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Ski area still waiting for snow
Could see record late opening
The Eaglecrest Ski Area (left) could be headed for it's latest opening ever. Eaglecrest had planned to open December 1st but the lack of snow and warm temperatures has delayed the opening. The last time Eaglecrest had a January opening was in 1996 when they weren't able to open until January 13th due to a strong El Nino, according to Business Manager Gary Mendivil. He says the Christmas break is usually a very busy time of year and they'll miss the revenue -- but luckily, he says, over the two previous seasons they've been able to build up the ski areas' savings account and they should be able to weather the financial impact. In 1996 Eaglecrest's Board of Directors adopted a policy on season pass refunds and credits. That policy will take effect this year on January7th. Mendivil says if you want to keep your season pass you'll get credited for the lost days automatically next season and if you want a refund, you should bring your season pass to the Eaglecrest offices after January 7th but before the ski season opens. Once Eaglecrest opens, ski and snowboard lesson programs will be rescheduled.
The current Capitol Building is adequate for the needs of legislators according to Juneau Senator Kim Elton. While a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning, Elton responded to a measure introduced by Anchorage Representatives Joe Green and Norm Rokeberg to move legislative sessions to Anchorage. Rokeberg has said the current building is antiquated and obsolete. Elton says there's a tension between what's perfect and what's functional. Elton says, perhaps, it's not where Bill Gates would have his office, but the building is functional and there have been changes made over the years to accommodate legislators. When the Legislature convenes on Monday, Elton will take a seat on the Senate Finance Committee. He says that will be a significant change for him. Elton says the Finance Committee's tough allocation decisions will limit his time for personal legislation.
Tuesday's nights' high winds knocked out power to some areas of Hoonah. Harbor Master Paul Dybdahl (right) says the winds blew down a tree near the airport terminal building. The tree took wires down and nearly tore a transformer off the pole. Dybdahl says the airport terminal building has not had any lights since early Wednesday morning. The power outage also knocked out KINY's Hoonah translator. Wednesday, repair crews worked on restringing new wires but had to stop work because of darkness before getting a new transformer back up on the pole. Dybdahl says power should be restored today.
The state of Alaska has agreed to pay a former state employee $216,000 to settle a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit. Linda Sharratt -- a former employee in Health and Social Services -- filed the lawsuit in 1999 seeking $1.5-million from the state for allegedly tolerating misconduct by her supervisor in the Division of Public Assistance.
The Coast Guard is warning the public about the dangers of making false mayday calls. A Coast Guard spokesman says its communication center in Juneau received a mayday call on New Year's Day -- partof a rash of recent false maydays and flare sightings. Officials on duty New Year's Day tried to respond to the caller but could not make radio contact. After playing back a recording of the mayday call, officials determined it sounded like a child playing with the radio. Knowingly communicating a false distress message to the Coast Guard can be punished with a prison term of up to 6 years or a fine of up to $5,000. Callers also are liable for all costs the Coast Guard incurs for searches. According to the Coast Guard, the hourly rate for an H-60 helicopter is $4,560 and the hourly rate for a 47-foot motor life boat is $525. A Coast Guard spokesman says false maydays send rescuers into harm's way and pulls them away from real emergencies. The Coast Guard says parents are responsible for false maydays made by children.
The executive director of the Resource Development Council has been appointed Governor Knowles' special assistant for business and gas line development. Ken Freeman formerly worked as press secretary to the Republican majority in the Alaska Legislature. Knowles, a Democrat, cited Freeman's experience in economic development issues and his strong working relationship with the business community. One of Freeman's key responsibilities will be to track issues regarding the development of a gas pipeline from the North Slope, a project that has grown more likely as gas prices have increased. Freeman succeeds Mike Abbott, who was recently promoted to serve as Knowles legislative director. Freeman will make about $75,000.
