Legalectric

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Patricia Joy McGovern died on Thursday, June 17, 2010.  She was 83, and what a packed-full 83 years she had.

The factoid about her that never ceased to amaze me was that she was a professional swimmer AND fire baton twirler, AT THE SAME TIME.  She was in the Aqua Follies (remember that?  If you do, you’re probably even older than me!) and was the one who was right in the middle of everything kicking so that she was almost out of the water and twirling fire batons, yes, AT THE SAME TIME.  That’s a pretty tough act to follow.  She was the best mother-out-law, then mother-in-law, and mother-out-law again, anyway, the best ever, a positive and directive influence way back when, and a joy to be around. I remember the never-ending struggles with overwhelmed washing machines and dryers and cars trying to cope with a larger-than-life family.  My favorite memory is of any meal at her house, with 800 people and as many conversations going on all at the same time.  Her door, her heart, and her ear were always open.

That’s Pat in the middle, flanked by Peggy and I, at the St. Lawrence Band reunion back in August of 2005.  Can’t remember what we were snorting about — that’s just what happens when we all get together.

Here’s her obituary:

Patricia Joy McGovern – Obituary

Visitation

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 from 5-8 p.m.
Cremation Society of MN, Brooklyn Park
7835 Brooklyn Blvd.
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

Wednesday, 1 hour before service at Church of Open Door

Funeral Service

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 11a.m.
Church of the Open Door
9060 Zanzibar Lane N.
Maple Grove, MN

What a name…

There’s a Bonneville Power Authority transmission project, well, there’s more than one, but take a look at this one:

This is a project proposed by Bonneville Power Authority, which is a federal agency — that makes it different than a “public service corporation” applying for a project, the regulation of their transmission.

Here’s the BPA’s I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project page.

And they have a “need” page explaining why it’s needed:

BPA’s I-5 Corridor “Need” page

And of course this is where they start to lose me:

Over the years, as power production and electrical use have grown, the transmission system in this area has become increasingly congested and has moved closer to reaching its capacity. In addition, existing firm transmission service requests and new firm transmission service requests received through BPA’s 2008 Network Open Season process further increases the likelihood that the system will soon reach or exceed its capacity. Network Open Season is a yearly process that allows utilities, power generators, and power marketers to make long-term transmission service requests on BPA’s transmission system. If an additional line is not built, continued congestion could raise serious reliability concerns and, possibly, could lead to power interruptions.

The proposed I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project would help respond to these existing and new requests for transmission service, help accommodate load growth and address reliability concerns.

Where are links to the studies documenting reliability concerns?  Where is the documentation of load growth?  Where is the list of existing and new requests for transmission service?  Let’s see…

Here’s a June 2, 2010 presentation with a few hints (the pdf file says April, so I’ll label it that):

Presentation I-5 April 2010

This presentation notes that 15% of the power is sold elsewhere, and it notes that some of the power used in the area comes from elsewhere… but look at the map above and look for the word “Dam” and you’ll see there’s a lot of local generation going on.  “Network Open Season” sounds like utilities lining up to identify the landowners who are the targets.  Just because someone wants transmission service does not mean that it is reasonable, feasible or prudent to provide it, particularly if the capital costs of that transmission, reactive power and line loss cost is not factored in to the price used in “economic dispatch.”

Here are some other powerpoints

WECC Steering Team Presentation- Technical Analysis April 2007

WECC Final TAC Report

Once again, this is just a small part of a much larger plan — I guess we’ll have to do some digging to get at that info…

Once more with feeling…

Where are links to the studies documenting reliability concerns?  Where is the documentation of load growth?  Where is the list of existing and new requests for transmission service?

When I had a “regular” practice, a pile of minor criminal files, a shelf full of active family law cases, I was constantly worried about clients who were self-destructive, those killing themselves slowly with alcohol, chemicals and dangerous behavior.  But there were a couple of times when we had to keep the doors locked because of threats.  I’ve kept the notes and tapes.  At a CLE in Duluth, one of the women there had been viciously attacked by an opposing client, and her story was gut-wrenching and alarming.  One day in Dakota County, I notice extensive uniformed and undercover police presence, and learned that one of the parties on the calendar that day had previously chased a judge around the bench with a gun… OH MY!   Unfortunately, it’s too common:

The dangerous practice of law.

Recently an attorney in the trenches of Family Law, Terri Melcher, was stabbed by her client’s ex-husband.

