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Stevens signs bill transmitting fishery reauthorization bill to President
In his role as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Alaska Senior Senator Ted Stevens today (Wednesday) signed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act during an enrollment ceremony held in the United States Capitol.
H.R. 5946, passed the House on December 9, and the Senate by unanimous consent two days earlier.
Legislation passed by the House and Senate must be enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate before being sent to the President for his signature and final approval into law.
In this case, Stevens was filling in for Vice President
Cheney.
The original Magnuson-Stevens Act was signed into law by President Gerald Ford on April 13, 1976 and has now been reauthorized six times.
The latest reauthorization is the culmination of a process that spanned two years.
This one makes available to regional councils throughout the country the powers that have been given to the North Pacific Regional Council over year years.
Stevens says the panel has proven that these powers assist in protecting fisheries off the shores of Alaska. As proof, he pointed to the fact that there are no threatened or endangered species that are commercially fished.
More
snow falls on Anchorage, Southcentral Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Heavy snowfall in Anchorage
took a toll on drivers by late afternoon today.
(Wednesday)
Police Lieutenant Paul Honeman says police took reports
of 53 collisions between midnight and five p-m.
He reports more than 100 vehicles in ditches and eight
hit and run accidents.
Meteorologist Tom Dang at the National Weather Service
says up to 16 inches of snow fell on parts of Anchorage
as of five p-m.
Snow continued to fall and the weather service says a
snow advisory would remain in place until nine p-m.
A low pressure system moving from the Gulf of Alaska
into Prince William Sound brought snow from Homer to
Talkeetna but Dang says Anchorage was among the cities
hit hardest.
Municipality of Anchorage spokeswoman Julie Hasquet
(HASS'-ket) says libraries and recreation facilities
would close early tonight.
Jewelers being
asked to boycott gold from Alaska mine
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Jewelers are being asked to
boycott gold from the Pebble Mine.
An ad campaign was launched this week in National
Jeweler, an industry news tabloid.
It is designed to educate jewelers about the Pebble Mine
project in the Bristol Bay watershed, which is home to
the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world.
Earthworks, a Washington D.C.-based environmental group,
is paying between ten-thousand and 20-thousand dollars
to place the ad in the January, February and March
issues of National Jeweler.
Canadian company Northern Dynasty Minerals is proposing
to build the mine 238 miles southwest of Anchorage. The
company says Pebble Mine is the largest North American
gold deposit and second-largest copper deposit on the
continent.
Regulators allow pipeline owners to up rates
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Federal regulators have let owners of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline boost what they charge to ship oil through the line.
But shippers could get refunds from the owners later if the government determines the rates are too high.
All five pipeline owners announced last month that they would increase their shipping rates for Outside-bound oil starting January First by as much as 40 percent.
The state of Alaska and two non-owner oil companies appealed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to block the increase.
The commission last week put the appeal on hold pending the outcome of similar disputes over rate increases during the past two years.
In the meantime, the commission says the owners of the pipeline can start charging the new rates, ``subject to refund.''
The rate increases from the past two years have also gone into effect subject to refund.
(Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
Suspect arrested in killing of fellow student at high school
in Tacoma
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Police in Tacoma, Washington, have arrested a high school student in the shooting death of another student this morning in a hallway at the school.
The shooting took place as classes were about to start at Foss High
School. Police are trying to figure out what prompted the attack.
They say the suspect fled the school shortly after the attack, and was captured about two hours later without a fight. They say he was found wandering in a neighborhood a few miles from the school.
A 14-year-old says she was in the lunchroom, waiting for the bell to ring, when the shots were fired. She says everyone was yelling for people to go to the gym.
Another student says he thought he heard fireworks -- and then he saw someone on the ground, and saw the blood.
Volunteer firefighter applicants coming forward
Juneau residents are stepping forward to become volunteer fire fighters.
Yesterday [Tuesday] was the deadline for the latest round of applications.
Capital City Fire Rescue Fire Training Officer John George says they saw a spike in people picking up and submitting applications yesterday afternoon for a total of over ten people.
George says there's an informal meeting tonight at the Fire Training Facility to explain some of the expectations of the program and let
applicants know what they're getting into when they volunteer at Capital City Fire Rescue.
He says it's important to note that the department recruits volunteers year-round.
The department does three separate recruit academies per-year.
This latest effort is designed to correspond with the upcoming Firefighter 1 Training Academy.
George
says if someone is interested, they're encouraged to
pick up an application at the Downtown Juneau Station
any time of the year and talk to a firefighter about volunteering.
Fairweather
to make stop in Hoonah Thursday
The fast ferry Fairweather will add a stop in Skagway
tomorrow (Thursday) during its scheduled sailing from
Juneau to Haines at the request of the basketball
program in Hoonah.
