Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Energy News Digest for November 26, 2014

Programming Note; The energy news digest will be participating in the festival of Thanksgiving beginning tomorrow. Take time this weekend to think about your blessings. It’s easy, and fun!

See you Monday.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for November 26, 2014

Flood Watch Issued for Mason County – Three to Five Inches of Rain in Olympics (National Weather Service, Seattle)

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Flood Watch for Mason County - More Rain Forecast for Thanksgiving in Washington State (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Quincy Data Center Announces 4.5 Megawatts of New Capacity (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Moses Lake, WA)

Cowlitz PUD’s McMaster Expecting Up to 5 Percent Rise in Rate Next Year (Longview Daily News, WA)

Feds: Pacific Northwest Ratepayer Spending on Salmon Paying Off “…BPA power customers…paid $682 million last year to support fish & wildlife programs, accounting for about one-third of the power marketer’s wholesale rates…” (Electric Co-op Today)

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Snake River Dredging (Associated Press)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  1. Cowlitz PUD’s McMaster Expecting Up to 5 Percent Rise in Rate Next Year
  2. Washington State Panel OKs’ Avista Plan to Hike Rates January 1
  3. Jefferson PUD Raises Discount for Low-Income Seniors, Disabled to $20 a Month
  4. The Triple Bottom Line on PGE’s First-Ever Sustainability Report
  5. Canada: Geothermal Alternatives to Peace River Dam Are More Cost Effective: Industry Group
  6. San Francisco Supervisors Give City’s Power Utility a Big Boost
  7. Will Santa Fe Be the Next City to Municipalize Its Electric Utility?
  8. Feds: Pacific Northwest Ratepayer Spending on Salmon Paying Off
  9. Op/Ed: Columbia River Basin Conference Shows Support for Salmon Return
  10. Oregon: Someone Shooting Seagulls with Blow Darts
  11. Lawsuit Filed to Stop Snake River Dredging
  12. Klamath Water Agreement Headed to U-S Senate
  13. EPA to Introduce Broad New Ozone Regulations
  14. U-S Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Rules on Mercury from Power Plants
  15. ‘A Big Milestone:’ Carlsborg Sewer Pact Approved
  16. Distributed Generation: Is Your Co-op Prepared?
  17. Florida: Regulators Vote to End Solar Panel Rebates in 2015
  18. Solar Energy’s Popularity Increases as Rooftop Panels Get Less Expensive
  19. New York: Fort Drum Goes Wood Powered In a Push for Renewable Energy
  20. These Weed Snobs Show Why Pot Can Be Just as Snooty as Wine
  21. Robot Discovers That Antarctic Ice is Thicker than Thought
  22. The Newest Benefits Perk: Cheap Solar Power for Your Home
  23. Quincy Data Center Announces 4.5 Megawatts of New Capacity
  24. Comcast Could Be Using Router in Your Home as Public Hot Spot
  25. Google Fiber Raises Prices for Cable TV Service
  26. FCC Says T-Mobile Can’t Hide Throttled Data Speeds
  27. Op/Ed: The Universal Internet - Obama’s Plan for Net Neutrality Makes Perfect Sense
  28. If Email is Dead, Why So Many New Email Products?
  29. Red Sox Delete Ill-Timed Tweet after Ferguson Announcement
  30. Three-Quarters of Americans Don’t Know This Basic Fact about the Internet
  31. Congressman Hastings to Forgo $53,000 Annual Pension upon Retirement
  32. Flood Watch for Mason County - More Rain Forecast for Thanksgiving in Washington State
  33. Flooding Triggers Evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park
  34. 2014 General Election Results Certified
  35. Worker Compensation Rates to Go Up .8% in ‘15, Smaller than Originally Predicted
  36. This Government Rule Could Cripple Commercial Drone Flight
  37. Oregon’s U-S Senators Don’t Like Where the FAA is Headed on Drones
  38. Richard Sherman Lampoons NFL Hypocrisy with Two-Minute Skit at His Presser
WORD OF THE DAY

Abulia • \ay-BOO-lee-uh\ • noun: abnormal lack of ability to act or to make decisions

