Posted: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

How would you like to pay little to nothing on your electric bill for the rest of your life? That could be a payoff of living in a home that generates its own energy on-site. Builders are constructing what you might call “extremely green” homes in a handful of Northwest cities. Correspondent Tom Banse was at a groundbreaking ceremony here, near Seattle.

Sound [Master of ceremonies]: “I’d like to welcome everyone here today...”

At this groundbreaking, the traditional shovel was left untouched and ribbons cut instead. A ribbon around a solar panel... snip. Around a cutaway of super-insulated wall...snip. People even applauded a water-saving toilet...

Sound: [applause]

Even though no dirt was turned, the event was groundbreaking in another sense. Issaquah mayor Ava Frisinger says the ten town homes represent the first neighborhood in the Northwest that is zero net energy. That means the so-call “z homes” produce as much energy as they consume over the course of a year.

Frisinger: “Z-Home will prove to the world that homes that use net zero energy, have net zero carbon emissions, conserve water and other natural resources, can be replicated in today’s market. They are achievable now.”

The term zero energy doesn’t mean no energy. Builder Doug Howland plans to cover the roofs with solar panels to make electricity for heating and lighting.

Howland: “We’ve combined 33% in generation – so we’re going to generate what a normal home would typically use, 33% -- and we’re going to decrease the demand by 66%. So it’s a combination of generation and conservation.”

In fact, the biggest energy savings come from extra thick insulation. A heat pump that draws from a heat well -- or warming loop -- under the ground gains additional savings.

Howland says solar power works better in the rainy Northwest than most people think. He says the total construction cost is about 25 percent higher.

Howland: “The next time we do this, we’re all going to have the learnings of this project. And we think that we can do it for maybe 10% extra. We’ve been asking people, ‘What premium would you pay?’ We’ve got a range between 5-12% right now. So we know that there is a premium that people will pay. The market is going to dictate.”

Several other Northwest builders are trying for the Holy Grail of a zero net energy home. In Bellevue, Washington and in Portland, unrelated homeowners are building their own extremely green houses. On Lopez Island, Washington, a land trust is fundraising to pay for solar panels and maybe even a wind turbine to power a “sustainable community” of 10 homes. And in Vancouver, Washington, architect Timothy Buckley is working on a house that’s not only zero energy, but zero net water as well. It’ll have a rainwater cistern, composting toilet, and a garden watered by kitchen and laundry runoff.

Timothy Buckley: “The technology is there, nothing new under the sun. They’ve all been applied and used on other projects. Just no one has put them all together all at the same and then try to go through all the extra process for permitting.”

Buckley and others working on these ultra-green homes are hoping to set a new standard for energy efficiency.

The housing slowdown and credit crunch have not deterred them. In fact, the director of the Seattle-area non-profit Built Green says the down economy is giving an added reason to push the envelope. Aaron Adelstein says super efficient is what he’s hoping all new buildings will look like in 10 or 20 years.

Adelstein: “I think if anything, the housing crunch and the market slowdown is actually accelerating the rate of green building because builders are looking for a way to differentiate themselves.”

If all goes well, the zero energy townhomes outside Seattle will be done and open for public tours a year from now.

On the web:

zHome (Issaquah, WA)

Lopez Island Community Land Trust “sustainable homes”

Zero Energy Idea House (Bellevue, WA)

Living House at Felida (Clark County, WA)

Posted Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Several environmental groups banded together today to file a lawsuit in federal court against a coal fired plant in the Columbia River Gorge. The groups say the Boardman, Oregon plant is violating the Clean Air Act by releasing harmful amounts of mercury and smog. Portland General Electric operates the plant. Officials at Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality say they’re working with the power company. They say new air scrubbers will be installed on the plant in the next six to ten years. But Michael Lang with the Friends of the Columbia Gorge says that will extend the life of the plant.