This just in:

Most, if not all, of you are already aware of the brutal knife attack
on Fridley Family Law attorney Terri Melcher.  Terri was attacked in her
office late last week by the ex-husband of one of her clients.  Many
of her friends and colleagues in the legal community have asked how they
can show their care, concern and support for Terri.

Messages of support can be emailed to Susan Sheely or Marna Anderson, and
we will ensure she and her family get them.

In addition, the Anoka County Bar Association has set up the
“Terri Melcher Benefit Fund.”  Donations can be made directly to
the fund at any Wells Fargo location, or checks made out to the Fund can
be sent to:

Susan Sheely, c/o Barna, Guzy and Steffen, Ltd.,

200 Coon Rapids Blvd. NW, Suite 400,

Coon Rapids, MN 55433

or

Marna Anderson, c/o Hicken, Scott, Howard and Anderson,

2150 Third Ave., Suite 300,

Anoka, MN 55303

Thank you all for your care and concern for Terri during this difficult
time.

***************************

From the STrib:

St. Paul man charged with stabbing his ex-wife’s lawyer

A St. Paul man was charged Monday with stabbing his ex-wife’s attorney in the attorney’s office last week.

Sheikh Nyane, 32, of St. Paul, was charged with attempted first-degree and second-degree murder.

Nyane recently had lost legal and physical custody of a child, according to the Anoka County attorney’s office. Lawyer Terri Ann Melcher was representing Nyane’s ex-wife in family court.

According to the criminal complaint, Nyane went to the attorney’s office on the 6400 block of University Avenue NE. in Fridley about 5 p.m. Friday, where he repeatedly stabbed her in the face, throat and collarbone area. Police found Melcher in her office bleeding. She identified Nyane as her attacker and said that at one point he held her down while cutting her throat, the complaint said.

Nyane turned himself in to Minneapolis police officers at Bobby and Steve’s Auto World on Washington Avenue at Interstate 35W in Minneapolis, police said Friday. Nyane was arrested about 40 minutes after the attack occurred.

In an interview with police, Nyane said he stabbed Melcher using a knife he brought from home, the complaint said.

Melcher, 54, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. Police said Friday that she had been in critical condition when admitted but was expected to survive. No updates on her condition were available Monday.

Nyane is being held at the Anoka County jail in lieu of $1 million bail, with no conditions. He could yet be released on $500,000 bail, with conditions.

A little birdie has been looking around at Mesaba — but first…

Here’s a report of an obvious problem with IGCC from John Blair, Valley Watch— the pipedream is just that, and the truth that those of us in the midst of coal gasification know too well is finally coming out publicly:

Carbon capture plans failing – IEA

2010-06-14 18:22

London – The world is failing to meet goals to develop carbon capture technology, the energy watchdog to industrialised economies said on Monday as it reported back to G8 countries on their past promises.

At a summit in Japan two years ago, eight of the world’s leading economies backed an International Energy Agency goal to launch 20 large-scale projects to demonstrate carbon capture and storage technology by 2010.

In fact there were only five such projects in operation, all commissioned before the 2008 summit, said the energy adviser to 28 developed countries ahead of next week’s G8 summit in Canada.

None of those existing projects tested the full chain of CCS processes, which involves trapping and then piping and storing underground carbon emissions from coal and gas power plants.

“(The 2010 goal) remains a challenge and will require that governments and industry work in concert,” the IEA said in a report to the Canada G8 summit.

Large projects

One new Australian project had launched, however, and was proceeding to construction to test the full CCS process.

Also on a positive note, the IEA estimated that governments had committed over the past two years to provide over $26bn in funding support for demonstration projects. That compares with an annual funding need of between $5bn and $6.5bn over the next decade.

The IEA argues that CCS is a vital technology to fight climate change because it could allow developing countries to continue to burn supplies of cheap coal and still curb carbon emissions, as they try to grow their economies. Developing countries are now the main global source of rising greenhouse gas emissions.

The IEA estimates that about 100 CCS large-scale projects are needed worldwide by 2020, about half in developing countries, to stay within safer limits of climate change.

The report calculated that governments are committed to support between 19 and 43 large projects by 2020, and cited other estimates of about 80 projects at various stages of development.

“Much greater effort will be needed to meet future deployment levels,” it said.

