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Best Of :: Sports & Recreation
John Skelton is the best quarterback in Phoenix. Which, granted, ain't saying much. Problem being that the Arizona Cardinals have to put somebody under center, and there's no reason to believe — based on this preseason, his limited performance with Arizona last season, or even his time with the Philadelphia Eagles — that much-touted Kevin Kolb can power the team. The Cardinals must start John Skelton, who would be a great backup behind somebody like, um, Peyton Manning, who spurned Arizona for the Denver Broncos because he's always loved some guy named John Elway, who runs the Denver franchise.Too bad Skelton got hurt in the Cardinals' season opener in early September against the Seahawks. Sigh. If the Cardinals didn't have bad luck, well, you know . . . And the quarterback situation is just more bad luck for the team — for which things were looking up for a minute when Coach Ken Whisenhunt came here from Pittsburgh, Kurt Warner was still at quarterback, and the Birds made it to the Super Bowl. Not anymore: With neither Kolb nor Skelton seemingly able to hang on to the starting QB position, we've got a lesser-of-two-doofuses situation. And Whisenhunt must face that, no matter what goes on in the first few games of the regular season, Skelton is less doofy. With him calling signals last season, the Cards were 5-2. With Kolb at the helm, 2-6. On the downside, Skelton threw 14 interceptions, and his largest margin of victory was six points. Touchdown passes? He had a respectable 11. Can he develop into a consistently good pro quarterback? No. Will he be better at keeping the team from sucking than the oft-injured Kolb? Yes. Truth is, the Cards have what could be a great team, a contender, but when your weakest position is QB, you're fucked in the NFL.
Living in the city requires regular intervals of time away from the computer, the car, work and just about everything else. Our favorite place to let our worries fall away and get in touch with our inner center of peace, love, and all that wonderful hippie stuff is on the seemingly endless trails around South Mountain Park/Preserve.South Mountain encompasses more than 16,000 acres and is the largest municipal park in the country, so it's easy to avoid the crowds of screaming kids, hipster hikers, and scenesters. There are 51 miles of trails around the mountain, which open at 5 a.m. and stay open until 11 p.m. On one Sunday each month the park has a "Silent Sunday" when motorized traffic is restricted. It's our favorite time to really get our zen on.
Fans of Jim Thompson or Raymond Chandler will appreciate a drive down Grand Avenue at sunset. This isn't the pretty, well-manicured part of Phoenix. Dive bars line the street next to cheap, weekly rate motels. To the west, graffitied rail cars sit waiting to get hauled on to their next stop, and if you keep driving, you'll eventually run into I-10. From there you can just keep driving and eventually end up in L.A.But our favorite thing about a sunset drive is the feeling of leaving something behind and moving toward an unknown adventure, if only temporarily. Grand Avenue has an odd ability to accomplish both these feats. It transports you out of the mirage of Phoenix without requiring you to fill up the gas tank.
Signs warn of smuggling activity on this road, and it's possible you may run into some undocumented immigrants. But as development closes around the Valley, consider the smugglers your competition for the bumps and slides of Vekol Valley Road and its spurs, located southwest of Maricopa. The road is accessed off Interstate 8, about 13 miles west of the intersection of Maricopa Road and State Route 84. Taking the Vekol Valley Road exit (Exit 144), the network of dirt roads and washes takes you deep into the southern quadrant of the federal Sonoran Desert National Monument, a vast preserve of near-pristine wilderness. We drove the 15 miles from I-8 to the trailhead of Tabletop Mountain on a cool Saturday morning and saw no other vehicles or people until the afternoon, when we spotted a family on the trail and a pickup truck (possibly a smuggler) driving through an arroyo. On this road, the Wild West is still just a bit wild. From the adventurer's point of view, that's a good thing.
Phoenix is bound by history, be it the scattered ruins left by the Hohokam or the Old West cowboy and mining heritages created by pioneers pushing west. But some of the true greatness of Arizona's history is embedded in its geology — how the land was formed, baked, eroded, and mined, exposing all sorts of natural treasures to experience and elusive mineral treasures to seek. It is this adventure for natural and mineral bounty that makes the eastward run to the old (and still active) mining towns of Miami and Globe such a rich experience.
Start out of the Valley heading east on the Superstition Freeway, bending around the base of the Superstition Mountains. Stop by Arizona's oldest botanical garden (Boyce Thompson Arboretum in nearby Superior) and roll down Miami's main drag, Sullivan Street, before getting into Globe. Founded in the 1870s, Globe became the Pinal County seat, as well as one of the richest copper-mining areas in the country. Today, its oddities include the Elks Lodge Building (the "World's Tallest Three-Story Building," according to Ripley's Believe It or Not), one of the last remaining copper smelters in the United States, and the massive Besh-ba-Gowah pueblo, as well as a multitude of old mining town streets lined with shanties and old homes from the turn of the 20th century.
For the return trip home, continue to head back through time along the Apache Trail. The first section runs up along the west bank of Lake Roosevelt, passing by the Tonto National Monument cliff dwellings and the Theodore Roosevelt Dam. Just beyond the dam, the remainder of the Apache Trail is dirt, making for a very slow but incredibly beautiful drive through the heart of the Superstition wilderness, along the Salt River, and past Apache and Canyon lakes. The late-afternoon, early-evening hours turn the desert to hues of gold, red, orange, and magenta as the trail runs alongside high cliffs. Beware of some killer sunset glare as the road drives westward. The dirt will begin to feel endless, but it kicks out at Tortilla Flat as the paved road twists through Apache Junction and back to the Superstition Freeway.
When the mercury levels in Phoenix skyrocket into the triple digits, it's time to start planning an escape route. When we're looking to get out of town for a quick visit to cooler temps, we like to jump on the Beeline and book it up to Strawberry for a dose of pine trees, fresh air, and maybe a cheese-making class and a little quality time with a goat or two. Just an hour and half outside of Phoenix, the Fossil Creek Ranch in the heart of the Tonto National Forest offers everything from hiking with llamas to fudge-tasting from their very own fudge factory and cheese-making classes using the milk from the ranch's very own goats. Bring the kiddos up for the day to play with the baby goats, meet the pretty llamas, and take a tour of the creamery. The ranch is open every day except for Christmas Day and admission is just $3 per person or $10 per carload.


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Lizzy Caplan Confesses "I Was Hammered" For "True Blood" Sex Scenes
She's worked on all kinds of projects, but Lizzy Caplan's most challenging role psychologically was her "True Blood" gig.
During her interview on "Chelsea Lately," the "My Best Friend's Girl" actress admitted to getting wasted before her nude scenes as vampire Amy Burley.
Lizzy explained, "I was hammered for that. I didn't really have lines the first time. It was like 7am in the morning and I was chugging vodka completely naked while a make-up artist I had just met was on her knees in front of me sponging my ass. It's intimate."
"On True Blood, I've never told anybody this, but I was so nervous and then I was so drunk, that after I shot the scene I was going up to the crew members. I had just met all these people the day before and I was going up to them like, 'You got a boner! You do! You've got one.' It was horrible. Horrible!"
Photo Credit: E!

subset: commoncrawl


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I watched the new release DVD Beowulf and Grendel. In a word, it SUCKED! I always give movies a chance and 99% of the time watch them right through to the end. I can't remember the last time I stopped watching a movie. Oh yes, Domino! I don't know how that movie ends, and frankly I don't care. Back to Beowulf… it was totally unconvincing. I knew it was in trouble at the very beginning when the toddler-troll Grendel is put on the screen, glued-on beard and all. And the fearsome warriors riding on those tiny ponies was, bluntly, HILARIOUS! I laughed out loud every time they rode onto the screen. They should've had REAL horses, like of the Frank Frazetta variety. I felt that all one had to do was yell to the ponies, "PLAY DEAD!†and the war would be over. I was waiting for the end-credits to say, "All the horses were harmed during the filming of this movie. They were crushed under the weight of their riders!" How can you be afraid of these guys?
Okay, a couple of good things: Sarah Polley is beautiful. Extra: she has an incredible singing voice. Hear her sing on the the beautiful soundtrack to The Sweet Hereafter, especially her version of The Tragically Hip's, "Courageâ€. And it was filmed in Iceland, which is absolutely gorgeous. I've been there twice, and the landscape is spiritually impressive.
But, in my opinion, don't bother wasting your time with the movie. Watch Junebug instead… a more superior, disturbing and incisive study of human nature.


