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United Way of Moscow/Latah County

Office: 208.882.3474

Cell: 208.310.1832
Email: unitedway@moscow.com

PO Box 8211, Moscow, ID. 83843

The post United Way of Moscow/Latah County has expanded its School Lunch Debt Forgiveness Program in Latah County. appeared first on Moscow Idaho Chamber of Commerce.

They grow a vibrant mix of annual and perennial focal flowers, including peonies, zinnias, mums, and dahlias, alongside fresh seasonal greenery. Guests are invited to cut their own bouquet cups, vases, or buckets right from the fields. The farm’s Instagram feed provides up-to-date info on what’s ready for harvest.

More than a flower farm, Bulwark Blooms is a community space designed to help visitors unwind and enjoy hands-on bouquet-building in a serene, family-friendly setting.

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MOSCOW— The Latah County Library District (LCLD) has been selected as one of 240 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.

The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help fund ADA-compliant automatic doors at our new branch in Kendrick, Idaho – coming soon.

“LCLD is excited for the opportunity to bring more accessible library service to the Juliaetta/Kendrick area,” said LCLD Director April Hernandez. “This grant helps us achieve that by partially paying for an ADA automatic door opener at the entrance to the new Kendrick branch.”

As part of the grant, LCLD staff will take an online course on how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about desired library services as well as accessibility issues and use the grant funds to help build handicap-accessible doors at our new branch in Kendrick.

The LCLD is looking for community feedback to learn what community members want to see from their local library, including any accessibility issues at the branches that the LCLD can resolve. If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact April Hernandez at director@latahlibrary.org, or visit https://www.latahlibrary.org/ for more information.

Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.

“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”

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The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) looks at the next 20 years to determine how much natural gas will be needed and where those resources could come from while balancing reliability, cost and environmental sustainability. Public input is integral to the process, and feedback from stakeholders helps shape the final plans, which are submitted to utility commissions in each state Avista serves.

The public meeting will begin with a presentation providing details about the plan followed by an opportunity for questions and commentary.

More information about the 2025 Natural Gas IRP plan and a recording of the meeting afterwards can be found at myavista.com/IRP.

Link to join the meeting on day of the event, March 5^th at 12:00 PM, click here.

About Avista Utilities
Avista Utilities is involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy. We provide energy services and electricity to 418,000 customers and natural gas to 382,000 customers in a service territory that covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million.  Avista Utilities is an operating division of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA). For more information, please visit www.myavista.com. Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.

To unsubscribe from Avista’s news release distribution, send reply message to dalila.sheehan@avistacorp.com 

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Contact:

Media: Jared Webley, jared.webley@avistacorp.com

Avista 24/7 Media Access (509) 495-4174

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Our food choices also carry ethical implications. What we eat affects and is affected by an intricate global food chain. We fight over food. We deny food to some as a tool of suppression and cultural erasure. We fear for our health, the challenge of feeding a growing global population, and the effects of climate change on food production. These topics are especially relevant at WSU Pullman, a land-grant university with research and scholarship rooted in agriculture and food sciences.

Featuring more than 100 works in a variety of media from the renowned collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation, The Art of Food showcases how some of the most prominent artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have considered this universal subject. Organized thematically, it uses an artistic lens to examine the subject of food beyond its purpose as body fuel.

LOCATION | The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU is located in the Crimson Cube (on Wilson Road across from Martin Stadium and the CUB) on the WSU Pullman campus.

The post The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation appeared first on Moscow Idaho Chamber of Commerce.

CONTACTS
Christina Mangiapani
Grants, Latah County
grants@latahcountyid.gov
208-310-0547

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Spokane, Wash. Nov. 2, 2022: Strong winds are forecasted to begin Friday evening across Avista’s Washington and Idaho service area. Full leafy trees combined with strong winds, will bring the likelihood of outages from falling trees and limbs, causing downed power lines. Avista is prepared to respond and is urging customers to prepare for potential storm damages and outages.

As part of ongoing operations, Avista continues to follow the National Weather Service forecasts closely. At this time, Avista crews are ready with fueled and stocked fleet vehicles, warehouse supplies are in place in Spokane and outer offices, assessment teams are standing by along with wire guard teams to help ensure public safety near downed power lines, tree crews are prepared, and employees are moving from their typical day-to-day responsibilities to assist in storm-related activities.

