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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Gossamer • \GAH-suh-mer\ • adjective – Extremely light, delicate, or tenuous
“Ah to be a butterfly,” mused Derwood. “To float around on gossamer wings, flitting from flower to flower.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Ecology asks residents to reduce wood burning because of stagnant air (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NEWS04/711010080/1025/rss1025
We change the clocks this weekend. The time change was delayed by a week in an attempt by congress to save power. Local fire fighters hope you use the extra time to do something which could save your life. They want to you find fresh batteries for your smoke detectors. Lewis Count first responders are often frustrated when they arrive to a house fire and find no working smoke detectors. Remember to “fall back” one hour when you go to sleep Saturday night. (KELA Radio, Centralia/Chehalis
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Salmon, Dam Plan Put Upward Pressure On Electric Rates – Proposed changes to Columbia and Snake River dam operations could raise your electric bill. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/salmon-dam-plan-puts-upward-pressure-electric-rates/
Portland General Electric earnings soar in third quarter thanks to income tax reform (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/29/daily33.html?ana=from_rss
Oregon – 70-foot-tall power pole 'unsuitable,' some argue – Officials may reconsider scenic highway location (Bend Bulletin)
http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/NEWS0107/711020511/1001&nav_category=
News Release – Vandals damage BPA property in Lane County, Oregon; reward offered (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180922/
Ohio Senate passes amended energy bill (Business Courier of Cincinnati)
http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/10/29/daily44.html?ana=from_rss
News Release – NRG and Powerspan Announce Large-Scale Demonstration of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) for Coal-Fueled Power Plants - Demonstration to be among largest CCS projects in the world (NRG Energy)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-02-2007/0004696394&EDATE=
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Study to look at whether cormorants are harming salmon runs (Well, Duh! My guess is that these guys are harder on the little fishies than the sea lions.)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1023335~Study_to_look_at_whether_cormorants_are_harming_salmon_runs.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Alaska – Salmon bycatch a major problem. The pollock fishery experiences a "nightmare" season. (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/money/industries/fishing/story/9424156p-9336428c.html
Belfair Residents Get a Price Tag for Sewer Connection – The hook-up fee for the new system is projected to be $3,200, with monthly rates ranging from $85 to $100, county says. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/nov/01/belfair-residents-get-a-price-tag-for-sewer/
Cowlitz dredging to start next week – The dredge Oregon should be at the mouth of the Cowlitz River this morning and is expected to start clearing in the silt-engorged channel next week. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/11/02/area_news/news08.txt
Water updates, impacts topic of conference – Hastings' district director calls for farmer unity. Even though insiders may think work on the Odessa Aquifer is going slowly, Mike Schwisow assures residents it's progressing quite well. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/11/01/news/news02.txt
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Inslee pushes for clean energy in new book, "Apollo's Fire" (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP11022007news224890.cfm/
Venture Capital: Seattle VCs missing clean tech boom – Some of the largest venture capital firms in the state have shied away from wind power, biofuels, fuel cells and other clean tech sectors, a message highlighted in a survey released this week by the law firm of Stoel Rives. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/venture/337810_vc02.html?source=rss
California – Wind turbine manufacturer pitches alternative to solar roof (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7350174?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Pay dirt: Start-up draws electricity from the ground – Here's a renewable energy source most of us haven't thought of: dirt. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9809164-7.html?part=dht
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Clinton sees global warming fight as a way to create jobs, opportunity (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337769_climate02.html?source=rss
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC urged to stop Comcast Internet blocking – Members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition and Internet scholars from Harvard, Yale and Stanford law schools filed a petition and complaint with the Federal Communications Commission Thursday in response to claims that Comcast is blocking some kinds of peer-to-peer traffic. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9809263-7.html?part=dht
City Wi-Fi networks get Senate panel nod, again – Cities and local governments would be free to build their own broadband networks under a bill approved once again this week by a U.S. Senate panel. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9809196-7.html?part=dht
Utah – UTOPIA users get Internet through Mstar (The Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/242239/3/
GENERAL NEWS
Shelton, Tenino join the party – Playoff football in November is familiar territory for Tumwater coach Sid Otton. For Matt Hinkle of Shelton and Kevin Ridout of Tenino, this is relatively new turf. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/143/story/260215.html
Port Townsend High Football Game Canceled After Student Is Diagnosed With ‘Superbug' (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/nov/01/port-townsend-high-football-game-canceled-after/
Man Collecting L& I Benefits Caught On Camera Pushing Car, Moving Tires
Richard Thompson – Duane Nissen claims he was injured while working at Olympic Panel Products in Shelton in 2003 and he says he is entitled to keep nearly $60,000 in workers compensation. (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14489862/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
New Narrows Bridge drivers contesting unpaid tolls (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_110107WAB_narrows_bridge_transponders_TP.1ca5568cd.html
Colbert’s Presidential Bid Ends After a ‘No’ in South Carolina (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/us/politics/02colbert.html?ex=1351656000&en=ce3002a76acb2aca&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Lobbyists miss deadline for payment of back rent at state Capitol (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/260331.html
HISTORY ON THE AIR IN LEWIS COUNTY – KELA made twin cities broadcasting history after going onto the air 70-years ago this week. The station at that time in 1937 could be heard in Utah, Oakland, and British Columbia. KELA continues to broadcast out of it’s studios between Centralia and Chehalis.
DIVERSIONS
Man, 72, misses monkeys, hits neighbor – A Malaysian villager who was aiming to shoot wild monkeys encroaching on his garden shot his neighbor instead, police said Friday. The neighbor suffered slight injuries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/ap_on_fe_st/odd_bad_aim;_ylt=Av0mQGkvlFdMzg736j_cWT7tiBIF
Woman pleads no contest in fork attack – A woman accused of stabbing her husband with a fork during a fight at a restaurant has pleaded no contest to reduced charges of being drunk and disorderly.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fork_attack;_ylt=AksXlwiC1qLMN.YnNDqI9grtiBIF
Gator dropped off at water department
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/odd_gator_in_crate;_ylt=AtbBXhO2gTZhjyVizydWTnntiBIF
Dog, cat honored for saving masters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_animal_rescues;_ylt=AoAQAfb2EHzr9RCaDY3Hxn_tiBIF
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
News Diget for November 1, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Warison • \WAIR-uh-sun\ • noun – a bugle call to attack
The warison for the garrison was sounding mighty weak
The guards were playing poker, the soldiers fast asleep
The enemy was fast, but did not notice what was cast
The ground around the castle was coated with (gosh, I can’t finish this thing in time)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Washington State Department of Ecology asks no fires please; air stagnant (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1021252~Ecology_Dept__asks_no_fires_please__air_stagnant.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Shorter days make for better viewing of the heavens (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003985343_nwwstarwatch01.html?syndication=rss
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Enron reaches $500,000 settlement with Port of Seattle (Platts News Service)
http://www.platts.com/HOME/News/6550567.xml?sub=HOME&p=HOME/News&
News Release – Lightning Strike to Wisconsin Public Service's 321-megawatt Weston 3 Power Plant Will Cause the Unit to be Off-line Until Late 2007 or Early 2008 (WPS)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=77010
News Release – The New Grid Is Not Just Smarter; More Like Truly Gifted With Utility, Environmental, and Consumer Benefit (GridPoint)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76961
How Transmission Operators are Helping Renewable Energy, Especially Wind (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1593
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Fish to survive dam plan, agency says – The agency in charge of restoring Northwest salmon concluded Wednesday that the latest court-ordered plan for running federal dams in the Columbia and Snake River basins is not likely to jeopardize the survival of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003986866_salmon01m.html
U.S. proposal provides billion extra to save fish – The plan would rule out breaching dams on the Columbia or Snake rivers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193885735180450.xml&coll=7
Biologists for Agency Endorse Dams Plan – Federal fisheries officials in Seattle on Wednesday endorsed, with minor modifications, a plan for the government’s continued operation of the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/us/01salmon.html?ei=5088&en=10bd1f091d2a14ed&ex=1351569600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1193933417-Ain8Uo1JE9aO5Nr2o2aOgw
New plan sets up court fight over salmon – Feds still say fish runs can be restored without breaching dams (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/198757.html
Dam Removal in Dispute in Columbia-Snake Salmon Plan (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3327
News Release – New Approach, New Science Holds Promise for Northwest Salmon Recovery. (NW River Partners, links to PDF file)
http://www.nwriverpartners.org/documents/draftBiOprelease10-31-07.pdf
Q & A – Questions & Answers: NOAA-Fisheries Draft Biological Opinion (NW River Partners, links to PDF file)
http://www.nwriverpartners.org/
Steelhead season on the Wenatchee – 'A lot of people having a lot of fun' Steelhead season on the Wenatchee (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS04/710310066/1001/rss1001
Do your duty: catch a steelhead (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071101/SPORTS/711010069/-1/RSS01
Anglers continue to catch good counts of Coho on rivers –Rivers continue to be the focal point of angler attention this week, and with good reason. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/258999.html
Scientists to Create Fish Vaccine Pellet (Idaho State Journal, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012309~Scientists_to_Create_Fish_Vaccine_Pellet.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Maine – Whitefield Voters to Write the Next Chapter of Coopers Mills Dam Story (The Lincoln County News)
http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=28489
Dredging moves ahead as critics push back – The Army Corps of Engineers began dredging a Port of Olympia shipping channel this week. Within hours, five people had taken steps in hopes of stopping the work. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/259081.html
Idaho water users say governor's plan dry on details – Water users say Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter hasn't released enough details about his plan for water conservation projects in south-central Idaho for them to know if they have any chance to succeed. (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/258567.html
Georgia Drought – Environmentalists: Officials skimped on water conservation measures. Environmentalists say state and local officials haven't done enough to implement water conservation measures, exacerbating the impact of this year's historic drought. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/10/31/envirowater_1101_web.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Olympia Dispatch, Tri City Herald – Sutherland: Kittitas wind farm decision "political" – Asked this week about this summer's decision to preempt Kittitas County's rejection of the controversial Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project Washington Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland said it was an easy call.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9420242p-9332996c.html
Test buoy for wave energy sinks off Oregon coast – The first wave energy test buoy deployed off the Oregon Coast is now 150 feet below the ocean surface. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003987587_webbuoy01.html
British Columbia – Tidal generation cooperation agreement signed. A new cooperation agreement to install tidal turbine generators in Discovery Passage is being hailed as good news for jobs and the environment. (Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=eaee1dc6-2a83-43e3-8b78-146028ad65bc&k=63668
CONSERVATION
Consumers must make difference in changing our wasteful habits
http://www.vernonbroadcaster.com/articles/2007/10/31/opinion/03storyop.txt
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
U.S. mayors meet in Seattle to push for a green revolution – City has met a big goal, but more action is needed (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337597_climate01.html?source=rss
Wildfires emitted large amounts of greenhouse gases – The fires that roared through Southern California last week spewed the same amount of greenhouse gases as what is produced in about one week from the state's burning of fossil fuels (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/01/BABMT42FJ.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Wildfires turning northern forests into carbon-dioxide sources – A group of U.S. researchers have found that wildfires — fuelled by climate change — may be turning boreal forests into sources of carbon dioxide. (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/31/boreal-forests.html
