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Young bear spotted on Douglas
A young wayward black bear is
staying up late this winter in the Juneau area.
Neil Barten, Area Management Biologist for State Fish and Game, says its been
seen on Douglas
Its been spotted on John Street and other nearby locations.
He says its spotted every four or five days by residents who see it in their yards or crossing the road in front of them.
Barten figures the cub lost its mother sometime in the summer or fall. He says she would be the one to go to bed for the winter and take him with her.
The cub probably doesn't know what he's suppose to do, according to Barten, who adds it must be getting food somewhere.
There was a police blotter item during November's heavy snows about a bear spotted up a tree. Barten didn't know if that was the same bear.
If they catch him, Barten says
they could try to build a den box for it and see if he goes to sleep. He doesn't know if that would be effective, but thinks it would be worth a try.
Barten isn't sure if there's a zoo that might be interested in having the bear, if they are able to catch it. Sitka
jeweler pays $156,000 in promotion refunds
SITKA, Alaska (AP) - More than 400 Sitka residents will
get their money back for the purchases they made during
the past month at Goldsmith Gallery and Sitka Jewelers.
``If it rains, it's free,'' was the offer to customers
at the downtown stores, owned by Chris Fondell.
Specifically, if rainfall were to exceed one-half inch
or more between noon and midnight on New Year's Eve,
everyone who made purchases at Fondell's shops between
Thanksgiving and Christmas Day would get 100 percent
refunds.
As it turned out, New Year's Eve in Sitka was a wet,
blustery day, with winds to 40 miles per hour, sleet and
more than an inch of rain.
Rainfall in the critical 12-hour period on New Year's
Eve was officially measured at .79 inches.
Fondell says the payout to his customers will be
156-thousand dollars. He's advised those eligible that
their refunds will be made before Valentine's Day.
Fondell has been offering the deal every year except one
since 1995, and this is the first time for a payout.
He says the sales promotion concept has been around long
enough that merchants can buy insurance to cover the
cost of a payout.
Fondell was thrilled that this year, it's paid off.
State
reps kick off year with ethics bill filing
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The calls for ethics reform have
begun in the statehouse, still two weeks before the
legislative session begins.
Eight state representatives -- four from each party --
filed a pre-session ethics bill today (Tuesday).
Some believe this to be the first of many such proposals
seeking substantive change this year.
Legislators backing this bill say they want changes in
how lawmakers accept payments for outside work, plus
greater financial and relationship disclosures.
The filing comes at a time when several lawmakers have
become the subject of federal scrutiny.
Last month authorities arrested Anchorage Republican
Representative Tom Anderson on a federal bribery
warrant.
In the fall, the F-B-I search several lawmakers offices.
Ethics reform quickly became a strong campaign issue for
Governor Sarah Palin as well as members of the House and
Senate last year.
Lawmaker says the momentum will likely carry into the
legislative session, which begins January 16th.
December '06 sixth wettest,
twelfth warmest ever in Juneau
December in Juneau was warm and wet.
Meteorologist Tom Ainsworth in the Juneau Forecast Office says it was the 12th warmest December on record.
The average daily maximums were almost five degrees above normal, he says. And the minimum temperatures were about six degrees above average. The mean temperature was 34 degrees.
December was the 6th wettest on record.
The monthly total of nine point 37 inches exceeded the monthly
average of five point 41 inches.
A new daily rain fall record was established for the last day of the year. There was
point 98 inches Sunday. The previous record was point 95 inches in 1974..
Snowfall for the month was well above average with more than 25 inches at the airport.
Ainsworth says that's about four and a half inches over the month's average.
The snowiest day was December 3rd when 9 point 3 inches fell at the airport. The snowfall exceeded the previous record for the date of 6 point 5 inches in 1997.
And the forecaster says the December will be remembered for many windy days.
The peak wind at the airport occurred on Christmas Day when winds reached 44 miles per hour with gusts to 58.
