Change of Scenery- Utah State Senate

Let's change the scenery a little and see what is going on in Utah! Most of you will not remember the name Betty Sawyer. Some of us will.

This is the same Betty that always had herself together through high school! The candidate for State Sentate District 18 in Utah is none other than Betty Sawyer of Pocomoke City many years ago. Betty graduated from Pocomoke High School in 1971.

Betty, all of us from the Pocomoke High School graduating class 1971 wish you lots of luck today. We will be watching........

Residents of State Senate District 18 would be lucky to have Betty Sawyer representing them in the Utah Legislature.

That's why the Standard-Examiner endorses the Democratic candidate in her race against former Democrat-turned-Republican Stuart Reid in the seat being vacated by Republican Jon Greiner.

Sawyer, a 35-year resident of Weber County, is a vigilant spokesperson for the underprivileged and underrepresented. Her tireless public service efforts on behalf of children and senior citizens is renown across the Top of Utah. She has a commonperson style that makes her accessible and pleasant.

However, that doesn't mean she is lacking in qualifications. She is currently a academics success coordinator for the Office of Diversity at the University of Utah. She has a masters degree in public administration and was an appointee in Gov. Mike Leavitt's administration. She has worked with the Boys and Girls Club, Project Success, the Weber County Health Department and the Utah State Office of Black Affairs.

She is a strong proponent of ethics reform at a time when the public trust in how the Legislature does business is lacking.

Some may say that because she is a Democrat, Sawyer will lack influence and effectiveness in the Republican-dominated Legislature.

Hogwash.

We feel that kind of logic becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that denies quality individuals like Sawyer the opportunity of holding public office.

Quite frankly, we are bothered by the circumstances that led to Reid filing for the seat in the first place. In his meeting with the board, Reid, who previously ran for the District 18 seat as a Democrat, indicated that Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey had recruited him to run as a Republican. Reid said he wavered back and forth, and didn't decide to file until the last minute. He also told us he's not sure how long he would even serve in the Legislature if elected.

This doesn't sound like a guy whose heart is in it. It's clear his party-switch had nothing to do with a change in philosophy, but everything to do with politics.

In contrast, Sawyer, who has been a lifelong Democrat, is committed to serving and speaking for those she feels don't have a voice.

Sawyer is the type of person who won't be silent and will effectively represent her district through sheer determination and grit.

As luck would have it, she will give her heart and soul to the job.

GOOD LUCK BETTY!

www.standardnet.com

Report Boasts Benefits of Offshore Wind Energy, Calls for Ban of Offshore Drilling

Offshore wind power in Atlantic waters could supply nearly half the current electricity generation of the East Coast and create up to 200,000 jobs or more, an environmental group concludes in a study released Tuesday.

The study by Oceana, an environmental group focused on oceanic issues, predicts winds along the East Coast have the potential to deliver 30 percent more electricity than "economically recoverable" offshore oil and gas in the same region.

The study also estimates that the emerging offshore wind industry would create between 133,000 and 212,000 jobs annually in the U.S. -- more than three times the estimated future job creation through expanded offshore oil and gas drilling.

The authors of "Untapped Wealth: The Potential of Offshore Energy to Deliver Clean, Affordable Energy and Jobs" said they studied potential offshore wind tracts 3 to 24 miles off the East Coast in depths of 30 meters (98 feet) or fewer and used conservative estimates to arrive at their conclusions.

Many of the assumptions, such as job generation, are based on experience in Europe, which has a far-advanced offshore wind industry.

The U.S. has approved only one offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

"The technology exists. We just need to have the will to do it," said Simon Mahan, one of the Oceana study authors and is now with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Among the study's other findings:

-- Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina could exceed all their current energy needs through offshore winds, while New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina could achieve 64 percent or more of their energy needs.

Much of a state's ability to generate offshore winds hinges on its location and length of its coastline. Georgia, for instance, is located farther south, which has lighter winds, and a smaller coastline. Its potential for offshore energy is in the single digits.

-- U.S. offshore wind generation capacity on the Atlantic Coast is at least 127 gigawatts. That is approximately equal to European projections for offshore wind energy on that continent in less than 20 years.