Lang: "If pollution control devices are installed in the Boardman plant it’s likely that the utility company with that investment will want to operate that plant well into the middle of this century. Is that where we want to go? We need to have that policy debate."

Lang hopes the lawsuit will force the plant operators to either shut the plant down or update the plant with millions of dollars of new filtering equipment.

Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio Posted Thursday, October 9, 2008

Washington gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi plans to fight a subpoena to testify in a campaign finance lawsuit brought by two former Supreme Court Justices. The lawsuit accuses Rossi, a Republican, of illegally participating in a political fundraising effort by the state’s homebuilding industry, a charge he denies. Austin Jenkins reports.

Rossi has been subpoenaed to testify next Wednesday – the day of his final debate with Democratic incumbent Chris Gregoire and the first day absentee ballots are available. He says Gregoire’s fingerprints are on the lawsuit and he has no plans to show up.

Rossi: “They want to talk to me on the day of our last debate with her partisan lawyer with an unlimited time frame, well you know what we’re not going to play that game.”

Gregoire’s campaign denies it’s behind the court action. The Rossi subpoena is part of a lawsuit against the Building Industry Association of Washington or BIAW. It was brought by Knoll Lowney, a Democratic attorney, on behalf of former Washington Supreme Court Justices Faith Ireland and Robert Utter. At issue is whether Rossi helped raise money for the homebuilder’s campaign war chest to unseat Gregoire. Last year, Rossi called members of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, a BIAW affiliate. But he denies they were fundraising calls and says even if they were he wasn’t a candidate then and he violated no laws.

Copyright 2008 KPLU Posted Thursday, October 9, 2008

BOISE, ID - Micron Technology announced this morning it would cut about 15 percent of its work force around the globe as part of a restructuring of its memory operations. Samantha Wright reports on what than means for Idaho workers.

Micron President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Durcan says the bulk of the jobs will be cut from Boise.

Durcan: “That’s gonna impact a lotta long-time, loyal employees here in the Treasure Valley.”

15-hundred Boise employees will be laid off. The cuts are a result of declining customer demand and an oversupply of Flash memory. Micron will shut down one flash memory production facility in Boise. Durcan says the restructuring will help Micron weather the storm.

Durcan: “Micron’s not going anywhere, we’re gonna continue to have thousands and thousands and thousands of employees in the TV and we’re gonna continue to invest in our future here.”

Micron officials say the company will provide severance and help workers however they can. Many of the Boise layoffs will occur in the next 30 to 60 days. The rest of the cuts will happen over the next two years. Micron is one of the state's largest private employers.

Copyright 2008 Boise State Radio Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

EUGENE, OR - If you’re not registered to vote in Oregon, you’ve run out of time. The deadline was Tuesday afternoon. It came at a time when Democrats are enjoying a surge in their ranks. Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

The final numbers aren’t in yet, but as of August, Democrats saw a 17 percent increase in registration over a similar point entering the 2004 Presidential election. Republican numbers dropped slightly over the same period. The increase in Democrats is thanks in part to new voters like Jeff Noodleman. The University of Oregon freshman says he registered to vote on his 18th birthday in August. Noodleman came to see Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley speak at a get out the vote rally in Eugene:

Noodleman: “It’s really awesome to hear Merkley come speak. I’d love for Obama to come. I don’t know if that’s going to happen but it’s just great to hear all the politicians finally come and give students a chance to have their voices be heard.” 0:08

The voter registration boost is happening across the Northwest. Early voting is already underway in Idaho. And voting by mail in Oregon and Washington will begin next week. I’m Chris Lehman in Eugene.

Copyright 2008 OPB

On the web:

Find out if you are registered to vote Posted Friday, October 17, 2008

SALEM, OR - Some mistakes are easier to correct than others. In Oregon, one Congressional candidate did a double take when he saw state officials listed the wrong party affiliation for him in the voters’ pamphlet. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman explains.