The boys and girls were originally scheduled to fly
to Skagway, but their plane was canceled due to weather.
Marine Highway General Manager John Falvey says the
change will only add about an hour and a half to the
vessel's schedule.
The Fairweather is scheduled to depart Juneau at 8 a.m.
and arrive in Skagway at 11:45 a.m. following a stop in
Haines.
It will return to its regular schedule on Friday.
Murkowski
Asia tour cost state more than $100,000
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Expense records obtained by the
Anchorage Daily News show that former
Governor Murkowski's Asia trade mission during his last
days in office cost the state some 114-thousand dollars.
Current Governor Palin says she's concerned about the
trip's cost.
Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton says Palin -- as a
fiscal conservative -- finds it difficult to understand
whether the trip's value is equivalent to the cost to
Alaskans.
The eleven-day trip to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea
sparked some criticism because it occurred so close to
the end of Murkowski's term.
But the former governor and other officials who made the
trip said it was important for promoting Alaska exports
such as fish and coal as well as tourism.
Murkowski took the trip two months after he lost the
Republican primary in August.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Young predictions for Democratically controlled House
Alaska Congressman Don Young is making some predictions for the Democratic majority that will take over the U-S House
Thursday.
His top prediction is that Republicans will retake control in two years.
Young predicts that the pledge by Democrats to abolish earmarks in spending bills will fall apart by next summer. He says too many members depend on earmarks.
Young also gives six months before Democrats will give up the idea of being in session five days a week.
He says too many members are use to visiting their home districts during four-day weekends instead of once a month, the way he does.
(KENI Radio - Anchorage) In-state retiree benefits upheld
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that retired government workers who have left the state are not entitled to the special cost-of-living allowance available to in-state retirees.
The decision shoots down a challenge led by Bob Gallant -- a retired Alaska corrections officer now living in Hawaii -- and reverses an earlier Superior Court ruling. Michigan soldier killed by blast near Baghdad
KAWKAWLIN, Mich. (AP) - A 21-year-old Army private from Michigan has died from injuries he sustained suffered in an explosion in Iraq.
Alan Blohm's family in Michigan says it learned of his death on New Year's Eve. Military releases indicated Blohm was from Kenai, Alaska.
However, a U-S Army Alaska spokesman did not immediately return a message to clarify the situation.
The Pentagon says Blohm died Sunday after a roadside bomb detonated near his unit while it patrolled in Baghdad.
Blohm graduated in 2004 from high school in Michigan and enlisted two years ago.
He was based at Fort Richardson in Anchorage
He was a 250-pound defensive player for the football team.
Blohm is survived by parents and two siblings.
Fort Richardson plans memorial for three paratroopers
FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) - A memorial service for three Fort Richardson paratroopers killed last month in Iraq will be held at the Post Chapel today (Wednesday).
The service is for Sergeant Brennan C- Gibson from Tualatin, Oregon; Specialist Phillip C- Ford from Freeport, Texas; and Private First Class Shawn M- Murphy from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
They were killed December Tenth when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb while conducting a mounted patrol in Baghdad.
Gibson was an infantryman who joined the Army in July 2004 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in May 2005.
Ford was an infantryman who joined the Army in October 2004 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in June 2005.
Murphy was an infantryman who joined the Army in March 2005 and was assigned to Fort Richardson in January 2006.
All three were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Miyasato services announced
Alaska Native Brotherhood leader George Worthington Miyasato of Juneau passed away Sunday at the age of 80.
Born in Wrangell on April 7, 1926, Miyasato was a lifelong member of ANB Camp 3 and instrumental in getting the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 approved.
His grandfathers, Chester Worthington and James Johnson, were two founding fathers of the organization formed in 1912.
He was the first student body president of Mt. Edgecumbe School in 1947.
He attended Humbolt College and worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for many years as an employment assistance specialist. He was also a fisherman.
During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, Miyasato was interned in a Japanese concentration
camp with this father.
He was a Korean War veteran.
A memorial service is scheduled at the ANB Hall at 4 p.m. today (Wednesday). Church services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Church of God at 8497 Thunder Mountain Road.
Man killed coming to aide of rape victim
A man who was killed near Sullivan Arena in Anchorage on New Year's Day was trying to help a teenage girl who said she was raped at a party.
45-year old Bill Oestreich was stabbed at an apartment on East 16th Avenue early Monday morning.
20-year old Keilan Ebli was arraigned Tuesday on charges of murder and sexual assault. Ebli is accused of raping a 17-year old girl who passed out in his apartment after a New Year's Eve party.
Oestreich went with the girl's mother to confront Ebli at the apartment.
According to court documents, Ebli chased Oestreich with a knife as he was leaving. Oestreich was found fatally wounded on the street outside.