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Don't be fooled by the tens of thousands of protesters in the streets of Bangkok. The massive demonstrations that have blossomed in Thailand this week have very little to do with democracy.
Instead, those protesters hope to oust the government and replace it with an unelected "people's council". They would probably settle for a military coup as well.
Their campaign dubbed "Shutdown Bangkok" anti-government protesters, led by former opposition politician
On Wednesday, protest leaders boycotted a proposed meeting to discuss postponing the February 2 elections. The snub underscores the fundamental crisis of this standoff: the movement, orchestrated by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), has no interest in democratic reform. The partisans on the streets do not have sufficient popular support to win at the polls, and are, as a result, seeking to delegitimise the administration of Prime Minister
With the PDRC planning to stay on the streets for a month and the prime minister unwilling to resign, the future of Thai politics likely lies in the hands of the army.
Deposed elites angry
The latest demonstrations are an extension of the same partisan deadlock that has paralysed Thai politics for years – one that centres on the deposed former prime minister
Despite living in exile, he is thought to be key in determining her administration's policies. Yet he is equally maligned among Thailand's opposition Democratic Party supporters, upper and middle-class Bangkok elites and southerners who have accused him of widespread corruption and vote-buying. Fundamentally it is a fight about demographics. Yingluck mobilised a majority voting bloc that threatens the traditional power of moneyed elites.
In 2010, Thaksin supporters, dubbed Red Shirts, massed in the streets, eventually clashing with security forces. The crackdown left 90 people dead.
With the protests at a stalemate, a remix of the bloody 2010 confrontations may be exactly what Suthep is hoping for. Sow enough discord in the streets, and the army may step in and oust the government.
The open secret of the current demonstrations is that elections are not the end-game. For weeks, anti-government protesters have called for the implementation of an unelected "People's Council". But with Yingluck standing firm in her commitment to stay in office through the election period, Suthep's last best hope for delegitimising her administration may be the mobilisation of her supporters.
After initial calls went out for Shutdown Bangkok in early January, Red Shirt leaders said they were ready to combat any effort to undermine the elected government.
While Red Shirts have rallied in support of the Yingluck administration in provinces across the country, so far they have kept their distance from the capital. But if they march on the capital, Bangkok could become the scene of some very ugly street battles. And that may be the opposition protesters' last best hope to get the army to intervene on their behalf.
If the government proves that it cannot control the situation on the streets, that could give the army licence to intervene. In other words, by mobilising, the Red Shirts may very well be walking into a trap.
To understand what the future has in store for Thailand, keep a close eye on what the Red Shirts do in coming days.
The Australian Financial Review


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Neither Israel nor Hamas seem particularly inclined to heed the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The Israelis, in particular, tend to shrug off condemnation by the UN, which they regard as an incorrigibly anti-Israeli body. You can understand why. The UN Human Rights Council, for example, has adopted far more resolutions condemning Israel than any other country. Both Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon have criticised the council for singling out Israel.
That said, I think Israel will still view Thursday night's Security Council resolution with some concern for a couple of reasons. The Security Council is the serious bit of the UN. And it is hard for Israel to dismiss the UN altogether – after all, its owes its very existence as a state to UN resolutions. Read more


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Many people assume that being on a budget means that you have to deal with limited options or skip on the quality. However, our Prom Dresses Under 100 dollars are the epitome of high-quality and we offer a large selection. Some trendy options that we feature include sparkling sequined numbers, strapless necklines, ruched bodices and more. You'll easily be able to get a chic dress that falls within your price range.
With pocket-friendly prices and a gorgeous range of Prom Dresses Under 100 dollars, you are one step closer to having the night of your life. When you provide us with your measurements, we will even go above and beyond by sending your dress of choice already made to fit like a gem.Read Less <<


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A few months ago, while reviewing one of my friend's profiles on Facebook, I was surprised to see the amount of discussion that Shari'ah rulings regarding marriage provoke in the West.My friend, an orthodox Sunni Muslim and avid follower of the Hanbali school, had commented in a picture from 2010 that depicted Malaysian women protesting against the legality of polygamy. The picture, while not shocking for many of us, seemed to bother a number of commentators across the globe. Some peopl … [Read more...]
Nothing is worse for a Saudi man than imagining himself a woman
This post was written by Eman Al Nafjan and originally appeared at her blog Saudiwoman's Weblog.Every Ramadan for the past sixteen years a show called Tash Ma Tash, which means something in the literal lines of "splash what may," is closely watched by almost every Saudi household. The show is a satire of Saudi society and it's funny, to say the least. It's also been prohibited by several sheikhs as un-Islamic, especially due to the actors' portrayal of those very same sheik … [Read more...]
Big Love: Appropriating Feminism in Advocating Polygamy
Stories about polygamy tend to surge and ebb in the media, but they never fail to intrigue people. Recently in South Africa, a Zulu man married four women–all at once–making the most popular story on the BBC news website (you can watch the clip here). In the video, a male wedding guest gives a thumbs-up to the marriage(s), claiming that the "world" suffers from monogamous marriage breakdowns as a result of adultery. Later, the narrator serves up a classic: with all those wives, what man will hav … [Read more...]
Always an Unregistered Wife, Never a Bride
When I first read the BBC's article on Tajik women who are left destitute because their Islamic marriages (nikaah) were not recognized by the secular government in Tajikistan, I have to admit that I cringed and felt a bit defensive. Here was another story portraying Muslim women as poor victims of Muslim men but, even more importantly, of Islam itself. The headline reads "Legal limbo for Tajik Islamic brides (emphasis added)". Throughout the article, there is the constant reference to Islamic … [Read more...]


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Ben Franklin was always thinking and exploring new ideas. He was a practical man who invented things that helped make life better.
1. His kite flying experiments to study lighning and electricity are still famous today.
2. He was the first person in America to invent a musical instrument.
3. Lightning rods are still used today on buildings and houses.
4. Bifocal glasses allow people to use just one pair of glasses to see thing far away and close up.
5. The Franklin stove kept houses warmer and used less wood than fireplaces.
Ben Franklin invented or improved many other things as well. He never patented any of his invetions or made money from them.
If you want to discover more about Ben Franklin and his inventions watch this


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Selected Community Events
La Camerata Madrigal Singers "Yuletide Feaste" in Grand Island
Nov 24, 2012 - Nov 26, 2012 Spirits 6:30pm; Dinner 7:00pm
Balz Banquet Hall, 3rd & Sycamore St, Grand Island
La Camerata Madrigal Singers will present the 27th Annual "Merry Olde 16th Century Yuletide Feaste." The 16-member singing group was formed in 1986, performing in ornate Elizabethan costumes and signing not only on stage, but throughout the audience during the four-course meal. In addition to the singing performance, which includes madrigals, period music and contemporary pieces, a playlet including singers and the court jester will be presented.
The "banquet hall" will be transformed into a medieval-looking castle, complete with Christmas trees and armored knight sentries. Many guests attend every year and state that the event is the perfect beginning for the Christmas season.
Reserved tickets at $25 are required and include both the dinner and program. Tickets are available at the Customer Service desk at Hy-Vee, 115 Wilmar Ave. in Grand Island. Tickets may be purchased via credit card and may also be ordered by phone at 308-381-3678. Group sales are welcome!


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January 4, 2013
CONTACT: Erika Murray
301-618-6044 – office phone
240-445-9460 – cell phone
Laurel Regional Hospital Welcomes Its First Baby of the Year
January 4, 2013, Laurel, Maryland – Laurel Regional Hospital welcomed its first baby in 2013 at 1:59 a.m. Keber Reinoso, a healthy baby boy, weighed in at six pounds and 9.2 ounces.
Baby Keber was born to the proud parents of Kenia, 27, and Yaber Reinoso, 30, of Greenbelt, Maryland. The Reinoso's also have a daughter.
"My actual due date was January 14," exclaims Mrs. Reinoso. "However, I had spontaneous rupture membranes so I delivered early. The nursing staff and other staff members were so nice and very attentive. I had my first baby at Laurel Regional Hospital and received excellent care. So when my doctor recommended Laurel Regional Hospital for our second child, I was very glad that he did."
Mr. Reinoso knew he was going to have a son and was overjoyed with excitement when his dream came true. When thinking of a name, the couple decided to take the first two letters of Mom's name and combine them with the last three letters of Dad's name. And, as they say, Keber was born.
"It may be the Reinoso's second child, but it was the hospital's very first in 2013," states Crystal Fuller, the new director of Maternal Child Health Services at Laurel Regional Hospital. "We may be a small, community hospital, but we deliver high quality care to our patients."
Each New Year, staff get excited and rally behind the effort to show appreciation to the patient having the first baby of the year at the hospital. Employees bring in items, such as pacifiers, rattles and gift certificates, in anticipation of the baby's arrival. One staff member even created a custom made "diaper cake." Along with Mom, Baby Keber received flowers and a beautiful gift basket, in addition to the wide array of gifts, samples and supplies that the staff showers on each new baby. Laurel Regional Hospital wishes the Reinoso's well and will be ready, if the time comes, for baby #3.
About Laurel Regional Hospital:
Laurel Regional Hospital is a full-service, community hospital, sited on 48 acres, conveniently located in Laurel, Maryland. It offers a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient services to the Northern Prince George's County community, as well as other surrounding counties. Laurel Regional Hospital houses the Gladys Spellman Specialty Care Unit, which is the only specialty care program in the area, within an acute-care hospital, providing 24-hour physician coverage. In 2011, Laurel Regional Hospital was recognized as a "Best Hospital" in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area by U.S. News & World Report. In 2010, Laurel Regional Hospital's Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center was awarded the Center of Distinction and Robert A. Warriner, M.D., Center of Excellence awards by Diversified Clinical Services. Laurel Regional Hospital is a proud member of Dimensions Healthcare System, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system headquartered in Prince George's County and southern Maryland (Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert Counties). Visit www.DimensionsHealth.org for more information.