Climate Change and the ‘Politics of Fear’ – The political and literary journal n+1 was the organizer of Tuesday night’s panel discussion on environmentalism. Is the environmental movement, like the war on terror, premised on a “politics of fear”? In other words, does it try to unify people by scaring them with threats to their basic survival? (NY Times)
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/climate-change-and-the-politics-of-fear/index.html?ex=1351569600&en=4f14b348720a4b93&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
For scientist, possible effects of climate change undeniable (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10312007_For-scientist-possible-effects-of-climate-change-undeniable.cfm
Are Colleges Only Green Skin Deep? The Sustainability Report Card 2008 examines colleges and universities dedication to sustainability, on campuses and in endowment portfolios. (Social Funds)
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2408.html
Hollywood Slowly Warms To Conservation – From “green carpets” at awards shows to organic fruit served to actors on sets, Hollywood is going all out to promote itself as being environmentally hip. But is it all just show? (The Chief Engineer)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3174.htm
Climate action day Saturday (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/259042.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Massachusetts – State's broadband access incentive gets wary response – A pledge by state leaders to help finance broadband Internet access in remote parts of Massachusetts is being met with a healthy dose of skepticism from big telecommunications companies questioning the economics of the expansion. (Boston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/10/29/story9.html?ana=from_rss
Wi-Lan Sues....Everybody – Claims the world violates their DSL patents (Reuters)
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2007-11-01T122017Z_01_N01399769_RTRUKOC_0_US-WILAN-LITIGATION.xml
The FCC's Rose-Colored Broadband Glasses – It's that time of year again.... (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-FCCs-RoseColored-Broadband-Glasses-89007
GENERAL NEWS
California D.A. to be asked to consider case of boy accused of starting fire “…Investigators initially considered a downed power line as the source of the Buckweed fire but never officially listed it as the cause…” (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020584~D_A__to_be_asked_to_consider_case_of_boy_accused_of_starting_fire.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines
Weyerhaeuser Hurt by Housing Slump (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-weyerhaeuser-results.html?_r=1&ex=1351656000&en=d3e1c7be83a68305&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
SHELTON CLOCK TOWER TO GET CHIMES – The Shelton Clock Tower Committee has been reformed and is beginning a campaign to give the focal point in downtown a voice. The Committee plans on completing the clock tower by adding chimes. According to a news release, the Verdin clock factory can retrofit the tower's clock to "create the sound for Railroad Avenue." The cost of the retrofit is $9,000 and the Committee is selling another 300 personalized bricks to be added to the base of the tower. A brick can be purchased for $50. Brick order forms are available at the Shelton Civic Center, Lynch Creek Floral and Sage Book Store as well as on the City's website: www.ci.shelton.wa.us. Orders for the personalized bricks will be taken until March or until all bricks are sold. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Loonie High On Fed Cut – Soars on back of cut in U.S. interest rates. The Canadian dollar stormed through its August, 1957 peak of US$1.0614 yesterday to post a record high for the modern age (National Post)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=49f41ec2-4268-4733-9a92-a42edf9090d7&k=40479
$11M damage award for picketing funeral – Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church caused emotional distress to the father of a Maryland Marine killed in Iraq by picketing his funeral and must pay nearly $11 million in damages, a jury found Wednesday.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003986773_funeral01.html
DIVERSIONS
Colbert to file for S.C. Democratic primary (Somewhere, Pat Paulsen is smiling)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/31/colbert.sc/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Australia – Lawn-watering spat leads to death. A 66-year-old man was bashed to death while watering his lawn in an argument over Sydney's water restrictions, police and media said Thursday.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/31/water.murder.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Cheney: Being Darth Vader not so bad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/cheney_darth_vader;_ylt=Aq31eK5Ob1gngJQUa56RRAXtiBIF
Australian laments ear wax eating video – Australia's opposition leader lamented his past behavior on Wednesday, as images of him picking his ear wax in Parliament reached a growing audience via the Internet. (It was really a ‘Bertie Botts’ every flavor bean)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_fe_st/odd_australia_ear_wax;_ylt=Antou_qtZ8ZB4g7H6tLyhp_tiBIF
Iowa governor gives pumpkins a reprieve – Pumpkins have won a Halloween reprieve from the tax man.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/pumpkin_tax;_ylt=AvhETSJzpZQOryJJandVR5_tiBIF
WORD OF THE DAY
Warison • \WAIR-uh-sun\ • noun – a bugle call to attack
The warison for the garrison was sounding mighty weak
The guards were playing poker, the soldiers fast asleep
The enemy was fast, but did not notice what was cast
The ground around the castle was coated with (gosh, I can’t finish this thing in time)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Washington State Department of Ecology asks no fires please; air stagnant (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1021252~Ecology_Dept__asks_no_fires_please__air_stagnant.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Shorter days make for better viewing of the heavens (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003985343_nwwstarwatch01.html?syndication=rss
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Enron reaches $500,000 settlement with Port of Seattle (Platts News Service)
http://www.platts.com/HOME/News/6550567.xml?sub=HOME&p=HOME/News&
News Release – Lightning Strike to Wisconsin Public Service's 321-megawatt Weston 3 Power Plant Will Cause the Unit to be Off-line Until Late 2007 or Early 2008 (WPS)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=77010
News Release – The New Grid Is Not Just Smarter; More Like Truly Gifted With Utility, Environmental, and Consumer Benefit (GridPoint)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76961
How Transmission Operators are Helping Renewable Energy, Especially Wind (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1593
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Fish to survive dam plan, agency says – The agency in charge of restoring Northwest salmon concluded Wednesday that the latest court-ordered plan for running federal dams in the Columbia and Snake River basins is not likely to jeopardize the survival of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003986866_salmon01m.html
U.S. proposal provides billion extra to save fish – The plan would rule out breaching dams on the Columbia or Snake rivers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193885735180450.xml&coll=7
Biologists for Agency Endorse Dams Plan – Federal fisheries officials in Seattle on Wednesday endorsed, with minor modifications, a plan for the government’s continued operation of the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/us/01salmon.html?ei=5088&en=10bd1f091d2a14ed&ex=1351569600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1193933417-Ain8Uo1JE9aO5Nr2o2aOgw
New plan sets up court fight over salmon – Feds still say fish runs can be restored without breaching dams (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/198757.html
Dam Removal in Dispute in Columbia-Snake Salmon Plan (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3327
News Release – New Approach, New Science Holds Promise for Northwest Salmon Recovery. (NW River Partners, links to PDF file)
http://www.nwriverpartners.org/documents/draftBiOprelease10-31-07.pdf
Q & A – Questions & Answers: NOAA-Fisheries Draft Biological Opinion (NW River Partners, links to PDF file)
http://www.nwriverpartners.org/
Steelhead season on the Wenatchee – 'A lot of people having a lot of fun' Steelhead season on the Wenatchee (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS04/710310066/1001/rss1001
Do your duty: catch a steelhead (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071101/SPORTS/711010069/-1/RSS01
Anglers continue to catch good counts of Coho on rivers –Rivers continue to be the focal point of angler attention this week, and with good reason. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/258999.html
Scientists to Create Fish Vaccine Pellet (Idaho State Journal, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012309~Scientists_to_Create_Fish_Vaccine_Pellet.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Maine – Whitefield Voters to Write the Next Chapter of Coopers Mills Dam Story (The Lincoln County News)
http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=28489
Dredging moves ahead as critics push back – The Army Corps of Engineers began dredging a Port of Olympia shipping channel this week. Within hours, five people had taken steps in hopes of stopping the work. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/259081.html
Idaho water users say governor's plan dry on details – Water users say Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter hasn't released enough details about his plan for water conservation projects in south-central Idaho for them to know if they have any chance to succeed. (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/258567.html
Georgia Drought – Environmentalists: Officials skimped on water conservation measures. Environmentalists say state and local officials haven't done enough to implement water conservation measures, exacerbating the impact of this year's historic drought. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/10/31/envirowater_1101_web.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Olympia Dispatch, Tri City Herald – Sutherland: Kittitas wind farm decision "political" – Asked this week about this summer's decision to preempt Kittitas County's rejection of the controversial Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project Washington Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland said it was an easy call.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9420242p-9332996c.html
Test buoy for wave energy sinks off Oregon coast – The first wave energy test buoy deployed off the Oregon Coast is now 150 feet below the ocean surface. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003987587_webbuoy01.html
British Columbia – Tidal generation cooperation agreement signed. A new cooperation agreement to install tidal turbine generators in Discovery Passage is being hailed as good news for jobs and the environment. (Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=eaee1dc6-2a83-43e3-8b78-146028ad65bc&k=63668
CONSERVATION
Consumers must make difference in changing our wasteful habits
http://www.vernonbroadcaster.com/articles/2007/10/31/opinion/03storyop.txt
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
U.S. mayors meet in Seattle to push for a green revolution – City has met a big goal, but more action is needed (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337597_climate01.html?source=rss
Wildfires emitted large amounts of greenhouse gases – The fires that roared through Southern California last week spewed the same amount of greenhouse gases as what is produced in about one week from the state's burning of fossil fuels (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/01/BABMT42FJ.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Wildfires turning northern forests into carbon-dioxide sources – A group of U.S. researchers have found that wildfires — fuelled by climate change — may be turning boreal forests into sources of carbon dioxide. (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/31/boreal-forests.html
Climate Change and the ‘Politics of Fear’ – The political and literary journal n+1 was the organizer of Tuesday night’s panel discussion on environmentalism. Is the environmental movement, like the war on terror, premised on a “politics of fear”? In other words, does it try to unify people by scaring them with threats to their basic survival? (NY Times)
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/climate-change-and-the-politics-of-fear/index.html?ex=1351569600&en=4f14b348720a4b93&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
For scientist, possible effects of climate change undeniable (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10312007_For-scientist-possible-effects-of-climate-change-undeniable.cfm
Are Colleges Only Green Skin Deep? The Sustainability Report Card 2008 examines colleges and universities dedication to sustainability, on campuses and in endowment portfolios. (Social Funds)
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2408.html
Hollywood Slowly Warms To Conservation – From “green carpets” at awards shows to organic fruit served to actors on sets, Hollywood is going all out to promote itself as being environmentally hip. But is it all just show? (The Chief Engineer)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3174.htm
Climate action day Saturday (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/259042.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Massachusetts – State's broadband access incentive gets wary response – A pledge by state leaders to help finance broadband Internet access in remote parts of Massachusetts is being met with a healthy dose of skepticism from big telecommunications companies questioning the economics of the expansion. (Boston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/10/29/story9.html?ana=from_rss
Wi-Lan Sues....Everybody – Claims the world violates their DSL patents (Reuters)
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2007-11-01T122017Z_01_N01399769_RTRUKOC_0_US-WILAN-LITIGATION.xml
The FCC's Rose-Colored Broadband Glasses – It's that time of year again.... (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-FCCs-RoseColored-Broadband-Glasses-89007
GENERAL NEWS
California D.A. to be asked to consider case of boy accused of starting fire “…Investigators initially considered a downed power line as the source of the Buckweed fire but never officially listed it as the cause…” (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020584~D_A__to_be_asked_to_consider_case_of_boy_accused_of_starting_fire.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines
Weyerhaeuser Hurt by Housing Slump (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-weyerhaeuser-results.html?_r=1&ex=1351656000&en=d3e1c7be83a68305&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
