Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Columbia Generating Station near Richland Producing Electricity Again (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Canada: Pink Salmon Threatened by Greenhouse Gases & Acidification in Rivers (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

Wenatchee Wildfires: ‘Mind Blowing’ Flames Destroy Homes in Washington State (Tri-City Herald, WA)

Two-Year, $38.2 Billion Washington State Budget Passes; Shutdown Averted (Everett Herald, WA)

Leap Second Will Extend the Day, & Might Roil the Internet (NY Times)

Monday, June 29, 2015

U-S Supreme Court Blocks Obama’s Limits on Power Plants (NY Times)

Montana Coal Plant Operator Says Colstrip Remains Profitable for Now (Associated Press)

Jefferson PUD Won’t Say No to Selling Electricity to Pot Growers (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

Oregon: Deschutes County to Review Two Proposed Solar Farms (Bend Bulletin, OR)

Structures Burn & Hundreds Evacuate in Chelan County (Associated Press)

Hot Weather is the Time to Conserve Energy (Franklin PUD, Pasco, WA)

(Pasco, WA) -- Because of the ongoing extreme heat, Franklin PUD is seeing power use higher than normal.  To help ease the strain on the electric system, customers are encouraged to conserve energy and use appliances during non-peak times.  Peak times are 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

Suggestions include:
  • Set the air conditioning thermostat at 78 degrees or your highest comfortable setting. Higher settings cost less; lower settings cost more.
  • Don’t try to speed-cool at a very low temperature setting when you return home from work or a day away. Your AC won’t cool any faster set at 68 degrees than it does at 78 degrees.
  • Don’t use dishwashers, clothes washers and other appliances at peak times.  Use the delay start and set for late at night.
  • If you have ceiling fans, run the fans and the air conditioner at the same time when you’re home, but set the air conditioner thermostat a few degrees higher. A fan’s breeze on your skin increases evaporative cooling. You’ll feel cool at a higher room temperature, which can save on your energy bill.
  • Use a microwave oven instead of a conventional electric range or oven.  Avoid using appliances that generate heat such as ovens or use during the late evening when temperatures have dropped.
  • Close curtains during the day to keep rooms from warming up from the sun.
  • Clean or replace furnace filters. Dirty filters slow airflow through your HVAC system making it work harder and costing you more money.
  • Replace incandescent bulbs with LED lightbulbs.  Not only do they use less energy, they generate much less heat.
  • When TVs, computers and lights are not in use, turn them off.

For more energy tips, visit www.franklinpud.com.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

The 12 Commandments of Radio News Broadcasting


  1. Write short, clear sentences, using short, easy words.
  2. Write in the present tense. If you MUST use a time phrase, don’t put it at the end of the sentence.
  3. Leave out superfluous words. Especially beware of clichés, un-named sources and unnecessary attributions.
  4. Pursue actuality. Follow up a news release, a newspaper article or breaking story and ask questions that take the subject further. Seek an opposing viewpoint.
  5. Rewrite copy as often as possible. The aim should be to have everything fresh for every bulletin. In any case, no copy should be used unchanged more than three times.
  6. Don’t write anything you don’t understand or could be defamatory. If in doubt, ASK. You will never be told off for ringing the news director or news editor at home.
  7. Be wary of news releases. 90 percent are crap. In the other ten percent, the best angle is usually in the last paragraph.
  8. No actuality should be longer than 30 seconds. No voice report should be longer than 45 seconds. The ideal story has a one paragraph intro and a 40 second wrap containing two cuts of actuality, both under ten seconds.
  9. Actuality must be clearly understood, even coming out of a $2.99 transistor radio.
  10. Do not report suicides of bomb hoaxes, unless they have clear news value.
  11. If any piece of equipment fails to work properly, report it to a technician or leave a message for them right away. If you postpone it for five minutes you’ll forget.
  12. It’s good to be first, but it’s better to be right.