After two hours of asking, the server concluded that Bartholomew’s inability to choose between fish or chicken could be marked down to his apparent abulia. She quickly decided to never again to return to his table.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Cowlitz PUD’s McMaster Expecting Up to 5 Percent Rise in Rate Next Year (Longview Daily News, WA)

Washington State Panel OKs’ Avista Plan to Hike Rates January 1 (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Jefferson PUD Raises Discount for Low-Income Seniors, Disabled to $20 a Month (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

The Triple Bottom Line on PGE’s First-Ever Sustainability Report (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Canada: Geothermal Alternatives to Peace River Dam Are More Cost Effective: Industry Group (Globe & Mail, Canada)

San Francisco Supervisors Give City’s Power Utility a Big Boost (SF Chronicle)

Will Santa Fe Be the Next City to Municipalize Its Electric Utility? (Utility Dive)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Feds: Pacific Northwest Ratepayer Spending on Salmon Paying Off “…BPA power customers…paid $682 million last year to support fish & wildlife programs, accounting for about one-third of the power marketer’s wholesale rates…” (Electric Co-op Today)

Op/Ed: Columbia River Basin Conference Shows Support for Salmon Return (Trail Daily Times, BC)

Oregon: Someone Shooting Seagulls with Blow Darts (KOIN TV, Portland, OR)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Lawsuit Filed to Stop Snake River Dredging (Associated Press)

Klamath Water Agreement Headed to U-S Senate (Portland Business Journal, OR)

EPA to Introduce Broad New Ozone Regulations (Utility Dive)

U-S Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Rules on Mercury from Power Plants (NY Times)

‘A Big Milestone:’ Carlsborg Sewer Pact Approved (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Distributed Generation: Is Your Co-op Prepared? (Electric Co-op Today)

Florida: Regulators Vote to End Solar Panel Rebates in 2015 (South Florida Business Journal

Solar Energy’s Popularity Increases as Rooftop Panels Get Less Expensive (National Public Radio)

New York: Fort Drum Goes Wood Powered In a Push for Renewable Energy (Christian Science Monitor)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

These Weed Snobs Show Why Pot Can Be Just as Snooty as Wine (AdWeek)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Robot Discovers That Antarctic Ice is Thicker than Thought (Christian Science Monitor)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

The Newest Benefits Perk: Cheap Solar Power for Your Home (Grist Online)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Quincy Data Center Announces 4.5 Megawatts of New Capacity (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Moses Lake, WA)

Comcast Could Be Using Router in Your Home as Public Hot Spot (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

Google Fiber Raises Prices for Cable TV Service (Oregonian, Portland)

FCC Says T-Mobile Can’t Hide Throttled Data Speeds (Ars Technica)

Op/Ed: The Universal Internet - Obama’s Plan for Net Neutrality Makes Perfect Sense (U-S News & World Report)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

If Email is Dead, Why So Many New Email Products? (GigaOM)

Red Sox Delete Ill-Timed Tweet after Ferguson Announcement (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

Three-Quarters of Americans Don’t Know This Basic Fact about the Internet (Washington Post)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Congressman Hastings to Forgo $53,000 Annual Pension upon Retirement (Tri-City Herald, WA)

GENERAL NEWS

Flood Watch for Mason County - More Rain Forecast for Thanksgiving in Washington State (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Flooding Triggers Evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

2014 General Election Results Certified (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Worker Compensation Rates to Go Up .8% in ‘15, Smaller than Originally Predicted (Washington State Wire, Olympia, WA)

This Government Rule Could Cripple Commercial Drone Flight (Washington Post)

Oregon’s U-S Senators Don’t Like Where the FAA is Headed on Drones (Washington Post)

Richard Sherman Lampoons NFL Hypocrisy with Two-Minute Skit at His Presser (SB*Nation)

DIVERSIONS

W+K Made a Giant, Amazing Cuckoo Clock Out of an Oregon Maple for Portland Tourism

Pennsylvania City’s Residents Asking Why Their Town Smells Like Cat Urine

Heirloom Ring Flushed; Sewer Workers Retrieve It

Exit Sign on Los Angeles’ 710 Freeway Misspells Olympic Boulevard as 'Olimpic'

SONG OF THE DAY

The Outsiders - Time Won't Let Me

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.

Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.