The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for July 27, 2012

Friday, July 27, 2012

Energy News Digest for July 27, 2012

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

Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of (public) Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034861/gregoire-hails-expansion-of-broadband.html

Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/26/cancer-battle-forces-pud-commissioner-to-resign/

Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-weather-idUSBRE86Q01E20120727

First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://earthfix.opb.org/flora-and-fauna/article/first-sockeye-of-the-year-arrives-at-sawtooth-trap/

Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-man-sentenced-jail-time-illegal-rainwater-reservoirs

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign
Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms
Locked-Out New York City Power Workers Charge Utility with Safety Risks
Power Outages Often Spur Questions around Burying Power Lines
Businesses Want More Coal in Washington, Neighbors Not So Sure
Natural Gas Utilities Expect Continued Low Prices
Former Franklin PUD Manager - Ryckman Named to Port of Pasco Commission
Op/Ed - Dam! What’s The Price of Alaska Hydro?
First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap
Northern Pikeminnow Columbia River Reward Program Catches Increase this Past Week
Bird Monitoring Drones on Oregon Coast Scuttled for Lack of Permit
New-Found Shellfish Toxin Raises Concerns
WDFW Seeks Input on Pocket Gophers
Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs
Silt from Elwha River Dam Removal Doesn’t Hang Around, Say Scientists
Great Peninsula Conservancy Adds Two New Board Members, Including a Mason County Resident
Idaho - Energy Company Files $30 Million Tort Claim against Ada County
Utility-Backed Study: Michigan Energy Mandate Would Cost $10 Billion
Areva’s Renewables Cash Flow Positive as Nuclear Gets Greener
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Exceeds Savings Targets for 2011
How Summer Thunderstorms Could be Punching New Holes in the Ozone Layer
Peninsula College Offers Courses on Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
How Secure Are Green Jobs?
Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia
Washington State Governor Gregoire Celebrates State Broadband Expansion
Gov. Gregoire’s Statement on Completion of Broadband Expansion Projects
Canadian Telecom Company Plans Data Center in Bend
Data Center Blamed in Twitter Outage
Google Fiber: $70 a Month for Speeds 100 Times Faster than Broadband
Google Fiber: What Is It & Should You Get It?
Google Fiber’s Website - A Different Kind of Internet
Mason Area Fair & Rodeo Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Paddle to Squaxin this Weekend
Grapeview Water & Arts Festival this Weekend
Replacement Drivers Called In as King/Snohomish Counties’ Garbage Strike Reaches Third Day
Midwest Drought Diminishes Mighty Mississippi, Puts Heat on Congress
When Disaster Strikes, Twitter Might Save Us

WORD OF THE DAY

Esoteric • \ess-uh-TARE-ick\ • Adjective - 1a: designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone b: requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group; broadly: difficult to understand 2a: limited to a small circle b: private, confidential 3: of special, rare, or unusual interest

Although not entirely unusual, the sopranino ukulele is among the esoteric members of the uke family. A smaller ukulele than normal; who would want one of those? (ME!)

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

Cancer Battle Forces Grant PUD Commissioner to Resign (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jul/26/cancer-battle-forces-pud-commissioner-to-resign/

Two Dead, Over 100,000 without Power after Fierce Northeast U-S Storms (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-weather-idUSBRE86Q01E20120727

Locked-Out New York City Power Workers Charge Utility with Safety Risks (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/us-utilities-newyork-idUSBRE86O1LI20120725

Power Outages Often Spur Questions around Burying Power Lines (Energy Information Administration)

http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=7250

Businesses Want More Coal in Washington, Neighbors Not So Sure (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/UW-professors-research-coal-trains-as-alliance-pushes-for-terminals-163980306.html

Natural Gas Utilities Expect Continued Low Prices (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/natural_gas_utilities_expect_continued_low_prices/

Former Franklin PUD Manager - Ryckman Named to Port of Pasco Commission (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034855/ryckman-named-to-port-of-pasco.html

Op/Ed - Dam! What’s The Price of Alaska Hydro? (Anchorage Press, AK)

http://www.anchoragepress.com/news/dam-what-s-the-price-of-hydro/article_783cc3ac-d784-11e1-8a50-0019bb2963f4.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

First Idaho Sockeye of 2012 Arrives at Sawtooth Trap (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://earthfix.opb.org/flora-and-fauna/article/first-sockeye-of-the-year-arrives-at-sawtooth-trap/

Northern Pikeminnow Columbia River Reward Program Catches Increase this Past Week (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2018777901_northern_pikeminnow_columbia_r.html

Bird Monitoring Drones on Oregon Coast Scuttled for Lack of Permit (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/07/drones_on_coast_scuttled_for_l.html

New-Found Shellfish Toxin Raises Concerns (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jul/26/new-found-shellfish-toxin-raises-concerns/

WDFW Seeks Input on Pocket Gophers (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4387

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to Jail Time for Illegal Rainwater Reservoirs (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-man-sentenced-jail-time-illegal-rainwater-reservoirs

Silt from Elwha River Dam Removal Doesn’t Hang Around, Say Scientists (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/-Silt-from-Elwha-River-dam-removal-doesnt-hang-around-163948316.html

Great Peninsula Conservancy Adds Two New Board Members, Including a Mason County Resident (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-07-27/great_peninsula_conservancy_adds_two_new_board_members?utm_campaign=email_subscriptions_2012-07-27

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Idaho - Energy Company Files $30 Million Tort Claim against Ada County (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/07/25/2201804/energy-company-files-30-million.html

Utility-Backed Study: Michigan Energy Mandate Would Cost $10 Billion (The Detroit News, MI)

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120727/METRO/207270363/1409/metro/Utility-backed-study-Michigan-energy-mandate-would-cost-10B

Areva’s Renewables Cash Flow Positive as Nuclear Gets Greener (Platts)

http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8568115

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Exceeds Savings Targets for 2011 - Annual report highlights regional efforts to fill energy efficiency pipeline (MarketWatch)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/neea-exceeds-savings-targets-for-2011-2012-07-26

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

How Summer Thunderstorms Could be Punching New Holes in the Ozone Layer (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2012/0726/How-summer-thunderstorms-could-be-punching-new-holes-in-the-ozone-layer-video

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Peninsula College Offers Courses on Hybrid-Electric Vehicles (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120727/NEWS/307279991/college-offers-courses-on-hybrid-electric-vehicles

How Secure Are Green Jobs? (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/geoffrey-styles/97451/how-secure-are-green-jobs

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Washington State Governor Hails Expansion of Broadband Internet Access in Rural Mid-Columbia (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/07/27/2034861/gregoire-hails-expansion-of-broadband.html