With sustained winds expected, estimated restoration times are not likely to be available until the storm has passed and Avista is able to complete assessments, which may take 24 hours or more, depending on the extent of the damage. Customers can expect to see current outage numbers on the outage map at myavista.com/outage while the estimated restoration time will note that outages are under assessment. As assessments are complete and more information is known, estimated restoration times will be updated on the outage map. Customers are encouraged to watch the weather forecasts in their area. Customers residing in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene should expect to see impacts from this storm.

Reporting an outage

Customers who experience a power outage are encouraged to report it online or through their mobile device at www.myavista.com/outage or by calling (800) 227-9187. Updated outage status information, including estimated restoration times, when known, is also available on Avista’s website. Customers can also follow Avista’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates.

Safety during a power outage

Avista suggests customers take the following steps during an outage:

• Turn off all the appliances that were on before the power went out.
• Unplug electronic equipment, including computers.
• Leave a light or radio on as an alert when power has been restored.
• Help Avista crews working in a neighborhood know which homes have power by turning on the front porch light.
• Do not wire an emergency generator into a home’s electrical system unless there is a disconnect switch to separate generated power from Avista’s distribution system. Back feed into power lines could injure or kill a lineman working to get electricity restored.
• Use a generator only to run specific appliances and locate it outside so poisonous carbon monoxide fumes do not enter the home.

Watch this video for more information on Avista’s outage restoration process. Remember to call 911 and Avista immediately at (800) 227-9187 to report the location of a downed power line and if you smell natural gas.

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SPOKANE, Wash. – October 4, 2022:  How would you like to engage with Avista in the future? Avista is conducting a customer survey as part of its Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP) process. The purpose of the survey is to better understand how to equitably engage Avista customers in future Avista initiatives and programs.

Take the Survey by November 4th

The online survey will be live through November 4, 2022. You’ll be asked about your experiences with Avista in the past and how you’d like to be communicated with in the future. All questions are voluntary, and the entire survey should take about 3 minutes to complete.

Visit: https://tinyurl.com/AUengage

Request translated or paper copies of the survey by emailing info@pppconsulting.net or calling (919) 706-5449.

Input received during the survey of preferences will help in the development of an equitable and standard Public Participation Plan. This Plan will guide Avista staff in planning for and implementing public engagement in future projects and initiatives.

About the Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP):

Avista’s CEIP is a road map of specific actions to be taken over the next four years (2022-2025) to show the progress being made toward clean energy goals. These clean energy goals were established by the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), which was passed by the Washington legislature and enacted into law in 2019. CETA requires electric supply to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 and 100% renewable or generated from zero-carbon resources by 2045.

Learn more about the CEIP and this engagement process by visiting our website at www.myavista.com/CETA.

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SPOKANE, Wash. – July 29, 2022, 1:05 p.m. PDT:  Avista (NYSE: AVA) has made annual rate adjustment filings with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC or Commission) that if approved, are designed to decrease overall electric revenues by approximately $12.0 million or 4.7% effective Oct. 1, 2022 and decrease overall natural gas revenue by approximately $0.1 million or 0.2% effective Nov. 1, 2022. These annual filings have no impact on Avista’s earnings.

Electric Adjustment Filings

Four annual electric adjustments were filed, that if approved, are designed to change overall electric revenues effective Oct. 1, 2022 as follows:

1. Power Cost Adjustment (PCA): a decrease of approximately $3.1 million or 1.2%
2. Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA): a decrease of approximately $5.1 million or 2.0%
3. Electric Energy Efficiency: a decrease of approximately $3.7 million or 1.4%
4. Bonneville Power Administration Residential Exchange (ResEx) Program: a decrease of approximately $0.1 million or 0.1%

Natural Gas Adjustment Filing

The natural gas adjustment request is the annual natural gas FCA. If approved, Avista’s request is designed to decrease overall natural gas revenues by approximately $0.1 million or 0.2% effective Nov. 1, 2022.

Customer Bills Resulting from these Filings

If the electric PCA, FCA, energy efficiency and ResEx filings are approved, residential electric customers in Idaho using an average of 892 kilowatt hours per month would see their monthly bills decrease from $86.29 to $82.19, a decrease of $4.10 per month, or approximately 4.8%. The proposed electric rate change would be effective Oct. 1, 2022.

