-national

DIVERSIONS

June, July Bring Bizarre Solar, Lunar Eclipses

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2011/05/30/june-july-bring-solar-lunar-eclipses/

Pregnant Cow Rescued from Benton County Dam

http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/122809129.html

Skeleton Unearthed in Italy Might be ‘Mona Lisa’s’

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2011/05/29/skeleton-unearthed-in-italy-might-be-mona-lisas/

Parents Touch Off Debate by Refusing To Reveal Four-Month-Old Baby’s Sex

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_18155594

SONG OF THE DAY

The Who - Who Are You?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4

Energy News Digest for May 27, 2011

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

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/27/commercial-fishery-says-trout-being-killed/

Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015159995_papermill27.html

Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs (News Blaze)

http://newsblaze.com/story/2011052611403300002.bw/topstory.html

WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire “…Tech companies planning to build new data centers will have to break ground by June 30 to avoid sales tax on the equipment…” (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/05/27/1682224/lawmakers-kill-3-industries-tax.html

California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy (Palm Springs Desert Sun, CA)

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110527/BUSINESS/105270306/Windmills-Iconic-eyesore-

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs
• California - Pacific Gas & Electric Rates to Drop for Heaviest Utility Users
• California - Oakley Natural Gas Power Plant Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle
• Constellation Energy to Buy Electricity Seller StarTex for $142.5 Million
• Maryland - Shattuck’s $15 Million Pay Riles Constellation Shareholders
• Kansas to Delay $2.3 Million Disaster Payments to Electric Cooperatives That Suffered Disaster Damage
• Puget Sound Energy Finds Family of Flying Squirrels in Power Pole
• Group Proposes Solar Panels for Backup Power at Nuclear Power Plants
• Canada - Hydro Quebec Chief Says Critics Rely on Myths: Wind & solar ‘too expensive’
• Wind, Water & Questions - Readers Come Through With Suggestions
• North Dakota - Basin Electric Idles a Generating Unit While Missouri River Dams Crank Out Electricity
• Basin Electric Backs Off Coal for Surplus Garrison Dam Power
• Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects
• Virtual Fish Put New Eyes On Underwater Toxins
• Naturally Competitive - On Your Mark, Get Set, Name That Shrub
• Clallam PUD’s Carlsborg Sewer, Peninsula College Projects Make Final State Budget
• Ruling Upheld in Spokane Sewer Plant Death
• Lake Roosevelt Water Levels 60 Feet Below Normal
• California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy
• A Natural Gas Power Plant to Make Renewables More Practical
• German Steel Warns of Rising Costs in Move to Renewable Energy
• Clackamas Community College Offers Class on Do-It-Yourself Wind Turbines
• Editorial – Washington State Needs Better Reporting of ‘Green’ Building Data
• NOAA’s Eye-Opening Time-Lapse Video of April’s Deadly Tornadoes
• Venice May Be Less at Risk from Seas than Feared
• US Electric Car Revolution to Go Forward, With or Without Congress
• Sloppy Recycling Seen Posing Threat to Green Tech
• WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire
• What Did & Didn’t Pass In Legislature This Year
• Washington State Representative Angel Went on Cruise during Special Session
• Gary Locke breezes through Senate hearing – Nominated for Ambassador to China
• Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost
• ou Need to Know
• Average Gas Price in Washington $3.95
• Mason County Man Shot with Arrow Says Daughter Kept Him from Calling 911
• Feds to ‘Barefoot Bandit:’ You Owe Us the Rights to Your Story
• New Washington State Coastal Radar Dome Installed
• Retiring Shelton Schools Superintendent
• Tiny Beetles Deployed to Contain Scotch Broom Problem
• Mail Carrier Who Defecated in Yard Gets to Keep Job

WORD OF THE DAY

Tussle • \TUSS-ull\ • Noun - 1: a physical contest or struggle: scuffle 2: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle

“Don’t go in there!” shouted the scarred employee who stumbled from the board room into a growing crowd of curious, yet strangely calm cubicle-dwellers. “A tussle over the last maple bar went horribly wrong…and the CEO did not come out the winner.”

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

Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs (News Blaze)

http://newsblaze.com/story/2011052611403300002.bw/topstory.html

California - Pacific Gas & Electric Rates to Drop for Heaviest Utility Users (SF Chronicle, CA)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/27/BU1F1JLL1G.DTL

California - Oakley Natural Gas Power Plant Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_18148277

Constellation Energy to Buy Electricity Seller StarTex for $142.5 Million (NASDAQ)

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201105270849dowjonesdjonline000377&title=constellation-energy-to-buy-electric-seller-startex-for-1425-million

Maryland - Shattuck’s $15 Million Pay Riles Constellation Shareholders (Baltimore Business Journal, MD)

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2011/05/27/shattucks-pay-riles-constellation.html

Kansas to Delay $2.3 Million Disaster Payments to Electric Cooperatives That Suffered Disaster Damage (Associated Press)

http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/APNewsBreak-Kansas-to-delay-disaster-payments-1397179.php

Puget Sound Energy Finds Family of Flying Squirrels in Power Pole (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/flying-squirrel-power-pole-122704519.html

Group Proposes Solar Panels for Backup Power at Nuclear Power Plants (Penn Energy)

