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Suspected bank robber arrested
after buying airline ticket
A man who had been in Juneau for less than a day has been arrested
and charged with robbing the downtown branch of First National Bank
Alaska yesterday afternoon. (Friday)
25 year-old Steven Conner of Montana is charged with felony theft.
Juneau police tracked down Conner at Juneau International Airport
just after 6 o'clock last night. (Friday)
According to the police investigation, Conner had entered the bank
on Front Street several times during the day.
At 3-48 p.m. he came into the bank for the final time, walked up to a teller and
asked to change some currency.
When the teller opened the till, Conner jumped over the counter
grabbed some cash and fled the bank on foot in the direction of
Franklin Street.
According to witnesses Conner did not use a weapon.
Juneau police, Alaska State Troopers and the FBI searched the area
for the suspect and any leads.
At about 6-10 p.m. staff with Alaska Airlines called police
reporting that a man matching the suspect's description, provided by
police, had just purchased an airline ticket with cash.
Police say the stolen money's serial numbers and the cash used
to buy the ticket matched.
Police located Conner at the airport and detained him.
After bank employees positively identified Conner as the bank
robber, he was arrested.
He's lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
This is the second time in three months that the First National Bank
Alaska downtown location has been robbed.
The bank was robbed October 12th.
32 year-old Neil Haapala pleaded guilty to robbing the bank
and is now in prison.
Haapala was arrested about six hours after the robbery.
Waterman trial to be held in
Craig - for now
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The trial of a teenage girl accused of
plotting to kill her mother will be held in Craig on January 17.
But, if an impartial jury can't be found in the small pool of
candidates in the tiny Prince of Wales fishing and logging town, the
trial will be moved to Juneau.
Those were Judge Patricia Collins' orders Friday at the
final hearing before 17-year-old Rachelle Waterman's trial begins.
Waterman is accused of conspiring with two men to kill her mother,
Lauri Waterman, in Craig in November of 2004.
Collins says she mailed questionnaires to about 300 potential jurors
in Craig. From those responses, she will attempt to gauge how many
people have heard about the case and have formed strong opinions
about it.
Search continues for missing
Angoon man
Eleven Angoon Search and Rescue volunteers teams are out again today
(Saturday) looking for 36 year-old Kevin O'Brian was reported
missing Sunday evening.
O'Brian departed Killisnoo for Angoon in an 18-foot skiff. His boat
was found beached near the seaplane dock in Angoon.
O'Brian was in the process of bringing his skiff from the ferry
terminal in Angoon to the boat harbor when he apparently fell
overboard.
O'Brian's sea bag has been found. It was located floating about a
mile west of Parker's Point, about eight miles north of the
community.
Suspect arrested in
3-year-old rape, murder case
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anchorage police have made an arrest in a
3-year-old rape and murder case.
Police Friday arrested 34-year-old Roger Wade McKinley. He was
charged with the murder and rape of 36-year-old Cynthia Henry -- a
homeless woman who was killed in downtown Anchorage.
Her body was found under a bridge. She'd been stabbed four times in
the back with a hunting knife and was sexually assaulted.
McKinley was arrested as the result of an anonymous tip called into
police around the two-year anniversary of Henry's death.
Police say Henry and McKinley were acquaintances as both were
homeless.
(Anchorage Daily News)
Bears advance to tournament
final game
The Juneau Douglas Crimson Bears won the semi-final game last night,
(Friday) against Bartlett in overtime by a score of 63 to 61 at 2006
Fred Meyer Alaska Prep Shootout at Dimond High School in Anchorage
The Bears will play Dimond tonight for the tournament trophy at 7-45
Tonight's game will be broadcast by KINY.
Lady Bears earn victories at
Sitka
The Lady Bears were down 12 to 20 at half-time but came back to
defeat Sitka Wolves 47 to 42.
Coach Leslie Knight says the difference in the game were the free
throws in the fourth quarter.
The Junior Varsity Bears also won their games.
