Hawkins pushes wind turbine siting bill
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Wind farms would be forbidden within two miles of a residential property without the owner's permission, according to a measure that proposes strict new limits on where the tall turbines could be built. Its sponsor is Rep. Tom Loertscher, a Republican whose eastern Idaho district is near the epicenter of residents' concerns about the proliferation of wind turbines. Loertscher's bill would also forbid counties from approving wind energy facilities whose spinning blades cast a flickering shadow on somebody else's property. He told the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday that such flickering shadows can be extremely disconcerting to drivers who may fear a semi-truck is bearing down on them. Former state Sen. Stan Hawkins of Ucon is promoting this bill after a wind-energy moratorium he also backed was defeated.