» Monthly Archives: October 2008
Is NIMBY creed – leave me alone, don’t disturb my space – an inherent right?
The degree to which public opposition translates into political passion to block community development -- under the NIMBY umbrella "not in my backyard" -- is a topic of discussion which The Saint Report has encouraged in several posts this year.
Like Milton's quote "what oft was said but ne'er so well expressed", The Thugout Blog revisits ...
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South Dakota hospital fight revives debate over health care competition
Hospitals can fight against potential competitors with as much vigor as "big box" retailers. One such battle is being waged in South Dakota, one of 14 states without a system of hospital review, or certificate of need (CON), to determine if its communities need more health care facilities.
Megan Myers reports in the Argus Leader that ...
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Texas study cites $2.2 billion in extra wind power subsidies and transmission costs
Not everyone is crazy about wind power. A free-market research group in Texas has produced a study that claims subsidies and higher transmission costs will add, not save, $2.2 billion a year in new costs driven by the alternative energy source of abundant Texas wind.
The state's current push to accelerate use of wind-generated electricity is ...
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Cumbersome UK planning process delays retail development — Retail Week study
An underfunded and overcomplicated planning process is holding up the development of UK shopping centers and supermarkets, costing retailers valuable trading time. Retail Week's Ben Cooper asks how the system could be made more efficient.
For the biggest projects, such as a retail-led urban regeneration scheme, a developer can be looking at up to 10 years ...
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Shreveport in natural gas frenzy looks to Fort Worth for lessons in urban drilling
The discovery of natural gas in the Haynesville Shale in Shreveport, Louisiana this year set off a frenzy of mineral rights negotiations and property leasing, bonus payments, new drilling rigs and visions of wealth for individuals, governments and energy companies.
Shreveport Times reporter Drew Pierson looks to lessons learned from Fort Worth, Texas, which witnessed its ...
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Some good news! California home sales revive, but with intense pain – WSJ
Homes are starting to sell again in California, but not without pain. Investors and first-time buyers are getting bargain-basement prices for foreclosed homes, but the sharp increase in sales catches many homeowners in a squeeze where they owe more than their homes are worth, Michael Corkery reports in The Wall Street Journal.
This account details ...
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New California law gives green light to projects that lower carbon emissions
California—the state that invented freeways and suburban sprawl—has become a trendsetter again, with a new law that rewards community plans that reduce car use and greenhouse gas emissions in our new age of global climate change, writes Charles Lockwood in the Jetson Green blog.
In October 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB375, which ...
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Wind power gets boost at UK and Canadian wind energy conferences
Politicians and utilities lined up to praise wind energy in the UK and Canada this week, with wind power seen as a rare beacon of optimism as some world economies teeter on the brink of recession.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the British Wind Energy Association that the UK has already surpassed Denmark as the ...
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Ohio, four others are battleground states for casino initiatives in November
As Barack Obama and John McCain battle for Ohio's 20 electoral votes in a bad economy, voters will decide the fate of a proposed $600 million casino in southwest Ohio. The Buckeye state does not allow casino gaming within its borders and is one of five states with ballot measures seeking to introduce or ...
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Whither UK energy plans — revival of coal power as wind power plans teeter?
Coal-fired power stations, much reviled by environmentalists for polluting the atmosphere, and wind farms, the new icon for green energy, posed different directions for the UK's energy needs in two of Britain's largest Sunday newspapers recently.
The Sunday Times reported that energy giants were planning for a revival of coal power, by building new coal-fired power ...
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