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     I wanted to quickly share the news with fellow bloggers and readers on my upcoming job transition, to take place in the early fall.   At that point I will head the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) and will cease being a resident fellow at Brookings.

I am mindful that nowadays improved governance of oil, gas and minerals is the critical development challenge for dozens of countries around the world.    So it is such a privilege to be asked to lead Revenue Watch, an organization with great people which plays a key role in promoting policy reforms and transparency by governments and corporations in the natural resource sector…

I am excited about this opportunity and challenge.  I am also aware of the sizeable shoes that I have been asked to to fill.  Karin Lissakers, the current RWI President has been a terrific leader of an organization already operating in dozens of countries and making a difference in policy reform advise and advocacy.

RWI’s official announcement about this transition is here.   I will still contribute some new work from Brookings until mid-September, when I move to RWI.

We’re pleased to announce that version 1.6 of WordPress for BlackBerry is now available on the RIM App World! The update is packed with new features to make your mobile blogging experience even better.

What’s New?

Dashboard + Action Bar
Everything you want to do, all in one place. The Dashboard is the first thing you see when launching the app and it provides one-tap access to most features available in the app. Write new Posts and Pages, publish a Photo, check your Stats, moderate Comments, access the WordPress Dashboard, and much more.

The action bar at the top of your screen allows you to quickly change between blogs and refresh Posts, Pages, and Comments on the blog selected. It makes it easy to change the blog you’re posting to, as well as seeing if there are any pending comments.

Quick Photo
Want to post a picture quickly? We added a Quick Photo button that takes you right to the camera so you can capture the moment and instantly attach the photo to a new post. Quick Photo will use the Image Post Format (if your theme supports it) and you can even post pictures that you’ve already taken.

WordPress.com Reading Made Easy
If you publish to one or more WordPress.com blogs in your WordPress for BlackBerry app you’ll now see a Read button in the Dashboard. This is the fastest way to keep up with posts from blogs you’re following on WordPress.com. Here’s how it works: if you go to any WordPress.com blog and click the Follow button in the Toolbar, you’ll not only get email notifications about new posts from that blog, but they’ll also show up right in the app!

You can manage the blogs you’re following in your WordPress.com dashboard, where you can also add custom RSS feeds.

Don’t follow any blogs yet? In the app’s “Read” screen you’ll also find Freshly Pressed, listing some of the most interesting on WordPress.com posts. Or you can tap the little arrow button and select from a multitude of interesting Topics, including Art, Technology, Books, and many more.

The Read function is in Beta and will be improved over time, so we’d very much like to hear what you like about it and what features you’d like to see next! Post a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter. Please note that this feature is only available on devices running OS7 or higher.

Localization
We’re happy to report that version 1.6 of WordPress for BlackBerry adds support for 6 more languages: Bosnian, Hebrew, Croatian, Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish, and Simplified Chinese.

Is your language not translated yet? You can easily contribute the translation yourself, and we’ll put it in the app in a future release! To get started, visit the WordPress for BlackBerry project on translate.wordpress.org (learn more). You don’t have to translate all strings, as other people will join in to help you out.

Additional Changes
In addition to the features highlighted above, here’s what’s been updated:

• Added the ability to make a post sticky.
• Added “Infinite Scrolling” on the Posts/Pages/Comments screens. This feature speeds up using the lists as it loads new items while you scroll.
• Added keyboard shortcuts to the lists.
• Post/Page Preview now also works for blogs marked as Private.
• The FilePicker shows files sorted by date, making it much easier to find the latest photo to attach to your post.
• A new, shiny application icon.
• Many other improvements and fixes, here is the full list of changes.

Download Version 1.6
You should be able to update the app directly from RIM App World on your device. Otherwise you can visit the Download page to find the right WordPress for BlackBerry for your device.

Contributors

The following contributors worked on this release of WordPress for BlackBerry: isaackeyet, daniloercoli – help contribute to future releases!