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NCSTANLY-L ArchivesArchiver > NCSTANLY > 2001-04 > 0988385862
From: "Don Mills" <>
Subject: New Stanly County Heritage book to be published!
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 11:31:45 -0700
Because of your ties to Stanly County, we wanted to make sure you are among
the first to know about our new book entitled: THE HERITAGE OF STANLY
COUNTY, NC - 2002! Many of you have seen our Heritage of Anson County, NC -
1995 or our Heritage of Richmond County, NC - 1995.
Here's the deal: a new book about Stanly County is soon to be published and
you're invited to be a part of it! The book will highlight stories of
Stanly County people, and is part of the prestigious North Carolina County
Heritage series. Eligibility is simple: you live in Stanly County, or you
have roots here in Stanly County! This allows you a free 500 word story and
To learn more about this exciting project, come to our first meeting,
Monday, April 30, 7 PM at the Boardroom
Restaurant, 135 W. Main, Albemarle. See you then!
Thanks in advance for your help in preserving Stanly County Heritage!
This thread:
|New Stanly County Heritage book to be published! by "Don Mills" <>


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Why Do Puppies Chew, and How to Stop It
Chewing is a common complaint among those caring for dogs younger than a year old. They're likely to chew for several reasons. For one, they're curious creatures and they don't have opposable thumbs. Their mouths are how they examine objects. Also, from four to eight months of age, they will shed all of their puppy teeth and grow a set of permanent teeth. Chewing helps with teething discomfort. Also, chewing gives a bored pup something to do, and dogs with separation anxiety will likely chew their owners' items. Finally, some dogs, such as retrievers, were bred to use their mouths.
So how do you stop it?
- Create a safe haven for your puppy: Use a dog crate or small, carefully dog-proofed area. When dog-proofing an area, get down at puppy eye level to scope out potential problems such as electrical wires or drapery cords. When you can't supervise your puppy, place him or her in this safe haven with an approved chew toy.
- Remember, the puppy does not need access to the entire house. Close bedroom doors or install pet gates during the animal's chewing period.
- Invest in a variety of chew toys appropriate to the size and chewing preferences of your dog. Check out Tri-County Humane Society's store for a variety of toys (all the proceeds go back to the animals.) Watch your pet with the chew toys when he or she first tries them to make sure it's appropriate. Alternate the chewies to keep interest high, saving the best for crate time or when puppy is left alone.
- Give feedback. When the puppy eyes a table leg, say "eck" or "phooey" and then draw puppy's attention to an acceptable chew toy. When you catch the puppy chewing on an appropriate toy, make sure to praise him or her with a treat.
- Try anti-chew products. If the table leg or rug fringe remains your dog's favorite chew toy, use a commercial anti-chew product. Tri-County Humane Society sells bitter apple sprays that are safe for pets and can be highly effective!
Source: Jacque Lynn Schultz, CPDT


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It doesn't take long


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Paul Taylor and Chris Lytle. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Following their toe-to-toe slugfest that highlighted the main card of UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben this past Saturday, both Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor each received $40,000 bonuses from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their efforts.
The UFC officially announced the traditional bonuses at the event's post-fight press conference. The said bonuses will not count as part of the fighter's base salary, which is issued separately according to written bout agreements.
Also receiving awards after the event were Luis Cane (Knockout of the Night) who stopped former PRIDE standout Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with strikes in the second round of their light heavyweight clash and former IFL lightweight prospect Jim Miller, who earned a third-round submission of international veteran David Baron. Both Cane and Miller each received $40,000 as well.
Next entry: Report: Henderson, Franklin to Battle for TUF 9 Coaching Spot
Previous entry: Quick Results: UFC 89