SHELTON CLOCK TOWER TO GET CHIMES – The Shelton Clock Tower Committee has been reformed and is beginning a campaign to give the focal point in downtown a voice. The Committee plans on completing the clock tower by adding chimes. According to a news release, the Verdin clock factory can retrofit the tower's clock to "create the sound for Railroad Avenue." The cost of the retrofit is $9,000 and the Committee is selling another 300 personalized bricks to be added to the base of the tower. A brick can be purchased for $50. Brick order forms are available at the Shelton Civic Center, Lynch Creek Floral and Sage Book Store as well as on the City's website: www.ci.shelton.wa.us. Orders for the personalized bricks will be taken until March or until all bricks are sold. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Loonie High On Fed Cut – Soars on back of cut in U.S. interest rates. The Canadian dollar stormed through its August, 1957 peak of US$1.0614 yesterday to post a record high for the modern age (National Post)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=49f41ec2-4268-4733-9a92-a42edf9090d7&k=40479
$11M damage award for picketing funeral – Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church caused emotional distress to the father of a Maryland Marine killed in Iraq by picketing his funeral and must pay nearly $11 million in damages, a jury found Wednesday.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003986773_funeral01.html
DIVERSIONS
Colbert to file for S.C. Democratic primary (Somewhere, Pat Paulsen is smiling)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/31/colbert.sc/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Australia – Lawn-watering spat leads to death. A 66-year-old man was bashed to death while watering his lawn in an argument over Sydney's water restrictions, police and media said Thursday.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/31/water.murder.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Cheney: Being Darth Vader not so bad
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/cheney_darth_vader;_ylt=Aq31eK5Ob1gngJQUa56RRAXtiBIF
Australian laments ear wax eating video – Australia's opposition leader lamented his past behavior on Wednesday, as images of him picking his ear wax in Parliament reached a growing audience via the Internet. (It was really a ‘Bertie Botts’ every flavor bean)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_fe_st/odd_australia_ear_wax;_ylt=Antou_qtZ8ZB4g7H6tLyhp_tiBIF
Iowa governor gives pumpkins a reprieve – Pumpkins have won a Halloween reprieve from the tax man.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_fe_st/pumpkin_tax;_ylt=AvhETSJzpZQOryJJandVR5_tiBIF
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
News Digest for October 31, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Gargoyle • \GAR-goy-ul\ • noun – *1a: a spout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figure projecting from a roof gutter to throw rainwater clear of a building b: a grotesquely carved figure 2: a person with an ugly face
Alberto was quire pleased. He had replaced the downspouts on his home with colorful, gnome-like gargoyles. His pleasure with the architectural touch to his aluminum sided ranch home was slightly tempered by the fact that the jets of water that spouted from the various parts of the gargoyles looked less than flattering during heavy rains.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Region gets jump on plans for storm response – Last December's Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm left valuable lessons for the region's roads, utility and emergency-service workers who have vowed to be better organized should another storm strike this winter. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984674_storm31m.html?syndication=rss
Avista 3Q loss $3.9 million – Avista reports a quarterly loss of $3.9 million compared with a $10 million profit a year ago. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020317~Avista_3Q_loss__3_9_million.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Evergreen Pulp still interested in Washington mill – Grays Harbor PUD Connection. The international pulp market, the U.S. credit crunch, the dollar's weakness and renewable energy could all position Evergreen Pulp Inc. to buy a Gray's Harbor, Wash. area pulp mill. (The Times-Standard, Eureka)
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_7327879?source=most_viewed
Chelan PUD 2008 budget on track for goals – The Chelan County PUD is on track to meet its 2008 budget goals, but cost cutting, revenue boosting and possibly rate increases could be necessary to meet goals beyond that, commissioners learned Monday. (The Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS04/710300050/1001/rss1001
Rocky Mountain Power rate hike draws criticism – An increase in power rates proposed by Rocky Mountain Power is drawing criticism from seniors concerned about adding costs to those on fixed incomes and farmers forced to pay higher power rates this summer. (Casper Star Tribune: watch, as the utility pulls out all the stops, including the residential exchange in its selling of the rate increase)
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/10/31/news/regional/0a440b504968e5c5872573840067198a.txt
S. F. supervisors endorse new fossil fuel power plant – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to support a controversial project that would replace an aging fossil fuel plant on Potrero Hill with a newer fossil fuel plant. (San Francisco)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/31/BACMT3KSS.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Coal-Fired Top Plants – IGCC demonstration plant at Nakoso Power Station, Iwaki City, Japan (POWER Magazine)
http://www.powermag.com/powerweb/archive_article.asp?a=32-CS_JP&y=2007&m=october
TACOMA: Police arrest two of three men suspected of stealing copper wire – Tacoma police arrested two men early Monday on suspicion of stealing copper wire and scrap aluminum from a construction site on Sixth Avenue. (The News Tribune)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/191934.html
BGE ad campaign features new 'We're On It' tagline – Baltimore Gas and Electric launched a new advertising campaign Tuesday focused on boosting awareness of the utility company's ongoing efforts to improve reliability and customer satisfaction. (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/10/29/daily14.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Levee blasts signal a truce in water wars – Fifty-year-old levees blew up in a dramatic display of dirt and smoke Tuesday, freeing lake water as part of an unprecedented wetlands restoration effort to save protected fish and cool the water wars that have divided the Klamath Basin for decades. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193801124304310.xml&coll=7
Dam would flood delicate ecosystem – Washington county proposes to build reservoir on Similkameen River that would flood 7,200 hectares. A Washington state county is proposing to build a major dam on the Similkameen River near the Canada-U.S. border that would inundate extensive areas of ecologically rich southern B.C. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=99bbb948-4e4b-424b-8b76-cd7bd34aa235
More dead birds found in water off north Kitsap Peninsula (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003985373_webdeadbirds31m.html?syndication=rss
Montana – Lake trout proliferate in Swan Lake – Netting turns up invaders by the thousands. The numbers are in, and the invasion of Swan Lake is well under way. (Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/31/news/news03.txt
An almost perfect razor-clam weekend on Washington coast (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003983749_webrazorclams30.html?syndication=rss
Moses Lake – Cost of restoring Odessa Aquifer pegged at $2 billion to $6 billion (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020197~Cost_of_restoring_Odessa_Aquifer_pegged_at__2_billion_to__6_billion.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Sacramento Municipal Utility District Solar Array to Power Its Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50438&src=rss
United Kingdom – School could be wind powered in 12 months – A FURNESS headteacher hopes to have a wind turbine up and running at his school within the next 12 months. (The Evening Mail)
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=559208
CONSERVATION
New kind of 'vampire' sucks power out of homes (Cable News Network)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/10/30/vampire.electronics.ap/index.html
Monroe prison gets 'green' certification – Expansion for 200 men cost $39.5 million (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337439_greenprison31.html?source=rss
News Release – Dell Plugs in Energy Star 4.0 Consumer Desktop. Specially Configured Inspiron 531 Delivers Environmental Benefits Without Compromising Performance (BusinessWire)
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071031005909&newsLang=en
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Oregon Green Products Head To Chicago – A biofueled truck filled with some of Oregon’s "green" products headed for Chicago Tuesday to participate in a conference on sustainable building practices. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/oregon-green-products-head-chicago/
(British Columbia) Forestry can be carbon pioneer, industry says – Critics skeptical that emissions caused by logging will be addressed (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=e74a2218-58e2-4393-bd18-0c056e996b54
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Internet access tax ban passes House, goes to president – A bill to extend a moratorium on Internet access taxes for seven years was approved 402-0 by the House today, less than two days before it was set to expire. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003983422_webnettaxban30.html?syndication=rss
U.S. to fight lag in broadband adoption with annual inventory – The United States is starting to look like a slowpoke on the internet. (The Associated Press, via CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/30/tech-broadband.html
News Release – Markey Broadband Census Bill Approved By Committee. Bill will lead to National Broadband Map, Better Data for Policymakers (Congressman Ed Markey)
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3170&Itemid=125
Some ISP Users Struggle To Reach Google – Are problems related to Comcast traffic shaping? (Broadband Reports. Note: comment section may contain PG-13 language)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Some-ISP-Users-Struggle-To-Reach-Google-88953
GENERAL NEWS
SEC agrees to settle with Met Mortgage CEO, Bellingham developer – The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a tentative settlement with the former chief executive of Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities and with a Bellingham-based developer over fraud allegations related to the collapse of the Spokane investment company. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003983683_websettlement30.html?syndication=rss
Guest Commentary for the Columbian – Watch out Washington, or Boeing may fly away. While parts for Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" are manufactured around the world, Washington elected officials should keep a close eye on South Carolina.
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10302007_Watch-out-Washington-or-Boeing-may-fly-away.cfm/
Blueberries — Washington's blue gold. Not only are blueberries good for you, they're healthy for the state's economy, too — a $30 million crop that's getting bigger all the time. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984712_blues31m.html
MASON COUNTY UPDATES RESIDENTS ON BELFAIR SEWERS – Mason County officials updated residents on the sewers planned for Belfair Tuesday night. Those who attended the County Commission's "Fifth Tuesday" meeting at the Theler Community Center heard from the engineering firm hired to complete design of the project, learned about the Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology that will be used, the total cost of the project and what it will cost users, the timeline of the project, and how residents will be updated on the project. Mason County has hired CH2M HILL to design the Wastewater and Water Reclamation Facilities that will serve the core of the Belfair Urban Growth Area. The Bellevue-based firm is currently conducting exploratory field work including surveys and geotechnical drilling, selecting the vender for the treatment facility, completing design, obtaining necessary permits and acquiring property and easements. Groundbreaking for construction is expected in late summer or early fall of next year with the system operational by the fall of 2010. The system will initially serve about 600 connections with a 20-year build out projected at 5600. Membrane Bioreactors use micro filtration and ultraviolet technology to remove the harmful elements from sewage leaving reusable water. The selection of the specific MBR technology will be made in December. Mason County has obtained funding to cover the entire cost of construction which is estimated between $24 Million and $27 Million. All funding except $3.3 Million is through grants. Monthly cost to users will be between $80 and $100. There will also be a one-time $3200 connection charge and about $3,000 in plumbing work to connect. Individual homes and businesses within 500 feet of the sewer alignment will be required connect to the new sewer system. CH2M HILL will be keeping residents updated on the project including where geotechnical work will be done and have set up a 24-hour hotline: (360) 801-2482. This is a local call from the North Mason/Belfair area. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
DIVERSIONS
Teenager escapes prison in suitcase
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL2925720420071030?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Judge Who Lost Pant Suit Loses Job – Roy L. Pearson Jr., the administrative law judge who lost his $54 million lawsuit against a Northeast Washington dry cleaner, lost his job yesterday and was ordered to vacate his office, sources said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002058.html?nav=rss_metro
Smoker running late causes hours of flight delays, re-screening at New York airport
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2003985355_webjfkairport31.html?syndication=rss
Student finds baroque painting inside old sofa
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN3118740220071031?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
WORD OF THE DAY
Gargoyle • \GAR-goy-ul\ • noun – *1a: a spout in the form of a grotesque human or animal figure projecting from a roof gutter to throw rainwater clear of a building b: a grotesquely carved figure 2: a person with an ugly face
Alberto was quire pleased. He had replaced the downspouts on his home with colorful, gnome-like gargoyles. His pleasure with the architectural touch to his aluminum sided ranch home was slightly tempered by the fact that the jets of water that spouted from the various parts of the gargoyles looked less than flattering during heavy rains.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Region gets jump on plans for storm response – Last December's Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm left valuable lessons for the region's roads, utility and emergency-service workers who have vowed to be better organized should another storm strike this winter. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984674_storm31m.html?syndication=rss