We’d also like to extend a big thanks to all the beta testers and everyone that’s helped make version 1.6 of WordPress for BlackBerry happen!

What’s Next?

While we’re very proud of this release, we’re not taking a rest! We’re currently in the planning stages of version 2.0 of WordPress for BlackBerry. The plan is to take an overall look at where the app is, and streamline it to what you use it for the most.

Do you have questions or feedback on how we can make the app better? Please visit the WordPress for BlackBerry forums and tell us your thoughts! You can also tweet us @WPBlackBerry – subscribe to get the latest news first.

Photo Upload Problems
We’re aware of the problems some of you are seeing with photo uploads in WordPress for BlackBerry. This is a problem with RIM and we’re actively working on resolving it with them.

Photo via Flickr

 Vermont first state in nation to ban fracking for oil and gas

With a 103-36 vote in the House of Representatives, Vermont on Friday became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing to extract oil or natural gas. The bill passed the Senate earlier this week.

The House debate was short. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, raised concerns that Vermont was banning the practice without knowing what natural gas resources it was giving up. “We have no idea if some farmers in Franklin County might be able to take advantage of an economic opportunity on their property,” she said in floor debate. Scheuermann urged the House to vote for a moratorium, which would sunset after a number of years.

David Deen, D-Westminster, argued that there was a small “semantic difference” between a ban and a moratorium, since no legislature can bind a future legislature. “If we put a ban in place at this time, by this time next year, that ban could either be a moratorium or lifted.”

Vermont renewable energy bill gets last-minute overhaul

It was do or die for the energy bill on Wednesday. After a fight on the Senate floor over the House proposal to expand the buildout of renewable energy projects over the next 10 years, the legislation was on life support by Tuesday night.

The options? The legislation would either pass, die in committee or delay the end of the session.

Wednesday morning a whirlwind of closed door meetings in the governor’s ceremonial office, cursory committee testimony and whisperings in hallway ensued.

A handful of lawmakers hammered out a plan with the Shumlin administration in the morning, a lawyer from legislative counsel then redrafted the bill and lawmakers in Senate Finance spent less than an hour taking testimony from the commissioner of the Department of Public Service. By day’s end the Senate was set to debate the hastily reworked legislation. The bill passed 21-4 late in the evening.

Can you say sausage?

When S.214 (H.468) landed from its missile-like trajectory onto the Senate floor, the legislation, formerly known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard bill, it no longer contained renewable portfolio standards. Presto change, the requirements for utilities to retain renewable energy credits had vanished. Instead, the legislation calls for another study (the RPS recommendations came from a Public Service Board study conducted last year per a legislative request) and expands the “standard offer” program for small renewable projects.

Arizona Legislature Exempts the Sale of Renewable Energy Credits from State Sales Tax

Affirming its commitment to the development of renewable energy resources, the Arizona legislature recently passed legislation exempting the sale and/or use of Renewable Energy Credits (generally referred as “RECs”) from Arizona’s transaction privilege tax, which operates similar to a sales tax. Given that Arizona’s state transaction privilege tax is over seven percent in most counties, and that city tack on an additional 2 to 3 percent tax, the decision to exempt the sale of RECs from a 10 percent tax is a significant development that should encourage the development of renewable energy in Arizona.

Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard

In 2006 the Arizona Corporation Commission, which is the state agency that governs public utilities, enacted the Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff. This “RES Tariff,” which became effective in 2007, requires that by 2025, at least 15 percent of energy supplies come from eligible renewable energy, with smaller amounts required in earlier years. Of the total renewable energy requirement, 30 percent must come from distributed energy renewable resources by 2025, again with smaller amounts required in earlier years.

A “distributed energy resource” is small-scale power generation technology used to provide an alternative or enhancement to the traditional electric power system and is located on the customer’s side of the power meter. Rooftop or parking lot solar panel arrays are examples of a distributed energy resource, and can be contrasted with solar power plants operated by the utilities themselves. Under the RES Tariff, 50 percent of the distributed energy resource must come from residential customer systems while the remaining 50 percent must come from non-residential, non-utility applications.

