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
Intalco Smelter near Ferndale Gets Short-Term Power
Contract Extension (Bellingham Herald, WA)
Public Utility Districts to Team Up for New
High-Voltage Power Line (Wenatchee World, WA)
Olympic Peninsula Being Woven with Broadband Fiber
Lines to Speed Internet in Far Reaches (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
Washington State’s First Appearance of
Fish-Killing Virus Found at Bainbridge Salmon Farm (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
Cable,
Plants May Trip Up Admiralty Inlet Turbine Project (Whidbey News Times,
Coupeville, WA)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Intalco Smelter near Ferndale Gets Short-Term Power Contract Extension
- Public Utility Districts to Team Up for New High-Voltage Power Line
- Lightning Hits Vancouver Home, Ricochets through Power Outlets
- Puget Sound Energy Offers Customers Incentives to Switch to Natural Gas Water Heating
- German Chancellor Merkel Pays a Price for Her Energy Policy Shift
- The Truth about Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out
- A Tiny Florida Outpost Divides Over Getting on the Power Grid
- How Americans Use Energy, In Three Simple Charts
- Washington State’s First Appearance of Fish-Killing Virus Found at Bainbridge Salmon Farm
- Third British Columbia Fish Farm Quarantined after Deadly Virus Detected
- Sea Lions Starting to Leave Area
- Fish-slaughter: Sea Lions Guilty, As Charged
- Columbia River Gilnetters Fear Alaska Mine Could Hurt Business
- Upper Skagit’s Spring King Fishery Starts
- Run Estimates Allow Spring Chinook Fishing In NE Oregon’s Catherine Creek First Time In 34 Years
- Ferndale’s IMCO to Start Major Priest Rapids Fish Hatchery Renovation Project
- University of Idaho Posts Dam Files Online - Archives Reveal Spirited Debate over Dworshak Project
- Washington State Parks Teams with Grant County PUD to Open Columbia River Park Called The Cove
- Longview - Costly Sewer Fixes Coming Down the Pipe for Local Businesses
- Cable, Plants May Trip Up Admiralty Inlet Turbine Project
- Editorial - Strictly Business: Dark Battle over the Sun’s Power
- Are Solar, Wind & Marine Power Too Intermittent to be Useful?
- The Truth about Renewable Energy: Inexpensive, Reliable, and Inexhaustible
- Editorial - Cleaner Energy
- Xcel Energy Ends Upfront Cash Subsidies for Solar Panels
- Plug-In Solar Panels: Worth the Cost?
- What is Holding Back Solar Hot Water in the US?
- Geothermal Heat Pumps: The Next Generation
- US Cut Its Carbon Emissions in 2011 — But China Erased the Gains
- Sequoia Smog Damaging Pines, Redwood Seedlings
- Grants Fund Washington State Climate Change Work
- Editorial - Can Market For Clean-Air Credits Resist Profiteers?
- San Francisco-Based ECOtality Sues State Regulators over Electric Vehicle Charging Deal
- Rooftop Gardens May be Next Big Idea at Microsoft
- Olympic Peninsula Being Woven with Broadband Fiber Lines to Speed Internet in Far Reaches
- Developers Detail Hynix Plan to Convert Eugene-Area Complex into Data Center
- Bend Broadband Offers Fixed LTE in Oregon - Speeds up to 12 Mbps, Caps up to 50 GB
- Presidential Panel Urges More Flexible Use of Broadcast Spectrum
- White Space Broadband: Hope for Rural America?
- Facebook Ads Not So Lucrative
- Microsoft to Retire Windows Live Brand
- Computer Failure May Have Wiped Mukilteo’s Data
- Refinancing of Bonds Saves Cowlitz County More Than $800,000
- Police Identify Suspect in Shelton Murders
- Washington State Opens Up Liquor Sales; Prices Could Go Up
- Scotch Broom Sweeps Back In with a Vengeance
WORD OF THE DAY
Frenetic
• \frih-NET-tick\ • Adjective - Frenzied, frantic
The
three-o’clock return of the office staff from the nearby “Jitters” coffee stand
was a constant source of entertainment for the floor supervisor. From his
massive cubicle on the tenth floor of the glass and metal corporate castle, the
boss watched his staff’s frenetic work as they bounced between the cubicles
like the miniature football players on those Tudor
Tru-Action Electric Football Games of his youth…only to crash and burn at 4:30.
SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Intalco Smelter near Ferndale Gets Short-Term Power
Contract Extension (Bellingham Herald, WA)
Public Utility Districts to Team Up for New
High-Voltage Power Line (Wenatchee World, WA)
Lightning Hits Vancouver Home, Ricochets through
Power Outlets (KING-TV, Seattle)
Puget Sound Energy Offers Customers Incentives to
Switch to Natural Gas Water Heating (MarketWatch)
German Chancellor Merkel Pays a Price for Her
Energy Policy Shift (NY Times)
The Truth about Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out - Ditching
nuclear power has ripples in terms of carbon emissions, politics & culture
that we can’t ignore (The Guardian, UK)
A Tiny Florida Outpost Divides Over Getting on the
Power Grid (NY Times)
How Americans Use Energy, In Three Simple Charts (Washington
Post)
FISH & WILDLIFE
Washington State’s First Appearance of
Fish-Killing Virus Found at Bainbridge Salmon Farm (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
Third British Columbia Fish Farm Quarantined after
Deadly Virus Detected (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
Sea Lions Starting to Leave Area (KBND Radio,
Bend, OR)
Fish-slaughter: Sea Lions Guilty, As Charged
(Indian Country Today)
Columbia River Gilnetters Fear Alaska Mine Could
Hurt Business (Longview Daily News, WA)
Upper Skagit’s Spring King Fishery Starts (News
Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
Run Estimates Allow Spring Chinook Fishing In NE
Oregon’s Catherine Creek First Time In 34 Years (Columbia Basin Bulletin)
Ferndale’s IMCO to Start Major Priest Rapids Fish
Hatchery Renovation Project (Bellingham Herald, WA)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
University
of Idaho Posts Dam Files Online - Archives Reveal Spirited Debate over Dworshak
Project (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
Washington
State Parks Teams with Grant County PUD to Open Columbia River Park Called The
Cove (Oregonian, Portland)
Longview
- Costly Sewer Fixes Coming Down the Pipe for Local Businesses (Longview Daily
News, WA)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Cable,
Plants May Trip Up Admiralty Inlet Turbine Project (Whidbey News Times, Coupeville,
WA)
Editorial
- Strictly Business: Dark Battle over the Sun’s Power (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
Are
Solar, Wind & Marine Power Too Intermittent to be Useful? (The Guardian, UK)
The
Truth about Renewable Energy: Inexpensive, Reliable, and Inexhaustible (Grist Online)
Editorial
- Cleaner Energy (NY Times)
Xcel Energy Ends Upfront Cash Subsidies for Solar
Panels (Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal, MN)
Plug-In
Solar Panels: Worth the Cost? (Christian Science Monitor)
What is Holding Back Solar Hot Water in the US? (Renewable
Energy World)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
Geothermal Heat Pumps: The Next Generation (Forbes
Magazine)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
US
Cut Its Carbon Emissions in 2011 — But China Erased the Gains (Washington Post)
Sequoia
Smog Damaging Pines, Redwood Seedlings (SF Chronicle)
Grants
Fund Washington State Climate Change Work (Bellingham Herald, WA)
Editorial
- Can Market For Clean-Air Credits Resist Profiteers? (Sacramento Bee, CA)
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI
San
Francisco-Based ECOtality Sues State Regulators over Electric Vehicle Charging
Deal (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
Rooftop
Gardens May be Next Big Idea at Microsoft (KIRO
Broadcasting, Seattle)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Olympic Peninsula Being Woven with Broadband Fiber
Lines to Speed Internet in Far Reaches (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
Developers Detail Hynix Plan to Convert Eugene-Area
Complex into Data Center - While stressing a need for local incentives, a
potential partner says a server farm there could employ hundreds (Eugene Register-Guard,
OR)
Bend Broadband Offers Fixed LTE in Oregon - Speeds
up to 12 Mbps, Caps up to 50 GB (Broadband Reports)
Presidential Panel Urges More Flexible Use of Broadcast
Spectrum (NY Times)
White Space Broadband: Hope for Rural America? - A
New Alternative Finally Starting to Emerge (Broadband Reports)
Facebook Ads Not So Lucrative (Spokesman Review, Spokane,
WA)
Microsoft to Retire Windows Live Brand (Puget Sound
Business Journal, WA)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2012/05/microsoft-to-retire-windows-live-brand.html
POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
Computer Failure May Have Wiped Mukilteo’s Data - Police
records, financial information & more was lost when Mukilteo’s computer
system failed (Everett Herald, WA)
Refinancing of Bonds Saves Cowlitz County More Than
$800,000 (Longview Daily News, WA)
GENERAL NEWS
Police Identify Suspect in Shelton Murders (KMAS Radio,
Shelton, WA)
Washington State Opens Up Liquor Sales; Prices
Could Go Up (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
Scotch Broom Sweeps Back In with a Vengeance - Invasive
weed is so pervasive, crews have given up trying to fight it (Everett Herald,
WA)
DIVERSIONS
Look Now for Venus to Cross the Sun, or Wait
Another Century
Australian Facebook Cash Image Leads to Robbery
Led Zeppelin II Dies of a Heart Attack
Drunken Alberta Man Survives after He’s Run Over by
26 Rail Cars
SONG OF THE DAY
The
Grass Roots - Glory Bound
