Israeli field may supply gas to Egypt facility

JERUSALEM — One of the developers of a natural gas field off Israel's Mediterranean coast on Sunday said it has signed a letter of intent to provide gas to a facility in Egypt.

Delek Drilling said it is negotiating a deal to provide seven billion cubic meters of natural gas from the offshore Leviathan gas field to British company BG's plant in Idku, Egypt, through an underwater pipeline annually for 15 years.

An industry official familiar with the deal said it could be valued at about $30 billion — which would be the largest energy deal in Israel's history. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the deal.

Until recently, Egypt provided natural gas to Israel. But following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, supplies were disrupted and eventually halted.

Last month, Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., one of Delek's partners, reached a preliminary deal to sell up to 2.5 trillion cubic feet of gas annually over 15 years to Union Fenosa Gas SA for its liquefied natural gas facility in Egypt.

Despite a long history of geopolitical conflict with its Arab neighbors, the discovery of large natural gas deposits off its coast has positioned Israel to become a leading energy exporter in the region.

Earlier this year, Noble Energy and its partners signed a deal with Arab Potash Co. and Jordan Bromine Co. in Jordan, and another deal with a Palestinian power company to supply gas to a power plant to be built in the West Bank.

Israel has long relied on imports to meet most of its energy needs. The gas fields are expected to supply Israel's domestic needs for decades and could transform the country into an energy exporter.

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Aereo fades to black ... for now

Internet TV streaming service Aereo temporarily shut down its service yesterday, three days after a devastating U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The company, which is headquartered in New York but has 80 of its roughly 115 employees in Boston, will "pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps," Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said in a letter to customers. Around 11:40 yesterday morning, the service stopped working. Kanojia said customers will be refunded for the last month.

"Aereo could see the writing on the wall," said Rutgers University law professor Michael Carrier.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Aereo violated copyright law by rebroadcasting over-the-air channels to its subscribers without paying retransmission fees to broadcasters as cable companies do.

The Supreme Court could not order Aereo to shut down, instead leaving it up to a lower court to issue a preliminary injunction, as requested by broadcasters.

Instead, Aereo decided to stop operations for now, but insists the company is not shutting down.

"The spectrum that the broadcasters use to transmit over-the-air programming belongs to the American public and we believe you should have the right to access that live programming whether your antenna sits on the roof of your home, on top of your television or in the cloud," Kanojia wrote in the letter.

Aereo could end up licensing its technology, or could be acquired by a company looking to expand its cloud options, said David Shlansky, an intellectual property lawyer.

"They can probably salvage something pretty valuable," he said.

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For sale: Small South Dakota town, bar included

RAPID CIYT, S.D. — A businessman is selling his small, southeastern South Dakota town for $400,000.

Lance Benson is the sole owner of Swett, an unincorporated hamlet in Bennett County about two hours southeast of Rapid City. Benson, who owns a traveling-concessions business, put the town on the market last week.

Benson tells the Rapid City Journal  the town used to have a population of 40 people decades ago, as well as a post office, a few houses and a grocery store.

Now, the town is just a bar, workshop, three trailers and a house. He and his wife still live there.

He says ownership of the town concentrated to a single person over the years. Benson bought it in 1998.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com

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French minister decries planned tourist tax hike

PARIS — French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has blasted plans to raise by more than five times hotel taxes paid by tourists, saying the move would be dangerous for tourism and France's stumbling economy.

Lawmakers from Fabius' Socialist Party initiated two increases in the tourist tax, passed last week in parliament's lower chamber.

If confirmed by the Senate, they could force tourists to spend up to eight euros ($10.90) per night in hotel taxes, instead of 1.50 euros currently, with the price rising with the hotel category. Another increase adds two more euros for Paris region hotels to pay for transport improvements.

Fabius said in a statement Sunday the increases are "dangerous and totally contrary to the promotion of tourism, a priority for jobs." He joins tourist professionals decrying the moves.

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Cruise ship leaves Seattle again following fire

SEATTLE — A cruise ship that returned to Seattle after a fire in its boiler room has left the port again.

Holland America says no one was injured in the fire, and the Coast Guard has declared the vessel safe to continue on its journey to Alaska.

The Westerdam left Seattle around 10:15 a.m. Sunday, with about 3,000 people on board.

