Behind the Bailout: Ten days in the fall

The credit crisis on Wall St. blew up like a hurricane over hot water in late September. What went wrong, and why the wrangling over what to do about it? A "bipartisan" congressional plan anathema to progressives, libertarians, and the public alike failed in the House but, fortified with pork after a trip to the Senate, returned and was enacted. The account is followed by an addendum about living on credit. Read the story

Palin's Moose

The Republican Party has much to be proud of with the vice presidential nomination of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Her RNC video biographers claim that she and dad went moose hunting, but the one they got turns out to be a caribou. Oops. Read the story

Electrifying Developments: CEAC and the Iron Equation, Sept. 12, 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 this installment, CEAC tries a "sector" approach to talking about what to do about implementing its priorities. Read the story