Ebli told police he had been drinking, but denied involvement in the murder.
Anchorage shooting resulting in two deaths detailed
A man accused of shooting two people on New Year's Day in Anchorage says he was attacked first.
23-year old Ryan
Sanders was arraigned Tuesday on two counts of murder.
He's accused of killing his friend, 23-year old Travis Moore, and 17-year old Ashlee Richards, who was with
Moore at Sanders' apartment near Dimond and Jewel Lake Road.
Sanders told police that Moore hit him with an unloaded pistol.
Sanders
allegedly shot Moore three times as Moore ran out the door and collapsed.
Richards was shot as she ran away. Sanders says he thought he was shooting at
Moore, but detectives say that's unlikely.
They say Sanders had to step over Moore's body to shoot at Richards, and that she was shot at close range.
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 said Tuesday that 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.
Imagination Library available to Juneau residents
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is at work in Juneau.
Two local organizations are involved.
Elsa Demeksa is executive director of Communities and Schools Juneau and Joy Lyon is the executive director of the Association for Education of Young Children.
A new book is mailed to those who enroll each month for a year at a total cost of $30.
They received $9,000 seed money from
the country music star's organization to get the program rolling by registering people.
They're doing that through community events. This month they'll be doing enrollment during the "Story Times" at public libraries.
Wednesday is at the downtown library, Thursday in Douglas, and Friday in the Valley. Those occur between 11 and 11:30 a.m. on each of those days.
Additional information and registration is available on-line at
www.aeyc-sea.org
People can also visit the office in the Juneau Empire building.
Juneau is the second community in the state to participate in the program. Nome signed up previously.
Borough
imposes rabies quarantine in Barrow
BARROW, Alaska (AP) - North Slope Borough officials have
imposed a month-long rabies quarantine in Barrow.
The quarantine follows confirmation that a red fox shot
by a borough police officer last month had rabies.
Borough health director Rosie Habeich (HAH'-bech) says
the quarantine was took effect on December 27th and will
continue until January 27th.
Habeich says it could be extended if additional rabies
cases emerge.
During the quarantine, all animals must be indoors or on
a chain or leash outdoors.
Habeich says loose dogs may be killed during the
quarantine.
Any dog or cat leaving Barrow must have written
permission from the borough veterinary clinic.
Troopers warn about counterfeit money
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska State Troopers say they've handled several cases of counterfeit 20-dollar bills being passed to vendors in the Anchor Point area of the Kenai Peninsula.
Troopers are urging merchants to pay extra attention to the money they handle.
They say any suspicious bills should be reported to the nearest law enforcement agency.
Troopers say that if an officer is not available, merchants should try to get the vehicle plates and other identifying information of people they suspect of passing phony bills. Crab
fisherman responds to news of court citation
A crab fisherman has responded to a state citation to
which he pleaded guilty. Richard
J. Luther, 65, was sentenced in Juneau District Court
Thursday after pleading guilty to fishing for Dungeness crab during a closed season.
He was sentenced 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. High court orders vote on Anchorage taxicab permits
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Supreme Court says Anchorage voters must be allowed to decide whether to substantially cut the cost and hardship of getting a local taxi permit.
Currently Anchorage permits have a value as high as 125-thousand dollars apiece -- and they're sold only by auction.
The city has not offered any new general taxi permits since the mid-1980s.
Barring any legal blockades, the issue will appear on the April 3rd election ballot.
The court's three-two ruling was issued December 22nd.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Bridge
program reports openings
There are now openings for the Bridge Adult Day Program.
Marianne Mills of Southeast Senior Services was among
the guests on Capital Chat Tuesday
She said they now have the ability to take on additional
clients. In the past there have been waiting list.
The program operates Monday through Friday from 7:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. A hot lunch is provided. Seniors can be
picked up by Caravan or be dropped off by family
members.
The program is housed in a new facility on the Glacier
Highway not far from the Aware Shelter.
For additional information call 463-6171.
Top Home Depot executive departs
ATLANTA (AP) - Embattled Home Depot chairman and C-E-O Bob Nardelli has left the home improvement retailer's top post.
His departure comes after being criticized for poor stock performance and hefty pay.
A severance agreement calls for him to
be paid about 210 million dollars, including terms of a previously-agreed to employment contract.
Nardelli agrees not to compete with the company for a year, and not to solicit employees or customers of the company for four years.
He is replaced by Frank Blake, the company's vice chairman.
Investors and analysts are reacting favorably to the news. Home Depot shares are up three percent at midday on the New York Stock Exchange, lending support to the Dow industrial average.
The company plans to open a store in Juneau later this year. Its now under construction in the Lemon Creek area next to Costco.
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