The net effect, on an annual revenue basis, for the requested electric rate changes by rate schedule are as follows:

Residential Service – Schedule 1                         -5.0%

General Service – Schedules 11 & 12                   -6.0%

Large General Service – Schedules 21 & 22          -4.3%

Extra Large General Service – Schedule 25           -3.2%

Extra Large General Service – Schedule 25P         -3.5%

Pumping Service – Schedules 31 & 32                 -4.9%

Street & Area Lights – Schedules 41-49                -1.2%

Overall                                                                -4.7%

If the natural gas FCA filing is approved, residential natural gas customers in Idaho using an average of 63 therms per month would see their monthly bills decrease from $62.06 to $61.73, a decrease of $0.33 per month, or approximately 0.5%. The proposed natural gas rate change would be effective Nov. 1, 2022.

The net effect, on a revenue basis, for the requested natural gas rate change by rate schedule are as follows:

General Service – Schedule 101                          -0.5%

Large General Service – Schedules 111 & 112       1.2%

Interruptible Service – Schedules 131 & 132           0.0%

Transportation Service – Schedule 146                  0.0%

Overall                                                                -0.2%

Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)

The PCA is an annual rate adjustment made to reflect the difference between the actual cost of generating and purchasing electric power to serve customers and the cost currently included in customer rates. Over the last year, power supply costs were higher than those included in retail rates due to higher wholesale electric and natural gas prices. However, the higher power supply costs were more than offset by the expiration of the prior year’s surcharge, resulting in an overall rate decrease.

Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA)

The electric and natural gas FCA is a mechanism designed to break the link between a utility’s revenues and customers’ energy usage. Avista’s actual revenue, based on kilowatt hour or therm sales, will vary, up or down, from the level included in a general rate case and approved by the Commission. This could be caused by changes in weather, energy conservation or other factors. Under the FCA, Avista’s revenues are adjusted each month based on the number of customers. The annual difference between revenues based on sales and the number of customers is surcharged or rebated to customers beginning in the following year.

The proposed FCA rate adjustments in 2022 are primarily driven by variations in 2021 customer usage related to weather and the COVID-19 pandemic where a higher level of residential customer usage was partially offset by a lower level of non-residential customers usage. The FCA mechanisms do not apply to Avista’s Electric Extra Large General and Street Lighting Service Schedules, nor to its Natural Gas Interruptible and Transportation Service Schedules.

Energy Efficiency Adjustment

The energy efficiency adjustment is related to the funding of Avista’s electric energy efficiency programs. This adjustment aligns the amount that is collected in customer rates with the actual costs to run and deliver the programs. Avista’s energy efficiency programs are designed to provide a financial incentive or rebate for cost-effective energy efficiency measures. The Commission approves the amount of funding for these important programs through a portion of energy rates. The rate reduction proposed reflects the lower level of funding needed to operate the programs in the coming year.

Residential Exchange Adjustment

The Residential Exchange Program provides a share of the benefits of the federal Columbia River power system to the residential and small farm customers of the investor-owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest, including Avista. Avista applies the benefits it receives, which typically fluctuate from year to year, to customers as a credit in their monthly electric rates. Due to fluctuations in usage, Avista rebated to customers a level of benefits that was slightly lower than the level of benefits received from BPA. Through this filing Avista is seeking to slightly increase the level of benefits provided to qualifying customers in order to return the under-rebated balance.

Rate Application Procedure

Avista’s applications are proposals, subject to public review and a Commission decision. Copies of the applications are available for public review at the offices of both the Commission and Avista, and on the Commission’s website (www.puc.idaho.gov). Customers may file with the Commission written comments related to Avista’s filings. Customers may also subscribe to the Commission’s RSS feed (http://www.puc.idaho.gov/rssfeeds/rss.htm) to receive periodic updates via e-mail about the case. Copies of rate filings are also available on Avista’s website at www.myavista.com/rates.

If you would like to submit comments on the proposed rate change, you can do so by going to the Commission website or mailing comments to:

Idaho Public Utilities Commission

P.O. Box 83720

Boise, ID 83720-0074

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