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This winter could end up being one of the coldest the United States has experienced since the 1980s, according to AccuWeather.com chief long-range forecaster Joe Bastardi, who said temperatures are expected to continue to average below normal from the northern and central Plains into the East through at least the middle of next month.

Pennsylvania’s shale plays “are an incredible opportunity” for the job-starved state, according to incoming Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, who declared that he and Gov. Tom Corbett “will send a message that Pennsylvania is open for business.”

Following record-cold December temperatures, AccuWeather.com chief long range forecaster Joe Bastardi said he sees the frigid trend extending coast-to-coast through mid- to late January.

Following record-cold December temperatures, AccuWeather.com chief long range forecaster Joe Bastardi said he sees the frigid trend extending coast-to-coast through mid- to late January.

With the announcement late Wednesday that Oregon’s chief regulator was stepping down early, several western states are left with new regulatory slots to fill in the new year, including California and Arizona. In most cases, the state regulatory panels will enter 2011 with vacant seats.

The borough council of Ford City, PA, about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Armstrong County, is considering a proposal from EXCO Resources Inc. to lease nearly 300 acres of borough land for Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations.

The former chief of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), who was ousted in October by Gov. David Paterson, has joined an environmental conservation group that has questioned the state’s ability to regulate shale gas extraction.

Natural gas prices will be rising over the coming four years, but it won’t be by leaps and bounds, Deutsche Bank’s chief energy economist said Thursday.

Natural gas prices will be rising over the coming four years, but it won’t be by leaps and bounds, Deutsche Bank’s chief energy economist said Thursday.