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FPL Group (FPL-OLD)
Q3 2007 Earnings Call
October 30, 2007 9:00 am ET
James von Riesemann - IR
Moray P. Dewhurst - CFO
Lew Hay – Chairman, CEO
Jim Robo – President, COO
John Kiani - Deutsche Bank
Greg Gordon - Citigroup
Leslie Rich - ColumbiaManagement
Dan Eggers - Credit Suisse
Ashar Khan - SAC Capital
Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates
Daniele Seitz - Dahlman Rose
Welcome to the FPL Group 2007 third quarter earningsconference call. This conference is being recorded. At this time for openingremarks, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Jim von Riesemann.Please go ahead, sir.
James von Riesemann
Good morning and welcome to our 2007 third quarter earningsconference call. Moray Dewhurst, the Chief Financial Officer of FPL Group, willprovide an overview of our performance for the quarter. Also with us thismorning are Lew Hay, FPL Group's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; JimRobo, President and Chief Operating Officer of FPL Group; Armando Olivera,President, Florida Power & Light Company; and Mitch Davidson, President ofFPL Energy. Following Moray's remarks our senior management will be availableto take your questions.
Let me remind you that our comments today will includeforward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private SecuritiesLitigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements made herein about futureoperating results or other future events are forward-looking statements underthe Safe Harborprovisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actualresults may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Adiscussion of factors that could cause actual results or events to vary iscontained in the appendix herein and in our SEC filings and in the investorsection of our website www.FPLGroup.com.
Now I would like to turn the call over to Moray Dewhurst.
Moray P. Dewhurst
Thank you, Jim good morning everyone. FPL Group's 2007 thirdquarter results were very good overall, driven again by outstanding performanceat FPL Energy. FPL Group adjusted per share results grew approximately 7% overlast year's comparable period while FPL Energy's grew 25%. The strong earningsgrowth at FPL Energy reflects higher realized pricing following the roll-off oflower-priced hedges in the existing portfolio as well as contributions from newassets; both of which were anticipated. The merchant portfolio and thewholesale marketing operations also took advantage of market opportunities anddelivered slightly better result than we had expected.
Florida Power & Light was roughly flat for the quarter,which was inline with expectations as good revenue growth was offset by costincreases. Customer growth continued at a healthy rate.
Looking forward to likely full year results with threequarters now behind us, we are well positioned to deliver another very goodyear financially. We expect results to be at or near the top end of the rangeof what we shared with you last fall, which equates to approximately $3.45 pershare.
We expect FPL Energy to come in at or slightly above thehigh end of the range we originally set out for you at this time last year,while Florida Power & Light will likely come in at the low end. We saidlast year that this will be a challenging year financially for Florida Power& Light in part because of the impact of our Storm Secure Program and thishas proved to be the case. In addition to the fact as we anticipated however,weather effects in the first half were unfavorable and at this point we wouldnot expect to be able to make up the lost ground unless we see unusuallyfavorable weather impacts in the last couple of months of the year.
While we still have much work to do to bring 2007 to a satisfactoryclose, over the past month or so we have been going through our normal annualplanning process as well a complete review of our strategy and our view of FPLGroup's prospects for the next few years has been developing positively. Webelieve we have put in place the foundation to enable us to deliver a sustainedperiod of about average growth with a very moderate risk profile and one whichis supported by one of the strongest financial positions in the industry.
FPL Energy's growth would be driven heavily by new winddevelopment that will likely encompass growth in a number of other areas aswell, while Florida Power & Light should benefit from service territorygrowth and sustained reinvestment. We expect to deliver average adjusted earningsper share growth of at least 10% through 2012 off a 2006 base year.
I will provide more detail around 2008 and 2009 expectationslater in the call. For the moment, let me just note that we now see areasonable range for 2008 of $3.83 to $3.93 per share, a bit higher than wehave previously suggested. For 2009, we see a reasonable range being $4.15 to$4.35 given the drivers we can see today.
As a reminder, when we discuss FPL Group's earningsexpectations, we assume normal weather and mark our currently open positions tothe current forward curves. We also exclude the effect of adopting newaccounting standards, if any, and the mark-to-market effect of non-qualifyinghedges, neither of which can be determined at this time.
Now, let's look at the results for the third quarter. In thethird quarter of 2007, FPL Group's GAAP results were $533 million or $1.33 pershare compared to $527 million or $1.32 per share during the 2006 thirdquarter. FPL Group's adjusted 2007 third quarter net income and EPS were $493million and $1.23 per share respectively compared with $460 million or $1.15per share in 2006. The primary difference between the reported results and theadjusted results is the positive mark in our non-qualifying hedge category,which I will discuss in more detail later in the call.
Please refer to the appendix of the presentation for acomplete reconciliation of GAAP results to adjusted earnings. FPL Group'smanagement uses adjusted earnings internally for financial planning, foranalysis of performance, for reporting of results to the board of directors,and its input in determining whether performance targets are met forperformance-based compensation under the company's employee incentivecompensation plan. FPL Group also uses earnings expressed in this fashion whencommunicating its earnings outlook to analysts and investors. FPL Groupmanagement believes that adjusted earnings provide a more meaningfulrepresentation of FPL Group's fundamental earnings power.
Please note that all prior-period amounts have been adjustedto reflect the application in the fourth quarter of 2006 of an accountingstandard change related to planned major maintenance activities which had theeffect of increasing 2006 third quarter results by $3 million or less than $0.01a share.
Florida Power & Light performed in line with ourexpectations in the third quarter. Customer growth continued strong though withsome indications of a possible tapering off late in the period. Unfortunately,the influence of weather on the quarter was more complicated than normal as Iwill explain in a minute, and this makes it more difficult to detect anypossible change in trend in underlying usage growth. Nevertheless, at themoment we still do not see any significant change in underlying i.e., weatheradjusted usage growth.
Cost increased in the period, but overall were in line withour expectations. We indicated last year that higher than typical costincreases driven in part by our Storm Secure Program would inhibit FPL'searnings growth in 2007 and this was the case in the third quarter. Fortunatelywe expect to be able to revert to more typical growth patterns in 2008.
Results were aided by the impact of the 1144 megawattgenerating facility which went into service in May slightly ahead of scheduleand under budget. The addition of this facility to our portfolio is beneficialboth to customers and to shareholders with a slight increase in base rates morethan offset by the fuel savings arising from the incremental efficiency of thenew unit.
Also during the quarter, we announced important steps in ourgeneration expansion plan designed to support continued strong long-term growthin Florida. We announced ourintention to implement further power upgrades at all four existing FloridaNuclear units subject to various regulatory approvals and we filed the petitionfor need to termination for two new nuclear units to be constructed at ourTurkey Point site, also subject to numerous required regulatory approvals andsatisfactory resolution for outstanding technical and economic uncertainties.If all goes well, the upgrades will provide roughly 400 megawatts ofincremental base load capacity with zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of2012, while the new units will come into service by 2020.
In July, Governor Charlie Crist hosted a Florida GlobalClimate Summit and laid out important new policy directions for the entirestate on this issue. Of the most direct significance to Florida Power &Light are two executive orders setting targets for renewable energy suppliesand for greenhouse reductions. While specific implementation plans remain to beworked out, the policy direction is consistent with FPL Group's view of theclimate change issue and we support the establishment of stretch goals.
Partly in response to the Governor's challenge to the state we have accelerated plans for newinitiatives in Florida. Amongthese are plans for new solar generation projects and we continue to seek waysto take advantage of the limited wind resource generally available in Florida.
We also announced our intention to invest significantly inupgrading our network infrastructure to create a smart network using advancedtechnology and two-way communication with customer premises to enable moreautomation and network intelligence.
As part of this effort, we expect our advanced meteringinitiative currently in a test phase and proceeding well to enable us toleverage our existing industry leading energy conservation program portfolio.Overall, we expect to commit up the $500 million to this effort over the nextseveral years.
For the third quarter, Florida Power & Light reportednet income of $326 million compared with $328 million in last year's thirdquarter. The corresponding contributions to EPS were $0.81 this year comparedto $0.82 last year.
For the third quarter 2007, the average number of FPLcustomer accounts increased by 90,000 or 2%. While this is a very strong growthlevel and consistent with our long run history, I should note that we saw flatmonth-to-month change in customer accounts from August to September when wewould normally expect to see some increase. The preliminary data for October donot show growth at levels we would normally see at this time of the year.Whether this is indicative of a real slowdown or is just a transitoryphenomenon, we do not yet know. We will continue to monitor short-termdevelopments and keep you informed, but I should also reiterate that we expectany slowdown to be temporary.
As we've said before, Floridaremains an attractive place to live and work, its economy continues to performwell and we certainly anticipate that the beginnings of the baby boomer retirementwave will support FPL's long-term growth.
Despite weakness in the housing sector, economic growth asreflected in the growth in real personal income continues at a healthy pacewhich is generally positive for growth and use per customer.
Unfortunately, analysis of usage trends in the quarter ismade challenging by the large and somewhat atypical impact of weather. Averagetemperatures were above normal and this typically translates into higher usagein a fairly predictable pattern. We estimate that the temperature effect byitself would have been positive for sales volume by about 4.1%. However, the thirdquarter had a high incidence of afternoon showers and thunderstorms whichinvariably reduce peak loads and usage. Our modeling of these effects is morelimited than our knowledge of the temperature relationship, but rough estimatesuggest this in fact could be as much a negative 6%, and thus the net weatherimpact relative to "normal" was negative 1.9% or negative 0.3% relative to lastyear, which would imply that underlying growth was a healthy 1.8%.
Because of the high degree of uncertainty about the rainfalleffect, however, especially relative to prior years, we are a little skepticalof these analyses. Perhaps the best we can say at the moment is that there isenough statistical noise in the weather data to overwhelm any signal in theunderlying usage data and thus we cannot at this stage draw any meaningfulconclusions about trends and usage.
In prior earnings calls we have noted uncertainty in ourunderlying usage outlook near term and this continues to be the case eventhough it remains hard to see much of an impact on our recent results. Commonsense tells us there must be some effect, for example an unused condo clearlywon't have the same electricity pattern as one that's occupied, but at least sofar that doesn't seem to be much of an effect showing up in the data.
As a reminder, over the long term we have seen annual usagegrowth of about 1%, but this figure has always been quite volatile from quarterto quarter and year to year. As with customer growth, we will continue tomonitor usage trends and let you know if we see any reason to change ouroutlook.
For the third quarter, FPL's 2007 O&M expense was $378million, up $43 million from the prior year figures driven by higherdistribution, nuclear power generation, employee benefits and customer servicecosts. For the full year, we continue to see increases in distribution, nuclearand fossil generation as well as employee benefits and customer service costsand of course our Storm Secure Program as being the main drivers of O&Mgrowth.
We indicated last year that we did not expect to be able tooffset the one-time ratcheting effect on O&M of the full implementation ofStorm Secure through productivity gains in other areas. This is the main reasonwhy we expected FPL's income growth to be challenged in 2007. For the next fewyears, we expect to spend about $50 million in O&M expense and a $100 millionto $150 million in capital per year on Storm Secure activities.
Depreciation in the third quarter fell $3 million to $194million as higher distribution and generation depreciation including the impactfrom the addition of the Turkey Point 5 unit were offset by reductions incertain amounts recovered through the capacity clause. Underlying basedepreciation increased by $7 million.
The accompanying chart summarizes the third quarter 2007earnings drivers of Florida Power & Light which netted to a decrease of $0.01per share. In the interest of time, I will not read each numbers for you. Forthose of you without immediate access to the slides, they are available in theinvestor section of our website, www.FPLGroup.com.