Avista 3Q loss $3.9 million – Avista reports a quarterly loss of $3.9 million compared with a $10 million profit a year ago. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020317~Avista_3Q_loss__3_9_million.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Evergreen Pulp still interested in Washington mill – Grays Harbor PUD Connection. The international pulp market, the U.S. credit crunch, the dollar's weakness and renewable energy could all position Evergreen Pulp Inc. to buy a Gray's Harbor, Wash. area pulp mill. (The Times-Standard, Eureka)
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_7327879?source=most_viewed
Chelan PUD 2008 budget on track for goals – The Chelan County PUD is on track to meet its 2008 budget goals, but cost cutting, revenue boosting and possibly rate increases could be necessary to meet goals beyond that, commissioners learned Monday. (The Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS04/710300050/1001/rss1001
Rocky Mountain Power rate hike draws criticism – An increase in power rates proposed by Rocky Mountain Power is drawing criticism from seniors concerned about adding costs to those on fixed incomes and farmers forced to pay higher power rates this summer. (Casper Star Tribune: watch, as the utility pulls out all the stops, including the residential exchange in its selling of the rate increase)
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/10/31/news/regional/0a440b504968e5c5872573840067198a.txt
S. F. supervisors endorse new fossil fuel power plant – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to support a controversial project that would replace an aging fossil fuel plant on Potrero Hill with a newer fossil fuel plant. (San Francisco)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/31/BACMT3KSS.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Coal-Fired Top Plants – IGCC demonstration plant at Nakoso Power Station, Iwaki City, Japan (POWER Magazine)
http://www.powermag.com/powerweb/archive_article.asp?a=32-CS_JP&y=2007&m=october
TACOMA: Police arrest two of three men suspected of stealing copper wire – Tacoma police arrested two men early Monday on suspicion of stealing copper wire and scrap aluminum from a construction site on Sixth Avenue. (The News Tribune)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/191934.html
BGE ad campaign features new 'We're On It' tagline – Baltimore Gas and Electric launched a new advertising campaign Tuesday focused on boosting awareness of the utility company's ongoing efforts to improve reliability and customer satisfaction. (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/10/29/daily14.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Levee blasts signal a truce in water wars – Fifty-year-old levees blew up in a dramatic display of dirt and smoke Tuesday, freeing lake water as part of an unprecedented wetlands restoration effort to save protected fish and cool the water wars that have divided the Klamath Basin for decades. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193801124304310.xml&coll=7
Dam would flood delicate ecosystem – Washington county proposes to build reservoir on Similkameen River that would flood 7,200 hectares. A Washington state county is proposing to build a major dam on the Similkameen River near the Canada-U.S. border that would inundate extensive areas of ecologically rich southern B.C. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=99bbb948-4e4b-424b-8b76-cd7bd34aa235
More dead birds found in water off north Kitsap Peninsula (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003985373_webdeadbirds31m.html?syndication=rss
Montana – Lake trout proliferate in Swan Lake – Netting turns up invaders by the thousands. The numbers are in, and the invasion of Swan Lake is well under way. (Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/31/news/news03.txt
An almost perfect razor-clam weekend on Washington coast (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2003983749_webrazorclams30.html?syndication=rss
Moses Lake – Cost of restoring Odessa Aquifer pegged at $2 billion to $6 billion (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1020197~Cost_of_restoring_Odessa_Aquifer_pegged_at__2_billion_to__6_billion.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Sacramento Municipal Utility District Solar Array to Power Its Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50438&src=rss
United Kingdom – School could be wind powered in 12 months – A FURNESS headteacher hopes to have a wind turbine up and running at his school within the next 12 months. (The Evening Mail)
http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=559208
CONSERVATION
New kind of 'vampire' sucks power out of homes (Cable News Network)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/10/30/vampire.electronics.ap/index.html
Monroe prison gets 'green' certification – Expansion for 200 men cost $39.5 million (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337439_greenprison31.html?source=rss
News Release – Dell Plugs in Energy Star 4.0 Consumer Desktop. Specially Configured Inspiron 531 Delivers Environmental Benefits Without Compromising Performance (BusinessWire)
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071031005909&newsLang=en
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Oregon Green Products Head To Chicago – A biofueled truck filled with some of Oregon’s "green" products headed for Chicago Tuesday to participate in a conference on sustainable building practices. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/oregon-green-products-head-chicago/
(British Columbia) Forestry can be carbon pioneer, industry says – Critics skeptical that emissions caused by logging will be addressed (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=e74a2218-58e2-4393-bd18-0c056e996b54
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Internet access tax ban passes House, goes to president – A bill to extend a moratorium on Internet access taxes for seven years was approved 402-0 by the House today, less than two days before it was set to expire. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003983422_webnettaxban30.html?syndication=rss
U.S. to fight lag in broadband adoption with annual inventory – The United States is starting to look like a slowpoke on the internet. (The Associated Press, via CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/30/tech-broadband.html
News Release – Markey Broadband Census Bill Approved By Committee. Bill will lead to National Broadband Map, Better Data for Policymakers (Congressman Ed Markey)
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3170&Itemid=125
Some ISP Users Struggle To Reach Google – Are problems related to Comcast traffic shaping? (Broadband Reports. Note: comment section may contain PG-13 language)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Some-ISP-Users-Struggle-To-Reach-Google-88953
GENERAL NEWS
SEC agrees to settle with Met Mortgage CEO, Bellingham developer – The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a tentative settlement with the former chief executive of Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities and with a Bellingham-based developer over fraud allegations related to the collapse of the Spokane investment company. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003983683_websettlement30.html?syndication=rss
Guest Commentary for the Columbian – Watch out Washington, or Boeing may fly away. While parts for Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" are manufactured around the world, Washington elected officials should keep a close eye on South Carolina.
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10302007_Watch-out-Washington-or-Boeing-may-fly-away.cfm/
Blueberries — Washington's blue gold. Not only are blueberries good for you, they're healthy for the state's economy, too — a $30 million crop that's getting bigger all the time. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003984712_blues31m.html
MASON COUNTY UPDATES RESIDENTS ON BELFAIR SEWERS – Mason County officials updated residents on the sewers planned for Belfair Tuesday night. Those who attended the County Commission's "Fifth Tuesday" meeting at the Theler Community Center heard from the engineering firm hired to complete design of the project, learned about the Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology that will be used, the total cost of the project and what it will cost users, the timeline of the project, and how residents will be updated on the project. Mason County has hired CH2M HILL to design the Wastewater and Water Reclamation Facilities that will serve the core of the Belfair Urban Growth Area. The Bellevue-based firm is currently conducting exploratory field work including surveys and geotechnical drilling, selecting the vender for the treatment facility, completing design, obtaining necessary permits and acquiring property and easements. Groundbreaking for construction is expected in late summer or early fall of next year with the system operational by the fall of 2010. The system will initially serve about 600 connections with a 20-year build out projected at 5600. Membrane Bioreactors use micro filtration and ultraviolet technology to remove the harmful elements from sewage leaving reusable water. The selection of the specific MBR technology will be made in December. Mason County has obtained funding to cover the entire cost of construction which is estimated between $24 Million and $27 Million. All funding except $3.3 Million is through grants. Monthly cost to users will be between $80 and $100. There will also be a one-time $3200 connection charge and about $3,000 in plumbing work to connect. Individual homes and businesses within 500 feet of the sewer alignment will be required connect to the new sewer system. CH2M HILL will be keeping residents updated on the project including where geotechnical work will be done and have set up a 24-hour hotline: (360) 801-2482. This is a local call from the North Mason/Belfair area. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
DIVERSIONS
Teenager escapes prison in suitcase
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL2925720420071030?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Judge Who Lost Pant Suit Loses Job – Roy L. Pearson Jr., the administrative law judge who lost his $54 million lawsuit against a Northeast Washington dry cleaner, lost his job yesterday and was ordered to vacate his office, sources said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103002058.html?nav=rss_metro
Smoker running late causes hours of flight delays, re-screening at New York airport
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2003985355_webjfkairport31.html?syndication=rss
Student finds baroque painting inside old sofa
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN3118740220071031?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
News Digest for October 30, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Sanguineous • \san-GWIN-ee-us\ • adjective – 1: bloodred *2: of, relating to, or involving bloodshed: bloodthirsty 3: of, relating to, or containing blood
Albert was unhappy with his Halloween costume. Freda had assured him that by dressing as Caesar Augustus he would be symbolically wearing the “royal purple”. “But it has more of a sanguineous hue,” he whined to his beloved. “Be quiet,” Freda snapped. “Royal purple was more a figure of speech in those days.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Jefferson PUD leaders to look at taking over electricity service from PSE – Jefferson County Public Utility District leaders see Friday's acquisition of Puget Energy Inc., parent company of Puget Sound Energy, as a possible opportunity to provide electricity to most of East Jefferson County. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071030/NEWS/710300307
Montana utility OKs $3 million in rebates – Record-setting revenues this year prompted Flathead Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees to approve $3 million in rebates to its electricity customers. (The Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/30/news/news02.txt
Oregon – Northern Wasco County PUD explores power options; Regional alliance may offer alternatives. The PUD mostly likely will be looking for regional assistance as it explores the uncertain future of Pacific Northwest power supplies. (The Dalles Chronicle)
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2007/10/news10-29-07-01.shtml
Power Rates Could Be Going Up In Idaho – Don't forget to turn off the lights next time you leave your house because it could cost you more money. (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls)
http://www.idaho8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6407943&nav=menu554_10_1
Budget error teaches tough lesson to the Kennewick Irrigation District – KID recently discovered a bookkeeping error that leaves it with about $500,000 less than expected. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9417513p-9330191c.html
News Release – BPA's Steve Hickok elected chairman of the members of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180359/
Alaska – Plan to tap lake angers Petersburg residents – Residents of Petersburg are hammering local officials about a proposed hydroelectric power project. They’re not happy, and neither are some members of the Whatcom County Council in Washington state, which covers Bellingham. (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/9415345p-9328061c.html
TVA plans to build 2 nuclear reactors – The Tennessee Valley Authority is expected to file an application, perhaps as early as today, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two new nuclear-power reactors at a site in Alabama. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003982614_ndig30.html?syndication=rss
World's coal habit growing (The Associated Press)
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/business/ci_7321091
Iraq – Iraqi dam still a flood risk, report says. The top U.S. military commander in Iraq warned Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in May that the country's biggest dam, just up the Tigris River from the northern city of Mosul, is at risk of collapse, putting the city's 1.7 million people in danger of being inundated by a 65-foot flood wave. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7320257?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Pennsylvania – Allegheny Power files deregulation plan – Allegheny Power, a division of Allegheny Energy Inc., announced today that it has filed a proposed plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as part of its transition to electricity deregulation. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/10/29/daily5.html?ana=from_rss
Energy Dept. Audit Finds Overcharges On Contracts – The Los Alamos National Laboratory paid millions of dollars in questionable charges to a contractor affiliated with KBR, according to a recent audit by the Energy Department's inspector general. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102902038.html?nav=rss_business
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
California commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams – California Energy Commission analysts urged Oregon, California and Washington to deny any requests from PacifiCorp to increase electricity rates to help pay for upgrading Klamath dams. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003982261_webdams29.html?syndication=rss
The Columbian Opinion – In our view: Help for Salmon. Third removable fish weir arrives at Snake River dam to aid fish migration
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/10/10292007_In-our-view-Help-for-Salmon.cfm?newsletter=1
California – Central Valley salmon largely absent from fall run - but why? This year's Central Valley fall salmon run is worrying both fishermen and biologists, who say fewer of the prized Chinook are out in the ocean or making it up the rivers to spawn. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/30/MNAAT2VTR.DTL
Olympia’s utility rates might rise Jan. 1 – Households in Olympia would pay $7.58 more every other month for utilities next year under a proposal the Olympia City Council is considering. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/257053.html
Aquifer efforts 'turn corner' – Federal support has begun to rally for efforts to bring more groundwater to the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news04.txt
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
$200 Million for Electric Cars? Software industry hotshot Shai Agassi has a well-funded plan to shake up the auto industry with a new approach to the electric car (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21544170/
Google's love for solar may extend to other renewables – When it comes to bragging rights and solar power, Google's on top: it has the largest corporate installation of solar-powered electricity yet. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9807330-7.html
When Will Congress Pass Tax Credits for Renewable Energy? (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50427&src=rss
Converting Food Crops Into Fuel 'Crime Against Humanity' (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/un-calls-converting-food-crops-fuel-crime-against-humanity/
CONSERVATION
State Recognizes Navy's Efforts to Save Energy – Local bases cleaned up in the latest Navy-wide energy conservation competition and got a nice pat on the back for their efforts Monday from Gov. Chris Gregoire. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/29/state-recognizes-navys-efforts-to-save-energy/
News Release – JC Penney Stores Become First to Earn New ENERGY STAR Retail Rating – EPA Recognizes Four Washington State JCPenney Stores for Superior Energy Performance and Environmental Protection
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071030006039&newsLang=en
News Release – Con Edison Offers Energy- and Money-Saving Tips for Winter. Natural Gas Supplies Adequate for Coming Heating Season (MarketWire)
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=785984
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Study: Seattle exceeding goal to fight global warming (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_103007ENBseattle_global_warming_LJ.1bf367673.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Home phone line repairs slowed – As phone companies spend billions on souped-up broadband and wireless services, they're struggling with basic home phone line repairs. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2007-10-28-phone-repairs_N.htm
Fiber Makers to Benefit From ISP Bandwidth Woes (Seeking Alpha)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/51966-fiber-makers-to-benefit-from-isp-bandwidth-woes
GENERAL NEWS
Shelton clothier to move to Tumwater – Heated-apparel maker’s new home to be finished in June. Mason County manufacturer Gerbing’s Heated Clothing Inc. is coming to Tumwater next summer so that it can consolidate its operations under one roof, the company CEO said Monday. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/257018.html
Canadian dollar jumps to 47-year high – Flaherty announces economic update due Tuesday as loonie hits US$1.05 in Monday trading (The Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=1d4868c3-828f-4114-b43b-5609db570079&k=16508
California – Cal can boot all tree-sitters, judge says. UC officials can remove all the tree-sitters at Memorial Stadium, even if police can't identify the protesters by name, a judge ruled Monday. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/30/BAUTT2TJO.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
DIVERSIONS
Science on the Web: Don't Try This at Home – Two million YouTube viewers recently sought the answer to the question, "Can water burn?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102502258.html?nav=rss_technology
Toddler Wouldn't Leave Plane Crash Wreckage Without Teddy Bear
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14451459/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
At 79, he’s still clowning around – For decades, he delighted fans as the starring clown in “The J.P. Patches Show,” one of the longest-running local live TV shows in the country. Now Chris Wedes, 79, is battling blood cancer.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/191024.html
When a Penny Is More Than Just a Penny – When people toss quarters and dimes into tip jars or feed them into vending machines, chances are they are less interested in form than function.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/washington/30coin.html?ex=1351396800&en=1b72b3b4f0521a99&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
WORD OF THE DAY
Sanguineous • \san-GWIN-ee-us\ • adjective – 1: bloodred *2: of, relating to, or involving bloodshed: bloodthirsty 3: of, relating to, or containing blood
Albert was unhappy with his Halloween costume. Freda had assured him that by dressing as Caesar Augustus he would be symbolically wearing the “royal purple”. “But it has more of a sanguineous hue,” he whined to his beloved. “Be quiet,” Freda snapped. “Royal purple was more a figure of speech in those days.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Jefferson PUD leaders to look at taking over electricity service from PSE – Jefferson County Public Utility District leaders see Friday's acquisition of Puget Energy Inc., parent company of Puget Sound Energy, as a possible opportunity to provide electricity to most of East Jefferson County. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071030/NEWS/710300307
Montana utility OKs $3 million in rebates – Record-setting revenues this year prompted Flathead Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees to approve $3 million in rebates to its electricity customers. (The Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/30/news/news02.txt
Oregon – Northern Wasco County PUD explores power options; Regional alliance may offer alternatives. The PUD mostly likely will be looking for regional assistance as it explores the uncertain future of Pacific Northwest power supplies. (The Dalles Chronicle)
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2007/10/news10-29-07-01.shtml
Power Rates Could Be Going Up In Idaho – Don't forget to turn off the lights next time you leave your house because it could cost you more money. (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls)
http://www.idaho8.com/Global/story.asp?S=6407943&nav=menu554_10_1
Budget error teaches tough lesson to the Kennewick Irrigation District – KID recently discovered a bookkeeping error that leaves it with about $500,000 less than expected. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9417513p-9330191c.html
News Release – BPA's Steve Hickok elected chairman of the members of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180359/
Alaska – Plan to tap lake angers Petersburg residents – Residents of Petersburg are hammering local officials about a proposed hydroelectric power project. They’re not happy, and neither are some members of the Whatcom County Council in Washington state, which covers Bellingham. (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/9415345p-9328061c.html
TVA plans to build 2 nuclear reactors – The Tennessee Valley Authority is expected to file an application, perhaps as early as today, with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two new nuclear-power reactors at a site in Alabama. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003982614_ndig30.html?syndication=rss
World's coal habit growing (The Associated Press)
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/business/ci_7321091
Iraq – Iraqi dam still a flood risk, report says. The top U.S. military commander in Iraq warned Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in May that the country's biggest dam, just up the Tigris River from the northern city of Mosul, is at risk of collapse, putting the city's 1.7 million people in danger of being inundated by a 65-foot flood wave. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7320257?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Pennsylvania – Allegheny Power files deregulation plan – Allegheny Power, a division of Allegheny Energy Inc., announced today that it has filed a proposed plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as part of its transition to electricity deregulation. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2007/10/29/daily5.html?ana=from_rss
Energy Dept. Audit Finds Overcharges On Contracts – The Los Alamos National Laboratory paid millions of dollars in questionable charges to a contractor affiliated with KBR, according to a recent audit by the Energy Department's inspector general. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/29/AR2007102902038.html?nav=rss_business
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
California commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams – California Energy Commission analysts urged Oregon, California and Washington to deny any requests from PacifiCorp to increase electricity rates to help pay for upgrading Klamath dams. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003982261_webdams29.html?syndication=rss
The Columbian Opinion – In our view: Help for Salmon. Third removable fish weir arrives at Snake River dam to aid fish migration
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/10/10292007_In-our-view-Help-for-Salmon.cfm?newsletter=1
California – Central Valley salmon largely absent from fall run - but why? This year's Central Valley fall salmon run is worrying both fishermen and biologists, who say fewer of the prized Chinook are out in the ocean or making it up the rivers to spawn. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/30/MNAAT2VTR.DTL
Olympia’s utility rates might rise Jan. 1 – Households in Olympia would pay $7.58 more every other month for utilities next year under a proposal the Olympia City Council is considering. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/257053.html
Aquifer efforts 'turn corner' – Federal support has begun to rally for efforts to bring more groundwater to the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/29/news/news04.txt
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
$200 Million for Electric Cars? Software industry hotshot Shai Agassi has a well-funded plan to shake up the auto industry with a new approach to the electric car (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21544170/
Google's love for solar may extend to other renewables – When it comes to bragging rights and solar power, Google's on top: it has the largest corporate installation of solar-powered electricity yet. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9807330-7.html
When Will Congress Pass Tax Credits for Renewable Energy? (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50427&src=rss
Converting Food Crops Into Fuel 'Crime Against Humanity' (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/un-calls-converting-food-crops-fuel-crime-against-humanity/
CONSERVATION
State Recognizes Navy's Efforts to Save Energy – Local bases cleaned up in the latest Navy-wide energy conservation competition and got a nice pat on the back for their efforts Monday from Gov. Chris Gregoire. (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/oct/29/state-recognizes-navys-efforts-to-save-energy/
News Release – JC Penney Stores Become First to Earn New ENERGY STAR Retail Rating – EPA Recognizes Four Washington State JCPenney Stores for Superior Energy Performance and Environmental Protection
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071030006039&newsLang=en
News Release – Con Edison Offers Energy- and Money-Saving Tips for Winter. Natural Gas Supplies Adequate for Coming Heating Season (MarketWire)
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=785984
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Study: Seattle exceeding goal to fight global warming (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_103007ENBseattle_global_warming_LJ.1bf367673.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Home phone line repairs slowed – As phone companies spend billions on souped-up broadband and wireless services, they're struggling with basic home phone line repairs. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2007-10-28-phone-repairs_N.htm
Fiber Makers to Benefit From ISP Bandwidth Woes (Seeking Alpha)
http://seekingalpha.com/article/51966-fiber-makers-to-benefit-from-isp-bandwidth-woes
GENERAL NEWS
Shelton clothier to move to Tumwater – Heated-apparel maker’s new home to be finished in June. Mason County manufacturer Gerbing’s Heated Clothing Inc. is coming to Tumwater next summer so that it can consolidate its operations under one roof, the company CEO said Monday. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/257018.html
Canadian dollar jumps to 47-year high – Flaherty announces economic update due Tuesday as loonie hits US$1.05 in Monday trading (The Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=1d4868c3-828f-4114-b43b-5609db570079&k=16508
California – Cal can boot all tree-sitters, judge says. UC officials can remove all the tree-sitters at Memorial Stadium, even if police can't identify the protesters by name, a judge ruled Monday. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/30/BAUTT2TJO.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
DIVERSIONS
Science on the Web: Don't Try This at Home – Two million YouTube viewers recently sought the answer to the question, "Can water burn?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102502258.html?nav=rss_technology
Toddler Wouldn't Leave Plane Crash Wreckage Without Teddy Bear
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14451459/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
At 79, he’s still clowning around – For decades, he delighted fans as the starring clown in “The J.P. Patches Show,” one of the longest-running local live TV shows in the country. Now Chris Wedes, 79, is battling blood cancer.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/191024.html
When a Penny Is More Than Just a Penny – When people toss quarters and dimes into tip jars or feed them into vending machines, chances are they are less interested in form than function.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/washington/30coin.html?ex=1351396800&en=1b72b3b4f0521a99&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Monday, October 29, 2007
News Digest for October 29, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Imbricate • \IM-brih-kut \ • adjective – Lying lapped over each other in regular order
