Death of Ashley Turton...Arkancide meets the Chicago way?

Nachum | 1/10/11 | Nachum

[Nachum]

Things that make you go Hmmmmmm...

First, the Tuscon shooting. An anti-immigration Judge just happens to be in the line of fire

Ashley Turton, a former senior aide to Rep. Rosa DeLauro and an energy company lobbyist is ‘burned in her car’. The car just happened to ‘crash into the garage of a home in the 800 block of A Street SE....When the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered Turton’s body inside the car”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/10/ashley-turton-dead-car_n_806780.html

And today, there was a deal that just happened to get done...

Deal Profile: Duke, Progress Agree to $13.7 Billion Deal

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/01/10/deal-profile-duke-progress-agree-to-137-billion-deal/

Business Lunch: Duke Energy creates largest U.S. utility with Progress Energy purchase

http://business.blogs.starnewsonline.com/12344/business-lunch-duke-energy-creates-largest-u-s-utility-with-progress-energy-purchase/

Duke Energy Corp. said Monday it would buy Progress Energy Inc. for nearly $14 billion in stock, bidding to become the largest U.S. utility at a time of steep costs to build nuclear-generating plants as well as sluggish growth in the economy.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/duke-buying-progress-energy-for-nearly-14-billion-2011-01-10?siteid=rss&rss=1&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter...

If this deal is approved, the combined company would have the third largest fleet of nuclear power plants in the country

The agreement is the latest in a string of utility deals. In November, PPL Corp. bought Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities from Germany’s E.On. In December, Dynegy Inc. agreed to be acquired by Icahn Enterprises. Also last year, First Energy Corp. agreed to acquire Allegheny Energy Inc. while Northeast Utilities agreed to buy NStar, though those deals have yet to be completed.

http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2011/01/10/D9KLFIHG0_us_duke_progress_energy/index.html

Progress Energy monitors tritium leak at NC site (December 13, 2010 )

http://www2.wnct.com/news/2010/dec/13/progress-energy-monitors-tritium-leak-nc-site-ar-614693/

Progress Energy just happens to be in Obama’s Hawaii... http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101125_Isles_see_progress_on_clean_energy.html

And the fun begins with Soros...

Aug 18, 2010 ... George Soros initiated holdings in Progress Energy Inc.. His purchase prices were between $37.67 and $40.53

http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=104968

Sep 21, 2010 ... Soros plans to become involved in climate issues ... he was also the force behind Center for American Progress, and its Climate Progress effort.

http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/21/great-news-soros-to-push-clima

Soros holds Ford Motor, Duke Energy, El Paso (natural gas), Encana (Canada, natural gas), BPZ Resources (oil and gas, no relation to BP, which he does not hold), Hess, Anadarko Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, smaller amounts of Chesapeake Energy, Apache and Marathon Oil.

http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/examiner-the-washington-dc/mi_8118/is_20101031/george-soros-funding-war-fox/ai_n56191728/

Did the poor girl, (or her husband) try and rat out on the Chicago Mob? The dirty deal that sold Duke Energy to Progress Energy. Progress energy just happened to go ‘green’ last fall. Fired hundreds of employees. Just in time to take over the Energy industry and full ‘ol Georgee’s pockets?

Arkancide meets the Chicago way?

[penelopesire]

Wel..well..well...I knew I would find where Progress got stimulus dollars if I looked:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/10/26/daily24.html

Progress Energy has won $200 million in federal stimulus money to help fund development of a $520 million electric “smart grid” in the Raleigh-based utility company’s Carolinas and Florida territories.

The award was among dozens announced Tuesday by President Barack Obama. All told, the federal government unveiled $3.4 billion in Smart Grid Investment Grants through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

The official government description of the grants says that Progress Energy Service Co. LLC, a Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN) subsidiary, will use the $200 million to help “build a green Smart Grid virtual power plant through conservation, efficiency and advanced load shaping technologies, including installation of over 160,000 meters across its multi-state area.”

Read more: Progress Energy wins $200M in stimulus funds for ‘smart grid’ | Triangle Business Journal

[Nachum]

Which around the time they announced they were going green. Good find.

[browniexyz]

What did Ashley know and when did she know it??

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Wonder who will be the first progressive to blame Palin, the Tea Party and talk radio?

That ship sailed about an hour after the shootings.

