Here’s why it’s good the Mesaba Project was not built!
June 14th, 2015
Remember the Excelsior Energy Mesaba Project (see Legalectric posts and Citizens Against the Mesaba Project’s “Camp Site”), the boondoggle coal gasification plant that almost was, the project that got every legislative perk possible, got financing and grants based on wishful thinking and that “something else” that we just can’t identify (without which, who would think this was a good idea? That plant that was to be built, according to the special legislation for this project, on a site WITH INFRASTRUCTURE? This site… dig the infrastructure!
Anyway, it wasn’t built here. But a similar plant WAS built in Indiana, the Edwardsport plant owned by Duke Energy. As with the Mesaba Project it was proposed at a reasonable price, legislators were first told $700 million, and then it went upwards of $2.11 billion. For Edwardsport, same story, and that price kept going up, up, up, and in Indiana, it was so extreme that costs recoverable from ratepayers were capped by the Indiana Public Utility Commission at $2.9 BILLION. It was allowed to be built, and it started operating, sort of… Average output has been 41%, when an 80+% capacity factor was promised. Repairs? That’s putting it mildly. Now they’re going to try to get cost recovery for that.
Now, let’s not all forget all the money given by the Joyce Foundation to support this nonsense.
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Here’s a specific and eloquent comment from Michael Mullet, very involved in opposition to the Edwardsport fiasco:
BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line docket filings
June 8th, 2015
QUICK — take a few seconds and send a missive to BOTH plainsandeastern@hq.doe.gov AND Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov and ask for 1) an extension of time to file comments, at least to September 11, 2015; and 2) public hearings across the affected area, as they did for the DEIS.
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Hot off the press, here are the BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line: Arkansas and Oklahoma Initial Filings to the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in the Plains & Eastern Clean Line docket:
And to add a little frosting on the cake:
Meanwhile, Clean Line is putting its efforts into ASTROTURF!!! You’d think they’d have a clue how that goes over.
And here’s the Citizens First Congress Champions for Change luncheon, where BLOCK Plains & Eastern Clean Line: Arkansas and Oklahoma’s Alison Milsaps spoke to the crowd:
FBI flying over my old neighborhood!
June 2nd, 2015
Secret Aerial FBI Program Uncovered by 23 Year Old Journalist
Follow up in the STrib about the surveillance airplanes circling around Minneapolis:
Mysterious low-flying plane over Twin Cities raises questions of surveillance
That’s one way to put it.
And the AP Exclusive in the STrib today:
FBI behind mysterious surveillance aircraft over US, including Twin Cities
Bernie Sanders in Mpls on Sunday!
May 28th, 2015
| Time: | Sunday, May 31, 2015 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT |
|---|---|
| Host: | Bernie Sanders |
| Contact Phone: | (802) 862-1505 |
| Location: |
Minneapolis American Indian Center (Minneapolis, MN)
1530 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404 Maps:
|
From the “WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING” file…
May 25th, 2015
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The miracle was he was brought to the hospital, treated, and released. WHEW!
Who would hold an event with fly-ins of any type next to a big honkin’ transmission line?
From Scripps Channel 5 News
Skydiver Treated, Released From Hospital After Hitting Powerlines
And another version:
And in the Winchester Herald Chronicle:
Skydiver lines jolts Memorial Day event landing in power
Posted on Monday, May 25, 2015 at 9:27 am
STAFF WRITER courtney stachel
A skydiver drifting into a power line from a wind gust Saturday at the Red, White and You Memorial Day event in Winchester was followed by a happy ending when word was given that he had been treated and released from the hospital.
More than 400 spectators witnessed the incident when skydiver John Pitts, of the Fly It Like You Stole It skydiving team, was the first of three divers to exit an airplane and came down toward the ground gracefully while the National Anthem was being played.
A wind gust hit Pitts, causing him to drift into the electrical lines where he was left hanging for less than a minute. He dropped from the lines and fell onto a rocky area next to Tims Ford Lake.
Zachary Colescott, Winchester Municipal Airport manager, said right after the fall that Pitts was conscious and being airlifted.
Colescott said the team was concerned about the wind flow the day of the event.
“That was one thing we were worried about was the wind — being so close to the water and the power lines,” he said. “I’m really glad he is okay.”
Despite the scary interruption to the show, acclaimed country singer Lee Greenwood went on to perform as scheduled.
The event lasted all day and held plenty of entertainment for spectators, including the traveling Vietnam memorial wall, musical entertainment and a boat parade.
Jayson Davis, Moore-Cortner Funeral Home family services counselor, said the outcome at the event was surprising.
“There were a lot more people who came out than we expected,” he said. “I’m proud that so many people came out to enjoy the day with us.”
Greenwood was the main attraction. He spoke from the heart in a talking to the Herald Chronicle about small town U.S.A. and how he was looking forward to coming to Winchester and preforming.
“I love the small town flavor as it reminds me how I grew up in California,” he said. “Little towns are becoming big towns, and big towns are becoming big cities. Somewhere in the transition, we are losing the face of America. Winchester, Tennessee, is a reminder of all that is good with the United States.”
For Greenwood, Memorial Day provided the perfect opportunity to spread his message of patriotism.
“Memorial Day is not just about the good food, drinks and fireworks, which thrills the crowds — it’s about remembering those who have sacrificed through the years to give us that chance,” he said. “There are memorials all across the nation that bear witness to the struggle America has had in gaining and maintain our independence. It’s that thought I reflect on when I sing and when we observe this holiday.”