Day after day Donatello stared, unfocused yet watchful at the shadowy shapes darting past the viewing windows at the mighty dam’s fish ladder. His fingers nervously clicked the counter in his hand. It wasn’t until years later that he actually wrestled with a fish in his hands that he marveled at the intricate beauty of nature: the subtle hues and the imbricate scales that ran down the sides of the large, flopping salmon.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Experts: 'La Nina' to bring wetter NW weather (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012763~Experts___La_Nina__to_bring_wetter_NW_weather.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Temperatures on the rise over the years in South Sound – Average temperatures in South Sound have grown slightly warmer in the past century. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255520.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Need for cash spurs Puget Energy deal – With plans to spend billions on new power plants and equipment over the coming years, Puget Energy decided it needed a more stable — and more patient — source of new cash than the public stock and debt markets. (Seattle Times – Don’t miss the pie chart that shows most electricity customers in Washington State are served by public utilities!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Recovery ongoing for storm victims – Thomas Thomas, 52, shows all the signs of what could be called PTSD: Post Traumatic Storm Disorder. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255517.html
What you can do to protect yourself – Lessons learned in South Sound. Windstorms. Power outages. Flooding. Earthquakes. These are some of the emergencies that are part of life in the Northwest all year. (The Olympian – Don’t try this at home: If a line falls on your car, stay in the vehicle…To exit, open the door, but do not step out. Jump, without touching any of the metal portions of the car's exterior, to safe ground and get away.)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255523.html
Programs assist poor with winter heating bill – The Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP) is gearing up its energy assistance programs as the weather turns colder. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/10/29/area_news/news09.txt
Turning from coal means more demand for nuclear and alternative energy sources (Minnesota Public Radio)
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/25/energyalternatives/
Texas – Generators producing dispute, not electricity. Word on the river is that both generators at Morris Sheppard Dam are down and are not being fixed because of a dispute between Brazos River Authority and the electricity purchaser Brazos Electric Cooperative Inc. (Mineral Wells Index)
http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_302092202.html
South Carolina – Proposed coal-fired plant assailed: Conservation groups claim studies show state could meet energy needs through renewable energy sources and efficiency programs -- to offset the need for the plant (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgijhnvtUUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Electric plan to lock in northern Ohio's higher rates: Cost you're paying for power now could be 'floor’ for future rates – A new plan to set future electric rates in the state, keeping northern Ohio's high rates, was unveiled yesterday in the Ohio Senate. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgikgjmkSUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
The Invisible Commodity – Electricity is the invisible commodity. But it's now in the limelight. Energy infrastructure has been labeled inadequate and ill-prepared to enable American businesses to compete in a global economy. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CgikiillRUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tri-City Herald Editorial – Working weirs: Phase three of a Snake River success story should slip into action this spring. It's the third huge weir to be installed on the Snake River to help juvenile salmon pass the dams.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9415338p-9328057c.html
Salmon fishing on Oregon's famed Rogue River nosedives (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10851961.html
Restoration work on N. Idaho spawning grounds begins – Workers in northern Idaho have started vacuuming silt off the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille so that kokanee, a prized sport fish that brings in millions of dollars to the area, will have a place to spawn. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/255777.html
Oregon – After fish kill, rave reviews for chub-free Diamond Lake (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015852~Rave_reviews_for_chub_free_Diamond_Lake.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – The public supports ocean access, not closures to sport fishing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/ED8GT1LHB.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Environmental agency ponders request to head Alcoa cleanup – Federal authorities are continuing to weigh whether to take over a long-delayed cleanup of a highly contaminated stretch of Columbia River shoreline. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Environmental-agency-ponders-request-to-head-Alcoa-cleanup.cfm
Georgia – Georgia paying for lack of water planning. Lawmakers scrambling to cope with drought after years of lax zoning laws, pro-growth policies led to widespread urban sprawl (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7311429?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Georgia/Alabama’s water fight shifting to D.C. (The Dothan Eagle)
http://www.dothaneagle.com/gulfcoasteast/dea/local_news.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2007-10-29-0008.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Mammoth wind farm slated for South Dakota – Plans for the world's largest wind farm, proposed to be built in South Dakota, have become more grandiose. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10282007news222475.cfm
Wind farms generate bird worries – As more turbines churn in the gorge, wildlife biologists fear the blades will threaten raptor numbers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193622908249580.xml&coll=7
News Release – As Support for Cape Wind Erodes, Clean Power Now Rolls Out Another Flawed Poll. Less than one week after the Cape Cod Commission dealt a critical setback to the controversial Cape Wind project, the project's grassroots lobby group Clean Power Now is preparing to roll out yet another survey showing Cape Cod support for a project that has lagged in every independent survey. (PRNewswire-USNewswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2007/0004689692&EDATE
For a Devotee of Solar Energy, a Shot at Earning Respect – The sun was shining for a change, which was good news for Richard Thompson, known throughout these parts as Solar Richard. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27solar.html?ex=1351396800&en=50a1c4fc71d1d982&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
City wins green power award – Bellingham has again been recognized as a national leader in green power, receiving a Green Power Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/216623.html
Solar racers gain speed Down Under (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Photos-Solar-racers-gain-speed-Down-Under/2300-11392_3-6215648.html?part=dht
DTE signs renewable power contract: Manure is used in electricity deal (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghqqjlnTUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Creating power out of thin air – Imagine a material that can suck in heat from the environment and power a notebook. A New Jersey company is aiming to do just that. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Creating-power-out-of-thin-air/2100-11392_3-6215555.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent
Who's Fueling Whom? Why the biofuels movement could run out of gas (Smithsonian Magazine)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/presence-biofuel-200711.html
CONSERVATION
News Release – Fall Is Ideal Time to Plant Trees – Fall's cool temperatures are here, marking the best time for homeowners to plant trees that will flourish in the spring. (Oncor)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071029/lam096.html?.v=94
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Report takes aim at smog-causing speed bumps – Speed bumps -- a Band-Aid solution for bad street planning -- not only fuel drivers' tempers and create noise pollution, they add greenhouse gases to the air we breathe, says a new federal housing agency report. (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5cd232a9-e8d4-496f-8570-d319b7079bef
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC plan could be cable TV boon for renters – Exclusive contracts for apartments, condos would end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/337235_fcc29.html
Illinois – Plan for wireless Internet at rest stops halted again. IDOT cites lack of proposals from vendors as reason (State Journal Record)
http://sj-r.com/News/stories/18915.asp
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – Bye-bye Wi-Fi. I never thought I'd see the day when San Francisco's volatile Supervisor Chris Daly comes across as the voice of reason, while Mayor Gavin Newsom is stuck in a rut of two years of being completely in the wrong.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/EDD5T05O0.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Louisiana – Cities get wired. Areas with regional or citywide wireless, hot spots, municipal-use systems and those pondering one of the above have more than tripled in the past two years. (The Shreveport Times)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/NEWS01/710280323
Confusion looks likely in digital TV conversion (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189786.html
GENERAL NEWS
Step away from the clock! Don't touch your clocks today. It's not time for daylight-saving time to end ... yet. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003980048_webdaylight28m.html
(A cautionary public affairs tale) FEMA leader apologizes for staged briefing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Telltale e-mails tracked down to ex-official – The e-mails came in a steady trickle, more than 20 over almost 13 months, often from a phantom sender who claimed to be a local builder fed up with impropriety in the Clark County's building division. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Telltale-e-mails-tracked-down-to-ex-official.cfm
The Olympian Editorial – KGY deserves a long-term lease. Port of Olympia commissioners must find a way to accommodate KGY radio when its lease expires at the end of 2009.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/254888.html
Wenatchee – Pay raise for mayor: 36 percent. Councilman questions timing of pay increases for elected city officials (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/NEWS04/710270002/1001
Hops scarce; glass, fuel costs up Crisis brews for beer makers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189138.html
UFO Reporting Center operates out of former missile site – To find the new home of The National UFO Reporting Center, you must go several yards underground at a former nuclear missile site in Eastern Washington. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337233_ufo29.html?source=rss
Shelton topples Capital – Playoffs against Bellevue next (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/255031.html
DIVERSIONS
He's not undead, just unsober...Passengers on a German train mistook a Halloween reveler dressed up as a gore-covered zombie for a murder victim and called the police.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC94583820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Burglars-in-a-box busted after robberies (technically, these were burglaries NOT robberies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2638534820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Cell Phone GPS Leads To Suspect In Tree – Ex-Girlfriend Gives Police Suspect's Phone Number
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14424275/detail.html
Aliens caused Sicily fires, say officials – Aliens were responsible for a series of unexplained fires in fridges, TV’s and mobile phones in an Italian village, according to an Italian government report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/26/waliens126.xml
Speedometer can surprise when there's no gridlock – Patrol says driver was clocked at 122 mph on I-5
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/254918.html
WORD OF THE DAY
Imbricate • \IM-brih-kut \ • adjective – Lying lapped over each other in regular order
Day after day Donatello stared, unfocused yet watchful at the shadowy shapes darting past the viewing windows at the mighty dam’s fish ladder. His fingers nervously clicked the counter in his hand. It wasn’t until years later that he actually wrestled with a fish in his hands that he marveled at the intricate beauty of nature: the subtle hues and the imbricate scales that ran down the sides of the large, flopping salmon.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Experts: 'La Nina' to bring wetter NW weather (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1012763~Experts___La_Nina__to_bring_wetter_NW_weather.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Temperatures on the rise over the years in South Sound – Average temperatures in South Sound have grown slightly warmer in the past century. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255520.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Need for cash spurs Puget Energy deal – With plans to spend billions on new power plants and equipment over the coming years, Puget Energy decided it needed a more stable — and more patient — source of new cash than the public stock and debt markets. (Seattle Times – Don’t miss the pie chart that shows most electricity customers in Washington State are served by public utilities!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Recovery ongoing for storm victims – Thomas Thomas, 52, shows all the signs of what could be called PTSD: Post Traumatic Storm Disorder. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255517.html
What you can do to protect yourself – Lessons learned in South Sound. Windstorms. Power outages. Flooding. Earthquakes. These are some of the emergencies that are part of life in the Northwest all year. (The Olympian – Don’t try this at home: If a line falls on your car, stay in the vehicle…To exit, open the door, but do not step out. Jump, without touching any of the metal portions of the car's exterior, to safe ground and get away.)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/255523.html
Programs assist poor with winter heating bill – The Lower Columbia Community Action Program (CAP) is gearing up its energy assistance programs as the weather turns colder. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/10/29/area_news/news09.txt
Turning from coal means more demand for nuclear and alternative energy sources (Minnesota Public Radio)
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/25/energyalternatives/