Updated: Updated for 2013

An update to WordPress for PlayBook is now available on the BlackBerry App World. We’re pleased to introduce version 2.1, which adds some totally radical stuff!

What’s new:

• Comment editing: tap the new ‘Edit’ button when viewing a comment and you will be taken to a new screen where you can edit the comment information including the name, email, URL, comment text, and status.
• Post Autosave: to better protect your content, the app will now autosave posts you are editing every 60 seconds.
• New Scaled Image Setting: you can now set the width of linked images. Tap ‘Settings’ and then tap the ‘Upload and link to scaled image’ checkbox.

Minor changes:

• Small improvements to the UI, most notably the delete post button has been moved to a less prominent spot to prevent accidental taps.
• Reliability improvements.
• Updated translations.
• New app icon.

WordPress.com:

• New WordPress.com Reader: There’s an all-new reader in the app that makes it easier than ever to follow your favorite blogs on WordPress.com. We’ve added a bunch of great new features including simplified navigation between posts and the ability to comment on articles you like.

Getting WordPress for PlayBook

Make sure you’re running BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 or higher, then simply click here to download the app and get started.

Contributors

Huge thanks to the fine folks who have worked on this release: dolittledk, aerych, isaackeyet, mrroundhill, daniloercoli, and you?

Feedback

Be sure to subscribe to this blog to stay up to date with the latest happenings around WordPress for PlayBook and WordPress for BlackBerry.

How do you like WordPress for PlayBook? Let us know in the comments section below, or tweet us @WPBlackBerry.

Photo via Flickr

Tennessee solar tax bill dead for this session

Tennessee – A controversial bill on the taxation of solar installations will go to a summer study committee, effectively killing the bill for this session, with proponents opting to regroup on a complex debate.

The Comptroller of the Treasury’s Office, which had initiated the legislation, made the announcement this afternoon. Jason Mumpower, the comptroller’s chief of staff, said proponents decided to delay the issue for study, rather than try to ram it through in the last days of session with so many questions lingering.

“While there has been a good discussion during this session about how solar businesses should be assessed, it is not advisable to seek a quick resolution of the concerns that have been raised during the session’s waning days,” Mumpower said in a statement.
 
Arizona Governor signs two new solar energy friendly bills into law this week

Arizona is set to become friendlier to solar energy as Governor Jan Brewer signs two new legislations into law this week. The state boasts of a large amount of solar energy capacity that has, until very recently, been untapped. Solar energy advocates have been working to promote the power for several years, but initiatives to progress the alternative energy have long been stunted by legislative complications. This week, however, Governor Brewer signed two solar-friendly bills into law that could make Arizona one of the leaders in solar power.

The first is House Bill 2830, which removes the 2013 deadline for schools to install their own solar energy systems. The initial deadline was criticized because many felt that it presented an unfair problem for Arizona’s numerous school districts. These districts have been working to become more energy efficient and adopt alternative energy systems. This has been somewhat complicated, especially in regards to solar power, because of the expensive nature of these systems. Districts will now be allowed more time to adopt solar energy systems.

The second is Senate Bill 1229. This legislation clarifies a problem concerning the sale of Renewable Energy Credits. Since the program was introduced in 2001, it has been the subject of controversy. Concerns regarding whether sales tax can be imposed on the Renewable Energy Credits has been the crux of several legislative battles. That will no longer be the case, however, as the legislation frees Renewable Energy Credits from sales tax. The legislation also declares that Arizona residents are only liable for paying sales tax on energy they purchase from the state’s energy grid, not electricity they do not purchase from the grid.

Photo via Flickr

Vermont is Helping to Lead the Nation in Transforming Our Energy System

We come from Vermont. We know our small state cannot reverse global warming on our own, but we can provide a model for America which helps lead our nation and the world to a more sustainable and secure energy future. 

We see three major imperatives. 