To summarize, Florida Power & Light's earnings werelargely inline with our expectations, a combination of customer growth, usagegrowth and the addition of the Turkey Point 5 natural gas facility were offsetby higher operating expenses, increased base depreciation and a number of othersmall negative effects.
FPL Energy had another very strong quarter with adjustedearnings increasing 25% over last year's comparable period. Last fall, weindicated that 2007 would show very healthy growth, owing primarily to two keydrivers: the rollover of older, lower-priced hedges to more current marketvalues, and the additional contributions from new wind. Both drivers areplaying out very much as we expected, but FPL Energy is a bit ahead of where weexpected it to be, primarily because the existing portfolio has been strongerthan anticipated and because the opportunities available to our wholesalemarketing and trading arm have been better. This has helped us more than offsetdisappointing wind resource availability in the first part of the year.
FPL Energy is very well positioned for further sustainedgrowth beyond 2007. Inlate September, we closed the acquisition of Point Beach, adding 1023 megawatts to ournuclear portfolio. The long-term contract on Point Beach will be increasinglyaccretive to EPS over the years, and we expect to be able to add output throughcapacity upgrades as well. Our wind development program is proceeding well, andwe continue to see 8,000 to 10,000 new megawatts in the 2007 through 2012period as being a realistic program.
We are pursuing a number of other growth opportunities,including solar and transmission projects, and are exploring selective greenfieldgas development opportunities in our core markets. Finally, the business iswell-positioned relative to longer-term fundamentals including commodity pricesand the likely impact of climate change initiatives on wholesale power markets.
FPL Energy's 2007 third quarter reported results were $220million or $0.55 per share compared with $218 million or $0.55 per share in theprior period results. Adjusted earnings for the third quarter of 2007, whichexclude the effect of non-qualifying hedges, were $180 million or $0.45 pershare compared to $144 million or $0.36 per share.
In the third quarter of 2007 we recorded a gain in thenon-qualifying hedge category of $40 million after tax with $35 millionreflecting the decrease in forward commodity prices we experienced during thequarter and $5 million representing the reversal of prior period losses.
A gain in the non-qualifying hedge category is typicallyassociated with the reduction in the value of our open or unhedged positionsand is thus a negative indicator for future expectations and vice verse.
Fortunately, the net market movement in the quarter wassmall as I will discuss in a moment, and so the impact on our expectations isnot significant. As a reminder of the types of transactions that we classify asnon-qualifying are those that must be mark-to-market under GAAP, but to providean economic hedge to a position that is not mark-to-market thus creating anunavoidable mismatch in current period GAAP results. We continue to believe itis more useful to think of FPL Energy results excluding the impact of thenon-qualifying hedge category whether that impact is positive or negative.Comparisons of period to period GAAP results can be quite misleading when thereis significant volatility in the non-qualifying hedge category.
FPL Energy's third quarter adjusted EPS contributionincreased $0.09. New investment, primarily new wind projects, contributed $0.02per share, the existing portfolio added $0.05 per share and asset optimizationand trading added $0.03 relative to last year's comparable period. Much of thegrowth in the existing portfolio came from the anticipating rollover of olderlower price hedges, but we also saw better market conditions and additionalopportunities for asset optimization. All parts of the existing merchantportfolio contributed to the strong performance.
The existing wind portfolio was roughly flat with last year.You may recall that our wind index was abnormally low particularly in Texasin the second quarter owing to unusual weather patterns. These trends continuethrough July and then reverted to more normal conditions.
Across the entire portfolio, the wind index for the quarterwas good although ironically this was one quarter in which the correlationbetween our wind index and actual realized wind speeds at our sites was notparticularly strong.
As I've mentioned before, the wind index is a reasonableapproximation of the underlying resource available to our projects, based oneasily verifiable data from reference towers, but the correlation between theindex and the actual output in the portfolio was not perfect. Please refer tothe appendix of the presentation for additional detail on the wind index.
Operationally, the fleet continued to perform very well. Allother factors were a negative $0.01 per share, driven primarily by additionalinterest expense and overhead, which reflects continuing investment in thegrowth of the business.
During the quarter, we saw continued volatility in commodityprices, but not a great deal of net change. As this chart shows, the ten-yearnatural gas strip decline modestly over the period, which is consistent withgain in the non-qualifying hedge category. Although this trend by itself asnegative for our future expectations, the magnitude of the impact is not largeand as the chart also shows the ten year strip remains above the levels of latelast year. Further, since the end of quarter prices have risen again. Focusingfor a moment on the fundamentals rather the short-term fluctuations, we continuesto like the inherent long position of the FPL Energy portfolio relative tonatural gas and to spot spreads in New England and Texas.
To summarize the 2007 third quarter, on an adjusted basisFPL contributed $0.81, FPL Energy contributed $0.45 and corporate and other wasa negative $0.03. That is a total of $1.23 per share compared to $1.15 pershare in the 2006 third quarter on an adjusted basis.
Let me now turn to our earnings outlook. For 2007, we expectadjusted EPS to be at or near the high-end of the range we set out last fall orin other words, around $3.45. FPL Energy has had very strong performance forthe first three quarters and is likely to be at or above the top of its range,while Florida Power & Light hindered by the weather driven revenueshortfalls earlier in the year, it is likely to be at the lower end of itsrange.
For 2008, our current expectations are better than the earlyview we shared with you this time last year, based on everything we see today,we believe a range of $3.83 to $3.93 is reasonable, which should mean at leastan 11% growth in adjusted earnings per share. With normal weather, we expectFlorida Power & Light to show modest growth, while at FPL Energy we seeanother year of growth in excess of 20%.
Looking out to 2009, the range of likely outcomes is ofcourse larger, but the drivers we can see today suggest a range of $4.15 into $4.35,again the big growth driver will be FPL Energy. Beyond 2009, we expect tocontinue strong growth. For the period of 2006 through 2011, we expect to seeadjusted EPS grow by an average of at least 10% per year.
As always our EPS expectations assume normal weather andmark our currently open positions to the current forward curves. We alsoexclude the effect of adopting new accounting standards, if any, and themark-to-market effective non-qualifying hedges neither which could bedetermined at this time.
Our outlook for sustained high EPS growth will naturallyraise the question about the implications for the dividend. While the dividenddecision is of course one that the board will make, our current thinking isthat the company is well positioned to offer more rapid dividend growth than wehave seen in the past.
Because of our growth profile, our capital investments needsare substantial and so we want to maintain a moderate payout ratio, but a dividendgrowth rate of about 8% appears to us to be a reasonable balance between immediateshareholder return and supporting the continued growth of the business.
Let me now provide a little more detail around the driversof our growth expectations starting with the 2007 to 2008 bridge for FloridaPower & Light. Broadly speaking, we look for a normal year of growth fromFPL with the positive effects of regular revenue growth and AFUDC being partiallyoffset by modestly rising cost levels. On the revenue side, we expect about 5%volume growth or 3% on a weather adjusted basis and we will also see the fullyear impact of Turkey Point 5, which will add about 1% to base revenues.Construction projects, most notably the West County combined cycle units, willadd to AFUDC and environmental capital projects and some of our fossilfacilities will contribute to earnings through the environmental clause. As aremainder, prudent environmental investments are entitled to recovery at a fairof rate of return through the environmental clause.
We anticipate O&M growth of about 6% with the primarydrivers being continued cost pressures in nuclear, employee costs and anincrease in the number of plant fossil unit outages. Depreciation, interest andother factors will grow roughly inline with the general growth of the businesswith additional modest increases due to the full year impact of Turkey Point 5.
The FPL bridge for 2008 to 2009 looks broadly similar. AFUDCwill grow with spending on generation projects, primarily the West County combined cycle units due toenter service in 2009 and 2010. The first West County unit is due to enter serviceduring the period of the existing rate agreement and therefore is expected tobring with it a base rate adjustment, thus contributing to revenue growth.Depreciation expense will increase a little more rapidly, reflecting thecontinued growth of the business and the introduction of West County Unit I. Otherdrivers will be roughly the same as from 2007 to 2008. All this should lead toanother year of moderate growth.
As you know, Florida Power & Light's rate agreementcomes to an end at the end of 2009 and this will us an opportunity to resetbase rates for 2010 and beyond to reflect the significant capital expendituresthat we have been and will be continuing to commit to the business during thisfixed rate agreement.
Turning to the earnings growth outlook for FPL Energy, thischart shows the bridge from 2007 expectations to 2008. Not surprisingly thestory is one primarily of growth from new asset additions, but with additionalgrowth anticipated from the existing portfolio and from related marketing andtrading activities, the opportunities for which grow along with the overallgrowth in the business.
These positives will be partially offset by the cost of a growingbusiness, primarily increased interest expense and increased G&A. Of course,the growth in these itself is a function of our success with the growth plan overalland they can be relatively easily scaled to match the level of success we havein building the portfolio.
The $0.07 to $0.11 of growth from the existing portfolio isa function of a number of smaller parts. In 2008, we still have a certainamount of built-in momentum from the roll-off of older and lower priced hedgesand forward capacity pricing in key markets primarily in New England,is a bit stronger. Together these would account for roughly $0.20 of growth. Offsettingthese and some smaller positives will be the fact that 2008 is an outage yearfor Seabrook which 2007 was not, as well as the roll-off of some favorablepricing on older contracted assets.
Turning finally to the 2008 to 2009 bridge for FPL Energy.Again, we expect the primary driver of growth to be new asset additions. Atthis stage, we anticipate little if any growth in the existing portfolio in2009 for a combination of reasons. In 2009, we'll have outages at Seabrook,Duane Arnold and Point Beach.We also have plans for this time period some significant work on some of thefossil units. 2009 will be the firstyear where the roll-off of PTCs and all the wind projects has any impact. Wethink it is a testament to the strength of the business that despite thesecombined effects, the existing portfolio still shows the potential formaintaining its earnings power while being positioned for return to growth in2010 and beyond.
Before closing, let me address potential drivers ofvariability in our results. As always, I urge you to consult our SEC filingsand the risk factors described in our cautionary statement attached to thispresentation for a fuller discussion of risks. My comments here relate only toa subset of the possible reasons while actual reported results might be differentfrom our current expectations.
In the appendix, we have included what I refer to as ourplus and minus charts which show somekey sensitivities. With the chart shown here I'd like to address hedging andcommodity price exposure and try and explain some refinements to our thinkingabout communicating with you on this topic.
Last January we introduced a slightly modest and moredetailed description of our commodity exposure and we have built on that here. AsFPL Energy's business has grown and become more complex, it has become lesseasy to speak simply of the percentage of the portfolio that it has hedged orunhedged. In fact, we do not think it is meaningful to think about a singlemeasure of the exposure of the entire business since it is made up from verydifferent pieces.
For these purposes it is useful to think of FPL Energy'sportfolio in three broad categories:
First, the existing portfolio of physical assets withvarying degrees of contract coverage and hedging and varying degrees ofexposure to different commodity prices.
Second, new assets primarily wind for the next couple ofyears, which for the purposes of these charts are defined as assets not in theportfolio as of December 31st of this year.
Third, non-asset based activities, which are driven by ourmarketing and trading capability.
The nature of the exposure to commodity prices in thesethree categories is somewhat different. Please note also that the definition ofnew assets here is different from what we use when reporting quarterly resultsand on the previous bridge charts for which purposes we used an approachsimilar to the same-store sales concept often used in retail businesses.
The first category is relatively straightforward. Thesensitivity of existing assets to commodity prices can be roughly thought of interms of the percent of expected gross margin that is covered by a contract oris hedged and the two basic types of exposure in our portfolio are to naturalgas and to spot spreads. For these purposes we have grossed up wind productiontax credits to equivalent pre-tax values for comparability, so the equivalentgross margin measure is not a normal accounting measure. Obviously PTCs onexisting projects do not have commodity risk.