– Reuters

Meanwhile, the little birdie…  We’ve been in this odd and unenviable place, a big horrible coal gasification plant, the Mesaba Project, promoted by Excelsior Energy, a shell corp with nada for assets, which demanded a Power Purchase Agreement then denied by the PUC, and yet inexplicably granted a siting permit for not just “one” but TWO projects totalling over 1,000MW of IGCC!  OH… MY… DOG!  So it’s in limbo land, and we’re wondering how on earth this thing stays on life support as it rots away…

The little birdie had this report:

Excelsior Energy was supposed to have filed a new air permit, and the MPCA was supposed to have reviewed the 2006 air permit application “to assure that the protocol was acceptable to federal land managers.”  Well, that didn’t happen, the “review” by MPCA OR the filing of the new air permit, which was supposed to have been filed last week.

2006 Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project Air Permit

… and the little birdie while looking around found this in their “Frequently Asked Questions” on their site, then scroll down to “View common transmission misconceptions” to p. 2:

Myth: The Mesaba Project will force wind energy off from the transmission grid.

Fact: Mesaba will make upgrades to the transmission grid so that the electricity from the Mesaba Project does not interfere with any existing or planned wind energy.

This myth stems from a misinterpretation of the Mesaba Unit One G477 and G519 System Impact Reports. In preparing the reports, the engineers determined that their base case was unrealistic. Therefore, they used their engineering judgment to make some assumptions so the reports could provide meaningful results. Although those assumptions were made only for the purposes of the report, an internet “blogger” misinterpreted the assumptions to mean that the Mesaba Project would force wind energy off from the transmission grid. In fact, the transmission upgrades associated with the Mesaba Project will ensure that it will not interfere with any “network resources” such as wind farms.

Hmmmmmmmmm…

And this “Myth” section is a lot like their letter to Commerce regarding EIS Scoping Comments:

Excelsior Energy Response to EIS Scoping Comments 11-7-06

Anyway, I’d like to see this blog posting they’re referring to!  Misinterpreted?  Naaaaaaah, it’s all the interpretations of those presenting and reviewing at the MAPP meeting.  Their claims are sorta like the matter of using a site with existing infrastructure:

I wonder what it was that blew their dress up… could it be:

So now it’s deliverable??? SWAG! January 9th, 2007

They caaalll Mesaaaba liiiars… November 25th, 2006

Anyway, their air permit application was submitted, and it is a mess. The rules have changed.  We’re waiting for the next Air Permit application, which will be… when???

Fair Use – Photo from Adam Scotti-STrib

For the duration of the saga of Peter Erlinder in Rwanda, it’s been hard not get a headache from my rolling eyeballs.   This is just what I’d expect, from what I know of him during my time William Mitchell and my armchair “psychotherapy” practice (don’t worry, I refer every one of my clients out, it’s in the retainer!).  All the post-arrest whining and hue and cry… shocked???  Pul-leeeeeeeze…  Let’s get real, he knew what he was getting into, gave a CYA notice to the feds, knew what all he’d published, knew the Rwandan law, and cavorted with rabid pitbulls. That was the choice, and from all reports, he had actual and constructive notice of the risk.  From all reports, he expected there would be problems.  He goes, he gets busted, he’s surprised… EH?

btw… where is he licensed to practice?  Pro hac vice’d in by someone in Rwanda?

So in the midst of all this, a recent STrib article was truly refreshing, Erlinder being honest and hilarious.  As for his honesty, it helps, because statements of denial by family and supporters weren’t credible:

St. Paul law Prof. Peter Erlinder told a court on Monday that he did try to kill himself in a Rwandan jail cell this month.

Erlinder, who appeared in Rwanda’s high court appealing for his release on bail, said he has struggled with depression for 25 years and has felt suicidal before, according to audio recordings of the hearing obtained by the Star Tribune.

“Your honor, I lost all hope to live,” said Erlinder, who appeared in court clad in a pink jail smock and shorts and sporting a freshly-buzzed head and beard. “When I was in the detention facility not knowing what was going to happen, not being able to talk to lawyers, family, not knowing if I was going to live or die, I had a breakdown,” he said.

And hilarious, spoken like a guy who grew up wrenching garbage trucks:

At Monday’s hearing, Erlinder also alluded to a connection with the Obama family, saying that he was once First Lady Michelle Obama’s “garbage man.” Erlinder’s family says it appears to be a reference to his early days working at his father’s truck hauling business on the South Side of Chicago.

As one who tilts at windmills, waves the red flag in front of bull and bullshitter alike, I can relate to the drive to take on the biggest and the baddest, but “it can’t happen to me” isn’t a workable strategy going in and denial now won’t help.  Reality can be a good swift kick in the head, and it looks like he’s had a harsh bit of reality orientation. This is not a game, and it’s high stakes.  The pink outfit is the least of it!  Time to get real —  a South Side Chicago attitude would probably help.