Because of the delay, Holland America has revised the 7-day sailing schedule. Passengers will miss their visit to Sitka.

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Churches crucial to casino fight

When the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that voters have a right to decide in November whether to repeal the state's casino law, it was due in no small part to the religious groups that helped gather the signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot.

Now comes the hard part: Getting the repeal passed.

"It's an historic moment," said Kris Mineau, president emeritus of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a nonprofit that plans to mobilize some 500 evangelical churches. "The next four months will be very dynamic. Massachusetts will be a key battleground on the future of casinos."

The Rev. Tim Bogertman, pastor of First Congregational Church in Revere, said it's been a David-and-Goliath fight, but with mixed results. Local residents twice voted in favor of a casino at Suffolk Downs, where Mohegan Sun is competing for the sole Boston-area license. But when Revere's houses of worship joined forces with others across the state and the citizen group Repeal the Casino Deal, the ballot initiative succeeded, even though they were blocked by Attorney General Martha Coakley and outspent by the casinos.

"We may disagree about some faith issues, but we all agree casinos would hurt this state," Bogertman said. "And we have quite a coalition we've been building, having had multiple casino fights across the state."

Earlier this month, at the New England Synod Assembly of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, the Rev. Donald Nanstad, pastor of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in East Boston, introduced a resolution urging all 180 or so congregations to actively support the casino law's repeal. It passed overwhelmingly.

"We'll do the same kind of mobilizing we did," Nanstad said, "when the fight was right in front of our faces in East Boston. It's just talking to your network of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors."

One of the volunteers in the East Boston campaign was Sunha Kim, a 22-year-old Harvard Divinity School masters student.

"I think it's clear the casino industry has a very predatory strategy, and as a theology student, I saw it as an opportunity to right a social wrong," he said.

So Kim and about a dozen other volunteers hit the road, stopping at churches, mosques and synagogues from Springfield to Martha's Vineyard to collect signatures for the casino ballot initiative.

To get out the vote in November, they've assembled a team of Harvard advisers, including Marshall Ganz, one of the strategists behind President Obama's 2008 campaign.

"We're going to apply the same strategy as we did in East Boston," Kim said. "People saw the way churches were organized there. People should expect to see the same happen all across the state."

At Central Assembly of God in East Boston, that meant posting get-out-the-vote reminders in the church bulletin, circulating fliers about the negative impacts of casinos and holding a signature drive for the ballot initiative.

"But it's also something that's happening around kitchen tables, in supermarkets and across neighbor's fences," the Rev. David Searles said. "You look at what we're up against, and there's no way it appears we could win. But we've done it before, and we can do it again."

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Cause of RAV4’s whining noise baffles 3 mechanics

I hope you can help us find out what is causing a loud whining on our 2013 Toyota RAV4. It started a month ago at 9,500 miles and is getting louder. The noise starts at about 55 mph and winds down when we slow down. Three Toyota mechanics drove it and none know what it is.

A quick Internet search turned up a number of posts dealing with a whining noise from newer RAV4s. Many point to a transmission issue, others to a problem with the rear differential. Many express difficulty in having the noise confirmed by the dealer and repaired. My Alldata automotive database pulled up service bulletins covering 2006-2012 RAV4s dealing with a whining noise corrected by replacing the engine insulators/mounts. I also found a bulletin suggesting a "growl" sound caused by contamination of the front bearing in the rear differential coupler.

You might be able to help the dealership pinpoint the origins of the whine with a few simple tests. While the whine is occurring at 55-plus mph, release the throttle so the car begins to slow. As the whine starts to "wind down," shift the transmission into neutral. Does uncoupling the driveline from the wheels change the noise? If so, it's a driveline whine — engine, transmission or differentials.

If not, re-engage the transmission into "D," accelerate back up to road speed where you are hearing the whine, then safely change lanes and back, turning to the left and right. Does turning in either direction change the noise? If so, wheel bearing/hub assemblies are suspect.

If neither of these tests helps, rotate the tires/wheels front to back and retest. If there's a change in noise, it's likely an issue with the tires.

And finally, maintain contact with the dealer asking him and Toyota to continue to investigate this issue.

I have a 2003 Buick that I have to have jump started regularly. I have installed a new battery every year but it does not hold its charge. I've been told to start the car every three to four days but even this doesn't seem to help. What can I do to keep the battery charged?

