4/15: Tea party leaders worried about extremists at rallies

AP: Tea Party leaders worried about extremists at rallies

As tax-day tea parties gear up for their biggest day of the year, leaders are concerned their efforts may draw extremists who could disrupt the movement's message.

Some rally organizers have canceled controversial speakers, increased security and have urged participants to bring cameras to snap photos of any disrupters. "We don't want to be misrepresented, whether it's by someone who is not part of the group and has their own agenda, or whether it's by some fringe extremist who may actually be a racist," said Jim Hoft, a political blogger and tea party activist who is one of the speakers for a rally in suburban St. Louis.

The National Tea Party Federation, a newly formed coalition of regional tea party groups, estimates that between 1,700 and 2,000 tax-day rallies are occurring Thursday in communities across the country.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis rebuffs black political groups

ARKANSAS: Tea Party leaders worried about today's rally

FLORIDA: School voucher plan makes strides in legislature

GEORGIA: GA may be first state to eliminate state arts council

KENTUCKY: Q&A: What happens if there's no state budget?

LOUISIANA: Legislature to discuss healthcare lawsuits, swine control today

MISSISSIPPI: Gov. Barbour unveils new spending proposal

NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte school system may lay off 1,000 because of budget problems

SOUTH CAROLINA: Senate approves 50-cent increase in cigarette tax

TENNESSEE: State's environmental regulatory agency hit from both sides

VIRGINIA: No vetoes by Gov. McDonnell on any legislation sent by 2010 General Assembly

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

3/22: Health care overhaul approved by Congress

New York Times: Health care overhaul approved by Congress

Democrats hailed the votes as a historic advance in social justice, comparable to the establishment of Medicare and Social Security. They said the bill would also put pressure on rising health care costs and rein in federal budget deficits.

“This is the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century,” said Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House.

However, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Republican of Florida, called it “a decisive step in the weakening of the United States.” Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, said it was “one of the most offensive pieces of social engineering legislation in the history of the United States.”

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: State's congressmen vote 'no' on healthcare reform

ARKANSAS: Arkansas is more likely to institutionalize disabled than most states

FLORIDA: State's AG says health care reform violates the Constitution

GEORGIA: State hospitals could suffer severe financial crisis

KENTUCKY: Reading gap between boys and girls is larger in KY than other states

LOUISIANA: Lawmakers consider ban on high-caffeine drinks for kids

MISSISSIPPI: State's next 'cash crop' could be its musical heritage

NORTH CAROLINA: Opinion: NC Senate should ignore flawed House annexation bill

SOUTH CAROLINA: Meeting in the middle on the environment

TENNESSEE: Sen. Alexander says health plan could cripple education in state

VIRGINIA: State to file lawsuit over healthcare reform

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

11/2: Turnout crucial in VA governor's race

Christian Science Monitor: Turnout crucial in Virginia governor's race

The Nov. 3 governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey are being closely watched for clues as to how Republicans and Democrats might fare in midterm elections a year from now.

The number of voters will likely be down, as midterm elections don't attract the crowds of a presidential election. In Virginia, there's concern that fewer African American voters and young voters will turn out on Tuesday, as a Washington Post poll shows lower numbers of likely voters on November 3.

And, if the weather is bad, turnout could be even lower.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Gov. Riley heads to Colombia for economic development trip

ARKANSAS: Prison board to talk about budget cuts

FLORIDA: Poll shows Floridians oppose public option for healthcare

GEORGIA: Georgians may not be able to take public option for healthcare

KENTUCKY: State has longest waiting list for low-cost drugs for AIDS patients

LOUISIANA: State's shale could change fate of U.S. energy supply

MISSISSIPPI: Obstacles to higher education include child care, transportation

NORTH CAROLINA: NC Chamber of Commerce holds conference on environmental issues

SOUTH CAROLINA: Legislators consider reforming prison sentences

TENNESSEE: Some lawmakers work to put TN at forefront of national sovereignty movement

VIRGINIA: Candidates' efforts increased as voting nears

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

8/26: SAT results are in

News roundup: SAT results are in

Mississippi students did well on the SAT and AP program tests, scoring higher than the national average. However, only 996 high school seniors took the SAT out of 1.5 million nationwide; most students in the state take the ACT, which is required by the state's universities.