At the Federal Building downtown there was a gust to 45 miles per hour on December 7th.
The National Weather Service report for 2006 in Juneau will be out later this week.
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There was
seven-tenths of an inch of rain recorded at Juneau's
airport New Year's Day.
It wasn't a record for
the date, but close. The record is point 73 inches set
in 1985. It also rained point 71 inches on that
date in 1952.
First Juneau baby of year
transported to Anchorage, family requests prayers
Prayers are requested by the family of Juneau's first baby of 2007.
Jada Faith Brenda Lynn Sievenpiper was born at 4:43 New Year's Day morning.
She weighed nearly seven pounds, but it was a difficult birth. The umbilical chord was wrapped around her neck.
The daughter of Cami Sievenpiper was transported to Anchorage for a brain function scan, according to grandmother Diane
Sievenpiper-Conway.
We decided to do this story after talking to the grandmother. She said the more people praying for her granddaughter, the better it would be.
Her
family requests your prayers.
Suspects
in New Year's Day crimes to appear in court
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Twenty-three-year-old Ryan
Sanders has been charged with two counts of first-degree
murder and one count of tampering with evidence in a New
Year's Day double homicide in Anchorage at an apartment
complex near Jewell Road.
Sanders is accused of shooting and killing Travis Moore
after the 23-year-old Moore allegedly hit him in the
head with an unloaded gun.
Charging documents say Moore was shot in the bedroom but
staggered out of the apartment, and officials say
Sanders followed.
Moore collapsed just off the sidewalk, but charging
documents say Sanders saw someone else ``fleeing the
driveway,'' and he pursued as he shot, believing it was
Moore.
Police retrieved five .40 caliber cartridge casings from
the middle of the street near where Richards was found.
The court documents say -- quote -- ``Recovery of the
casing at that location is consistent with the gunman
standing over Ms. Richards and shooting her as she lay
on the ground.''
The tampering charge is for allegedly asking for a
friend to discard one of the guns, later found at the
nearby Anchorage Police Department Training Center
parking lot.
Sanders is being held on a one million dollar bond.
Mat-Su Borough
mayor takes medical leave
PALMER, Alaska (AP) - Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor
Curt Menard will be taking temporary medical leave after
a reoccurrence of cancer.
In 2003, Menard was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a
blood cancer. He underwent treatment for a year, and the
cancer was in remission for about two years.
Borough officials today (Tuesday) say recent tests
discovered that the cancer has returned with a tumor in
his neck.
Menard will get treatment at the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota, and at the Mat-Su Regional Medical
Center.
Menard expects to be out for a few weeks; Deputy Mayor
Lynne Woods will fill in.
No drunk
drivers found by Juneau Police New Year's Eve and morning
With the exception of a couple minor consuming cases, beefed up Juneau Police patrols looking for drunk drivers came up empty on New Year's Eve and morning.
Police say there were two separate incidents involving minors operating a vehicle after consuming, although they were not over the legal limit for driving.
One was a 20 year old
just before midnight on New Year's Eve in the Lemon Creek Area. The other was an 18 year old
stopped on Mendenhall Loop just past midnight on the
first.
There were two drunk driving arrests on the Saturday night the 30th, and one on Friday, the 29th.
Suspected drunk driver arrested after vehicle found in ditch
State Troopers arrested a suspected drunk driver after his vehicle was found in the ditch at Mile 19 of the Glacier Highway late Saturday night.
The report came in to Troopers at 11 p.m.
Investigation found 45 year Eric Morrow of Juneau was
operating his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
He was arrested for driving under the influence, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the sixth degree, and driving with a suspended license.
Morrow
was jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
Crab
fisherman cited
A crab fisherman was sentenced in Juneau District Court
Thursday after pleading guilty to fishing for dungeness
crab during a closed season.
Richard J. Luther, 65 of Juneau, was sentence to pay a
$1,500 fine with $750 suspended. He was also given two
years probation.
