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.
NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER
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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Op/Ed – Scott Corwin: Shutting Down Wind Power a Necessary Measure of Last Resort (Oregonian, Portland)
Bonneville Power Administration & BC Hydro Seek New Long-Term Water Storage Agreement (Bonneville Power Administration)
Washington State Senator Rockefeller to Leave Senate - Joining Northwest Power & Conservation Council (Seattle Times)
Oregon & Washington Suspend Sea Lion Killings (Reuters)
Boosters See Northwest Future in Aviation Biofuel (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Bonneville Power Administration & BC Hydro Seek New Long-Term Water Storage Agreement
- Washington State Senator Rockefeller to Leave Senate - Joining Northwest Power & Conservation Council
- 6,900 Affected by Shelton Power Outage - BPA & Mason PUD 3 Investigating
- Man Hailed as Hero Saving Coworker Burned by Kitsap County Power Line
- Chelan PUD Beaming In $36 Million Savings
- Thurston County PUD Bond Sale Raises Nearly $3 Million
- Fitch Rates Eugene Water & Electric Board Revenue Bonds 'AA-'; Outlook Stable
- ‘Smart’ Meter Installation to Begin for General Public June 6 in Port Angeles
- Electrical Currents: EPUD Provides Power to Please People & Pocketbooks
- New Mexico Electricity Co-Op Loses Lawsuit over Member Bylaw Efforts
- State of California’s Energy System Will Need Major Overhaul
- Minnesota Power adds hydro supply from Manitoba
- Vermont Files Opposition to Entergy Request over Yankee Nuclear Power Plant
- US Senate Queries Tennessee Valley Authority Board nominee
- Smart Grid Costs Are Massive, but Benefits Will be Larger, Industry Study Says
- Op/Ed – Scott Corwin: Shutting Down Wind Power a Necessary Measure of Last Resort
- Editorial - A Power Fight Best Avoided
- Op/Ed - Flexible Power System A Must to Meet the Region's Demands
- Editorial - Push for Wind Power Was Not Thought Out
- Oregon & Washington Suspend Sea Lion Killings
- Salmon Fishing Expanded on Columbia River
- Clallam PUD Instates another Three-Year Set of Water Rate Increases
- Two Clallam County Cities Combining Legal Efforts on Fluoride
- Idaho PUC to Hear Oral Arguments in Wind Dispute
- California - Biomass Plant Gets Go-Ahead in Lode
- Texas - Company Proposes Hydropower Plant at Longhorn Dam
- Heavy Metal on the Roof - Solar Panels for All New Buildings in Japan?
- India - Factory Sealed for Using Illicit Timber to Produce Power
- New Jersey Governor Announces Pullout from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- Iran's Largest Lake Turning to Salt
- Boosters See Northwest Future in Aviation Biofuel
- Editorial - Policy Support Needed to Develop Northwest Aviation Biofuels Industry
- Republican Sees Electric Car Bill as a Climate 'Step'
- Americans Say 'No' to Electrics Despite High Gas Prices
- Oregon Sustainability Center Backers Sport New Optimism
- Home Deconstruction: Can an Entire House be Recycled?
- Big Companies Aggressively Jump Into Clean Tech
- Titan Data Center Continues Expansion
- Users Blaming Microsoft for Skype Outage
- Asia Will Become the New Center of the Internet
- Google: There’s No Magic Needed for Greener Data Centers
- Demystifying the Cloud
- Draft Horses Bring Fiber Optics to Remote Locations
- Twitter Diplomacy New Face of Foreign Relations
- Sleepless? Then Stop Taking Your iPhone To Bed
- Washington State Senate Passes $32.2 Billion Budget in Show of Bipartisanship
- Mason County - Daughter Accused of Shooting Father with Bow & Arrow after Cellphone Taken Away
- Two Severed Feet Linked to Man Reported Missing in 2004
- Washington among States Involved in Country's Largest Measles Outbreak
- Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Down
- Rivers Run High in Northwest
- Mason County Unemployment Dropped in April
- Rapid Progress on New Washington State Coastal Weather Radar
WORD OF THE DAY
Aphasia • \uh-FAZE-ee-yuh\ • Noun – Loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words usually resulting from brain damage
Robinson Crusoe may have maintained the ability to use words and comprehend them through writing in his journals…but one wonders if he suffered at least partial aphasia from the lack of verbal communications with other humans.
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Bonneville Power Administration & BC Hydro Seek New Long-Term Water Storage Agreement (Bonneville Power Administration)
Washington State Senator Rockefeller to Leave Senate - Joining Northwest Power & Conservation Council (Seattle Times)
6,900 Affected by Shelton Power Outage - BPA & Mason PUD 3 Investigating (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
Man Hailed as Hero Saving Coworker Burned by Kitsap County Power Line (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
Chelan PUD Beaming In $36 Million Savings (Wenatchee World, WA)
Thurston County PUD Bond Sale Raises Nearly $3 Million (Olympian, WA)
Fitch Rates Eugene Water & Electric Board Revenue Bonds 'AA-'; Outlook Stable (Finance-Yahoo!)