You've installed 10 new batteries in this car? If so, that's a record! Basically you have three choices: Disconnect the battery while the vehicle is parked, connect a trickle charger or battery maintainer while the vehicle is parked, or find the cause of the battery drain that is discharging the battery. The first two options aren't particularly satisfactory or convenient although they will prevent a dead battery.

I'd suggest having a shop perform a parasitic drain test. Connecting an ammeter or test light between the battery cable and battery with the ignition off will monitor the flow of electricity and identify any excess current flow. Normal would be less than 150 milliamps, which is 1.5 tenths of an ampere. Then, with the meter still connected, remove each fuse and relay one at a time to find the circuit with the excess current draw.

A typical cause for discharging a battery to where the vehicle won't start in roughly three days is a stuck relay or perhaps a small light bulb such as a trunk or glove box light.

How mechanically safe is it to drive using cruise control at 25-35 mph? A friend uses cruise control on streets so she doesn't speed. Does this hurt the car?

I don't think so. Most cruise systems are designed to not engage below a certain speed, typically the 25-30 mph range. But if the system will engage, it won't cause any damage to the vehicle. Personally, I'd be more concerned that with one less thing to monitor and maintain, there would be more opportunity for distraction while driving.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Pillow cuddles kids’ necks

A Framingham chiropractor is making it his mission to save children's necks one pillow at a time.

Kirt Josefek has launched a startup, KidCare, and is selling Kidzooz, a cuddly, plush, animal-shaped neck-supporting pillow designed for children, via a kickstarter campaign.

"You want to try to maintain the curve of the neck when you are sleeping instead of just rocking forward," he said. "I saw the need and I saw there are no other products out there, so I created them."

Josefek, who has owned MetroWest Chiropractic Associates for more than 35 years and was the Boston Celtics' team chiropractor in the 1980s, has seen many children come into his office with stiff necks, often caused by sleeping on adult-sized pillows or oversized stuffed animals that elevate the neck. But he could not find any neck-supporting pillows for kids on the market to recommend.

Josefek came up with the idea for the Kidzooz pillow around three years ago, while resting his head on his dog, Chester, and realizing how good it felt lying down on something soft, cuddly and lovable.

He scaled down a neck-supporting pillow for adults he designed and patented back in the 1980s to child-sized dimensions. The pillow is shaped to cradle the head using a soft polyester micro-denier fiber with foam borders and is covered with a plush exterior shaped like a tiger, panda or dog — like Chester.

"This really is a good pillow for kids. It is something that parents can be happy about when they put their kids to bed," he said.

Josefek hopes to produce other children's products down the road including foot-supportive slippers shaped like hooves and paws.

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Mars 'flying saucer' splashes down after NASA test

LOS ANGELES — NASA has tested new technology designed to bring spacecraft — and one day even astronauts — safely down to Mars, with the agency declaring the experiment a qualified success even though a giant parachute got tangled on the way down.

Saturday's $150 million experiment is the first of three involving the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator vehicle. Tests are being conducted at high altitude on Earth to mimic descent through the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet.

A balloon hauled the saucer-shaped craft 120,000 feet into the sky from a Navy missile range on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Then, the craft's own rocket boosted it to more than 30 miles high at supersonic speeds.

As the craft prepared to fall back to earth, a doughnut-shaped tube around it expanded like a Hawaiian puffer fish, creating atmospheric drag to dramatically slow it down from Mach 4, or four times the speed of sound.

Then the parachute unfurled — but only partially. The vehicle made a hard landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Engineers won't look at the parachute problem as a failure but as a way to learn more and apply that knowledge during future tests, said NASA engineer Dan Coatta with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"In a way, that's a more valuable experience for us than if everything had gone exactly according to plan," he said.

A ship was sent to recover a "black box" designed to separate from the vehicle and float. Outfitted with a GPS beacon, the box contains the crucial flight data that scientists are eager to analyze.

NASA planned to hold a news teleconference on the flight Sunday.

Since the twin Viking spacecraft landed on the red planet in 1976, NASA has relied on a parachute to slow landers and rovers.

But the latest experiment involved both the drag-inducing device and a parachute that was 110 feet in diameter — twice as large as the one that carried the 1-ton Curiosity rover in 2011.

Cutting-edge technologies are needed to safely land larger payloads on Mars, enabling delivery of supplies and materials "and to pave the way for future human explorers," a NASA statement said.

