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Joel Myer, Communicator Emeritus, edits The Energy News Digest.
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Hotshots – Today’s Top Five Stories
Columbia River Basin Drought Threatens Salmon
& Power (The Oregonian, Portland, OR – Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/columbia-river-basin-drought-threatens-130128246.html
PacifiCorp to Suspend California Energy
Efficiency Programs Under Proposed Settlement (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pacificorp-suspend-california-energy-efficiency-programs/828721/
Bonneville Lock & Dam: How a Nearly
90-Year-Old Project Still Powers the Pacific Northwest (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)
Wave Energy Testing Site Opens Off Oregon, A
Green Energy Milestone in the Trump Administration (Associated Press)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/wave-energy-testing-opens-off-130542998.html
U.S.-Canada Trade War Threatens Electricity
Imports, Prices (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-canada-trade-war-threatens-electricity-imports-prices/828689/
News Highlights (See Stories Below)
1. Columbia River Basin Drought Threatens Salmon & Power
2. Bonneville Lock & Dam: How a Nearly 90-Year-Old Project
Still Powers the Pacific Northwest
3. Montana: State Energy Task Force Presents Recommendations,
Calls for Reform of PSC & Developing Other Energy Sources
4. Puget Sound Energy: Proposed Municipalization Effort in
Kitsap County Could Put Customers at Risk
5. Why Your Idaho Power Bill May Be Higher This Summer
6. U.S. Sues California Utility Over 2020 Hobo Fire That
Burned in Shasta-Trinity National Forest
7. The Western Energy Market Must Shift as Power Flows Evolve,
Say Experts
8. Wave Energy Testing Site Opens Off Oregon, A Green Energy
Milestone in the Trump Administration
9. WA State: Grant County is Becoming Washington’s Solar
‘Ground Zero’ — Other Counties Are Taking Note
10. As Ohio Grapples with Fake Comments on Clean Energy, Some
Want Crackdown
11. Growing Food & Power on the Same Land: California
Researchers Test Agrivoltaics
12. PacifiCorp to Suspend California Energy Efficiency Programs
Under Proposed Settlement
13. British Columbia: New Hatcheries Will See Up To 1 Million
More Salmon Raised & Released into Fraser Skeena Rivers Annually
14. Northern Pike Were Illegally Introduced to the Columbia
River Basin Decades Ago: Today, the Invasive Predator Threatens 13 Protected
Salmon Runs
15. The World Inches Toward Catastrophic Climate Events:
‘Bigger Shocks Are on the Way’
16. FCC Proposal Could Preempt Local Broadband Permitting
Authority
17. Amazon Completes Its Application for a Data Center in Walla
Walla County
18. Bill Gates Warns ‘There Is No Plan’ for the ‘Upheaval’
Artificial Intelligence Will Cause
19. Mark Zuckerberg Had a Bold Plan to Replace Meta Staff with
Artificial Intelligence. Here’s How It Imploded.
20. In a Divided America, The Left & Right Unite to Oppose
Artificial Intelligence Data Centers
21. Hack of Water Sector Supplier Draws FBI Scrutiny as
Iran-Linked Cyber Concerns Grow
22. Could California’s 1 Million Electric Car Batteries Help
Power the State’s Grid?
23. Meta Reaches $17 Billion Settlement with States in Landmark
Trial Over Teen Social Media Addiction
24. U.S.-Canada Trade War Threatens Electricity Imports, Prices
25. Northwest Late Summer Days Marred by Historic Drought,
Exacerbating Wildfires
26. The Great Cooling Has Started
27. Guest Essay: A Dying Fish & Wildlife Commissioner’s
Parting Letter to WA’s Governor
Quote of the Day
“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
1. Columbia
River Basin Drought Threatens Salmon & Power (The Oregonian, Portland, OR –
Via Yahoo! News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/columbia-river-basin-drought-threatens-130128246.html
3.
Montana: State Energy Task Force Presents
Recommendations, Calls for Reform of PSC & Developing Other Energy Sources
(KTMF-TV, Missoula, MT)
4.
Puget Sound Energy: Proposed Municipalization
Effort in Kitsap County Could Put Customers at Risk (Daily Energy Insider)
5.
Why Your Idaho Power Bill May Be Higher This
Summer (MSN News)
6.
