New York Cabdrivers’ Dress Code Gets an Update - NYTimes.com

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Published: November 25, 2010

"The earliest New York cabbies wore immaculate uniforms modeled after cadet clothes at West Point. By 1925, the city required cabbies to wear a knitted cap, white linen collared shirt, coat and necktie. Drivers were also expected to be “temperamentally fitted for the job,” according to the book “Taxi! A Social History of the New York City Cabdriver.”

That book’s author, Graham Hodges, a former cabby himself, said he once drove his taxi shirtless on a particularly hot summer day in the 1970s. His excuse? No air-conditioning. “I was told by a cabby that if I didn’t put a shirt on, I’d get a ticket,” he recalled on the telephone recently."

Salazar vows to speed offshore wind energy - Financial & Business - Wire - TheState.com

Matthew Daly, Associated Press

"At a speech in Baltimore, Salazar said he will institute a 'smart permitting process' that could result in leases issued within two years, instead of seven years or more.
Salazar said he and other federal officials will work with governors in 11 Atlantic Coast states to identify promising areas for wind development. If no serious problems are identified, leases could be issued late next year or in early 2012."

Allendale County to get biomass plant. Columbia Regional Business Report

"Economically hard-hit Allendale County will get a $50 million investment in the form of a biomass plant to be built by Southeast Renewable Energy. The plant is expected to generate 20 new jobs over the next five years.

Southeast Renewable Energy will build a 15-megawatt plant that will be fueled using timber residues. The investment was announced Monday by the S.C. Commerce Department, Allendale County and the SouthernCarolina Alliance.

Company president and CEO Raine Cotton said that Southeast Renewable Energy is “working diligently to get the last few steps of the project worked out, including permitting, that will allow the project to begin construction in early 2011.”

The plant is expected to be completed in late 2012, and the company will sell the green power to Santee Cooper. It is expected that the new plant will also create indirect jobs in the logging, trucking and forest product industries."

SC's David Wright Elected First Vice-President of NARUC

Congratulations to S.C. Public Service Commissioner David Wright on being Elected First Vice-President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). As First Vice-President, Commissioner Wright will serve on the NARUC Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and will assist the President in the general oversight of the association. Past history indicates that Wright will also be in line for elections as President of the influential national association in the following year.

FCC top lawyer suggests agency not gutted by Comcast case

By Sara Jerome - 11/22/10 03:47 PM ET

Speaking at a panel discussion over the weekend, Federal Communications Commission general counsel Austin Schlick seemed to suggest that the FCC may not need to apply a so-called "nuclear option" to move on its broadband goals.

Watch live streaming video from harlaninstitute at livestream.com

Genachowski might need to win Title II proponent Copps to pass net-neutrality rules - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

By Sara Jerome - 11/23/10 08:06 AM ET

"On the one hand, Genachowski could try to win over one or both Republican colleagues with a softly worded compromise proposal.

Or, he can try to win over staunch net-neutrality supporter Michael Copps, a Democratic commissioner who has called for regulating broadband service under Title II of the Communications Act, which industry sees as 'the nuclear option.'

Proposals that would satisfy these two flanks would likely look very different, according to analysts."

GOP fight for energy gavel mars otherwise seamless transition - The Hill's E2-Wire

By Gautham Nagesh - 11/22/10 07:10 PM E

"Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) has positioned himself as the favorite in large part because Rep. Joe Barton (Texas), the current ranking Republican, needs a waiver from GOP rules to continue leading a committee on which he has served as chairman and ranking member.

But Upton’s conservative credentials have come under challenge from Rush Limbaugh and other critics on the right, leaving a door open for Barton as well as Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.). Upton has spent the weeks since the midterm elections proving his conservative bona fides, promising to crack down on spending and prevent federal funds from paying for abortions."

AllGov - News - Supreme Court to Decide if AT&T Has Personal Privacy Rights

"At issue is whether AT&T can block the release of company documents, previously delivered to the Federal Communications Commission, as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FCC intended to turn over the AT&T materials to comply with the FOIA request, when the company sued to stop the government and won a ruling before a federal appeals court."

FCC may regulate Internet lines days before Christmas - The Hill's Hillicon Valley

By Sara Jerome - 11/19/10 04:50 PM ET

'While many Americans will be enjoying their eggnog on that day, I'm sure the broadband providers won't be pleased to find this piece of coal in their stockings,' an industry source jibed."

Upton: Hastings lacks support to ‘steal’ energy jurisdiction - The Hill's E2-Wire

By Ben Geman - 11/21/10 01:57 PM ET

"Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), the incoming chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, launched a bid last week to call the shots on energy policy in the next Congress.

Hastings wants to create a new Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he argues would create more effective governance and “level the power” between the two panels. But Upton and other Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans say their panel has proven its effectiveness, and are trying to crush the plan."

Upton: Freshmen oppose Barton waiver for Energy gavel - The Hill's E2-Wire

By Ben Geman - 11/21/10 01:46 PM ET

"Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who hopes to chair the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, does not believe incoming freshman Republicans are keen on granting Upton’s main rival a term-limit waiver that he’s seeking.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the panel’s senior Republican, is a seeking a waiver from GOP caucus rules that prevent members from serving more than three terms (which is six years) atop a committee."

How to prep your home for an electric car - Technology - TheState.com

By JONATHAN FAHEY - AP Energy Writer

"Whether you go for a charging station or not, carmakers and utilities want your home checked out to make sure the wiring in your house and in your neighborhood can handle the extra load. Plugging into a regular socket that serves other appliances will almost certainly trip your circuit breaker. The extra electricity demand from a home charger can overwhelm small neighborhood transformers and kill power to a whole block."

Local governments installing car chargers - Business - TheState.com

By ADAM BEAM - abeam@thestate.com
"Local governments in Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, Conway, Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg, Rock Hill and Union each plan to install the charging stations. Columbia will have 10 stations — two each in the parking garages on Washington, Park, Taylor and Lincoln streets and the Arsenal Hill garage on Lincoln Street."

Utilities thrilled and worried about electric cars - CNBC

"Progress Energy is expecting electric car clusters to form in Raleigh, Cary and Asheville, N.C. and around Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Duke Energy is expecting the same in Charlotte and Indianapolis. The entire territory of Texas' Austin Energy will likely be an electric vehicle hot spot.

Adding an electric vehicle or two to a neighborhood can be like adding another house, and it can stress the equipment that services those houses. 'We're talking about doubling the load of a conventional home,' says Karl Rabago, who leads Austin Energy's electric vehicle-readiness program. 'It's big.'"