Technology development "is the surest path to Mars," said Michael Gazarik, head of space technology at NASA headquarters.

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Associated Press Science Writer Alicia Chang contributed to this report.

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Harley helps put electric motorcycles in spotlight

PRINCETOWN, N.Y. — When Maggie McNally-Bradshaw and husband Curt hop on their electric motorcycles and twist the throttles, they get a rush like no other.

Or maybe a WHOOSH!

"There is that sense of being at the beginning of something new, and part of our future as far as ecology," said McNally-Bradshaw, chairwoman of the American Motorcyclist Association. "People think it's novel. Then they realize it's powerful stuff. The technology is improving by leaps and bounds. It's coming."

While startups like Zero, Brammo and Mission are producing state-of-the-art electric motorcycles on the West Coast, Harley-Davidson has decided to jump into the fray. The Milwaukee-based manufacturer announced its LiveWire this month and plans to offer demo rides to gauge interest nationwide before going into production.

"We don't see it at all replacing internal combustion," Harley President Matt Levatich said. "I mean, maybe in 100 or 50 years, I don't know. We'll be open to what people want."

Still, while Harley's announcement may not sit well with its core riders, who relish the distinctive rumble of the V-twin engine's exhaust, it might provide the impetus needed for the electric market to take off.

"We had our biggest single day of Internet traffic in the history of the company the day Harley made its announcement," said Scot Harden, vice president of global marketing for Zero Motorcycles, which began in a Santa Cruz, California, garage in 2006 and now is the top seller of full-size, high-powered electric bikes. "It just validates what we've been saying and how it's going to play out in the years ahead."

A recent study by Navigant Research suggests the industry is at the start of a trend. The research company anticipates sales of electric motorcycles worldwide will grow to 1.2 million this year.

No surprise that Yamaha, Honda and KTM also have electric bikes in the pipeline.

"It seems that electric motorcycles are going to be a pretty important mainstay," said Jerry Phibbs Jr., a longtime motorcycle dealer in Albany who sold all four of the Zero bikes on the showroom floor this year. "All of the industry standards say by 2018 it will consist of more than 50 percent of the market. I don't know if I believe that, but it's certainly going to be a major part of it."

Zero expects to sell 2,400 electric motorcycles this year, a fraction of the more than 260,000 conventional motorcycles sold last year alone by Harley. But what has happened to the technology since former NASA engineer Neal Saiki began tinkering in that Santa Cruz garage is impressive.

"When we started, we were hoping to get to the performance of the 125cc race bike," said Craig Bramscher, chairman of Oregon-based Brammo Inc. "Now, we went around Daytona (International Speedway) at 175 mph. We see the path. There's technology there where it starts to exceed the capabilities of the bike to hold the road. We can see that we can pass gasoline in terms of its capability."

Mission's high-end superbike represents the cream of the crop in performance and cost, with a price tag around $29,000. It looks like any gas-powered model, but that's where the similarities end. Cited by Time Magazine as one of the 25 best inventions of 2013, it zooms from zero to 60 in under 3 seconds, has a top speed in excess of 150 mph with a range of 140 miles on the highway and 230 in the city, and has a computer for a dashboard.

"We're as good or better than any gas bike, but we're still expensive," said Mission president Mark Seeger, whose goal is to produce a bike with a 600-mile range so charging time becomes a moot point. "Can we produce a vehicle that is better than anything that came before it and has the same price or cheaper? It's going to happen."

Electric motorcycles are well-balanced and easy to ride because most have direct drive (gears and clutches are optional). There are no tailpipe emissions, no clunking pistons, no crankshaft, no oil leaks, no vibration and virtually no maintenance save new tires and brakes. The average range is well over 100 miles in city driving. (Four years ago, it was about 25 miles.) They plug into regular household outlets for charging that costs under $2. And Zero says its batteries will last over 300,000 miles.

The global marketplace is a target as consumers outside the United States seek relief from high gasoline prices. Zero's SR model gets the equivalent of 462 miles per gallon around town.

"The total cost of ownership will be cheaper soon, very soon, and the upfront cost will be lower as well," Bramscher said. "People will ride them, and then they'll go, 'Oh, my gosh! This is so much fun!'"

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Associated Press Writer M.L. Johnson in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

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Follow Kekis on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/Greek1947

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