More than 24,000 wind turbines would have to be scattered in East Coast waters to achieve that level of generation.

East Coast states have been giving offshore winds a closer look following the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. President Barack Obama suspended planned exploratory gas and oil drilling off Virginia's coast shortly after the April spill. The state was first in line to begin drilling.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has reached agreement with 10 East Coast governors to work together to develop windmills in the Atlantic.

The jobs would be created for a nearly nonexistent U.S. industry to fabricate giant turbines, as well as ships needed to build and service them and related industries.

Oceana also recommended the elimination of federal subsidies for fossil fuels; a permanent ban on new oil and gas development in the Atlantic; and other measures to encourage offshore wind development.

www.shoredailynews.com

This One's For You Earl !!!

No vacancy

( AP photo / September 1, 2010 )

A window is boarded up with a message at the Buxton Beach Motel in Buxton, N.C. as Hurricane Earl approaches North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Earl Weakens To Category 3 Hurricane/Hurricane WATCH Moves Up The East Coast

RALEIGH, N.C. — Ocracoke Island tourists were ordered to board the ferries and head for the mainland today and more evacuations could be on the way as powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe the East Coast.

The National Weather Service, meantime, extended its hurricane watch up the coast to include the Virginia Hampton Roads localities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, and Northampton County on the Eastern Shore.

Hyde County emergency officials said the evacuation of Ocracoke Island started at 5 a.m. for about 5,000 visitors. The 800 or so year-round residents don’t have to heed it, but Emergency Services Director Lindsey Mooney said officials hope they’ll follow tourists on the 2½ hour trip to shore.

Hyde spokeswoman Jamie Tunnell said about 30 cars, including trucks pulling campers, were lined up to board ferries that would begin leaving Ocracoke Island on the state's Outer Banks for the 2½-hour trip to shore.

"Ferries are the only way off unless you have a private plane or boat," Tunnell said.

The 800 or so year-round residents don't have to heed it, but Emergency Services Director Lindsey Mooney said officials hope they'll follow tourists and leave the island.

The last time the island was evacuated was in 2005 as Hurricane Ophelia approached, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.

More evacuations along the Eastern Seaboard could follow, depending on the path taken by the storm, which weakened to a Category 3 hurricane early today as it whipped across the Caribbean with winds of 125 mph.

Earl was expected to remain over the open ocean before turning north and running parallel to the East Coast, bringing high winds and heavy rain to North Carolina’s Outer Banks by late tomorrow or early Friday. From there, forecasters said, it could curve away from the coast somewhat as it makes it way north, perhaps hitting Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and the Maine shoreline on Friday night and Saturday.

Forecasters cautioned that it was still too early to tell how close Earl might come to land. But not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has such a powerful storm had such a large swath of the East Coast in its sights, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center.

“A slight shift of that track to the west is going to impact a great deal of real estate with potential hurricane-force winds,” Feltgen said.

Even if Earl stays well offshore, it will kick up rough surf and dangerous rip currents up and down the coast through the Labor Day weekend, a prime time for beach vacations, forecasters said. Virginia’s governor today planned to declare an emergency, a preliminary step needed to muster emergency personnel should Earl hit the state.

The approaching storm troubled many East Coast beach towns that had hoped to capitalize on the BP oil spill and draw visitors who normally vacation on the Gulf Coast.

Yesterday, gusty winds from Earl’s outer fringes whipped palm fronds and whistled through doors in the Turks and Caicos Islands as tied-down boats seesawed on white-crested surf.

Islanders gathered to watch big waves pound a Grand Turk shore as the wind sent sand and salt spray flying.

“We can hear the waves crashing against the reef really seriously,” Kirk Graff, owner of the Captain Kirks Flamingo Cove Marina, said by telephone as he watched the darkening skies. “Anybody who hasn’t secured their boats by now is going to regret it.”

Carl Hanes of Newport News, Va. , kept an eye on the weather report as he headed for the beach near his rented vacation home in Avon, N.C. He, his wife and their two teenage children were anticipating Earl might force them to leave tomorrow, a day ahead of schedule.

“We’re trying not to let it bother us,” Hanes said before enjoying the calm surf.