We have also included our share of expected revenues, net offuel costs, for equity method investments to put these projects on a comparablebasis. As you can see the existing portfolio is heavily hedged for 2008 withmore than 90% of our expected gross margin from this category protected againstcommodity price volatility.
The third category -- that is the non-asset based businesses-- is also relatively straightforward. In general, FPL Energy's non-asset basedactivities of which wholesale forward requirements is the most notable areindependent of specific levels of commodity prices. A more useful way ofthinking about these activities when thinking about the potential variabilityof their contribution to a particular year's expected earnings is to considerhow much of the expected gross margin associated with them will come from dealsthat are already executed i.e., in backlog as opposed to deals that have yet tobe originated.
As youcan see for 2008 32% of the margin we expect from this category of activitiesis associated with deals already on the books. Of course this does not meanthere is no uncertainty about these gross margin dollars; we must still executeeffectively and many other risk factors beyond commodity prices come into play.But it does mean that the origination effort has been successfullycompleted.
As a general guide, we would expect these kinds ofactivities to add about 5% to 10% to the FPL Energy portfolio gross margin, andto enter a year with about one-quarter to one-third of our expected activityand backlog. This was the case going into 2007 and it also the case going into2008.
The middle category, the newer assets, can be a little morecomplex. For a new contracted wind project that has past all its developmenthurdles, it is easy to determine the commodity exposure. But for many new windprojects particularly those a couple of years out it is much less so. We managea development portfolio with many different projects in different states ofdevelopment at any point in time. If one project slips in its developmentschedule, it is likely that another would be a little ahead thus the commodityexposure of a wind development portfolio is not obvious. Clearly a higher powerpricing environment makes a new wind project relatively more attractive but therelationship is not as clear as, for example, the impact of an extra $1 permegawatt hour on Seabrook's margins.
For the purposes this chart we assumed that PTCs on futureprojects are independent to commodity prices and we have made rough assumptionsabout the mix of likely wind projects and particularly the percentage thatwould be PTA-type deals.
As you can see from the chart on this basis roughly 40% ofthe expected growth margin is protected from commodity price volatility, but werecognize that different assumptions could cause this figure to vary somewhat.
Perhaps more important, we believe the bigger driver to beconsidered for this category is development success. While a higher commodityprice environment certainly enhances our odds of meeting our volume goals, itis by no means the most important factor.
As you can also see from this chart, the equivalent grossmargin contribution from this category to 2008 expected results is modest, asyou would expect. This is a function of the fact that projects that are not inthe portfolio at the beginning of the year are likely to come in late in theyear, and thus contribute little to that year's results.
The 2008 wind program is much more important for 2009expected results, and so on. Because the nature of these three categories isquite different, we do not think it is meaningful to try and use a singlemeasure to capture a hedging for the entire portfolio.
This chart provides the same information as the previous onefor FPL Energy's 2009 positions. As you can see, about 80% of our expectedequivalent gross margin from existing assets is hedged, and the mostsignificant open positions are with spot spread sensitive assets. In prioryears, we have typically hedged out underlying gas exposure a bit further thanspot spread exposure, and this is still true today, largely owing to our beliefand experience that the greater depth and liquidity of the gas market makesforwards based on gas prices more reliable as indicators of a fair level offuture prices.
Not surprisingly, the expected contribution from new assets,which to repeat for these charts means assets not in the portfolio as of theend of 2007, is much larger. But, because most of this is wind projects, andbecause of the nature of wind economics, the exposure of this expected marginto commodity prices remains proportionally similar to 2008.
Finally, again as you would expect very little of thenon-asset based business activity that we expect to realize in 2009 is inbacklog today. Our activities in this area, both wholesale and retail tend tobe conservative, and among other characteristics the tenure of the book ofbusiness is typically quite short. Most of the activity is originated in a yearfor delivery and settlement within the same year.
Again, I would note that our growth plans call for thesekinds of activities to grow roughly in line with the overall growth of theportfolio. Historically, they have consistently delivered an increment of about5% to 10% to the equivalent gross margin of the asset portfolio and we expectthem to continue to do so in the future.
Summing up therefore, we are pleased with 2007 performanceto-date and also closed the year at the high end of the range we set up for youat this time last year. We have solid plans in place which we expect to yieldcontinue strong growth for 2008 and 2009, the drivers of which are clear andthe range of variability readily understandable.
We remain well positioned for longer term, with what webelieve are the right exposures to the likely fundamentals of commodity pricesand the important issue of global climate change. We are confident that achievingaverage adjusted EPS growth of at least 10% from 2006 through 2012 as arealistic expectation.
With that, we will believe happy to take your questions.
Your first question comes from John Kiani - Deutsche Bank.
John Kiani - DeutscheBank
Moray, can you talk a little bit about your current level ofinterest in pursuing some sort of a separation or spin or monetization of aportion of the wind business, especially in light of some of the activity in Europethat's obviously fetched some very attractive valuations? I know you'vementioned it before obviously.
Moray P. Dewhurst
By way of an update of our thinking, the bottom line is, ourthinking remains really where it has been, so let me just reiterate that. Theway we operate our businesses, they are real operational linkages between thewind and solar portfolios and all other aspects of generation. So, there wouldbe some real costs incurred in separation, a real loss of value as well asincremental cost obviously in creating a separate entity. Before we would bewilling to undertake that we've to be convinced that the gain from such aseparation would more than offset the loss of value.
To-date, we have not been convinced that there would be thatmuch fundamental value creation. Here we are most concerned with making surethat whatever the effect of a partial spin might be that it flows value back toexisting shareholders, not simply create a good trading platform in the newentity, but has to create value for existing shareholders.
We spent a lot of time looking at historical examples ofseparations everywhere from partial to full. Simply at this stage have not beenconvinced that we can reliably count on enough, what I would call value flowbackto more than offset the real cost increments to the business.
At the same time, we have not by any means ruled it out as afuture possibility, and one thing that we did indicate earlier in the year isthat we were going to be looking with great interest that [inaudible] partialIPO when it occurs to see how that trades and see if we can develop anyadditional information from that.
We really haven't changed that view, I think its still makessense based on everything that we see today, but as I said, that doesn't ruleout possible changes in that view in the future.
John Kiani - DeutscheBank
As far as development is concerned, do you have any interestor is it possible for you to invest in wind outside of the USin other markets?
Moray P. Dewhurst
It's certainly possible, we certainly have interest. We haveactually for the last couple of years spent quite a bit of time evaluating windprojects in Europe. But frankly, we at the moment thatwe just see a more attractive opportunities for us in the US, given that we areessentially growing the capability in the business as rapidly as we canconsistent with maintaining very effective level of profitability we reallywant to go up to the most attractive opportunities first and we have more thanenough for those keep our plate very full here in the US.
So, it certainly doesn't preclude the possibility of usgoing elsewhere in the future, but at least for the short term, as I said we'revery happy with the opportunities that in front of us in the US.
We'll go next to Greg Gordon - Citigroup.
Greg Gordon -Citigroup
You have given sort of rough rule of thumb based on yourcurrent sort of point of view on wind economics and how you finance your windbusiness as to the earnings accretion from every 100 megawatts of windadditions. Is there in fact a number out there and what is it?
Moray P. Dewhurst
We said that every 100 megawatts, you can figure an averageof sort of a penny to a penny and a half of accretion averaged over the firstfew years of the project's life. There is quite range in that obviously dependsin part on how we finance it, what type of project it is, but that's areasonable range.
Greg Gordon -Citigroup
When I look at the '08 and the '09 earnings drivers forFPLE, you are targeting 1100 megawatts in '08 and 1500, 1600 megawatts in 09'. So by that math you are looking ataccretion of about $0.15 to $0.20 in '08 and $0.25 to $0.30 in '09 but the newinvestment driver for '07 to '08 and'08 to '09 is materially higher thanthat. What explains the delta if it's all wind?
Moray P. Dewhurst
You can't just take that penny to a penny and a half andapply it the way you are applying, because there is a specific timing of whenthe new projects come in. That math doesn't work; you're going to have to do itslightly differently. In the interest of everybody else's time, I can take youthrough that separately.
Greg Gordon -Citigroup
In '08 probably a part of it is the nuclear plant additionwhich is a new investment?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Both '08 and '09. Point Beach is showing up in the newcategory.
Greg Gordon -Citigroup
We would subtract Point Beach from the new investmentsnumber, but if we could walkthrough that offline that would be great. I am sureit's an easy explanation, but the driver seems to be higher than what the ruleof thumb would suggest.
Moray P. Dewhurst
It's a little bit of a complicated sort of laying out of thenumbers. It's conceptually simple, but I prefer to do it separately.
Greg Gordon -Citigroup
When you look at your earnings aspiration in aggregateobviously there is review out there somewhere in the distant future in '09. Sowhen you look at your posted 2010 earnings aspirations what types of equityreturns and capital structures do you assume or ranges of potential returns andcash structures do you assume you will be able to earn at FP&L?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Let me take the capital structure first. We have maintaineda very consistent structure at FPL for many, many years., certainly longer thanI have been around and it has served as well, and I see no reason why thatwould change going forward. On the actual return, I think all I would say isthat Florida as a jurisdiction has historically provided the opportunity forwell-managed companies to earn a little bit above the nationwide average rateof return and we see no reason why that would not be the case going forward.
We will go next to Leslie Rich - Columbia Management.
Leslie Rich - Columbia Management
I wondered if you could walk through the non-asset-basedbusinesses with a little bit more detail? I am not sure I understand what's inthat bucket. And then as you look at your contribution from I guess you call ittrading and asset optimization, strategically has your approach to that changedat all? How do you look at that?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Well let me take the second part of that first.Strategically it hasn't really changed, not greatly although it would benon-asset based businesses now include the retail operation in Texas,which of course was not true a few years ago.
But me talk a little bit about what we call the non-assetbase businesses. This is really an umbrella term to capture everything that isbased on the core marketing and trading capability that we have built up to beable to handle the risk positions that are inherent in the physical assets.Once you have that capability it sort of automatically provides you opportunitiesbeyond just what the assets themselves bring along.
The biggest single area for us particularly this year is ourwholesale requirements business which has been growing reasonably steadily overthe last few years. That is a business that we got into because we knew a gooddeal initially about the New England market andsubsequently expanded to other markets, typically where we have assets althoughnot necessarily so. It is in a sense a freestanding business even though itsexistence hinges on capabilities that were developed in connection with runningthe assets.
There was also a small amount of just pure spec tradinginvolved in there, again once you have a significant position in a market andyou have an information based sort of automatically provides you certainopportunities to take limited positions.
The three big ones, I would note in the non-asset basecategory, wholesale requirements, the retail business, and then pure spectrading. This pure spec trading can range anything from just arbitragingreal-time day ahead markets to trading around transmission nodes those kinds ofthings.
Collectively if you look back over five to six years ofhistory, the sum of those kinds of activities even though the specificactivities themselves have changed, the sum of those activities has contributedan increment of about 5% to 10% beyond the gross margin that we just extractfrom the assets themselves. So, as the portfolio builds we have beenconsistently building our capability and exploiting it in these other areas.
