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USDA to buy Alaska salmon
Over $2M to be spent
The US Department of Agriculture is buying more Alaska salmon for federal foodassistance programs. The agency has purchased 66,880 cases of canned pink salmon and 570,000 pounds of salmon nuggets. The total purchase price was $2.3-million. The federal government has purchased canned Alaska pink salmon in the past -- in part to help remove excess volume from the market.
The Juneau Police Department is one of the law enforcement agencies in the state to receive federal dollars for the purchase of bulletproof vests. A total of $15,700 is made available under terms of the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program approved by Congress. The State of Alaska is receiving $31,000. Kake is getting about $900, and Ketchikan $3,000
Recommendations of the legislative Task Force on Privatization, which includes moving legislative sessions to Anchorage, will be one focus of the session that begins next Monday in the Capitol. That according to House Speaker Brian Porter (right) during an address to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce yesterday. Porter says he's interested to look into the recommendation to move the Legislature to see if cost savings "pencil out," as he put it.
A non-event locally is how a member of the Mayor's Y2K Task Force describes the date rollover. Craig Dahl of Alaska Pacific Bank represented financial services on the panel. He says he knows of no major problems locally or nationally. But he adds concerns remain with small businesses that may have chosen to ignore the problem and are still using older computer systems. Even though they may have survived the date rollover, Dahl says they may face problems at the end of the month when billingsand other financial statements are produced. Dahl was a guest on KINY's Capital Chat this morning along with State Administration Commissioner Bob Poe and City and Borough of Juneau Y2K Coordinator Ann Stadnychenko. Poe and Stadnychenko reported only minor problems as a result of the date rollover during interviews with News of the North Monday. Poe brought up an additional minor problem that was discovered since then. It dealt with the accumulated information that appears on paychecks. Those numbers were being figured based on the fiscal year, rather than the calendar year as they should. He said that problem was being fixed today. (In photo, left to right, Administration Commissioner Bob Poe, CBJ Y2K Coordinator Anne Stadnychenko, and Mayor's Y2K Task Force Representative Craig Dahl)
The executive branch of state government expects to return some of the Y2K appropriation to the Legislature. A total of $16.3-million was appropriated with $10.6-million earmarked for the executive branch. The University of Alaska received $3.5-million; $180,000 was given to the Alaska Court System and $1.9-million was appropriated to address legislative Y2K concerns. Administration Commissioner Bob Poe says the executive branch was able to hold down costs to begin with by using state employees rather than a team of consultants. He says the average expenditure by other states was $79-million. He's not certain yet how much of the appropriation the administration will be able to return.
Ketchikan based Taquan Air is nearly completely shut down. Company officials haven't been available for comment, but the telephone recording at Taquan's headquarters office in Ketchikan states alloperations have been curtailed immediately with the exception of Hyder, Hydaburg, and Beam Canal. The company expanded service in Southeast including flights to Juneau in 1998 with creation of a subsidiary called Air One, but retreated in a few months citing economic problems in the region. The company is owned by Kootznoowoo -- Angoon's native village corporation -- which made the decision to curtail operations, according to one of our sources. Corporation officials also have not been available for comment today.
Lamont's Apparel has filed for bankruptcy protection again. It blames higher than expected costs to become Y2K compliant in part. The Kirkland, Washington-based apparel store went back to federal bankruptcy court today -- almost 5 years to the day after its first filing. Lamont's has 38 stores in the Northwest, including 7 in Alaska. Company officials also blamed weak spring and summer sales volume this year due to unusually cool weather for the financial woes.
Assembly roundup:
A maintenance agreement with the State Department of Transportation was postponed until January 24. The agreement would call for the city to maintain the Channel Drive Wayside next to the DIPAC Hatchery. Assembly members had questions about the cost and title to the land. An ordinanceappropriating $25,000 in passenger fee revenues to hire a consultant to conduct a study to determine the financial impacts of cruise ship passengers on the city was postponed. It will be taken up by the Assembly's Committee of the Whole tomorrow. The panel wants the scope of the study to be determined before appropriating the funds. Action on an ordinance establishing a minimum sentence for domestic violence assault was postponed and moved to the Finance Committee. City Manager Dave Palmer says the proposed ordinance makes city code as restrictive as state law. One catch is that when someone is cited under city code, the local government pays the cost of incarceration. Palmer says an estimate is that the city's cost would increase by $30,000. The manager says it was decided to hold off on the change until the Assembly gets through the next budget process and can review the big picture.
Several ordinances were approved by the Assembly last night. They included measures reducing the time it takes to make regulations effective; appropriating up to $750,000 of the high school bond approved by voters last year for an over the counter sale in mid to late February; and accepting a state loan of $2-million to construct a 1-million gallon reservoir and pump station in the Lena Point area.
An ordinance to repeal the automobile allowance provided to City Manager Dave Palmer and City Attorney John Corso was approved on a 8 to 1 vote by the Assembly last night. The allowance, which amounts to about $4,000 a year for each position, will now go into the officials' retirement accounts, minus taxes. The lone dissenter, Deputy Mayor John MacKinnon, acknowledged that the move will not cost taxpayers anything, but says he believes the public will perceive it as a pay raise, so he could not support it.
The Assembly was informed by City Manager Dave Palmer last night that the CBJ delivered a letter December 31st to Secon, Incorporated, with notification that the the city will exercise the option to purchase the company's property at Lena Point. Secon now has 60 days to provide a title report to show they have clear title to the land. The city will have another 30 days to close after that. The land is the site for the proposed NOAA research facility.
The Juneau School Board continues discussions on the two charter school proposals at its regularly scheduled meeting tonight. One of the requests is from the North Star Montessori School to begin in August 2000. The other application is from the group "Voices of Our Children Rising" which is a proposal to extend the Head Start language immersion pre-school program which is already ongoing in the district. The Board has the authority to approve one of the applications for a new charter school. State law authorizes Juneau two charter schools. One school is already operating. The Board will also hear a presentation from DZ Middle School students regarding year-round schools. The board meets tonight at 6:00 in the District Office Board Room.
$20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts appropriated by Congress is earmarked for Juneau's Perseverance Theatre's state tour of Alaska Playwright Paula Vogel's play "How I Learned To Drive." The Tlingit Haida Central Council is receiving $24,000 to support the carving of a 30 foot welcoming pole. $5,000 goes to Juneau Jazz and Classics to support its festival of classical and jazz music which includes performances and workshops.
Search teams are trying to find a former Juneau resident who failed to return after a New Year's Eve scuba dive in Whittier Harbor. State Troopers say 59 year old Judson Lanier is believed to have made it to waist-deep waters with 6 other divers, but did not join them on shore. Lanier moved to Anchorage following his retirement from state government.
A court injunction has blocked some locked-out rail workers in British Columbia from picketing the wharves in Vancouver. Labor leaders say they plan to challenge the order. The chairman of the Council of Trade Unions on BC Rail, Bob Sharpe, says the union never was told about the injunction hearing. BC Rail's 1,600 unionized workers have been working without a contract for two years. The dispute escalated into a lockout last week. Mayors and industry leaders in the northern part of the province say there could be layoffs and shutdowns unless rail shipments are resumed along the 975 mile main line.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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