In Rehoboth Beach, Del., Judy Rice said she has no plans to leave the vacation home where she has spent most of the summer. In fact, the Oak Hill, Va., resident plans to walk around town in the rain if it comes.

“I kind of enjoy it actually. You know, it’s battling the elements,” Rice said. “I have seen the rain go sideways, and, yeah, it can be scary, but I have an old house here in Rehoboth, so it’s probably more important that I am here during a storm than anywhere.”

In the Florida Panhandle, which has struggled all summer to coax back tourists scared away by the Gulf oil spill, bookings were up 12 percent over last year at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The resort is nowhere near Earl’s projected path, and spokeswoman Laurie Hobbs said she suspects the increase in reservations was partly because of a discount the hotel is offering and partly because of the hurricane.

“Weather drives business,” she said. “They go to where the weather is best.”

If Earl brings rain farther inland, it could affect the U.S. Open tennis tournament, being played now through Sept. 12 in New York City.

“We’re keeping our eye on it very closely,” said United States Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier.

www.timesdispatch.com

North Carolina Orders Ocracoke Evacuation On Wednesday

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 31 (UPI) -- North Carolina officials Tuesday announced vacationers will be evacuated from Ocracoke Island as Hurricane Earl gained strength over the Atlantic Ocean.

An estimated 5,000 visitors are on the island, which is accessible only by ferry. The evacuation is set for Wednesday morning, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported.

About 800 permanent residents of the island will be permitted to remain, officials said.

Plans also called for closing the Cape Lookout National Seashore at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Federal Emergency Management Agency head Craig Fugate said Tuesday was the day for people who may be in the path of the Category 4 storm to prepare, in event further evacuations are ordered Wednesday, the newspaper said.

"While it is still too early to tell exactly what impact Hurricane Earl will have on our state," North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said, "we do know that we all bear a responsibility to ensure we are ready for any type of emergency."

At 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the center of Hurricane Earl was 1,000 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and the storm, with top sustained winds of 135 mph, was moving toward the northwest at 14 mph. This general motion was expected to continue Wednesday, when the storm was likely to take a gradual turn toward the north-northwest, forecasters said.

A hurricane watch was posted from north of Surf City, N.C., to the North Carolina-Virginia border, including the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. A tropical storm watch was issued from Cape Fear, N.C., northeastward to Surf City.

The center said communities from Virginia to New England should monitor the hurricane.

www.upi.com

Environmentalists Urge Drilling Ban In Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia cannot risk the kind of economic calamity the Gulf Coast is experiencing as a result of the BP oil spill, the leaders of two environmental groups in the state said Thursday.

President Barack Obama suspended planned exploratory gas and oil drilling off Virginia's coast shortly after the April spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and J.R. Tolbert of the Virginia Sierra Club said that doesn't go far enough. They favor a permanent ban.

Tidwell and Tolbert were joined on a news teleconference by former Navy Capt. Joe Bouchard of Virginia Beach, who said drilling platforms off the state's coast also would interfere with military training exercises.

"The industry claims 'we have a great working relationship with the military and we don't interfere with their activities.' You can't believe that for a minute," said Bouchard, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

The push to make Virginia the first East Coast state to explore offshore oil and gas resources has been led by Gov. Bob McDonnell. That hasn't changed.

"The governor supports a comprehensive approach to Virginia's energy needs," McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in an e-mail Thursday. "He is a proponent of offshore energy exploration and development that is environmentally responsible and economically viable. That includes oil, natural gas and wind."

Tidwell and Tolbert touted wind as a viable alternative to drilling in the Atlantic. Tidwell said enough offshore wind could be harvested to power 3.6 million electric cars and 750,000 homes.

Tolbert said that beats risking an oil spill like the one in the Gulf, which he said has put 300,000 jobs in jeopardy and wrecked the region's tourism industry. BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf before it was successfully capped last month.

Bouchard said the spill reached three of the four Navy training areas in the Gulf, but exercises in two of those areas have been limited to aviation since the 2005 base realignment process. The spill did make a portion of the Panama City operations area unavailable for surface and underwater vessel exercises, he said.

"That should stand as a very clear warning to those of us here in Virginia," Bouchard said.

He said sailing through oil spills also can ruin expensive and sensitive equipment on Navy ships.

www.wavy.com