So the growth plant calls for essentially a continuation ofthat again keeping it roughly in the same proportion as the rest. We're notchanging our overall risk profile. We're not planning to build a largestandalone trading platform, but as that overall portfolio grows there are justmore opportunities in absolute terms for these kinds of activities.
Leslie Rich - Columbia Management
What is your outlook for the retail business? Do you plan tojust stay in Texas. Are youadding customers, are you trying to grow it or is it just sort of added growth?
Moray P. Dewhurst
No the business is growing. It's done quite well. We'llcontinue to grow it, but I guess the best way to say it is it will be acontrolled growth consistent with the existing market structure in Texas.I think there is a significant opportunity for a relatively small or handful ofrelatively small share of players to make money given the market structure, butI don't think it's a market where you want to effectively challenge the marketleaders shall we say.
We'll go next to Dan Eggers - Credit Suisse.
Dan Eggers - CreditSuisse
Can we just talk a little bit about the implications oflanguage floating around Congress as part of the Energy Bills as far aspotential for a national RPS standard, potential for renewable energy credit ona national basis, what that would mean for your existing fleet and how youcontract forward construction programs?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Historically we have been really more in favor of lettingstates decide what they wanted to do in the way of RPS. Over the time there hasbecome a lot more activity and it's become lot more diverse and it has changedour view to the point that we are now supportive of a national renewableportfolio standard.
The reason we've really changed is because what has grown upis a bit of a patchwork quilt with different definitions, different categorieswhich is probably not the most efficient way at the national level of movingthe country where we think it needs to go in order to help address the climatechange issue. We do believe that theprimary importance of renewable energy in a power sector is to support climatechange issue.
So, at this point we believe it would be more efficient tohave a national system which would have a single definition that can beuniformly traded everywhere. But whether that is a practical proposition atthis stage is certainly something that we could debate.
As a business, we're certainly quite prepared to continue tooperate in the existing patchwork quilt environment obviously we havesuccessful in that. I think we would probably have a little more upside in auniform national market.
Lewis Hay
Dan, I just want to add a point though, we have to berealistic about what the targets are for a national program, and some of theproposals that floating around up there are in our opinion, unreasonablyaggressive.
Dan Eggers - CreditSuisse
Any desire to comment on what unreasonable was?
Lewis Hay
I just prefer not to comment on that at this point, but justto point out, how much renewables would be required in a pretty short period oftime under the current proposals. So, I think the targets either have to berelaxed or the definition of what's renewable has to be expanded.
I would say the other point we have on that is, you don'twant to start slicing it, whatever the requirement is and saying for instancethat, if the target is 15% by a certain date that 5% of that has to be solar orsomething like that, we can't put it onto constraints, just given geographiclimitations.
Dan Eggers - CreditSuisse
Jim, could you comment on pricing economics for new windprojects as we see more of the Europeans come into the USwith presumably a low cost of equity, it seems. Are project economics changing atall at this point?
Jim Robo
Dan, we remain pretty comfortable with the returns thatwe're seeing in the projects that we're developing. You have to remember, wehave a very large scale advantage from adevelopment standpoint, relative to our competitors here in the US.We have been working very hard to capture more of the wind value chain in ourprojects. We are very comfortable with the economics that we're seeing.
So, I think the short answer is our wind project economicsare strong or stronger now than they ever have been.
Moray P. Dewhurst
Dan, let me see if I can tie a couple of those responsestogether for you. One of the key things that led us to the 8,000 to 10,000program was the realization that the market opportunity here is just growing.It is larger than perhaps we had previously anticipated.
So I think in the context of impact on margins, that's oneof the reasons why we're not seeing any noticeable trend in margins, becausethere is plenty of room for a number of competitors to play.
At the same time, that is to Lewis comments about being realistic about the RPS standards. Thatmarket expansion is consistent with State Level RPS targets that we're alreadyseeing today. I think it actually tiesin very neatly with what Lew said. There is a limit to how much we collectivelyas an industry can do in any given period of time. If we try to force muchbeyond that, all we will do is end up incurring a lot of extra cost withoutactually creating a lot of additional renewable energy in a given time periodor avoiding carbon emissions.
So, it's perfectly possible to have a very, very healthyrate of growth for the renewable space overall without going to extremes on thespecific targets for the national renewable portfolio standard.
Our next question will go to Ashar Khan - SAC Capital.
Ashar Khan - SACCapital
Could you tell us what kind of ROE we will be at FPL in2009, based on your projections roughly?
Moray P. Dewhurst
At the moment what we are looking at is probably a littlebelow 10%.
Ashar Khan - SACCapital
Moray, you mentioned in your remarks that as part of the Florida'sgreen initiative you were looking at solar and other energy efficiency measureson green. How do you contemplate getting the return on that CapEx? I justwanted to get an understanding of where that was and how does the company get areturn on those spendings, apart fromthe rate deal or separate from the rate deal or how is it being anticipated aswe look forward?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Right. Well, obviously going to depend on what the specificinvestments are because some are already covered under the existing regulatoryframework. For example, capital investments in energy efficiency programs arerecovered with a return through the conservation clause. So, there is already aframework that exists for that. That doesn't preclude the possibility ofotherwise thinking about that going forward, but at least at the moment wealready have that that piece of the framework in place.
On things like renewable energy, again there is an existingframework which is the resource planning process that the state employs, andany new generation that came in under the existing rate agreement would beentitled to its generation base rate adjustment. So, right now there is aframework that accommodates anything that might be contemplated.
For example the 2008 test year would then get rolled into2009 rate resetting process. So, there is an existing framework and again itdoesn't preclude the possibility that there might be changes to that framework.
For example, in implementing the governor's target of arenewable portfolio standard the PSC has been charged with examining that issueand looking at possible different rules that might help encourage utilities tobe able to retain that standard. We don't yet know what may come out of thatprocess. But certainly there is a possibility for some change to that frameworkso we are particularly supportive of renewable development.
Ashar Khan - SACCapital
When do you expect those CapEx to be put into the budget,what -- when should be we looking?
Moray P. Dewhurst
There is some in '08 budgets, but it will start really tobuild in '09 and '10.
Ashar Khan - SACCapital
If I can just end up, in your opening remarks you mentioned'09 FPL Energy had a negative from PTCs rolling off, could you quantify howmuch that is?
Moray P. Dewhurst
I think it's in the order of $10 million.
We will next to Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates.
Paul Patterson -Glenrock Associates
I just want to ask you about the four capacity markets inNew England , with the auction coming up I know the results in terms of thefinancial impact it might be not exactly completely within the timeframe thatyou guys are providing earnings guidance, but could you just give a little bitof flavor as to what you see there now that we are getting closer to thatauction and what the potential impact might be for you guys?
Jim Robo
First of all, I would say it's not getting any easier tobuild power plants anywhere in the country, but particularly in the Northeast.
Secondly you are right any results from this upcomingauction really will have only a few months of impact in the '09 guidance wehave given you, it's really more of a 2010 and beyond type of impact. We feellike the markets are, we feel like this is a favorable and positive developmentand we expect auction to clear at a number that is higher than the currentfixed price numbers.
We will see. It is going to depend a lot on how manyprojects come out of the wood work and bid into the auction, but I thinkfundamentally it's not very easy to develop right now in the Northeast. I think this will be a positive earningsdriver for us out in the next decade.
Paul Patterson - GlenrockAssociates
The ISO New England has put out those same statements thatthere is 17,000 megawatts. I mean, obviously a very large number that couldtheoretically be available to it. When you are looking at this, what do yourealistically think might show up in the form of new capacity? I mean, can yougive us any flavor on that?
Moray P. Dewhurst
No, Paul. We have a view it's not a view given that it'sgoing to be an auction and we may or may not be participating in it. I am notreally in a position to give you exact numbers around what our view is, what sgoing to be available and what we think is actually going to happen in themarket.
Paul Patterson -Glenrock Associates
Okay, fair enough. Finally on offshore versus onshore wind,have you guys seen a difference with respect to response that we have seen, Imean obviously we had the [Lippa] situation, but there is also been some otherstuff that's happened with other developers that maybe indicate a little moreresistance to offshore. Are you guys seeing that, or is that just sort ofanecdotal stuff?
Jim Robo
First of all, offshore in the USis challenged by fundamentally by two things: one is none of the manufacturershave ever manufactured an offshore wind turbine for the USmarket. There needs to be a real demand in the USfor offshore wind before; it's a bit ofa chicken and egg issue there. But there needs to be a real demand out therefor offshore wind before any of the manufactures are going to step up to theplate and do the R&D and tooling and all the things you need to do in orderto produce offshore wind turbine for the USmarket. That's a challenge.
The second piece of it is that many of the cost associatedwith offshore winds have been escalating very quickly outside the tower and turbine.There are significant steel and EPC and marine costs that you're competing in aglobal market for those things and other industries such as the oil and gasindustry that really put a lot of inflationary pressure on those costs. So, Ithink overall offshore wind economics are very challenged relative to onshore.
Moray P. Dewhurst
But, let me just add that that's been our view of offshorewind in the US for sometime, now, we just don't see a major opportunity anywhere comparable to the onshore opportunity at least for a long time. So, ourinterest has been strictly limited by specific projects particularly where wemight have an existing strong customer relationship.
The offshore sector has not been something that we havereally focused on. There are plenty of opportunities for us onshore, theeconomics are much better. It just makes a whole lot of sense for this countryto focus on exploiting its best onshore resources first. So, there is a longway to go before we really frankly need to go offshore.
We will have our final question from Daniele Seitz - DahlmanRose.
Daniele Seitz -Dahlman Rose
I just was wondering if you had any estimates on solarconstruction in terms of capacity factor and how does that compare to wind power?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Daniele could I ask that we get back to you separately onthat?
Daniele Seitz -Dahlman Rose
Moray P. Dewhurst
The answer is, it depends on a great many different factors.We can give you some reasonable ranges for different types of technologies indifferent situations.
Daniele Seitz -Dahlman Rose
Does it compare to wind easily or is it a totally different world?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Well, it's a very different type of resource. Bottom linethough at least in the UScontext even the best solar projects are still well off the typical good windprojects. So, it's still got a long ways to go. But the answer to your questionis, we're happy to tackle it, but it will take a little bit longer.
Daniele Seitz -Dahlman Rose
In terms of the schedule of the 10 gigawatts you're planningon the wind side, if you wanted to extrapolate to further years out it isroughly a maximum of 2,500 ayear, given the logistics, do you feel? Or do you feel that number is not themaximum, you can do more than that?
Moray P. Dewhurst
Daniele, at this stage I don't think we are in a position tosay what a maximum might be. Let me tell you what is baked into that.Essentially what we are doing is taking a development and construction systemthat's capable of delivering about 1,000 megawatts a year today and scaling it up to one that's capable ofdelivering roughly twice that in that five or six-year period. What we might beable to do beyond that, obviously, if we continue to grow if the marketscontinue to be attractive, but that is just too far out for us to say. In factwe were talking about doubling our throughput capability.
James von Riesemann
Thank you everyone. That concludes today's conference call.
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text: Any musicians in the house? Nov 25, 2010 10:21:54 GMT -8 Quote Select PostDeselect PostLink to PostMemberGive GiftBack to Top Post by Horned Gramma on Nov 25, 2010 10:21:54 GMT -8 My high school band teacher always said that if you play multiple instruments, you won't play any of them well. That said, your dear old Horned Gramma is at least proficient at the accordion, piano, saxophone, oboe and bassoon. Anyone else?