‘Smart’ Meter Installation to Begin for General Public June 6 in Port Angeles (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
Electrical Currents: EPUD Provides Power to Please People & Pocketbooks (Creswell Chronicle, OR)
New Mexico Electricity Co-Op Loses Lawsuit Over Member Bylaw Efforts - Socorro Electric Cooperative sued all of its approximately 10,000 member-owners in an effort to block three bylaws aimed at increasing transparency (Valencia County News-Bulletin, Belen, NM)
State of California’s Energy System Will Need Major Overhaul (SF Chronicle)
Minnesota Power adds hydro supply from Manitoba – Hats off to the PR person who spun this meme: “…will help Minnesota Power shift from coal-based energy sources to renewable ones. It will not, however, help the company meet the state mandate that utilities generate 25 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025. That’s because when the mandate was passed by the state Legislature in 2007, it excluded large-scale Canadian hydro power from being counted…” (Duluth News-Tribune, MN)
Vermont Files Opposition to Entergy Request over Yankee Nuclear Power Plant (Legal Newsline)
US Senate Queries Tennessee Valley Authority Board nominee - Tells panel he wants to focus on conservation (Knoxville News-Sentinel, TN)
Smart Grid Costs Are Massive, but Benefits Will be Larger, Industry Study Says (NY Times)
A MIGHTY RIVER vs. A MIGHTY WIND
Op/Ed – Scott Corwin: Shutting Down Wind Power a Necessary Measure of Last Resort (Oregonian, Portland)
Editorial - A Power Fight Best Avoided (Everett Herald, WA)
Op/Ed - Flexible Power System A Must to Meet the Region's Demands (Oregonian, Portland)
Editorial - Push for Wind Power Was Not Thought Out (Salem Statesman Journal, OR)
FISH & WILDLIFE
Oregon & Washington Suspend Sea Lion Killings (Reuters)
Salmon Fishing Expanded on Columbia River (Oregonian, Portland)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Clallam PUD Instates another Three-Year Set of Water Rate Increases (Sequim Gazette, WA)
Two Clallam County Cities Combining Legal Efforts on Fluoride (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Idaho PUC to Hear Oral Arguments in Wind Dispute (Times- News, Twin Falls, ID)
California - Biomass Plant Gets Go-Ahead in Lode – Legal settlement means dozens of new jobs (Stockton Record, CA)
Texas - Company Proposes Hydropower Plant at Longhorn Dam (Austin American-Statesman, TX)
Heavy Metal on the Roof - Solar Panels for All New Buildings in Japan? (Reuters)
India - Factory Sealed for Using Illicit Timber to Produce Power (Times of India)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
New Jersey Governor Announces Pullout from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (NJ.com)
Iran's Largest Lake Turning to Salt (Associated Press)
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI
Boosters See Northwest Future in Aviation Biofuel (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
Editorial - Policy Support Needed to Develop Northwest Aviation Biofuels Industry (Olympian, WA)
Republican Sees Electric Car Bill as a Climate 'Step' (NY Times)
Americans Say 'No' to Electrics Despite High Gas Prices (USA Today)
Oregon Sustainability Center Backers Sport New Optimism (Sustainable Business Oregon)
Home Deconstruction: Can an Entire House be Recycled? (Christian Science Monitor)
Big Companies Aggressively Jump Into Clean Tech (USA Today)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Titan Data Center Continues Expansion (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
Users Blaming Microsoft for Skype Outage (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Asia Will Become the New Center of the Internet (GigaOM)
Google: There’s No Magic Needed for Greener Data Centers (GigaOM)
Demystifying the Cloud (Everett Herald, WA)
Draft Horses Bring Fiber Optics to Remote Locations (Vermont Digger)
Twitter Diplomacy New Face of Foreign Relations (Associated Press)
Sleepless? Then Stop Taking Your iPhone To Bed (GigaOM)
POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
Washington State Senate Passes $32.2 Billion Budget in Show of Bipartisanship – Then Sine Die (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
GENERAL NEWS
Mason County - Daughter Accused of Shooting Father with Bow & Arrow After Cellphone Taken Away (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
Two Severed Feet Linked to Man Reported Missing in 2004 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
Washington among States Involved in Country's Largest Measles Outbreak (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Down (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)
Rivers Run High in Northwest - Low Clearance Lifting Bridge over Columbia River (Associated Press)
Unemployment Dropped in April (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
Rapid Progress on New Washington State Coastal Weather Radar - Tower completed, radar dome to be installed within days (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
DIVERSIONS
Tri-Cities Health Board Nixes 'Butt' Billboards
Washington Dairy Princess is Lactose Intolerant
Osama Bin Laden’s Widows Say Young Wife Turned Him In
Compressed Air Makes Trucker a Human Balloon
SONG OF THE DAY
Procol Harum- The Milk of Human Kindness