First, we must act to reverse global warming. The scientific consensus is clear that global warming is real, that it is caused by human activities and that it will only get worse if we do not take bold efforts now. At a time when many members of Congress do not even acknowledge that global warming is happening, in Vermont we are taking action. Vermont has more than 100 grassroots citizen-led town energy committees that are working with state agencies to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and such clean sources of sustainable energy as solar, geothermal, biomass and wind. 

 Refundable Federal Tax Credit Could Remove Barrier to Community Wind

Since it will take a battle to extend federal tax credits for wind power anyway, why not make community wind development easier at the same time?

Last month, President Obama’s Treasury Department released proposed reforms to a number of business taxes including the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power projects. The reform proposal would make the tax credit permanent, but more importantly, it would make it refundable.

A regular tax credit reduces the amount of taxes a business or person pays dollar for dollar, down to zero. In the case of the PTC, it provides 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour produced by the wind power project, over 10 years. But for the many individuals and businesses that don’t owe a lot of taxes, they have limited use. That’s why there’s an entire “tax equity industry” made up of large banks and Wall Street firms that partner with wind and solar developers to reduce their tax bills. The drawback of these partnerships is that as much as half of the tax credit’s value is consumed by the Wall Street firms and not the renewable energy project.

Virginia governor to add signature to energy bills

RICHMOND, Va. – Gov. Bob McDonnell is promoting legislation that he says will help Virginia become the “energy capital of the East Coast.”

McDonnell added his signature Tuesday to 13 pieces of energy-related legislation. The legislation promotes development of the state’s energy resources and supports alternative and renewable energy strategies, according to the governor’s office.

McDonnell has promoted an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy development. That includes fossil fuel development such as coal and renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.

In a news release following the signing, McDonnell said that the state must work with must work with industry and stakeholder groups to continue to aggressively work to harness the resources to provide affordable and reliable energy for homes and businesses.

Florida energy bill that affects south Lee Algenol’s expansion becomes law

TALLAHASSEE – In a political squeeze because of a bill that includes tax breaks for renewable-energy production, Gov. Rick Scott late Friday allowed the controversial measure to become law without his signature.

Scott’s decision could anger tea party members and some conservative groups that placed heavy pressure on him to veto the bill (HB 7117). But it effectively gives a victory to Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and lawmakers who say the state needs to take steps toward developing renewable fuels.

It could also prevent a Southwest Florida company from expanding.

Algenol Biofuels Inc. wants to make ethanol from algae at its commercial farm in south Lee County, the first such enterprise in Florida. But at the state level, the concern is that the algae, if it escapes during a storm, for example, could pose an environmental threat.

Photo via Flickr

Vermont House votes to pursue renewable energy

MONTPELIER — With summer temperatures in Vermont on the first day of spring, House members gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill to address climate change.

“We see its evidence everywhere and we see it at an ever increasing rate,” Rep. Margaret Cheney said on the House floor while the thermometer reached 75 degrees outside.

The Norwich Democrat described a bill that sets a goal that Vermont get 75 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2032. It calls for a renewable portfolio standard, in which the state’s utilities would be required to get increasing amounts of the power they sell from green sources over the next 20 years.

The measure received preliminary approval on a voice vote. It is up for final House approval Wednesday before moving to the Senate.

Cheney said the bill is not ambitious enough for some environmentalists, but said the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, of which she is vice chairwoman, tried to balance environmental and economic concerns. 

Wisconsin Wind Siting Rules Effective March 16

After years of uncertainty, the Wisconsin legislature allowed statewide wind energy siting rules to go into effect today. The new rules (known as “PSC 128”) require wind turbines to be located at least 1,250 feet from the nearest residence and at a distance 1.1 times the height of the wind turbine from the nearest property line. Cities, villages, towns, and counties are prohibited from enacting an ordinance imposing more restrictive requirements than the statewide rules.

