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A dozen sites
I'm diggin'

*1. You thought sub-prime lenders were gone? No way! They are making FHA loans.

*2. Salon investigates "Friendly Fire" incident that leads to document shredding.

*3. Just in time for Thanksgiving, PETA posts a video of turkey abuse on a poultry farm.

*4. Seven key questions about a car company bailout.

*5. The Flip Cam has gone HD with a customizable cover.

6. A fun video to help you with digital conversion.

7. ProPublica's investigation into air marshals gone bad.

8. An awesome storm chaser photo blog.

9. Planet Money is a really good blog about money and finance.

10. ESPN's "The Journey of Richard Jensen" -- the comeback of a wrestler -- is an extra good video.

11. You can lay subtitles or text bubbles on video -- any video. I will be using this to teach about storytelling.

12. I now use Utterz to file audio reports. You can use your computer's mic or any phone. It's simple and would be a great reporter's tool.

All of my Diggin' sites are saved on Poynter's del.icio.us page.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.

Reasons Solar May be Ready to Shine

You probably know the president has signed the bill that extends renewable-energy tax credits. It was one of those sweeteners attached to the $700 billion bailout bill.

Fortune blogger Todd Woody says that while supporters of wind and other alternative energy sources got some incentives, solar power is now much more attractive. Here's why:

The 30 percent solar-investment tax credit has been extended to 2016, giving solar startups, utilities and financiers the certainty they need for the years-long slog it takes to get large-scale power plants and other projects online. The extension is particularly important to those big solar projects that need to arrange project financing in the next year or so.
The $2,000 tax credit limit for residential solar systems has been lifted, meaning that homeowners can get a 30 percent tax credit on the solar panels they install after Dec. 31. That will save a bundle -- especially for those who live in states with generous state rebates -- and goose demand for solar panel makers and installers like SunPower and First Solar. (If you buy a $24,000 3-kilowatt solar array in California -- big enough to power the average home -- you can claim a $7,200 federal tax credit. Add in the state solar rebate and the cost of the system is cut in half.)
Utilities like PG&E, Southern California Edison and FPL can now themselves claim the 30 percent investment tax credit for large-scale solar power projects. That should encourage those well-capitalized utilities to build their own solar power plants rather than just sign power purchase agreements with startups like Ausra and BrightSource Energy.

Couple all of this with the fact that many states have tax credits for alternative energy.

Click here to see what states offer.

See more info and stories on the renewable energy tax credits.

Posted at 12:05 AM

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