Texas – Generators producing dispute, not electricity. Word on the river is that both generators at Morris Sheppard Dam are down and are not being fixed because of a dispute between Brazos River Authority and the electricity purchaser Brazos Electric Cooperative Inc. (Mineral Wells Index)
http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_302092202.html
South Carolina – Proposed coal-fired plant assailed: Conservation groups claim studies show state could meet energy needs through renewable energy sources and efficiency programs -- to offset the need for the plant (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgijhnvtUUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Electric plan to lock in northern Ohio's higher rates: Cost you're paying for power now could be 'floor’ for future rates – A new plan to set future electric rates in the state, keeping northern Ohio's high rates, was unveiled yesterday in the Ohio Senate. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgikgjmkSUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
The Invisible Commodity – Electricity is the invisible commodity. But it's now in the limelight. Energy infrastructure has been labeled inadequate and ill-prepared to enable American businesses to compete in a global economy. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CgikiillRUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tri-City Herald Editorial – Working weirs: Phase three of a Snake River success story should slip into action this spring. It's the third huge weir to be installed on the Snake River to help juvenile salmon pass the dams.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9415338p-9328057c.html
Salmon fishing on Oregon's famed Rogue River nosedives (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10851961.html
Restoration work on N. Idaho spawning grounds begins – Workers in northern Idaho have started vacuuming silt off the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille so that kokanee, a prized sport fish that brings in millions of dollars to the area, will have a place to spawn. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/255777.html
Oregon – After fish kill, rave reviews for chub-free Diamond Lake (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1015852~Rave_reviews_for_chub_free_Diamond_Lake.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – The public supports ocean access, not closures to sport fishing.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/ED8GT1LHB.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Environmental agency ponders request to head Alcoa cleanup – Federal authorities are continuing to weigh whether to take over a long-delayed cleanup of a highly contaminated stretch of Columbia River shoreline. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Environmental-agency-ponders-request-to-head-Alcoa-cleanup.cfm
Georgia – Georgia paying for lack of water planning. Lawmakers scrambling to cope with drought after years of lax zoning laws, pro-growth policies led to widespread urban sprawl (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7311429?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Georgia/Alabama’s water fight shifting to D.C. (The Dothan Eagle)
http://www.dothaneagle.com/gulfcoasteast/dea/local_news.apx.-content-articles-DEA-2007-10-29-0008.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Mammoth wind farm slated for South Dakota – Plans for the world's largest wind farm, proposed to be built in South Dakota, have become more grandiose. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10282007news222475.cfm
Wind farms generate bird worries – As more turbines churn in the gorge, wildlife biologists fear the blades will threaten raptor numbers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1193622908249580.xml&coll=7
News Release – As Support for Cape Wind Erodes, Clean Power Now Rolls Out Another Flawed Poll. Less than one week after the Cape Cod Commission dealt a critical setback to the controversial Cape Wind project, the project's grassroots lobby group Clean Power Now is preparing to roll out yet another survey showing Cape Cod support for a project that has lagged in every independent survey. (PRNewswire-USNewswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-24-2007/0004689692&EDATE
For a Devotee of Solar Energy, a Shot at Earning Respect – The sun was shining for a change, which was good news for Richard Thompson, known throughout these parts as Solar Richard. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27solar.html?ex=1351396800&en=50a1c4fc71d1d982&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
City wins green power award – Bellingham has again been recognized as a national leader in green power, receiving a Green Power Partner of the Year award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/216623.html
Solar racers gain speed Down Under (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Photos-Solar-racers-gain-speed-Down-Under/2300-11392_3-6215648.html?part=dht
DTE signs renewable power contract: Manure is used in electricity deal (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CghqqjlnTUlh%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
Creating power out of thin air – Imagine a material that can suck in heat from the environment and power a notebook. A New Jersey company is aiming to do just that. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Creating-power-out-of-thin-air/2100-11392_3-6215555.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent
Who's Fueling Whom? Why the biofuels movement could run out of gas (Smithsonian Magazine)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/presence-biofuel-200711.html
CONSERVATION
News Release – Fall Is Ideal Time to Plant Trees – Fall's cool temperatures are here, marking the best time for homeowners to plant trees that will flourish in the spring. (Oncor)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071029/lam096.html?.v=94
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Report takes aim at smog-causing speed bumps – Speed bumps -- a Band-Aid solution for bad street planning -- not only fuel drivers' tempers and create noise pollution, they add greenhouse gases to the air we breathe, says a new federal housing agency report. (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5cd232a9-e8d4-496f-8570-d319b7079bef
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC plan could be cable TV boon for renters – Exclusive contracts for apartments, condos would end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/337235_fcc29.html
Illinois – Plan for wireless Internet at rest stops halted again. IDOT cites lack of proposals from vendors as reason (State Journal Record)
http://sj-r.com/News/stories/18915.asp
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion – Bye-bye Wi-Fi. I never thought I'd see the day when San Francisco's volatile Supervisor Chris Daly comes across as the voice of reason, while Mayor Gavin Newsom is stuck in a rut of two years of being completely in the wrong.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/28/EDD5T05O0.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Louisiana – Cities get wired. Areas with regional or citywide wireless, hot spots, municipal-use systems and those pondering one of the above have more than tripled in the past two years. (The Shreveport Times)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/NEWS01/710280323
Confusion looks likely in digital TV conversion (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189786.html
GENERAL NEWS
Step away from the clock! Don't touch your clocks today. It's not time for daylight-saving time to end ... yet. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003980048_webdaylight28m.html
(A cautionary public affairs tale) FEMA leader apologizes for staged briefing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003977671_pugetenergy27.html
Telltale e-mails tracked down to ex-official – The e-mails came in a steady trickle, more than 20 over almost 13 months, often from a phantom sender who claimed to be a local builder fed up with impropriety in the Clark County's building division. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/10/10282007_Telltale-e-mails-tracked-down-to-ex-official.cfm
The Olympian Editorial – KGY deserves a long-term lease. Port of Olympia commissioners must find a way to accommodate KGY radio when its lease expires at the end of 2009.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/254888.html
Wenatchee – Pay raise for mayor: 36 percent. Councilman questions timing of pay increases for elected city officials (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/NEWS04/710270002/1001
Hops scarce; glass, fuel costs up Crisis brews for beer makers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/189138.html
UFO Reporting Center operates out of former missile site – To find the new home of The National UFO Reporting Center, you must go several yards underground at a former nuclear missile site in Eastern Washington. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337233_ufo29.html?source=rss
Shelton topples Capital – Playoffs against Bellevue next (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/sports/story/255031.html
DIVERSIONS
He's not undead, just unsober...Passengers on a German train mistook a Halloween reveler dressed up as a gore-covered zombie for a murder victim and called the police.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC94583820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Burglars-in-a-box busted after robberies (technically, these were burglaries NOT robberies)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2638534820071029?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Cell Phone GPS Leads To Suspect In Tree – Ex-Girlfriend Gives Police Suspect's Phone Number
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14424275/detail.html
Aliens caused Sicily fires, say officials – Aliens were responsible for a series of unexplained fires in fridges, TV’s and mobile phones in an Italian village, according to an Italian government report.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/26/waliens126.xml
Speedometer can surprise when there's no gridlock – Patrol says driver was clocked at 122 mph on I-5
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/254918.html
Friday, October 26, 2007
News Digest for October 26, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Flabbergast • \FLAB-er-gassed\ • transitive verb – To overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder: dumbfound
(See the first story under Energy and Utility Issues)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Trick or Treat! Canadian investors to buy Puget Sound Energy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/336982_pse27.html?source=rss
Here’s the Google news search on this story:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-46,GGLJ:en&q=puget+energy&um=1&tab=wn
Natural gas prices drop 18 percent – More than 2,000 local customers will pay less for natural gas this winter. The average Cascade Natural Gas residential customer will see the monthly bill drop by almost 18 percent, or about $13. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/NEWS04/710250083/1001
Northwest Natural rates to be cut by 9 percent – Northwest Natural Gas Co. has been given the go-ahead to reduce rates, effective Nov. 1, the first reduction in five years. (The Columbian, Vancouver)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10252007_Northwest-Natural-rates-to-be-cut-by-9-percent.cfm?newsletter=1
Pace of coal-power boom slackens – Rising construction costs and potential climate legislation in Congress halt at least 18 proposed power plants in the past nine months. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1025/p03s02-wogi.html
California – City fires up power plant: Natural-gas facility will provide 40 percent of Roseville's power. Roseville's first power plant -- and largest construction project to date -- officially opened last week with a ceremonial flip of the switch. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgiiilqqSUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
New era for nuclear could open via tax breaks, fast-track regulation and climate change: Milken Institute Review (Utility Automation and Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/309853/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/New-era-for-nuclear-could-open-via-tax-breaks,-fast-track-regulation-and-climate-change:-Milken-Institute-Review/
Parties reach deal in California-Oregon Intertie dispute – The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Wednesday said a PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Independent System Operator had reached a settlement in their dispute over which would manage the entire California-Oregon Intertie, three major AC power lines that bring power direct from hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/8322711.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
Power line will fire up Alaska, not B.C. critic suggests (Canada.com)
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/princerupert/story.html?id=38d3365a-bfa1-4cf2-a0cb-a876b015d0a5
News Release – Women’s Energy Network: Calling All High School Girls – The Energy Industry Wants You! (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76618
News Release – USDA Awards More Than $1.6 Billion In Electric Loans. $38 million goes to Kodiak Electric Association (US Dept’ of Agriculture)
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/10/0310.xml
FERC – Hydropower - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project located in Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumpter Counties, South Carolina. (Project No. 199-205)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2007/10-26-07.asp
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
British Columbia – Farmed Atlantic salmon found in Clayoquot rivers. The Westerly has confirmed that shortly after a net breach at a salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound last month a small number of Atlantic salmon were found in nearby rivers. (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=184c651d-46d6-4c6e-ba8c-4eb2c104fe66&k=69921
Schools of chum salmon charge through town. The Kennedy Creek estuary at low tide is a quiet place — until small schools of chum salmon blow into town. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/254033.html
Oregon governor’s marine reserve survey has coast in turmoil (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6953
Bureau provides Odessa study results – Columbia Basin residents got to hear the latest on a study of ways to increase groundwater into irrigated land within the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/news03.txt
Montana Environmental Standard Upheld – A judge upheld Montana water-quality standards aimed at protecting rivers in the Powder River Basin from pollution caused by coal-bed methane development. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1002639~Mont__Environmental_Standard_Upheld.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Quilcene solar pair becomes Puget Sound Energy's 200th to feed power to grid (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071026/NEWS/710260302
Developer touts planned Moxee tire plant as green energy source – They are called ecoblocks, not baled tires. (Yakima Herald-Republic – Good God! As long as it’s not coal!)