Crimson Bears hockey team
gaining experience during first season
The Juneau Douglas High School Crimson Bears hockey team lost to the
Delta Junction Huskies by a score of 11 to 3 Friday night.
While the score may not show it, the Bears skated hard and showed
improvement since the first games in Bears history last month
according to hockey fan Tom Mayer.
The Bears' Andrew Ainsworth scored an unassisted goal; Riley Hall
scored a goal assisted by Dane Harlamert and Andrew Ainsworth and
Nolin Ainsworth scored a goal with the assist going to Colton Good
and Josh Meyer
The Bears take on the Huskies tonight (Saturday) at 7o'clock a the
Treadwell Arena. Tickets are 5 dollars in advance and 8 dollars at
the door.
State wants more time to deal
with Alaska gay benefits ruling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The state says it needs at least a year
before it can begin offering benefits to same-sex partners of
workers, as directed by the Alaska Supreme Court.
The state says there are too many complexities to comply sooner.
In its October decision, the Supreme Court said that denying such
benefits was unconstitutional.
The Alaska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union wants
compliance by May tenth -- right after the legislative session ends.
But the state says that deadline doesn't consider all steps in the
lawmaking process, such as a 90-day period before a new law goes
into effect.
Michael Macleod-Ball -- director of the Alaska A-C-L-U -- says he's
encouraged that the state appears to be committed to resolving the
matter, despite the timing disagreement and other issues.
Lawmaker's proposal would change who sets legislative pay
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A Republican legislator wants to change state law to allow the Legislature to have more control over lawmakers' salaries.
Alaska lawmakers receive 2,001 dollars a month, with the House speaker and Senate president making an additional 500 dollars per year.
The salaries and benefits are set by the State Officers Compensation Commission, which is appointed by the governor.
The bill by Representative Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau) would give that power to the Legislative Council. The council would act on the recommendations of a new Citizens' Commission on Legislative Salary and Benefits.
That commission that would replace the State Officers Compensation Commission. It would be made up of six members, three appointed by the House speaker and three by the Senate president.
Annexation study underway by City and Borough of Juneau
The Juneau Assembly wants to study the possibility of annexing additional land to the city and borough.
As a result, Mayer Bruce Botelho has appointed a five member Annexation Study Commission to hold hearings around the borough and come back with a recommendation in December.
Community Development Department Planning
Supervisor Peter Freer says the purpose is to determine
whether,
and to what extent, additional territory should be annexed to the borough.
In 1997,
the Boundary Commission identified what are called the model borough boundaries for all existing
boroughs and boroughs yet to be incorporated around the state.
Freer says the territories being examined by the commission is land to the west of
Juneau. That basically includes Funter Bay, Colt Island, Mansfield Peninsula, and then extending southward down to Hobart Bay.
He says the model borough boundaries have been identified as territory more appropriately within the
City and Borough of Juneau.
That would help to fulfill a constitutional imperative for a minimum of local government units, so in effect it would create a large home rule government.
Freer says there could be some financial benefits, as well as costs.
He says they are just at the beginning stages of doing the research.
George Davidson chairs the group, Sandy Williams is vice-chair. The other three members are Karen Robinson, Steve Sorenson, and Errol Champion.
There are several
Southeast communities looking at either annexing territory or incorporating new boroughs.
Ketchikan is petitioning to annex 4,000 or more square miles to
its boundaries.
There has been some interest expressed by the city of Hoonah in the formation of a borough in the Icy Straits region, and the city of Petersburg has also expressed interest in forming a borough in central
southeast.
Fireside
Chat beginning for year
The Fireside Chats at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center start
up again beginning Friday evening.
Laurie Craig is an interpreter and naturalist there says the program
started in 1962.
There are two performances scheduled every Friday evening to
accommodate all who are interested.
The theater holds just over a hundred and Center Director Larry
Musarra says they're filling up both shows.
The first show of the year was Dean Williams talking about the
history of Juneau Icefield Research and skiing.
The program continues through the end of March.
Craig and Musarra were guests on KINY's Capital Chat Friday morning.
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