Luther was cited near Sullivan Island last Tuesday by
personnel with the Juneau office of the Alaska Bureau of
Wildlife Enforcement.
Luther says he was not intentionally fishing out of
season, but due to severe weather, he was not able to
access his gear.
The regulations prohibit having the gear in
the water after the season closes.
Trooper's cited Luther for fishing out of season.
Woman dies after drinking antifreeze
EMMONAK, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers are investigating the death of a 51-year-old Emmonak woman who drank antifreeze.
Troopers say Thelma Immamak died
Sunday.
Immamak's boyfriend -- 45-year-old Franklin Murphy -- told troopers he discovered she was dead after they both drank glycol antifreeze.
Murphy was medivaced to Anchorage for treatment.
Troopers say an autopsy is planned for
Immamak.
PFD application period underway
The application period for the 2007 Permanent Fund Dividend is now open.
It opened to on-line filers at 12:01 a.m. New Year's Day.
Karen Lechner, the Dividend Information Manager for the Permanent Fund Dividend Division in the Department of Revenue, encourages Alaskans to apply on-line.
She says Alaskans filing on-line during January and signing up for direct deposit will get their dividend on October 3rd.
The second direct deposit is scheduled for October 17th.
Lechner says that will be for those who signed up and qualified for direct deposit and applied by the March 31st deadline.
Applicants are also encouraged to sign up for an electronic signature with a My Alaska account. That's not necessary if done in the past.
Mailed dividends don't go out until November 13th.
Chances are that this year's dividend will be higher than last year's amount of $1,106.96.
The dividend is based on a five year average of the
fund's earnings.
2002, which had low earnings of $257 Million, drops out of the average.
The fund
has far surpassed that mark already, according to Laura Achee
of the Permanent Fund Corporation.
She says that as of November
30, the fund has received $1 point 2 Billion in statutory net income, the amount used to calculate the dividend.
So that's almost
a billion more than 2002 after only five months of the current fiscal year.
Permanent
Fund Dividend applications can be filed on-line at
www.pfd.state.ak.us
Juneau ski area starts new schedule Wednesday
Eaglecrest starts its new schedule this week. The ski area is closed today (Tuesday), but it starts its regular schedule tomorrow (Wednesday) which will be Wednesday through Sunday.
They'll be open on holiday Mondays though. So the ski area will be closed next Monday, but open Monday, January 15 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Eaglecrest was open everyday through the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
The high
winds and rain forced postponement of the ski area's New
Year's Day activities which were to include a torch
light parade and fireworks display.
The event
will be rescheduled probably in February. A new
date is expected to be announced this week.
Alyeska sets snow record for December
Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood south of Anchorage is celebrating a record amount of snow.
For the month of December, Alyeska piled up 283 inches of the white stuff -- almost 24 feet! That beats the ski area's previous December record of 274 inches.
Mountain Manager Larry Daniels says the snowfall is on pace to break the annual record of 1-thousand-116 inches from 1997-98.
Daniels calls it the best December skiing he's seen in over 30 years.
Alyeska reports a base of 96 inches at mid-mountain
and 102 inches at the summit.
(KENI Radio - Anchorage)
Southeast Alaska fisheries saw positive signs in 2006
Ketchikan, Alaska (AP) - 2006 brought continuing improvement to Southeast Alaska's commercial salmon fishing industry that is still on the mend after terrible seasons in recent years.
Pink salmon returns were the worst in nearly two decades.
Commercial fishermen, however, saw the best ex-vessel value so far this decade for their harvests of all species of salmon in Southeast.
According to preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, that's 95-point-two
million dollars compared to 2002's low of 51-point-five million.
Fish and Game officials say the drought-like weather during the summer of 2004 is seen as a probable cause for the low pink run.
Decent returns of chum, coho and sockeye salmon helped offset the shortage of pinks.
(Ketchikan Daily News)
Contractor selected for Performing Arts Center study
A needs assessment and feasibility study for a new performing arts center for Juneau will get underway
this month.