Joel Haugen won the Republican primary in the First Congressional District last May. But he switched to the Independent Party after a falling-out with local Republicans. They were upset at his endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama. But somehow state elections officials failed to change his party affiliation on the voters’ pamphlet. Haugen says the error was discovered when the pamphlet arrived in his mailbox.

Haugen: “Well actually, I didn’t even open it up. My wife opened it up and she what ‘What’s this?’ She said ‘You’re listed as a Republican.’ And I said ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ I was actually quite astounded that was the case. But you know, it was a clerical error I suppose.”

It’s an expensive clerical error. The state is spending 48-thousand dollars to mail postcards to First District voters informing them of the mistake. Haugen and three other minor party candidates are trying to unseat incumbent Democrat David Wu.

Copyright 2008 OPB













Anne Buck owns the Olympia spice shop Buck’s Fifth Avenue.

  The financial crisis on Wall Street and in banks across the nation can seem pretty abstract. But the effects of the slowing economy are already showing up in the lives of ordinary people in the Northwest. For some, the downturn has been devastating. For others, such as one hay farmer in Pasco Washington, there’s a new sense of uncertainty. At the same time, a few small businesses are seeing surprising benefits. We have three snapshots of the Northwest economy from three of our reporters. The first comes from Doug Nadvornick, in the Idaho panhandle.  

   Joe Mundy’s drive home in Priest River takes him past the J-D Lumber Mill. It’s a tough drive. This month, the mill laid off Mundy and about 200 others when it was sold to a competitor and closed. The mill was one victim of the slow housing market across the country which has driven down demand and prices for wood products.

Now Mundy has lost a good salary. But he’s more worried about losing his health insurance.

Mundy: “It wasn’t the greatest on the planet, but my wife has been fightin’ cancer for four years and she has good insurance and this picked up the co-pay. We lost that the minute we walked out the door.”

            Mundy’s used to working without a safety net. He was a logger for 30 years and experienced many cycles of boom and bust.

Mundy: “Working in the woods you don’t have insurance or anything.”

    Including a pension. The 61-year-old with the bushy gray beard says when he accepted his mill job four years ago he opened a retirement account for the first time. But but that’s been hit hard by the stock market and now he has to figure out how to make a living.

Mundy: “We’ve got unemployment comin’. It’ll keep you from losing stuff. That’s about it. (heavy sigh) What I will more than likely end up doin’ is getting into some on-the-job training. I can find something around here to squeak through.”

    Squeaking through is a good description for timber towns like Priest River where lumber has always been king.   

  I’m Doug Nadvornick in Priest River, Idaho.

And I’m Anna King in Pasco, Washington.

  With the stock market dropping dramatically and widespread uncertainty on the credit market, small town banks are feeling the heat too. Chuck Steltenpohl is president of Bank Reale in Pasco, Washington. His bank didn’t make any sub-prime mortgage loans. But like all banks – the future is uncertain. He’s seen a slow down of car, home and commercial building loans.

Steltenpohl: “Me personally, if I was making 20 to 25 loans a month that was a pretty busy month. Now I’m probably making 15. Credit is tight right now.”

But Steltenpohl has one advantage -- his location. Circles of potatoes and rows of apple trees are watered just down the road. Trucks loaded with produce wiz by outside Steltenpohl’s office window.

SOUND: Trucks

Steltenpohl: “Ag is good. Agriculture loans are right now in demand, because banks want to diversify.”

And in farm country it’s loan season. Harvest is over and now it’s time to figure out budgets for land, fertilizer and seeds for next year. But just when Steltenpohl wants to make loans, his farmers don’t need them as much. That’s because farmers have enjoyed record prices on just about every commodity. That means many don’t have to borrow money for next year. One of those profitable farmers not taking out a loan for next year is Chep Gauntt. But with the world economy pushing commodity prices down, his good profits may not last.