Representative Don Young says he's going to continue to have a say in issues affecting Alaska, even when he gives up chairing the House Resources Committee. Young says he will lead an "Alaska Task Force" as part of his duties as a continuing member of the committee. The man who is expected to be the committee's new leader, Representative Jim Hansen, a Republican from Utah, has approved the task force. Young is being forced to step down as chairman because House Republican rules limit members to 6 years at the helm. Greg Thom, Young's spokesman, says the structure of the task force is still taking shape. He says it won't be a full committee, but it will have other congressmen as members.
City Attorney John Corso is scheduled to brief the Mayor's Ad Hoc Bear Committee this evening on city code regarding stowing garbage. Committee Chair Mark Farmer says the public is welcome to attend tonight's meeting, although no public testimony will be taken until later this month. Farmer says the committee hopes to get their recommendations to the Assembly by February. The Bear Committee meets tonight at the Assembly Chambers at 5:00pm.
A new law takes effect at midnight tonight, prohibiting hunters and trappers from tracking wolves with an airplane and landing and shooting them on the same day. That comes about two months after Alaskans voted to restore a ban on same-day airborne hunting of wolves. The Legislature last year modified a 1996 ban by allowing land-and-shoot hunting in areas the Board of Game designated as intensive management areas in need of predator control. The bill was an effort to work around Governor Knowles' refusal to initiate any kind of lethal wolf control program in Alaska. A spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game, Bruce Bartley, says the elimination of land-and-shoot wolf hunting will have a small impact on the state's wolf harvest. That's believed to run about 1.100 wolves per year. Bartley says trappers and hunters account for the bulk of all the wolves killed in Alaska. He says land-and-shoot hunters probably take about 10 percent of the total harvest, or about 100 wolves a year.
Alaska State Troopers say human remains discovered Monday in Anchor Point may belong to a man missing since August 1998. A passer-by discovered the remains, and troopers say they've been tentatively identified as those of 60-year-old Charles Crocker of Anchor Point. Troopers say Crocker told a friend in August 1998 that he would never be seen again. A few days later the vehicle Crocker was driving was found on the beach just north of Whiskey Gulch, about a mile from where the remains were located. A .44-magnum revolver was also located at the scene with one spent round.
State officials are seeking federal disaster money for more than a dozen reindeer farmers on the Seward Peninsula whose animals are running off with local caribou. The Western Arctic caribou herd (left) has grown to immense size -- more than 400,000 animals. The herd is spreading west along the Seward Peninsula, encroaching on the herders' grazing lands. Herders say once the reindeer mix with their wild cousins, they don't come back. An estimated 12,000 reindeer, or about half the locally managed livestock, have joined the caribou herd over the past decade. State wildlife biologists say another 3,000 animals may have run off this winter. Herders on the Seward Peninsula have received about $300,000 dollars over the past two years to help cover their losses. But a change in federal law means they need an official disaster declaration before they can get more compensation.
A Minnesota man has been charged with one count of felony theft for allegedly bilking eight hunters out of $6,900 by promising them a fishing and hunting trip to Alaska subsidized by a sportswear company. Authorities say 48-year-old Michael Howard told the men they would get a reduced rate in exchange for field-testing free rain gear and rifles. Eight men from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area signed on for trips to the Kenai Peninsula. They paid Howard with individual checks. Authorities say Howard started telling people the trip was postponed or canceled as the May departure date approached. Prosecutors say he told the men they either could go on a later trip or get a refund. They never were refunded. Howard currently is serving time on a felony conviction involving taking more than $13,000 from a grocery store where he worked.
The Alaska Permanent Fund grew by $750-million in December, despite the stock market's wide swings. The state's oil wealth savings account ended the year with a market value of $26.8-billion. Its US stock holdings totaled $8.9-billion, or up $93-million for the month. Its foreign stocks performed the best, reaching $4.3-billion. That's up $323-million. The fund's bond holdings totaled $10.8-billion, or up $258-million. Real estate, at $2.7-billion, was up $68-million for the month. The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 4 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor 500 index was flat in the US stock market last month.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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