The CBJ Performing Arts Center Commission and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council have selected AMS Planning and Research of Petaluma, California to conduct the study.
Susan Burke is the acting chair of
the CBJ Performing Arts Commission.
She says the company's representatives will be meeting with performing arts groups, city officials, and business leaders.
They will conduct two workshops in Juneau with likely users of the facility and any other groups that might potentially have use for the proposed center.
She says the workshops will be useful in getting a sense of what the users need in terms of the building size and features.
Burke says one of the things they'll be getting is an idea of how big the center should be and what should be in it.
She says the company will be putting together a cost estimate for construction in today's dollars and a reasonable inflation factor for what the facility could cost three or four years from now which Burke says is the earliest it could conceivably be built.
The company will also be putting together an estimate of anticipated revenues and expenditures.
Burke says they hope to come to a consensus about the size of the facility that will meet people's needs and still be affordable.
The Juneau meetings are likely to be scheduled in early to mid-February.
AMS expects to submit the final report by the end of March.
AMS has experience with similar projects and the company is currently providing consulting services for a performance facility at the Sitka high school.
Meanwhile, the Performing Arts Center Commission is scheduled to meet
this (Tuesday) afternoon from 5-15 until about 7 in Room 224 at City Hall.
Wasilla man arrested for attempted murder
State Troopers report a 22 year old Wasilla man was arrested on attempted murder and assault charges Monday night.
Troopers responded to the residence on Willow Street shortly after 10 p.m. on a report of gunshots.
Investigation revealed Gabriel Jones was in a fight with another male inside the residence. The reason for the altercation isn't known at this report.
During the altercation, Jones fired a .22 rifle twice at another man, both narrowly missing.
The weapon was discharged a third time during a struggle over the weapon striking the ceiling.
After being treated at Mat-Su Regional Hospital for injuries sustained in the struggle Jones was arrested and jailed Mat-Su Pre-trial and held on $75,000.00 cash only bail.
Troopers say alcohol is believed to be a factor in the case An investigation continues.
Most federal offices closed Tuesday
WASHINGTON (AP) - Most federal government offices and courts will be closed today (Tuesday) for a national day of mourning in honor of President Ford.
Only those offices and installations considered necessary for national security or defense or other essential public business will be open.
There will be no regular mail delivery or retail services at post offices, but Express Mail deliveries will be made Tuesday.
Most U-S financial markets, including the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the American Stock Exchange, aren't conducting trading operations.
Alaska
funeral homes host book signing for Ford
Anchorage, Alaska (AP) - Funeral homes in several Alaska
communities are hosting a memorial book signing today
(Tuesday) for former President Gerald Ford.
Signings will take place in Anchorage, Wasilla and Kenai
between 10 a-m and 5 p-m.
Sponsors of the event are Anchorage Funeral Home, Valley
Funeral Home in Wasilla and Peninsula Memorial Chapel in
Kenai.
The signed books will then be sent to the presidential
library in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ford died at 93 last week at his home in Rancho Mirage,
California.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Alaskan appointed to fishery council
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A long-time Alaska fisherman is the newest member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Gerald P. Merrigan of Petersburg has been tapped to serve on the council until August 10th, 2009.
Merrigan has been a commercial fisherman since 1981.
The council is among eight regional councils created to prepare fishery management plans for marine fish stocks.
Alaska opposes lawsuit aimed at reducing global warming emissions
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A dozen states are trying to force the federal government to reduce automobile emissions that contribute to global warming, but Alaska is not among them.
Alaska has joined seven other states, including Michigan, in fighting the case that was argued before the Supreme Court in November.
States seeking reduced auto emissions in new cars argue that the Bush administration has failed to use its authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases.
Attorneys for Alaska say Congress has not given the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The administration of former Governor Murkowski chose to enter the landmark case on the side of Michigan and the auto industry even though Alaska is seeing the effects of warming.
The Bush administration argues that global warming is an international problem beyond the reach of existing federal laws.