Gauntt: “It’s not possible to know what’s going to take place next year in the world. You know supposedly a lot of learned people didn’t see this melt down in the stock market. We don’t have any outside source of income. We have to consistently manage to try and make money. “

Many of Gauntt’s crops make their way around the world. For example his hay feeds dairy cows in Japan. Nowadays, it’s looking like the weather might be easier to predict than the world economy. I’m Anna King in Pasco, Washington.  

I’m Tom Banse in downtown Olympia with a business that’s thriving in a down economy. Buck’s Fifth Avenue is the name of a little shop that sells culinary tools and spices. What you see is what you smell... floor to ceiling, jars of spices from all over the world.

Sound: [front door squeaks open]

Buck: “We don’t have store hours. We have sniffing hours.”

Store owner Anne Buck opened her retail business in 1973. So she’s seen her share of economic expansions and slowdowns. For her, now is a good time.

Sound: [cash register beeps]

Buck: “We’re busier than we ever have been. Oh, busy, busy, busy.”

The reason, according to sales assistant Brook Ahnemann, is that people aren’t eating out as much.

Ahnemann: “It’s been really busy because people are coming in and cooking at home.”

Buck’s Fifth Avenue also operates an e-commerce website and sells spices to restaurants. Restaurant sales are down, but fortunately that’s just a small segment of Buck’s business. Looking forward, she doesn’t know what to expect from the turbulent economy.

Buck: “I’m just counting my blessings that we’re one of the few that’s lucking out because of it. But it doesn’t mean it will last. That’s what worries me.”

For now Buck is sticking to her strategy. She says she doesn’t borrow money to buy inventory or meet payroll. She’s staying small and keeps on just one part-time helper. Her interaction with the credit markets is limited to charging merchandise to her bank card. And she pays off the balance at the end of each month.

  Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio/Spokane Public Radio/KUOW Posted Tuesday, October 28, 2008

RICHLAND, WA - Pretty soon grocery stores will be required to tell where the meat and produce in your shopping basket comes from. A Federal law is ramping up now and will be mandatory by early spring. But one Washington cattleman has sued the federal government, saying the law costs producers and processors too much to comply. Correspondent Anna King reports.

Pasco feedlot owner Cody Easterday filed suit to force the Agriculture Department to postpone its rules for beef labeling. Easterday operates a large cattle feedlot. Many of his animals come from Canada.  Easterday says he faces higher recordkeeping costs and lower profits on foreign-born cattle.  By contrast, the Washington Cattlemen’s Association figures country of origin labeling will help smaller Northwest producers who breed and raise their cattle here at home.

Field: "I think it’s a little premature that we make any decision one way or the other."

Jack Field is spokesman of the Cattlemen’s group.

Field: "There still hasn’t been an opportunity for everyone throughout the beef chain, whether you are a small producer or a large retailer, to get phased in and become 100 percent compliant."

Small ranchers have long said that cheap Canadian and Mexican cattle have depressed prices in the Northwest.  But processors say there aren’t enough local cattle in the Northwest to keep their plants busy.

Copyright 2008 Northwest Public Radio Posted: Monday, November 3, 2008

New research at Washington State University shows voters would support a change in the way judges are selected in Washington. All three Northwest states have a system that critics say gives a free pass to most incumbent judges. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

Two W-S-U professors say while people like the idea of electing judges, they aren’t always confident about whom they choose.

Professors David Brody and Nick Lovrich sent a survey to about four thousand registered voters in Washington. Brody says 70-percent wanted some kind of screening process.

David Brody: “The lack of information about judicial candidates is a primary reason as to…A…why they don’t vote and…B…why they’re not satisfied with their vote.”

Rather than the current system of electing judges, Brody asked if voters would prefer that judicial candidates be interviewed and screened by nonpartisan committees and then picked by the governor.

Brody says 60-percent of Washington’s current judges were appointed. And then once they’re on the bench, it’s hard to vote them out. He says, this year, 84-percent of Washington judges are running unopposed.

Brody hopes his study will convince the Washington Supreme Court to review how judges are picked.

Copyright 2008 Spokane Public Radio

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