In South Carolina, average scores dropped nine points compared with last year's results yp 1,452, 57 points below the national average. South Carolina now ranks 47th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Virginia students posted higher reading scores this year, but were slightly below the national average on math scores. The scores were nearly identical to those posted last year. Forty percent of Virginia's SAT test takers were minority students. Black students were the largest minority in the state taking the test, accounting for 20 percent of all test takers, compared to 13 percent nationwide.

In Kentucky, more students are taking AP exams and doing well on them, and scores improved overall on the SAT. Georgia students didn't fare as well, as average scores for the state's students fell for the third year in a row.

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: U.S. Rep. Bright uses telephone town halls to inform constituents

ARKANSAS: AG McDaniel wants lawmakers to phase out $60 million in desegregation funds

FLORIDA: State's ban on gay adoptions headed to appeals court

GEORGIA: Environmental groups opposed to proposed dock rule from DNR

KENTUCKY: Democrat Rep. Webb wins NE Kentucky senate seat formerly controlled by GOP

LOUISIANA: State shrimpers to protest low shrimp prices at Capitol today

MISSISSIPPI: Nearly 5,000 DUI tickets issued in first three days of crackdown

NORTH CAROLINA: Panel meets to create better state budget

SOUTH CAROLINA: Housing in the state to be boosted with $118 million in federal funds

TENNESSEE: Methanol fuel cells to be used by Nissan plant to haul parts

VIRGINIA: DUI bill introduced in Virginia

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

Nuclear Operator Seeks to End Revenue Deal With New York

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: July 21, 2008

ALBANY — The owner of three nuclear power plants in New York is trying to get out of a revenue sharing agreement that was expected to bring as much as $432 million to the state over the next six years, according to company officials and securities filings.

The owner, Entergy Nuclear, is structuring a spinoff of its plants that the company claims would effectively end the agreement. State officials fear the plan could also free Entergy from several hundred million dollars in costs associated with the eventual decommissioning of the two Indian Point plants in Westchester County and the FitzPatrick plant in Oswego County. That could increase the risk that state taxpayers would have to one day foot the bill for closing the plants.

Details of Entergy’s strategy were included in a lengthy securities filing issued this year in which the company laid out a plan to spin off nuclear plants in New York and elsewhere into a new company called Enexus. In a clause in one of its filings, Entergy claims that Enexus would not have to live up to a revenue sharing agreement between Entergy and New York. Under the agreement, the company is supposed to pay New York up to $72 million annually through 2014, and state officials had expected to receive the full amount.

Alex J. Schott, a spokesman for Entergy, said the spinoff “optimizes the value for all our stakeholders.”

As for the revenue sharing agreement, he said the state “was aware that Entergy was considering alternative structures for the nuclear business at the time the agreement was reached.”

“We remain hopeful that the spinoff will happen by the end of September,” he said.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said: “Entergy’s plan is ill conceived on a number of levels. It could ultimately cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, does nothing to guarantee adequate decontamination of the site, and does not anticipate a future New York without Indian Point.”

Under the agreement, the $432 million worth of revenue is to go to the State Power Authority, which provides low-cost electricity to businesses and municipalities and administers various programs like replacing coal furnaces in public schools and providing energy-efficient refrigerators to public housing residents.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already approved the spinoff, though the plan still needs the backing of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as regulators in New York and Vermont, where Entergy owns an old reactor that it wants to include in the spinoff.

Florida Power & Light goal: 3 solar plants in 2009

By David Adams, Times Staff Writer
In print: Thursday, June 26, 2008

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, announced Wednesday it plans to build three solar energy plants in Florida, including one that would be the biggest of its kind in the world.