U.S. Sues California Utility Over 2020 Hobo Fire
That Burned in Shasta-Trinity National Forest (KCRA-TV, Sacramento, CA)
https://www.kcra.com/article/hobo-fire-trinity-public-utility-district-lawsuit/73523018
7.
The Western Energy Market Must Shift as Power
Flows Evolve, Say Experts (Utility Dive)
Renewable Energy &
Self Storage
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/wave-energy-testing-opens-off-130542998.html
9.
WA State: Grant County is Becoming Washington’s
Solar ‘Ground Zero’ — Other Counties Are Taking Note (Source ONE News, Ephrata,
WA)
10.
As Ohio Grapples with Fake Comments on Clean
Energy, Some Want Crackdown (Canary Media)
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/ohio-fake-comments-clean-energy
11.
Growing Food & Power on the Same Land: California
Researchers Test Agrivoltaics (KPBS Broadcasting, San Diego, CA)
Conservation &
Efficiency
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/pacificorp-suspend-california-energy-efficiency-programs/828721/
Fish & Wildlife
13.
British Columbia: New Hatcheries Will See Up To
1 Million More Salmon Raised & Released into Fraser Skeena Rivers Annually (Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation)
14.
Northern Pike Were Illegally Introduced to the Columbia
River Basin Decades Ago: Today, the Invasive Predator Threatens 13 Protected
Salmon Runs (Dario AS)
Climate Change
Sequestration Vault
15.
The World Inches Toward Catastrophic Climate Events:
‘Bigger Shocks Are on the Way’ (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-disaster-big-one-threat-5b062254250a759483c94376d32ae478
London Calling
–Telecommunications
16.
FCC Proposal Could Preempt Local Broadband
Permitting Authority (Conduit Street – Maryland Association of Counties)
HAL’s Internet Café
17.
Amazon Completes Its Application for a Data
Center in Walla Walla County (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA – Paywall Advisory)
18.
Bill Gates Warns ‘There Is No Plan’ for the
‘Upheaval’ Artificial Intelligence Will Cause (CNBC News)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/26/bill-gates-ai-jobs-economic-upheaval.html
19.
Mark Zuckerberg Had a Bold Plan to Replace Meta Staff
with Artificial Intelligence. Here’s How It Imploded. (Reuters)
20.
In a Divided America, The Left & Right Unite
to Oppose Artificial Intelligence Data Centers (Associated Press)
The Wizarding World of
Technology & Cybersecurity
21.
Hack of Water Sector Supplier Draws FBI Scrutiny
as Iran-Linked Cyber Concerns Grow (Reuters – Via MSN News)
I Sing the Car Electric
22.
Could California’s 1 Million Electric Car
Batteries Help Power the State’s Grid? (KQED Radio, San Francisco, CA)
Public Relations,
Marketing & Media
23.
Meta Reaches $17 Billion Settlement with States in
Landmark Trial Over Teen Social Media Addiction (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/meta-trial-instagram-settlement-97d342f2a33d835eda2356c5e1af9e37
Politics, Governance,
and Management
24. U.S.-Canada
Trade War Threatens Electricity Imports, Prices (Utility Dive)
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/us-canada-trade-war-threatens-electricity-imports-prices/828689/
Other Things to Know
About Today
25.
Northwest Late Summer Days Marred by Historic
Drought, Exacerbating Wildfires (Washington State Standard)
26.
The Great Cooling Has Started (Cliff Mass
Weather Blog)
https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-great-cooling-has-started.html
Soapbox Serenade – Vox
Populi
27. Guest
Essay: A Dying Fish & Wildlife Commissioner’s Parting Letter to WA’s Governor
(Washington State Standard)
Diversions - Alligators in the Sewer
Country
Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80 After 'Brief Battle with Cancer'
https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/dolly-parton-country-music-legend-cultural-icon-dead/story
Tim Curry, Famous for
Roles in Rocky Horror Picture Show, It & Annie, Dies at 80
https://people.com/tim-curry-dead-obituary-8549935
Man Dons 17 T-Shirts
While Continuously Heading a Soccer Ball
Wisconsin Cat Born with
Record-Breaking 29 Toes
https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2026/08/24/Guinness-World-Records-most-toes-cat/6971787582316/
Song of the Day
Dolly Parton – Stairway
to Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKD_oPzHRrQ
Links & Paywall Advisory
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