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Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
World’s First
Fusion Power Plant Planned for Chelan County, Aims for 2028 Energy Production
Start (Source ONE News, Ephrata, WA)
WA Is Seeing a Dry
Winter, Including Fifth-Driest January on Record. Here’s Why It Matters
(Bellingham Herald, WA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wa-seeing-dry-winter-including-130000806.html
Most Americans Who
Experienced Severe Winter Weather See Climate Change at Work, AP-NORC Poll
Shows (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/poll-extreme-cold-climate-change-4899de252a4107ee529e2f134fb68f59
Experts, WA Reps
Question Rationale for Bonneville Power Administration & Hanford Layoffs
(Cascade PBS)
https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/02/experts-wa-reps-question-rationale-bpa-and-hanford-layoffs
RIP: Microsoft Is
Officially Killing Skype (Mashable)
https://mashable.com/article/microsoft-kills-skype
News Highlights (See
Stories Below)
1. World’s
First Fusion Power Plant Planned for Chelan County, Aims for 2028 Energy
Production Start
2. Less
Water & Dry Weather Weigh on Bonneville Power Administration’s Bottom Line
3. KIRO
7 Investigates: Amazon’s Nuclear Gamble
4. Proposal
in 2025 Oregon Legislature Would Create $1 Billion Fund Via Ratepayers to Pay
for Utility-Caused Fires
5. In
A Reversal, Plans for U.S. Natural Gas Power Grow, Complicating Progress on
Climate
6. California:
San Diego Advances New Projects to Underground Power Lines: Here’s Where
7. Judge
Pulls Plug on Suits Accusing Kansas Utilities of Hiking Rates During Massive
Winter Storm
8. State
Department Terminates U.S. Support of Ukraine Energy Grid Restoration
9. Experts,
WA Reps Question Rationale for Bonneville Power Administration & Hanford
Layoffs
10. NOAA,
Federal Weather & Research Agency, Is Firing Workers in Oregon &
Washington
11. Arizona:
Pumped Hydropower – Salt River Project-Proposed Reservoir Continues to Move
Forward Near Apache Lake
12. $153
Million in Federal Funds for Arizona Air Conditioning Repairs, Energy
Efficiency Upgrades Withheld
13. Washington
State’s Costly Salmon Recovery Effort Heads Toward Mediation
14. Aquaculture
Nonprofit Sues Washington Department of Natural Resources Over Ban on Net Pen
Fish Farming
15. WA
State: Almost 1,000 Steelhead Caught in Three Months in Okanogan County After
Nine-Year Hiatus from Fishing Season
16. WA
Is Seeing a Dry Winter, Including Fifth-Driest January on Record. Here’s Why It
Matters
17. It’s
Been a Warm Winter, & California’s Snowpack Shows It
18. Most
Americans Who Experienced Severe Winter Weather See Climate Change at Work,
AP-NORC Poll Shows
19. Dent’s
Ag Exemption Bill for WA’s Climate Commitment Act Costs Moving Forward
20. RIP:
Microsoft Is Officially Killing Skype
21. Private
Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Aces Moon Touchdown with a Special Delivery for NASA
22. President
Trump Says 25% Tariffs on Mexican & Canadian Imports Will Start Tuesday,
With ‘No Room’ for Delay
23. 4.5
Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Orcas Island
24. New
Storm Bringing Blizzard Conditions to Heartland, Tornadoes to the South
25. Why
Winter Was Colder Than Average in the U.S., And What Spring Will Bring
26. California:
Determining Cause of Eaton Fire Could Take 12-18 Months, Edison International
Says
27.
Guest Essay: Northwest Indigenous Leaders
Recommit to Alliance to Bolster Salmon Recovery
Word of the Day
Reprobate \REP-ruh-bait\ Noun - 1: a person foreordained to damnation *2: a depraved person: scoundrel.
“Rooster, you reprobate,” shrilled Miss Hannigan at her hoodlum brother.
Energy & Utility
Issues
1.
World’s First Fusion Power Plant Planned for
Chelan County, Aims for 2028 Energy Production Start (Source ONE News, Ephrata,
WA)
2.
Less Water & Dry Weather Weigh on Bonneville
Power Administration’s Bottom Line (Bonneville Power Administration)
3.
KIRO 7 Investigates: Amazon’s Nuclear Gamble (KIRO
Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
https://mynorthwest.com/local/amazon-nuclear-gamble/4054653
4.
Proposal in 2025 Oregon Legislature Would Create
$1 Billion Fund Via Ratepayers to Pay for Utility-Caused Fires (Yachats News, OR)
5.