The three plants in South and Central Florida will cost $688-million and represent the first commercial-scale renewable energy to be installed in the state. Combined they will be capable of generating enough electricity for 35,000 homes and businesses, which — while small — marks a big step up for solar technology.

FPL Group chairman and CEO Lewis Hay III made the announcement at a two-day state Climate Change Summit in Miami hosted by Gov. Charlie Crist. "Pending regulatory approval, FPL will build 110 megawatts of solar power right here in the Sunshine State, making Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy," Hay said.

Hay credited a new energy bill signed Wednesday by Crist "that put a supportive policy framework in place for solar power."

The governor opened his second climate summit saying now is the time "to define our next step forward" for the "green future of the Sunshine State."

FPL's solar plants are part of a seven-year plan announced by the company last September to install 300 megawatts of solar energy in Florida. "The announcement today is a little over one-third of that in less than one year," said FPL president Armando Olivera.

"We think that is pretty good," he added, saying that sites for all three plants had been selected and permits granted. Contracts for the solar technology are due to be signed in the next few days.

Construction of the plants should begin later this year, and the plants would become operational some time in 2009, he said.

The company is awaiting final approval by the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. "That's the only thing we are missing," he said.

The news was welcomed by clean energy activists who have long argued that utilities were not doing enough to invest in solar energy, the world's cleanest renewable energy source. In the past, utilities said Florida's skies were too cloudy to make solar power cost-effective as a reliable energy source, unlike the Southwest — where FPL Group already operates a big solar plant in the Mojave Desert.

Wednesday's news "needs to be applauded," said Stephen Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "By going to this kind of utility scale of production they are showing that solar does have potential in Florida, and that will drive cost down further."

FPL says it is has another five solar projects in the works in Florida. "The technology is improving almost daily," said Olivera. "It's becoming more cost-effective."

When carbon emissions begin to be penalized financially, as some governments already are doing, that would make emissions-free solar energy even more competitive, he added.

A 25-megawatt facility in De Soto County will be "the world's largest photovoltaic solar panel facility," the company says. A second 10-megawatt solar panel facility will be built at the Kennedy Space Center.

A larger 75-megawatt solar thermal facility will be built at FPL's existing Martin County plant, which runs on natural gas. By adding the new solar thermal technology, which uses intense heat from the sun to power steam turbines, the company hopes to create "the world's first hybrid energy center," allowing it to switch off its fossil-fuel gas-fired plant when there's enough sun.

Each sunrise will be the equivalent "of taking our foot off the gas pedal," Hay said.

FPL's solar plans may help offset the negative image of its much-vaunted Sunshine Energy Program, which charges customers a voluntary $9.75 monthly fee to help develop green energy.

Nearly 39,000 Florida Power & Light customers gave the company $11.4-million over four years to develop green energy, but a report this week by Florida's Public Service Commission shows most of the money went toward administrative and marketing costs.

The program "does not currently serve the interest of the program's participants," the report found.

Shrimp in the tank in Mississippi?

From The Mississippi Business Journal------- June 25, 2008

STARKVILLE — Scientists at Mississippi State University (MSU) are working to turn shrimp processing waste into a diesel-like fuel.

"The main purpose of this research project is to find a higher value for the shrimp waste," said Todd French, an assistant professor at MSU.

Seafood-based biodiesel would help processors eliminate some waste disposal costs, which have been estimated at approximately $145,000 per producer. As a building block for fuel, the waste also would bring additional income streams. It is also hoped that it would help alleviate the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil.

Scientists already know that seafood waste contains the materials necessary to produce oil, French said. The main ingredient is chitin, a carbohydrate found in shrimp, crab and lobster shells. Researchers will take the seafood processing waste, pre-treat it with an acid and add it to vats of bacteria, yeast and fungi, a mixture French refers to as "our bugs." The microorganisms eat the chitin, convert it into fat and store it. The fat can be harvested as oil.

"The oil our microorganisms are making is similar to canola oil or corn oil," French said.

The process already is underway with synthetic seafood ingredients at MSU. The real seafood waste will arrive next month from Gollott's Seafood in Biloxi.