Massachusetts, California, New York, Washington and eight other states, along with several major cities and environmental groups, are pushing for reduced emissions.
Governor Sarah Palin last fall said she remains unconvinced about how much human emissions contribute to global warming trends.
She says she endorses endorsed work being undertaken by a new Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission created by the Legislature last May.
However, the commission was formed to figure out the local effects of current temperature changes and not their causes.
The case before the Supreme Court will be decided by the end of June.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Treatment
at Anchorage hospital honored
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Anchorage hospital has been
recognized a leader in treating heart failure.
Providence Alaska Medical Center is listed as a 2006
CareScience Select Practice Customer Quality Leader.
The hospital ranked in the top 16 percent of hospitals
on quality and efficiency when compared with customers
of CareScience, a tool used by health systems.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Expanded
hospital, new name to be unveiled Wednesday
KENAI, Alaska (AP) - The expanded Central Peninsula
General Hospital will be unveiled tomorrow (Wednesday)
in Kenai -- along with a new name.
The hospital will be officially introduced as Central
Peninsula Hospital in a 5 p.m. ceremony, followed by
tours of the 82-thousand-square-foot addition.
The new space includes 50 new private in-patient rooms
and artistic directional symbols painted on the walls.
It's expected to open to patient care next Tuesday
(January Ninth).
This is part of the second phase of a nearly 50 million dollar three-part expansion project.
The first phase included site preparation work. The last
phase will include renovation of 25-thousand-square feet
of the original hospital building and an additional
81-hundred square feet of new construction.
The third phase is scheduled to begin in February. It's
estimated to be completed in spring of 2008.
Respirator standards strengthened for Alaska workers
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The state is adopting revised federal standards for respirators used by workers who are exposed to atmospheric toxins.
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development will implement the new rules on February 24th.
Department officials say the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration amended the respiratory protection standards.
Retail castoffs lure bargain hunters in Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska (AP) - Alaskans love a good bargain.
That might explain why Liquidation World is a hit at its stores in Anchorage and Soldotna.
Liquidation World -- a merchandise depository -- is a Canadian company with more than 100 outlets in its motherland and 20-some in this country.
The Anchorage store is number one in U-S sales and has been for the past five years.
The Soldotna store is number two.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Passports
for air travel to Canada and other destinations
will be needed
If you've never had a passport or the one you had has lapsed, it may be time to think about getting a new one in the new year.
If your plans include travel outside the U.S., a driver's license or birth certificate will no longer be
sufficient for air travel to destinations in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
You'll have to have a passport to get back into the country, after January 23rd.
If you've never had a passport, it'll cost 97-dollars and you'll have to apply in person at a passport facility such as a post office.
An extra fee will expedite things if you need a passport in a hurry, but 4 to 6 weeks is the usual waiting time.
(ABC News)
Puget Sound flavored by holiday flavors
Researchers say holiday treats are having an impact on the environment in Washington state.
ABC News reports Puget Sound is being flavored by cinnamon and vanilla.
Weekly tests of sewage that flows into the sound reveal that levels of cinnamon, vanilla and artificial vanilla rose in November and December, with the biggest surge right after Thanksgiving.
So far, the research has turned up no evidence that
"Snickerdoodles" are harming sea creatures in Puget Sound.
Think-Off
essays invited
NEW YORK MILLS, Minn. (AP) - Which should you trust more
- your head or heart? If you've got a good answer to
that age-old question, the Great American Think-Off
wants to hear from you.
This is the 15th annual search for what's billed as
`America's Greatest Thinker.'' Would-be deep thinkers
should send an essay of 750 words or less to the New
York Mills Regional Cultural Center. The four finalists
get 500 bucks and a chance to debate the question live.
Essays can be mailed to the New York Mills Regional
Cultural Center, P.O. Box 246, New York Mills, MN 56567;
e-mailed to nymills@kulcher.org
(no attachments); or submitted via the contest's Web
site, http://www.think-off.org
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