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A researcher who later pleaded guilty to a federal crime in the trapping of jaguar Macho B was working for Arizona Game and Fish at the time of the capture, a state biologist has testified.
Transcripts show that Game and Fish Department biologist Kirby Bristow's 2009 testimony differs markedly from statements made last year by department officials that researcher Emil McCain wasn't working for their agency at the time of the Feb. 18, 2009 capture.
McCain, now 32, of Patagonia, pleaded guilty last May to capturing the jaguar in violation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act. He admitted ordering another researcher to put jaguar scat at the snare site where Macho B was ultimately captured. Jaguars use scents to communicate, and female jaguar feces may attract male jaguars.
McCain was fined $1,000 and put on five years' probation, during which he is forbidden from working on large cat research in the United States.
Bristow ran the research project during which the jaguar was captured, studying black bears and mountain lions near the Mexican border. McCain had worked for that project as a subcontractor in fall 2008; In February 2009 he was back at the scene of the study, opening snares hoping to catch more lions.
The question is: for whom?
Bristow testified twice during an internal Game and Fish investigation of Macho B's capture that in February 2009, McCain was working for the bear-lion project and would have received money from the department under certain conditions. A Game and Fish spokesman, however, said recently that despite Bristow's testimony, there was no contract or agreement between McCain and the department during February 2009.
"We maintain steadfastly that Emil wasn't an agent or working for Game and Fish. That's a statement we would raise our right hand and go before a judge with," Game and Fish spokesman Jim Paxon said.
Paxon said McCain - who has not talked to the press about the jaguar capture since March 31, 2009 - was working for a nonprofit research team, the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project, at the time of the capture.
McCain's relationship with Game and Fish during the capture has been an issue twice. Last year, the U.S. Interior Department Inspector General's Office wrote a report saying that a "Game and Fish subcontractor" - who wasn't named but matched McCain's description - was under criminal investigation for his role in the capture. In April, Janay Brun, a research technician who at McCain's direction put jaguar scat at the site where Macho B was later captured, will defend herself against criminal charges in part by arguing that she was acting under orders from an agent of the state - again, McCain.
Bristow was one of 16 Game and Fish officials to testify in 2009 and early 2010 in the department's Macho B investigation.
In his testimony, another Game and Fish official, large cat biologist Ron Thompson, who helped McCain get his original subcontract with the state on the bear-lion study, echoed Game and Fish administrators' account that no new contract was signed for McCain.
But Thompson made two other statements in his interviews that suggested McCain was tied to Game and Fish at the time of capture. On July 14, 2009, Thompson testified he told McCain he had an obligation to testify in the state investigation because "as a contractor, he took our money, okay and . . . there are unanswered questions and that kind of thing that he needed ... to be available for." McCain did not testify.
Thompson also recalled that he made inquiries to other Game and Fish officials, at McCain's request, to see if McCain, as a state subcontractor, would be covered under some kind of liability clause with the state for his actions in connection with the jaguar capture.
Thompson said he could never get an answer. He said he warned McCain, "Don't ever think that the state can provide you a lawyer if this thing came down. You need to go get the best person you can get."
Thompson retired in November. "It is not appropriate for us at this time to publicly attempt to interpret or speculate about statements in the transcripts, given that the Janay Brun case is in litigation," department spokesman Tom Cadden, said.
The state probe started after a federal criminal investigation of the capture had begun. Neither investigation is finished.
Game and Fish released the transcripts with some redactions after the Arizona Daily Star requested them under the state Public Records Act.
Macho B - the last jaguar known to live in the wild in the United States - was captured in a Game and Fish snare trap north of the Mexican border and west of Nogales. The capture occurred close to an area where the jaguar had previously been photographed by the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project, the group McCain helped lead.
The jaguar was collared and released back to the wild.
Game and Fish officials denied the department had any intent to capture the jaguar, although they later fired a department biologist, Thorry Smith, for what they said was lying to federal officials about Smith's role in the capture.
Smith, McCain and Brun, an employee of the nonprofit group, were all at the scene Feb. 4, 2009, when the snare where Macho B was ultimately captured was opened and jaguar scat was placed there.
The state recaptured Macho B soon after he was released, when the radio collar showed his movements slowing dramatically in the wild. The jaguar was then euthanized March 2, 2009, at the Phoenix Zoo.
An attorney representing Brun, Michael Piccarreta, said he will present evidence at trial showing that it was at the Game and Fish Department's request that McCain was opening snares in February 2009 in the area where Macho B was later captured.
"The state has ultimate accountability" for the capture, said Piccarreta.
Brun will go on trial in April in U.S. District Court here on charges of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Contact reporter Tony Davis at email@example.com or 806-7746.


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