In 2009, the legislature directed the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (“PSC”) to develop rules that limit the restrictions local governments may impose on wind energy projects. The purpose of these rules was to ensure consistent local procedures and regulation of wind energy. On December 27, 2010, the PSC adopted the final wind energy siting rules (Wisc. Admin. Code Ch. PSC 128). But on March 1, 2011, the day the rules were to take effect, the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules voted to suspend PSC 128. This year, the legislature considered a proposal to indefinitely suspend the rules, but adjourned yesterday without taking action. As a result, PSC 128 automatically became effective today.

If you are in the market for a 16GB BlackBerry Playbook, then you’ll want to check out Buy.com on eBay. They are offering the 16GB BlackBerry Playbook for just $169.99. That’s some serious discounting.

Photo via Flickr

The Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have extended a set of expiring tax credits for wind energy, biofuels, energy efficient homes and other tax breaks.

The wind energy production tax credit and the other tax breaks are set to expire at the end of the year. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., needed 60 votes to pass in the Senate, but failed by a vote of 49-49 on Tuesday. However, a new bill was introduced Thursday in an attempt to extend the tax credit again.

“I’m disappointed that the wind energy PTC extension did not move forward today,” Bennet said in a statement Tuesday. “I have visited with Colorado companies and met with Colorado workers who stand to suffer a huge economic blow if Congress can’t get its act together and extend this critical tax credit. With thousands of high-quality jobs at stake across our state and the entire country, we need to provide certainty for this industry, so we do not derail its current growth. Standing on its own, this tax credit has bipartisan support, and Colorado companies are counting on us to get it across the finish line. I will continue the fight and look for the next opportunity to extend the wind energy tax credit. We cannot afford to delay. Congress needs to act now before more Americans lose their jobs.”

 Adam Putnam’s Renewable-Energy Bill Passes In Florida

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam on Friday morning cheered the House’s passage of the energy bill he has been pushing throughout the 2012 session. With the House passing the measure 116-2, it is now on its way to Gov. Rick Scott. Two Republicans voted against the measure, Eric Eisnaugle of Orlando and Marlene O’Toole of The Villages.

“The Florida House of Representatives cast its final vote today in support of advancing Florida’s energy future,” Putnam said. “Florida’s energy bill, which will increase diversity in the state’s energy portfolio, expand energy production and create much-needed jobs for Floridians, is now headed to the governor’s desk for signature.

“With overwhelming support in both chambers, the Legislature is sending a clear message that Florida is focused on its future. We’re putting Florida’s energy policy back on the right track, positioning Florida to secure a stable, reliable and diverse supply of energy,” Putnam added before thanking Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, and Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland.

New Proposal Would Limit AZ Renewable Energy Rules

PHOENIX (AP) — A bill that would give the Legislature a say over energy rules adopted by the Arizona Corporation Commission is being scaled back.

An amendment proposed for consideration by a Senate committee Wednesday would rewrite the bill approved by the House.

The new version would bar the commission from requiring a utility to meet a renewable energy standard greater than those now in effect.

Glendale Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko recently won House approval of her original bill only after promising fellow representatives to scale it back.

Administration produces renewable portfolio standard proposal

Two months into the legislative process, the Vermont Department of Public Service weighed in this week with a proposal for the renewable portfolio standard bill that has ping-ponged back and forth in the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy.

The department proposes a goal for the state of 75 percent renewable energy by 2032, including 35 percent “new renewable” and 10 percent small-scale generation.

The committee has seen multiple drafts, some more stringent than others in moving Vermont toward a law that would require utilities to provide a percentage of their electricity portfolio from renewable sources.

Army Issues Draft RFP for $7 Billion in Renewable Energy Contracts

On Friday February 24, 2012, the U.S. Army Engineering & Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama issued a draft request for proposals (Solicitation No. W912DY-11-R-0036, the “Draft RFP”) titled “Large Scale Renewable Energy Production for Federal Installations.”

The objective of the solicitation, in its current form, is to procure renewable and alternative energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs) or contractual equivalents for terms of up to 30 years. The government does not want to acquire generation assets, only energy. Projects may be located on or near any federal property located within the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, territories, provinces or other property under the control of the United States. “The intent is to award contracts to all qualified and responsible offerors, both large and small businesses.”

