LNG DEAD at WEAVERS COVE ...

Weaver's Cove Spokesman Jim Grasso can spin it any way he wants ... but the writing is on the wall ... the LNG facility at Weaver's Cove is going down in FLAMES.

From the Associated Press ... as first reported by WSAR:

Mass. agency halts review of LNG plant for Fall River
By Ken Maguire, Associated Press Writer June 4, 2007

BOSTON --A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in southeastern
Massachusetts hit another roadblock Monday when state environmental
regulators halted their review of the plan, The Associated Press has
learned.

The state Department of Environmental Protection says it will stop its
review of permit applications by Weaver's Cove Energy and Hess LNG,
citing concerns about the project raised recently by the Coast Guard.

"This situation warrants MassDEP's reassessment of its expenditure of
limited permitting resources on the pending permit applications," Arleen
O'Donnell, acting commissioner, wrote Monday in a letter to Weaver's
Cove Energy.

The proposal for a terminal on the banks of the Taunton River in Fall
River has won approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

But the Coast Guard cited navigational safety, security and
environmental concerns in a May 9 "preliminary assessment."
O'Donnell said if the Coast Guard eventually determines that the
waterway is suitable, the state would resume its review. A final report
from the Coast Guard is expected later this summer.

"While preliminary in nature, the substance and outcome of the Coast
Guard's May 9, 2007, determination represents a significant change in
the overall status of the Weaver's Cove project and casts serious doubt
as to the feasibility of the project," O'Donnell said.

Jim Grasso, a spokesman for Weaver's Cove Energy, expressed confidence
that the state's decision won't stop them.

"This is not an unusual action for an agency to take for a project like
this," he said. "We intend to get approval from the Coast Guard. The
project is moving forward."

Capt. Roy A. Nash, commander of the Coast Guard's southeastern New
England sector, wrote last month that the developers have yet to show
that LNG tankers "can be safely navigated through this waterway on a
consistent, repeatable basis."

Reiterating a concern he raised in March 2006, Nash said 750-foot
tankers would need to perform an "extraordinary navigational maneuver"
to pass through the old and new Brightman Street bridges, which are
about 1,100 feet apart and off-set. The older, smaller bridge has an
98-foot navigational opening. The tankers are 85 feet wide.

Critics fear the LNG terminal could endanger residents in the densely
populated area. They say almost 64,000 people live along the tanker
route. A terrorist strike or accident could be devastating, they warn.
Weaver's Cove Energy, however, argues the Northeast needs the facility
to meet growing energy demands. Some energy analysts have predicted that by 2010 there won't be enough natural gas supply to keep up with the
region's energy needs.

"We are facing brownouts and blackouts in three to five years if these
projects are not built," Grasso said of this and other proposed LNG
facilities.

Yankees Suck

Police looking for suspects in firefighter attack

BOSTON (AP) _ Boston police are looking for four suspects who allegedly beat a firefighter in the city's Charlestown neighborhood Sunday night.
Lieutenant Chris Corwin was helping a truck driver who was backing up near the Sullivan Square fire station when another driver tried maneuvering around the truck.

Corwin asked the driver to wait -- but was told he'd be run over if he didn't move.

Police say that's when four men jumped from the car and began beating and kicking the firefighter. Another firefighter who was also helping the truck driver pulled the men off Corwin, who needed 14 stitches and suffered a broken eye socket.

Authorities describe the four suspects as being in their 20s and wearing New York Yankees hats.

Days After Democrats Debate Republican Talking Points in New Hampshire, Tonight, Republicans Debate Republican Talking Points -- Live on CNN

Ten Republicans who want to be president will take the stage Tuesday night for their first debate in New Hampshire, hoping to make an impression on the voters who will cast ballots in the nation's first primary early next year.

The debate, sponsored by CNN, the New Hampshire Union Leader and WMUR-TV, will begin at 7 p.m. ET in Sullivan Arena on the campus of Saint Anselm College. Democratic candidates mounted the same stage for their first Granite State debate on Sunday.

The Republican presidential prospect one rival calls "Mighty Mouse" won't be at Tuesday's debate, but is nonetheless causing a little tension.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson is already raising money and is said by advisers to be all but certain to formally join the race in early July.
"[It's] what we might call the 'Mighty Mouse' candidacy," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday while campaigning in Concord, New Hampshire's capital city. "You know: 'Here I come to save the day.' And in the end voters are not necessarily looking for Mighty Mouse to fly in -- they are looking for somebody who stands their ground and goes the distance."

State Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen says Thompson is certainly welcome to the race, but he plays down the idea that GOP voters are not happy with the existing field of candidates.

"I think it is insulting to the existing candidates," he said of such talk. "In other words I think it happens every cycle. ... I bet at this time in 1979, Republicans were gathering saying, 'You know this Ronald Reagan fella has been around the track before -- I think his time has passed.' "

A delicate balance

During Sunday's debate, the Democratic presidential candidates tried to outdo each other in heaping opprobrium on President Bush and the Iraq war.

Republican candidates will face a trickier task in trying to put some light between themselves and an increasingly unpopular president without alienating their base.

"I think the biggest problem this field is having -- everybody in the field -- is deciding how much latitude you have in describing your vision of where the country will be four years from now or eight years from now if you're president," said Tom Rath, an adviser to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "There is a Republican president who is still quite popular in the base here."

While critical of the management of the war in Iraq, most of the GOP candidates support the recent troop increase and say the United States cannot leave Iraq until there is a more stable political and security environment.

Clearer differences exist on taxes and spending, immigration and other issues.

The recently passed Senate immigration bill, which Sen. John McCain co-sponsored and Bush supports, has sharply divided Republicans -- a divide likely to emerge on the stage in Tuesday's debate, which includes Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, whose presidential campaign is rooted in his strong opposition to immigration reform.

University of New Hampshire survey director Andrew Smith says he believes the stakes are highest for the long-shot candidates who have to worry about paying the bills as much as winning votes.

"They have to be able to demonstrate to people who are willing to give them money that they are serious candidates and they will be credible candidates at the end of this campaign," Smith said Monday.

The debate field will be rounded out by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in most polls; Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas; Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Duncan Hunter of California; and former governors Jim Gilmore of Virginia, and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin.