Testing the currents of hope

American greatness can be measured by who and how much we control. But it can also be judged by our ability to rise above selfish hopes in times of need. As a people we haven’t done it often, but when we have, the world has become a better place. Those are the episodes that earned us a reputation as the shining city on the hill. Here and around the globe, people who value the Bradley vision of America wonder whether those lights have now gone out. Read the story . . .

Electrifying Developments: Gearing Up for Action (at some point), April 11, 2008

This feature series is an account of the ongoing maneuverings between Progress Energy Carolinas and the citizens of Western North Carolina about how to meet the electrical needs of a region beset by rampant high-end real estate development.

Progress has a reputation as a comparatively good corporate citizen. It came as a shock to many when, in December 2006, the company and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners revealed a previously secret deal to build an oil-fired peaking power plant in Woodfin, a small town north of Asheville. Citizen opposition and the Woodfin Planning and Zoning Board eventually scuttled the plan. Faced with a 100 megawatt peak power shortfall at the end of 2009, Progress appointed a Community Energy Advisory Council (CEAC) of business, community, and environmental leaders to advise it on efficiency and conservation strategies.

In February, CEAC generated a sweeping list of recommendations for energy efficiency, conservation, and an overhaul of utility business as usual. By April, CEAC was ready to hear how Progress would turn the recommendations into projects. Read the story . . .