[garykfd]

ping for wrk..@ progress energy.. ill spread it out see what pops up

[patriot preacher]

The circumstances, players and stakes ALL add up to MORE than that this was some kind of tragic “accident.” But, really? Any idea on how “Da Chicago Way” arranged for a low-speed car crash and fire that killed the wife of a White House Liaison and a Lobbyist for an energy company about to merge with another to form the largest utility in the nation...?

Suspicious? impossible? outrageous? Unheard of? pish posh...

[proudpapa]

Are you series? This is hugh!

The birds started it!

[jessduntno]

Duke Energy and Progress Energy to Merge

- $26 Billion Transaction Will Create Nation’s Largest Utility with a Combined Enterprise Value of $65 Billion
- Diversified Generation Portfolio in Six Regulated Service Territories
- Transaction Expected to be Accretive to Adjusted Diluted Earnings in First Year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. and RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Progress Energy, Inc. (NYSE: PGN) announced today that both companies’ boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement to combine the two companies in a stock-for-stock transaction. The combined company, to be called Duke Energy, will be the country’s largest utility, with:

* Approximately $65 billion in enterprise value and $37 billion in market capitalization
* The country’s largest regulated customer base, providing service to approximately 7.1 million electric customers in six regulated service territories North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio
* Approximately 57 gigawatts of domestic generating capacity from a diversified mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas, oil and renewable resources
* The largest regulated nuclear fleet in the country.

“Our industry is entering a building phase where we must invest in an array of new technologies to reduce our environmental footprints and become more efficient,” said Jim Rogers, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy. “By merging our companies, we can do that more economically for our customers, improve shareholder value and continue to grow.

“Combining Duke Energy and Progress Energy creates a utility with greater financial strength and enhanced ability to meet our challenges head-on,” Rogers continued.

“This combination of two outstanding companies is a natural fit,” said Bill Johnson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy. “It makes clear strategic sense and creates exceptional value for our shareholders. Together, we can leverage our best practices to achieve even higher levels of safety, operational excellence and customer satisfaction, and save money for customers by combining our fuel purchasing power and the dispatch of our generating plants.

“This merger also provides predictable earnings and cash flows to support our dividend payments to shareholders,” Johnson added.

[Nachum]

Obama Dead pool...

Obama Death List from http://myrightwingdad.blogspot.com/2008/07/fw-obama-death-list.html

[Nachum]

http://www.nachumlist.com/deadpool.htm

[Prince of Space]

Didn’t Progress just have some sort of low level leak last month in NC I believe. Maybe the possible fallout from that (economically, litigation) “induced” them to sell suddenly....

[FromLori]

This is fascinating the first I’ve heard of any of it I was gone so I missed all the news. Very odd her car would just crash. I think you are onto something here. This merger will make them the largest utility in the country and it’s being called the deal of the day.

“Regulators must still approve the transaction. If approved, it would result in the formation of the largest utility in the U.S. with about 7 million customers.”

http://www.wral.com/business/story/8907376/

What do you know about Dominion anything?

Dominion Made Last-Minute Offers to Duke and Progress

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41006128

Deals of the Day: Duke Energy to Buy Progress Energy for $13.7 Billion

http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2011/01/10/deals-of-the-day-duke-energy-to-buy-progress-energy-for-137-billion/

[Nachum]

I know nothing about Dominion. They seem to be a minor player in this game. I suspect the deal has been stuck a while ago, but they probably had to allow them to bid to present the perception of a public bidding process. From what I can see, Dominion made a token effort to stop the deal, but had no chance.

Soros has been pushing this deal, but the details are muddled. Cap and Trade has his fingerprints all over it.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

$200 million for a utility isn’t much...

[penelopesire]

I don’t know why any of our hard earned taxdollars are going to energy companies to ‘go green’ quite frankly. Let the market sort it out.

BTW...the deal today and Soro’s profit on it certainly is alot of money by any standard. I thought the left hated big conglomerate companies? Why didn’t Obama and his cronies in dem circles stop it? I think we know why....they are going to profit from it. Damn hypocrites.

[FromLori]

The Rahm Emanuel Connection to the Deceased Ashley Turton

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/01/rahm-emanuel-connection-to-death-of.html

[Nachum]

Excellent find. Put it up on nachumlist and twitter.

[I_be_tc]

later

[Free Vulcan]

Very interesting.

[FromLori]

It’s getting more interesting..

The ties that bind. Remember Rahm Emanuel’s rent-free D.C. apartment? The owner: A BP adviser

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/06/rahm-emanuel-bp-gul-oil-spill.html