Oil companies can take the oil produced from the seafood waste and generate diesel fuel, French said. The biofuel likely would be mixed at 5% or 20% biofuel to 95% or 80% diesel.

Funding for the biofuel research project comes from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

SAN FRANCISCO FLIMSY BAGS OUT AT BIG DRUG STORES

Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Walgreens and Rite Aid stores may no longer hand out those ubiquitous flimsy plastic bags to customers in San Francisco as a groundbreaking city law banning plastic sacks at some major retailers expands today to include chain pharmacies.

The new restrictions come six months after the ordinance banning plastic bags at large supermarkets went into effect, a law hailed by city leaders and environmentalists. Other cities - as close as Oakland and as far away as Paris - have passed bans of their own since then, and industry-friendly China will bar stores from handing out free plastic bags come June 1.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who sponsored the ordinance, has even garnered a bit of celebrity for his work on the issue, including a recent spread in People Magazine.

Mirkarimi and officials at the Department of the Environment, the city agency charged with enforcing the ban, say the ordinance has been such a success that they are fielding inquiries on a daily basis from other cities considering similar laws.

"I have rarely seen an idea that has traveled with such velocity throughout the country and abroad," said Mirkarimi, who admits surprise at its popularity. "I am hearing from cities in red states as much as blue states. It's very exciting. It transcends partisanship and borders."

The law is meant to decrease waste and litter and curb dependence on petroleum, as the bags are oil-based.

Read Full Story Here: San Francisco: Plastic-Bag Ban Expands to Chain Pharmacies

Intechra collects more e-waste in Mississippi

JACKSON — On April 12, Intechra collected nearly 45,000 pounds of used electronics during free recycling events at five of its facilities across the country. That was an increase of 12.5% compared to its Earth Day collections in 2007.

The electronics recycling company will process the used computers, laptops, monitors, printers, cell phones, TVs and stereos at facilities in Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Hartford, Conn., and Merrimack, N.H. Intechra also accepted donations at its Jackson headquarters.

Also on April 12, Intechra partnered with Dell at its Nashville, Tenn., campus. Roughly 200,000 pounds of computer and electronics were collected from the Nashville community to be recycled by Intechra.

"These events were a great opportunity to serve our communities by providing them secure, responsible recycling for old computers and electronics," says Intechra CEO Chip Slack. "More than 120 tons of e-waste could have ended up in landfills if people hadn't had a place to recycle them."

From The Mississippi Business Journal April 28, 2008

Coal's big year

Looking back on 2007, Grist has posted this collection of stories that show a nationwide movement away from coal power by default. Stories from down south include:

Seminole Electric Power Cooperative's Seminole 3 Generating Station (Florida) - proposed 750 MW plant rejected by Florida Department of Environmental Protection on the grounds that the plant would not minimize environmental and public health impacts, and would not serve the public interest. August 2007.

Peabody Coal Company's Thoroughbred Generating Station (Kentucky) - air permit for 1500 MW plant reversed by Franklin Circuit Court due to inadequate air pollution control analysis. August 2007.

Florida Municipal Power Agency's Taylor Energy Center (Florida) - proposed 800 MW plant withdrawn by applicant shortly after Florida PSC denied application for Glades Power Plant. July 2007.

In other news, President Bush has nominated the former chief operating officer of mining company Massey Energy, Stanley Suboleski, to be the Department of Energy's assistant secretary of fossil energy.

In a fascinating new report, America's Wild Legacy, the Sierra Club highlights 52 special places across the country and its efforts to protect them. Among the places in the South:

Alabama: Upper Cahaba River
Arkansas: Fourche Creek
Florida: Western Everglades
Georgia: Coastal wetlands
Kentucky: Mammoth Cave National Park
Louisiana: Coastal cypress forests
Mississippi: Gulf Islands National Seashore
North Carolina: Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
South Carolina: Savannah River
Tennessee: Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area
Virginia: Mattaponi River

• Read the full report