Friday, June 26, 2015

Western Washington Heat Advisory in Effect until 5 AM Sunday (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Washington Senate Republicans Prepare One-Month Budget to Avoid Shutdown (Northwest Public Radio)

$34 Million in Fish Threatened by State Government Shutdown (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

Lake Cushman to be Lower than Expected Minimums (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Daily Report: The Promise of Faster Fiber-Optic Transmissions (NY Times)

New W F West High School Bearcat Logo Put on Hold (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

(CHEHALIS, WA) -- After largely negative community response, adopting the proposed new W.F. West High School Bearcat mascot logo has been put on hold.  The logo, which came about as part of a two-year long project by students at the school, was designed with the help of an alumnus with a graphics background. The uproar happened after students and staff began summer break. A letter from W.F. West High School on Thursday says, “..we don't feel like we can move forward until we have everyone back for a full discussion. The plan is to revisit the logo and gain additional input from the faithful Chehalis community in the fall.”

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Prolonged Stretch of Heat Begins with Temperatures Rising over Weekend (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Pacific Northwest Power Jumps to Seasonal Record as Water Flows Drop (Bloomberg News)

U-S House GOP Bill Targets Obama Plan to Limit Carbon Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants (Associated Press)

Facebook Forces Some Small Businesses to Shift Their Social Media Game Plan (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

U-S Supreme Court Upholds Key Provision of Obamacare (Associated Press)

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Holly Dohrman New Power Manager at Franklin PUD (Franklin PUD, Pasco, WA)


(Pasco, WA) -- Franklin PUD recently hired Holly Dohrman as the new Power Manager for the utility. Dohrman will be responsible for the management of power resource acquisitions including load forecasts and purchased power requirements.

The position provides input and oversight setting the strategic direction of the utility’s power supply and projected load growth. She will also manage power supply contracts and participate in the administration of large commercial and industrial power sales contracts.

Dohrman has a Business Administration degree from Washington State University and has worked in engineering, GIS, and formerly as the Energy Services Manager for Klickitat PUD. Most recently she has worked as the Power Manager for over four years at Klickitat. Franklin PUD extends a warm welcome to her.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Summer Spill Starts At Snake & Columbia Dams (Tri-City Herald, WA)

New Electrical Meters Coming to Grant PUD Customers (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

BC Hydro Sues Vancouver Landlord over Refusing Smart Meters (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

Community Solar Arrays Greet the Sun – Project funded by utility customer investors is becoming real in Orchards (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Washington State Legislature Preparing for Government Shutdown (Northwest Public Radio)

Monday, June 15, 2015

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Drought Shouldn’t Impact Pacific Northwest Hydro Dams Too Much This Summer (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

Citizens Group Files Complaint over Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside Project (Renton Reporter, WA)

Study – Seattle-Owned Broadband Utility Too Expensive (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

EPA Pushed to Give States Advance Notice of Final Carbon Rules, Show ‘Deference’ to State Plans (Utility Dive)

Stanford Study Outlines Path for All 50 States to be 100% Renewable by 2050 (Utility Dive)

Monday, June 8, 2015

Emails Show Inslee Administration Discussions with Energy Company on Columbia River Oil Refinery (Northwest Public Radio)

Imperiled Fish Add to California’s Drought Stress “…demands on behalf of fish are sharpening the battle lines and creating additional headaches for regulators…” (Sacramento Bee, CA)

Drought Conditions Reach Unexpected Corners of the Pacific Northwest (Northwest Public Radio)

Apple Plans Its Own High-Speed Network to Link Data Centers (Bloomberg News)

America’s Quality Pot Is Changing the Drug War – With weed now permitted in some form in 23 U-S states, the flow of cannabis out of Mexico has slowed and, to a degree, reversed (Bloomberg News)

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Low Pacific Northwest Snowpack - As Seen from Space (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

Salmon Swim in the Owyhee River after 87 Years – Shoshone Paiute Relearn Traditions (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

British Columbia: Dam Proposal Puts Peace River Valley on Canada’s Top 10 Endangered Places List (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

49 U-S States Making Plans to Cut Power Plant Emissions (The Guardian, UK)

Lower-Cost LEDs Offer Some Competition to Compact Fluorescent Lights (NY Times)

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Spring Chinook Catch Limit Expanded to Two Per Day on Stretch of Columbia River (Longview Daily News, WA)

Inslee’s Carbon Plan Dead But Capital Gains Tax Still Alive (Crosscut Seattle)

Group to Discuss Klamath Falls Public Power Plan Thursday (Klamath Falls Herald & News, OR)

Comcast Giving $5 Credits for Massive West Coast Outage (Broadband Reports)

This Is Why People Are So Clueless About How Much Energy They Use (Washington Post)