  Vladimir Putin is about to be re-elected, yet again, as President of Russia.  He already served as President twice, over the 2000-2008 period, to then immediately ease himself into the Kremlin’s Premiership for the past four years, awaiting his next term as President, which is about to begin. 

His new term is expected to last six years this time around, since the Russian constitution was amended to permit a longer presidency.  If he seeks and wins reelection in 2018, Putin could be president until 2024 and effectively rule Russia for over two decades.  He would have served longer than any Russian leader besides Stalin…

Much will be written about the reasons for the comfortable margin by which Putin is likely to win his 3^rd presidential term today, in spite of the ‘Putin-fatigue’ syndrome that has set in among the urban elite.  Articles will mention the craving for an image of a strongman and for stability among many Russians, while others may cry foul about fraud at the polls or related electoral corruption.  Yet this should not obscure three larger issues of significance for Russia and the world, transcending the current electoral event.

  First, Russia governance has been declining for about a decade already, and rather markedly.  This has been discussed in a recent entry and in a conference presentation.  Such decline is seen in figure 1 here.  As we can see, the decline is in virtually every one of the six dimensions of governance (as measured by the Worldwide Governance Indicators, or WGI), notably including a marked decline in Voice & democratic Accountability. 

The current presidential elections, held in a less-than-free environment for the media and for political participation, and where the emergence of viable alternatives to Putin has been stymied, ought to be viewed as a continuation of this trend of declining governance.

  In fact, Russia’s governance standards nowadays rate extremely poorly when compared with the rest of the world, as seen in Figure 2, which averages the six dimensions of governance in the WGI.  Such rough composite of governance indicates that Russia compares poorly with many countries.  Its cohorts in terms of poor governance, like Pakistan, are countries where transition has not been successful.

Second, for quite some time, Russia has already faced the huge challenge of endemic corruption, and if anything such corruption has worsened over the past decade, as also seen in figure 1 above.  There is high corruption in politics, in the executive, in the judiciary, and in the interactions between the private and public sectors.

    As seen in figure 3 here, for every type of bribery, a very high proportion of enterprise managers report that they do bribe often, comparable with countries like Nigeria and Libya, and sharply contrasting the much lower levels of bribery in many other countries. Cronyism plays an important role: those close to Putin in the Kremlin have benefitted handsomely.  And one source of high level bribery is public procurement: the lion share of firms in Russia have to pay bribes to obtain contracts. 

     Furthermore, various forms of bribery have gone up substantially. Figure 4 shows the increasing trend in procurement bribery, leading to the extremely high levels that currently prevail.

Third, the troubling evolution of governance in Russia over the past decade is a wake-up call to the world, which at times has been naïve about Russia’s transition, and about other transitions.  Over two decades ago the Soviet Union collapsed, and a democratic era dawned in Russia and many other formerly Soviet states. Yet since then the progress in democratic governance has been halting in many countries, or, even worse, there have been some reversals over the past decade, such as in Russia. 

These developments carry a warning to the Arab world.  Just because an old autocratic regime is discarded, the emergence of robust democratic institutions is by no means assured.  I have written about this subject in this brief article (here), presented and discussed in various countries, including in the Middle East.

Take the case of Egypt, for instance:  the demise of the Mubarak regime may indeed have been salutary, and can be viewed as a necessary precondition for a democratic transition.  Yet the events being played out also suggest that Mubarak gone, in itself, was insufficient. A broader perspective is useful:  of the scores of initial transitions to democracy over the past fifty years, many have not been fully successful, either having muddled through or even moving backwards, as in the case of Russia.

Democratic transitions are fragile and require constant vigilance, hard work and democratic institution-building for decades after the initial democratic episode.  Short-term setbacks or even marked reversals are not uncommon. The euphoria of the moment when an old autocratic regime is replaced, coupled with the political expediency of the international community, ought not blur the stark assessment of how each transition is actually progressing — or not.