In A Reversal, Plans for U.S. Natural Gas Power
Grow, Complicating Progress on Climate (ABC News)
6.
California: San Diego Advances New Projects to
Underground Power Lines: Here’s Where (KUSI-TV, San Diego, CA)
7.
Judge Pulls Plug on Suits Accusing Kansas Utilities
of Hiking Rates During Massive Winter Storm (Courthouse News Service)
8.
State Department Terminates U.S. Support of Ukraine
Energy Grid Restoration (NBC News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/state-department-terminates-u-support-213604436.html
As the World Turns
9.
Experts, WA Reps Question Rationale for Bonneville
Power Administration & Hanford Layoffs (Cascade PBS)
https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/02/experts-wa-reps-question-rationale-bpa-and-hanford-layoffs
10.
NOAA, Federal Weather & Research Agency, Is
Firing Workers in Oregon & Washington (KNKX Radio, Tacoma, WA)
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
11.
Arizona: Pumped Hydropower – Salt River
Project-Proposed Reservoir Continues to Move Forward Near Apache Lake (Yahoo!
News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/srp-proposed-reservoir-continues-move-231233218.html
Conservation &
Efficiency
12.
$153 Million in Federal Funds for Arizona Air
Conditioning Repairs, Energy Efficiency Upgrades Withheld (KJZZ-Radio, Phoenix,
AZ)
Fish & Wildlife
13.
Washington State’s Costly Salmon Recovery Effort
Heads Toward Mediation (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
14.
Aquaculture Nonprofit Sues Washington Department
of Natural Resources Over Ban on Net Pen Fish Farming (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)
15.
WA State: Almost 1,000 Steelhead Caught in Three
Months in Okanogan County After Nine-Year Hiatus from Fishing Season (Source
ONE News, Ephrata, WA)
Water, Water, Anywhere?
16.
WA Is Seeing a Dry Winter, Including
Fifth-Driest January on Record. Here’s Why It Matters (Bellingham Herald, WA – Via
Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wa-seeing-dry-winter-including-130000806.html
17.
It’s Been a Warm Winter, & California’s Snowpack
Shows It (Los Angeles Times, CA – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/warm-winter-californias-snowpack-shows-110031540.html
Climate Change
Sequestration Vault
18.
Most Americans Who Experienced Severe Winter
Weather See Climate Change at Work, AP-NORC Poll Shows (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/poll-extreme-cold-climate-change-4899de252a4107ee529e2f134fb68f59
19.
Dent’s Ag Exemption Bill for WA’s Climate Commitment
Act Costs Moving Forward (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
Public Relations,
Marketing & Media
20.
RIP: Microsoft Is Officially Killing Skype
(Mashable)
https://mashable.com/article/microsoft-kills-skype
Barrel O’ Green
Potpourri – Seething Stew of Science
21.
Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Aces Moon
Touchdown with a Special Delivery for NASA (Associated Press)
Politics, Governance,
and Management
22.
President Trump Says 25% Tariffs on Mexican &
Canadian Imports Will Start Tuesday, With ‘No Room’ for Delay (Associated Press)
Other Things to Know
About Today
23.
4.5 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Orcas Island (KOMO
News, Seattle, WA)
24.
New Storm Bringing Blizzard Conditions to Heartland,
Tornadoes to the South (Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/storm-bringing-blizzard-conditions-heartland-144154152.html
25.
Why Winter Was Colder Than Average in the U.S.,
And What Spring Will Bring (Washington Post – Via MSN)
26.
California: Determining Cause of Eaton Fire
Could Take 12-18 Months, Edison International Says (Utility Dive)
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
27.
Guest Essay: Northwest Indigenous Leaders
Recommit to Alliance to Bolster Salmon Recovery (Bellingham Herald, WA – Paywall
Advisory)
https://www.bellinghamherald.com/opinion/article300602414.html
Diversions - Alligators in the Sewer
Oscars 2025
Highlights: ‘Anora’ Emerges Triumphant in Unpredictable Awards Season
Archaeologists Find
Message in a Bottle at Viking Site—Here’s What It Says
https://www.newsweek.com/message-bottle-found-archaeologist-viking-site-1992507
Japanese Park
Covering Just 2 1/2 Square Feet Is Officially World’s Smallest
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/02/28/japan-Guinness-World-Records-smallest-park/3731740777302/
‘Megalodon’ Goldfish
Found in Pennsylvania Waterway
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/03/03/Fish-Wildlife-Service-goldfish/4181741019700/
Song of the Day
Chicago – Saturday in
the Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBKXDqZgRY
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