The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for May 4, 2015

Court of Appeals Rules Klickitat County PUD Must Pay for 2010 Wildfire
Snohomish PUD Probes Allegations of Unfair Contracts
Taxpayers: Don’t Send Jefferson PUD Your Property Taxes
History Month: How the Cowlitz PUD Came to Be
Supreme Court to Review U-S Electricity Market Efficiency Rule
Electric Smart Meters Operating in Two-Way Mode Surpasses One-Way Smart Meters
Three Serious Failures in Transmission Planning & How to Fix Them
Two Sea Lions Die in Trap at Bonneville Dam
White Salmon River Evolves Amid Mixed Feelings
Sammamish Residents Say Development Would Add Traffic, Harm Salmon
Willapa-Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association & DOE Cancel Pesticide Permit
Oyster Heaven: Hama Hama Hits Upon a Tasty Business Model
New Sea Star Babies Offer Hope amid Mass Deaths in Pacific
Low Water Forecasts at Dalles Dam Will Impact How Much Montana Reservoirs Will Be Drawn Down
California: Sacramento Water Coalition Works to Avoid Feared ‘Dead Pool’ at Folsom Dam
Initiative 937 – Carbon Reduction Investments are Smart Strategy for Electric Sector
Montana: Second Wind Farm Going up near Fairfield
U-S Senator Lamar Alexander Blasts EPA for Favoring Wind & Solar over Nuclear Power
Co-ops Rank Highly on Solar Top 10 List
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Enhanced Geothermal Systems
Washington State Group Challenging New Medical Marijuana Law
California Pot Legalization Effort Is All About Details
Editorial: Washington State’s Drought Is a Natural Cycle
Tesla’s Battery Technology to Power Homes, Businesses
Northwest Students Take to the Track in Lacey Electric Car Rally
Road-Tripping on the West Coast Electric Highway
Seattle Activists Push for City-Run, High-Speed Internet Service
Comcast’s Internet Subscribers Surpass Cable TV Customers
Large Saturday Comcast Outage Comes at Terrible Time for Fight Fans
Cutting the Cord: Navigating Streaming Services & Living without Cable TV
Choosing an Internet Service Provider: Tips for Cord-Cutters
Olympia Students, Educators Talk Technology
Seven Ways Your Facebook Page Can Help Your Business
Washington State Lawmakers Might Expand Their Social Network
Carly Fiorina Really Should Have Remembered to Register Her Domain Name
Philip Morris International Uses Copyright Claims to Quiet Marlboro Critics
Search of Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley’s House, Computers Raises More Questions
Scientists Monitor Undersea Volcanic Eruption Off Oregon Coast
Wood Stove Smoke Down – Washington State’s Air Quality Is Back in Line Again
The Most (and Least) Polluted Cities in America
Mason County: Filing for Public Office Begins Next Week
Hupp Withdraws from Port of Shelton Commission Race
Change of Date & Venue for the Next Downtown Shelton Visioning Meeting
Police Shoot Dead Two Gunmen at Texas Exhibit of Prophet Mohammad Cartoons

WORD OF THE DAY

Doyen • \DOY-un\ • noun – *1: the senior or most experienced member of a group 2: the oldest example of a category

“Man, at 98 years old you’re the oldest employee here,” shouted Biff at handsome Buck Mulligan. “The thing is, you don’t look a day over 30. I’ll bet there’s a picture of Doyen Gray somewhere in your attic!”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Court of Appeals Rules Klickitat County PUD Must Pay for 2010 Wildfire (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestlocalnews/3128403-8/court-of-appeals-rules-klickitat-county-pud-must

Snohomish PUD Probes Allegations of Unfair Contracts (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Snohomish-Co-PUD-probes-allegations-of-unfair-contracts-302415321.html

Taxpayers: Don’t Send Jefferson PUD Your Property Taxes – PUD returns $18,000 to county from mistaken online transfers (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

http://www.ptleader.com/news/taxpayers-don-t-send-pud-your-property-taxes/article_32faface-ef60-11e4-b8f5-bb4e72e00ad1.html

History Month: How the Cowlitz PUD Came to Be (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/7e2c50fe-15e9-5450-a1c2-2365a35b1723.html

Supreme Court to Review U-S Electricity Market Efficiency Rule (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/04/us-usa-court-electricity-idUSKBN0NP17020150504

Electric Smart Meters Operating in Two-Way Mode Surpasses One-Way Smart Meters (U-S Energy Information Administration)

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/

Three Serious Failures in Transmission Planning & How to Fix Them (Utility Dive)

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/3-serious-failures-in-transmission-planning-and-how-to-fix-them/391504/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Two Sea Lions Die in Trap at Bonneville Dam (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://www.opb.org/news/article/two-sea-lions-die-in-trap-at-bonneville-dam/

White Salmon River Evolves Amid Mixed Feelings – With Condit Dam gone, life goes on, but with many changes, challenges (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/may/03/after-dam-white-salmon-river-evolves-mixed-feeling/

Sammamish Residents Say Development Would Add Traffic, Harm Salmon (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

http://tinyurl.com/pjo34y2

Willapa-Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association & DOE Cancel Pesticide Permit (KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://www.kxro.com/willapa-grays-harbor-oyster-growers-association-and-doe-cancel-pesticide-permit/

Oyster Heaven: Hama Hama Hits Upon a Tasty Business Model (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/oyster-heaven-hama-hama-hits-upon-a-tasty-business-model/