http://yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290135919024094
Would use construction waste – Activists Oppose Wood-Burning Power Plant “…It's absurd that a power plant could emit 7,200 pounds a year of lead and 1,400 pounds per year of arsenic and be considered a clean energy source…” (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Cghqoowy%5BUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
California – Wood-burning limits set. Air board OKs curbs on winter use of fireplaces, wood stoves in county. By an 8-3 vote, Sacramento air quality managers approved a two-stage plan to curtail wood burning in Sacramento County during winter. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration. Now wait a minute. Isn’t wood burning supposed to be carbon neutral?)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/454931.html
Pacific Northwest “Hydrogen Highway” Proposed (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3319
CONSERVATION
GE hopes to cut mercury in "green" light bulbs (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2448675120071024?sp=true
News Release – Prototype "Energy Smart" office slated for construction in Vancouver (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180006/
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Cement Industry Is at Center of Climate Change Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/business/worldbusiness/26cement.html?_r=1&ex=1351137600&en=85227b6b322dc526&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Seattle P-I Guest Columnist – Be wary of climate policy development. Imagine you are an advocacy group and want to sway a government's policy development, but really want to keep your activism a secret. You could learn a lot by observing and then avoiding the practices of the Center for Climate Strategies, a group of global warming worrywarts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/336889_climatepolicy26.html?source=rss
British Columbia government eyes carbon tax in next budget – Levy on gasoline could be a start, says finance minister (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=19c0eab5-07e6-4036-8f3a-40d43966dba2&k=89873
(The Big Stick) The second inconvenient truth – We must tax greenhouse gases or they will keep rising; wishful thinking about voluntary cuts just won't work (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=47155961-4568-4b84-a02d-5e1c881d68f4
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Microsoft quarter brings back boom – Stellar first-quarter results and a substantially improved outlook spurred Microsoft shares to levels not seen since July 2001. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2003975379_microsoft26.html
Senate OKs 7 more years of tax-free Net access, e-mail – Scarcely a week before an existing ban on Internet access taxes is set to expire, the U.S. Senate late Thursday voted to let the prohibition live on for seven more years. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9805069-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Telcos: IPTV Needs Fiber To The Home – Service providers at TelcoTV endorsed fiber to the home (FTTH) as the best access medium for IPTV, but said it's the services that will really set them apart from cable and satellite competitors. (Light Reading)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=137117&site=telcotv
After major projects fail, Wi-Fi reborn as cities refine approaches – Municipal Wi-Fi projects, all the rage last year, have fallen into a funk, if you believe the press reports about delays and problems for big deployments in cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/23/BUJOSU1FR.DTL&feed=rss.business
Trio who ripped off Microsoft get prison – Three people convicted of scamming Microsoft Corp. out of millions of dollars by reselling sharply discounted software were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221233.cfm?newsletter=10
GENERAL NEWS
Cost of gas soars again, state hit hard – Washington now has third-highest price in U.S. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336937_gas26.html
Tight supplies, speculation send oil, gas prices to new highs (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/26/BUI6T0BVH.DTL&feed=rss.business
A cautionary tale – Largest PDC fine hits hospital administrators. The state Public Disclosure Commission imposed the largest out-of-court fine in its history Thursday, accepting a settlement that would require two administrators at a Renton hospital to pay more than $120,000 for using public money on a tax levy and annexation proposal. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221218.cfm?newsletter=10
Insurance agents' letters broke rules, group says – Letters sent by some of the state's largest insurance companies warning policyholders that their rates would increase if Referendum 67 passes are illegal campaign contributions, an advocacy group for retired people said Thursday. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336948_letters26.html
Skydiver memorial Saturday in Snohomish – A memorial service for nine skydivers and the pilot killed in a plane crash near White Pass is scheduled for tomorrow in Snohomish.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1011779~Skydiver_memorial_Saturday_in_Snohomish.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Everett wood chip fire burns for months, upsets neighbors (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10806486.html
Fox’s Coverage of World Series Has Taco Filling – I’ve rarely seen a sponsor so overtly and shamelessly integrated into a game, which is great news for those who love what Taco Bell is giving away: crunchy seasoned beef tacos. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/sports/baseball/26sandomir.html?ex=1351137600&en=6c7633a26613840a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
FEMA Workers Masquerade As Reporters – One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/26/national/w073233D75.DTL&feed=rss.news
DIVERSIONS
Judge returns disputed Oregon deer to family
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10801491.html
Stupid signs for everyone! Oops! Drivers sink into wet concrete – As many as 10 vehicles drove around barriers and onto freshly poured concrete on a busy thoroughfare during rush hour.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_wet_concrete;_ylt=AnHZNANOIWphP6hMpZAHk7vtiBIF
Harry Potter a left-wing hero? Harry Potter -- left-wing hero of the intellectual aristocracy against the materialist middle classes? Well, yes, according to the French daily Liberation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_arts_harrypotter;_ylt=AlZ9oZjizDTEAUo9F2GCeeftiBIF
Teenager in go-kart leaves police standing – A teenager speeding through a German town in a go-kart with seven squad cars in hot pursuit managed to give the frustrated officers the slip, police said on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_gocart;_ylt=AvxEL9StyGOGvxVMdEqMoVntiBIF
Man arrested after saving pair from fire
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fire_rescue_arrest;_ylt=Agfotm08jPQKpZ0XQXnpRSTtiBIF
WORD OF THE DAY
Flabbergast • \FLAB-er-gassed\ • transitive verb – To overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder: dumbfound
(See the first story under Energy and Utility Issues)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Trick or Treat! Canadian investors to buy Puget Sound Energy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/336982_pse27.html?source=rss
Here’s the Google news search on this story:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-46,GGLJ:en&q=puget+energy&um=1&tab=wn
Natural gas prices drop 18 percent – More than 2,000 local customers will pay less for natural gas this winter. The average Cascade Natural Gas residential customer will see the monthly bill drop by almost 18 percent, or about $13. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071025/NEWS04/710250083/1001
Northwest Natural rates to be cut by 9 percent – Northwest Natural Gas Co. has been given the go-ahead to reduce rates, effective Nov. 1, the first reduction in five years. (The Columbian, Vancouver)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2007/10/10252007_Northwest-Natural-rates-to-be-cut-by-9-percent.cfm?newsletter=1
Pace of coal-power boom slackens – Rising construction costs and potential climate legislation in Congress halt at least 18 proposed power plants in the past nine months. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1025/p03s02-wogi.html
California – City fires up power plant: Natural-gas facility will provide 40 percent of Roseville's power. Roseville's first power plant -- and largest construction project to date -- officially opened last week with a ceremonial flip of the switch. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CgiiilqqSUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
New era for nuclear could open via tax breaks, fast-track regulation and climate change: Milken Institute Review (Utility Automation and Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/309853/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/New-era-for-nuclear-could-open-via-tax-breaks,-fast-track-regulation-and-climate-change:-Milken-Institute-Review/
Parties reach deal in California-Oregon Intertie dispute – The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late Wednesday said a PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Independent System Operator had reached a settlement in their dispute over which would manage the entire California-Oregon Intertie, three major AC power lines that bring power direct from hydroelectric plants in the Pacific Northwest to Los Angeles. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/8322711.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
Power line will fire up Alaska, not B.C. critic suggests (Canada.com)
http://www.canada.com/cityguides/princerupert/story.html?id=38d3365a-bfa1-4cf2-a0cb-a876b015d0a5
News Release – Women’s Energy Network: Calling All High School Girls – The Energy Industry Wants You! (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=76618
News Release – USDA Awards More Than $1.6 Billion In Electric Loans. $38 million goes to Kodiak Electric Association (US Dept’ of Agriculture)
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2007/10/0310.xml
FERC – Hydropower - Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric Project located in Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumpter Counties, South Carolina. (Project No. 199-205)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2007/10-26-07.asp
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
British Columbia – Farmed Atlantic salmon found in Clayoquot rivers. The Westerly has confirmed that shortly after a net breach at a salmon farm in Clayoquot Sound last month a small number of Atlantic salmon were found in nearby rivers. (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=184c651d-46d6-4c6e-ba8c-4eb2c104fe66&k=69921
Schools of chum salmon charge through town. The Kennedy Creek estuary at low tide is a quiet place — until small schools of chum salmon blow into town. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/254033.html
Oregon governor’s marine reserve survey has coast in turmoil (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?mid=6953
Bureau provides Odessa study results – Columbia Basin residents got to hear the latest on a study of ways to increase groundwater into irrigated land within the Odessa Subarea. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/news03.txt
Montana Environmental Standard Upheld – A judge upheld Montana water-quality standards aimed at protecting rivers in the Powder River Basin from pollution caused by coal-bed methane development. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1002639~Mont__Environmental_Standard_Upheld.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Quilcene solar pair becomes Puget Sound Energy's 200th to feed power to grid (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071026/NEWS/710260302
Developer touts planned Moxee tire plant as green energy source – They are called ecoblocks, not baled tires. (Yakima Herald-Republic – Good God! As long as it’s not coal!)
http://yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290135919024094
Would use construction waste – Activists Oppose Wood-Burning Power Plant “…It's absurd that a power plant could emit 7,200 pounds a year of lead and 1,400 pounds per year of arsenic and be considered a clean energy source…” (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Cghqoowy%5BUkg%23%3A%40%24bfem%5Ev
California – Wood-burning limits set. Air board OKs curbs on winter use of fireplaces, wood stoves in county. By an 8-3 vote, Sacramento air quality managers approved a two-stage plan to curtail wood burning in Sacramento County during winter. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration. Now wait a minute. Isn’t wood burning supposed to be carbon neutral?)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/454931.html
Pacific Northwest “Hydrogen Highway” Proposed (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3319
CONSERVATION
GE hopes to cut mercury in "green" light bulbs (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2448675120071024?sp=true
News Release – Prototype "Energy Smart" office slated for construction in Vancouver (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/180006/
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Cement Industry Is at Center of Climate Change Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/business/worldbusiness/26cement.html?_r=1&ex=1351137600&en=85227b6b322dc526&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Seattle P-I Guest Columnist – Be wary of climate policy development. Imagine you are an advocacy group and want to sway a government's policy development, but really want to keep your activism a secret. You could learn a lot by observing and then avoiding the practices of the Center for Climate Strategies, a group of global warming worrywarts.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/336889_climatepolicy26.html?source=rss
British Columbia government eyes carbon tax in next budget – Levy on gasoline could be a start, says finance minister (The Times Colonist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=19c0eab5-07e6-4036-8f3a-40d43966dba2&k=89873
(The Big Stick) The second inconvenient truth – We must tax greenhouse gases or they will keep rising; wishful thinking about voluntary cuts just won't work (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=47155961-4568-4b84-a02d-5e1c881d68f4
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Microsoft quarter brings back boom – Stellar first-quarter results and a substantially improved outlook spurred Microsoft shares to levels not seen since July 2001. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2003975379_microsoft26.html
Senate OKs 7 more years of tax-free Net access, e-mail – Scarcely a week before an existing ban on Internet access taxes is set to expire, the U.S. Senate late Thursday voted to let the prohibition live on for seven more years. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9805069-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5
Telcos: IPTV Needs Fiber To The Home – Service providers at TelcoTV endorsed fiber to the home (FTTH) as the best access medium for IPTV, but said it's the services that will really set them apart from cable and satellite competitors. (Light Reading)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=137117&site=telcotv
After major projects fail, Wi-Fi reborn as cities refine approaches – Municipal Wi-Fi projects, all the rage last year, have fallen into a funk, if you believe the press reports about delays and problems for big deployments in cities like San Francisco, Chicago and Houston. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/23/BUJOSU1FR.DTL&feed=rss.business
Trio who ripped off Microsoft get prison – Three people convicted of scamming Microsoft Corp. out of millions of dollars by reselling sharply discounted software were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221233.cfm?newsletter=10
GENERAL NEWS
Cost of gas soars again, state hit hard – Washington now has third-highest price in U.S. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336937_gas26.html
Tight supplies, speculation send oil, gas prices to new highs (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/26/BUI6T0BVH.DTL&feed=rss.business
A cautionary tale – Largest PDC fine hits hospital administrators. The state Public Disclosure Commission imposed the largest out-of-court fine in its history Thursday, accepting a settlement that would require two administrators at a Renton hospital to pay more than $120,000 for using public money on a tax levy and annexation proposal. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP10262007news221218.cfm?newsletter=10
Insurance agents' letters broke rules, group says – Letters sent by some of the state's largest insurance companies warning policyholders that their rates would increase if Referendum 67 passes are illegal campaign contributions, an advocacy group for retired people said Thursday. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/336948_letters26.html
Skydiver memorial Saturday in Snohomish – A memorial service for nine skydivers and the pilot killed in a plane crash near White Pass is scheduled for tomorrow in Snohomish.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1011779~Skydiver_memorial_Saturday_in_Snohomish.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Everett wood chip fire burns for months, upsets neighbors (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10806486.html
Fox’s Coverage of World Series Has Taco Filling – I’ve rarely seen a sponsor so overtly and shamelessly integrated into a game, which is great news for those who love what Taco Bell is giving away: crunchy seasoned beef tacos. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/sports/baseball/26sandomir.html?ex=1351137600&en=6c7633a26613840a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
FEMA Workers Masquerade As Reporters – One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/26/national/w073233D75.DTL&feed=rss.news
DIVERSIONS
Judge returns disputed Oregon deer to family
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/10801491.html
Stupid signs for everyone! Oops! Drivers sink into wet concrete – As many as 10 vehicles drove around barriers and onto freshly poured concrete on a busy thoroughfare during rush hour.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_wet_concrete;_ylt=AnHZNANOIWphP6hMpZAHk7vtiBIF
Harry Potter a left-wing hero? Harry Potter -- left-wing hero of the intellectual aristocracy against the materialist middle classes? Well, yes, according to the French daily Liberation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_arts_harrypotter;_ylt=AlZ9oZjizDTEAUo9F2GCeeftiBIF
Teenager in go-kart leaves police standing – A teenager speeding through a German town in a go-kart with seven squad cars in hot pursuit managed to give the frustrated officers the slip, police said on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071026/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_gocart;_ylt=AvxEL9StyGOGvxVMdEqMoVntiBIF
Man arrested after saving pair from fire
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fire_rescue_arrest;_ylt=Agfotm08jPQKpZ0XQXnpRSTtiBIF
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