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/power/display/2534318592/articles/pennenergy/power/nuclear/2011/may/group-proposes_solar.html

Canada - Hydro Quebec Chief Says Critics Rely on Myths: Wind & solar ‘too expensive’; Alternatives to Romaine River dam would cost far more (Montreal Gazette, Quebec)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Critics+rely+myths+Hydro/4846691/story.html

A MIGHTY RIVER vs. A MIGHTY WIND

Wind, Water & Questions - Readers Come Through With Suggestions (Renewables Biz)

http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/11/05/wind-water-and-questions

North Dakota - Basin Electric Idles a Generating Unit While Missouri River Dams Crank Out Electricity (Associated Press)

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/9ae378537e3145e6a5f563cab38e0c56/ND--Basin-Unit/

Basin Electric Backs Off Coal for Surplus Garrison Dam Power (Bismarck Tribune, ND)

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/article_037f6578-87c2-11e0-8088-001cc4c03286.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/27/commercial-fishery-says-trout-being-killed/

Virtual Fish Put New Eyes On Underwater Toxins (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/virtual-fish-put-new-eyes-underwater-toxins/

Naturally Competitive - On Your Mark, Get Set, Name That Shrub; Mason County Eco-Field Trip Inspires Students (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/27/1666186/naturally-competitive.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Clallam PUD’s Carlsborg Sewer, Peninsula College Projects Make Final State Budget (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.konp.com/local/6919

Ruling Upheld in Spokane Sewer Plant Death - Supreme Court says CH2M Hill liable for $6.5 million (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/27/ruling-upheld-in-sewage-death/

Lake Roosevelt Water Levels 60 Feet Below Normal (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Lake-Roosevelt-water-levels-60-feet-below-normal-122676724.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy (Palm Springs Desert Sun, CA)

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20110527/BUSINESS/105270306/Windmills-Iconic-eyesore-

A Natural Gas Power Plant to Make Renewables More Practical - GE says its new gas-plant design can address the sudden drops that occur with renewable forms of energy (Technology Review, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/37635/?mod=chfeatured

German Steel Warns of Rising Costs in Move to Renewable Energy (Bloomberg News)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/05/27/bloomberg1376-LLUJGO6JTSEG01-4RKHUPKVA950GNCEAED7754V9M.DTL

Clackamas Community College Offers Class on Do-It-Yourself Wind Turbines (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/05/clackamas_community_college_offers_class_on_do-it-yourself_wind_turbines.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Editorial – Washington State Needs Better Reporting of ‘Green’ Building Data (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/05/27/1666226/state-needs-better-reporting-of.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

NOAA’s Eye-Opening Time-Lapse Video of April’s Deadly Tornadoes (TreeHugger)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/noaas-eye-opening-time-lapse-video-oif-aprils-deadly-tornadoes.php

Venice May Be Less at Risk from Seas than Feared (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/26/us-climate-venice-idUSTRE74P65O20110526

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

US Electric Car Revolution to Go Forward, With or Without Congress (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/27/idUS37064606420110527

Sloppy Recycling Seen Posing Threat to Green Tech (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/26/us-recycling-idUSTRE74P5LN20110526

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire “…Tech companies planning to build new data centers will have to break ground by June 30 to avoid sales tax on the equipment…” (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/05/27/1682224/lawmakers-kill-3-industries-tax.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

What Did & Didn’t Pass In Legislature This Year (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015159908_legwrap27m.html

Washington State Representative Angel Went on Cruise during Special Session (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/25/angel-went-on-cruise-during-special-session/

Gary Locke breezes through Senate hearing – Nominated for Ambassador to China (Seattle Times, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/05/27/1682299/locke-breezes-through-senate-hearing.html

GENERAL NEWS

Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015159995_papermill27.html

Hitting Road This Memorial Day Weekend? What You Need to Know (Seattle Times, WA)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015149731_memorialday26m.html

Average Gas Price in Washington $3.95 (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122718394.html

Mason County Man Shot with Arrow Says Daughter Kept Him from Calling 911 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=487898

Feds to ‘Barefoot Bandit:’ You Owe Us the Rights to Your Story (Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Feds-to-Barefoot-Bandit-You-owe-us-the-rights-1398006.php

New Washington State Coastal Radar Dome Installed - Radar expected to be operational by end of September (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122724239.html

Retiring Shelton Schools Superintendent (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/7490-retiring-shelton-superintendent

Tiny Beetles Deployed to Contain Scotch Broom Problem (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_92106114-8805-11e0-9a4a-001cc4c03286.html

Mail Carrier Who Defecated in Yard Gets to Keep Job (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122672324.html

DIVERSIONS

America’s 20 Most Well-Read Cities, According to Amazon

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/26/americas-20-most-well-read-cities-according-to-amazon/

Faux Pregnancy Senior Gets 3.9 Grade on Toppenish High Project, Plus High Octane Agent & Attorney

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/05/faux_pregnancy_senior_gets_39_grade_on_toppenish_high_project_plus_high_octane_agent_and_attorney.html

ATM Repairman Accused of Loading Fake Money

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/27/BANQ1JLBKP.DTL

Sheriffs Shut Down Iowa Bar’s Mouse Racing

http://www.kirotv.com/entertainment/28048202/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

David Porter - Funny Money

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqVaVs1RGvI