New Sea Star Babies Offer Hope amid Mass Deaths in Pacific (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/New-sea-star-babies-offer-hope-amid-mass-deaths-in-Pacific-302416221.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Low Water Forecasts at Dalles Dam Will Impact How Much Montana Reservoirs Will Be Drawn Down (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/433882.aspx

California: Sacramento Water Coalition Works to Avoid Feared ‘Dead Pool’ at Folsom Dam (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article20109969.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Initiative 937 – Carbon Reduction Investments are Smart Strategy for Electric Sector (Plan Washington Catalyst)

http://www.wacatalyst.org/carbon-reduction-investments-point-smart-direction-for-electric-sector-carbon-reduction/

Montana: Second Wind Farm Going up near Fairfield (Great Falls Tribune, MT)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/05/01/second-wind-farm-going-near-fairfield/26745287/

U-S Senator Lamar Alexander Blasts EPA for Favoring Wind & Solar over Nuclear Power (Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/apr/29/alexander-blasts-epa-favoring-wind-and-solar-over-nuclear-power/301512/

Co-ops Rank Highly on Solar Top 10 List (Electric Co-op Today)

http://www.ect.coop/editors-pick/80809/80809

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Enhanced Geothermal Systems (Breaking Energy)

http://breakingenergy.com/2015/05/01/top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-enhanced-geothermal-systems/

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Washington State Group Challenging New Medical Marijuana Law (Marijuana Business Daily)

http://mjbizdaily.com/wa-group-challenging-new-medical-marijuana-law/

California Pot Legalization Effort Is All About Details (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article20103015.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Editorial: Washington State’s Drought Is a Natural Cycle (Omak Chronicle, WA)

http://m.omakchronicle.com/news/2015/apr/22/states-drought-natural-cycle/?templates=mobile

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Tesla’s Battery Technology to Power Homes, Businesses (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article19995996.html

Northwest Students Take to the Track in Lacey Electric Car Rally (Olympian - Paywall Advisory)

http://www.theolympian.com/2015/05/02/3708203_students-take-to-the-track-in.html?rh=1

Road-Tripping on the West Coast Electric Highway (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/road-tripping-west-coast-electric-highway

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Seattle Activists Push for City-Run, High-Speed Internet Service (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

http://tinyurl.com/mjsnpqv

Comcast’s Internet Subscribers Surpass Cable TV Customers (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2015/05/comcasts_internet_subscribers_1.html

Large Saturday Comcast Outage Comes at Terrible Time for Fight Fans (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Large-Comcast-outage-comes-at-terrible-time-for-6239325.php

Cutting the Cord: Navigating Streaming Services & Living without Cable TV (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2015/05/cutting_the_cord_navigating_st.html

Choosing an Internet Service Provider: Tips for Cord-Cutters (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/index.ssf/2015/05/choosing_an_internet_service_p.html

Olympia Students, Educators Talk Technology (Olympian - Paywall Advisory)

http://www.theolympian.com/2015/05/01/3705789_olympia-students-educators-talk.html?rh=1

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Seven Ways Your Facebook Page Can Help Your Business (Social Media Examiner)

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/ways-your-facebook-page-can-help-your-business/

Washington State Lawmakers Might Expand Their Social Network (Olympian - Paywall Advisory)

http://www.theolympian.com/2015/05/02/3707822_state-lawmakers-might-expand-their.html?rh=1

Carly Fiorina Really Should Have Remembered to Register Her Domain Name (Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/carly-fiorina-really-should-have-remembered-to-register-1701996944

Philip Morris International Uses Copyright Claims to Quiet Marlboro Critics (Consumerist)

http://consumerist.com/2015/05/01/philip-morris-international-uses-copyright-claims-to-quiet-marlboro-critics/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Search of Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley’s House, Computers Raises More Questions (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/search-troy-kelleys-house-computers-raises-more-questions

GENERAL NEWS

Scientists Monitor Undersea Volcanic Eruption Off Oregon Coast (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/02/us-usa-volcano-oregon-idUSKBN0NM4JB20150502

Wood Stove Smoke Down – Washington State’s Air Quality Is Back in Line Again (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/washingtons-air-quality-back-line-again

The Most (and Least) Polluted Cities in America (Grist Online)

http://grist.org/cities/the-most-and-least-polluted-cities-in-america/

Mason County: Filing for Public Office Begins Next Week (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://kmasnewsradio.com/news/local-state-news/22781-filing-for-public-office-begins-next-week

Hupp Withdraws from Port of Shelton Commission Race (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/15149

Change of Date & Venue for the Next Downtown Shelton Visioning Meeting (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/15146

Police Shoot Dead Two Gunmen at Texas Exhibit of Prophet Mohammad Cartoons (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/04/us-usa-shooting-texas-idUSKBN0NP01G20150504

DIVERSIONS

On ‘Star Wars’ Day, May the Fourth Be With You

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/03/star-wars-day-may-4/26835319/

Blackboard Chalk Isn’t Really Chalk at All

http://gizmodo.com/blackboard-chalk-isn-t-really-chalk-at-all-1701961875

Let the Debate Begin – Ten Enchanting Cover Songs Better Than the Originals

http://mashable.com/2015/05/04/good-cover-songs/

Joyful Noise or Unholy Din? New Church ‘Bells’ Mean Discord

http://news.yahoo.com/joyful-noise-unholy-din-church-bells-mean-discord-160904316.html

SONG OF THE DAY

John Williams – Best of Star Wars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJJlP1X4V_s

Similarities? You Be the Judge: Gustav Holst - The Planets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHVsszW7Nds

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.

The Energy News Digest

Monday, May 4, 2015

Energy News Digest for May 4, 2015

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